Mother Goose -- Cool

 

Back in 2019, I posted up an article on music trio Mother Goose's（マザー・グース）2nd and final album "Panorama House" where I wrote up on a number of the tracks. My conclusion was that the band was able to come up with a lovely concoction of different genres including folk, City Pop and country.

One of the tracks that I didn't cover in the original article is now up here. "Cool" is indeed a tall cool drink of water (or whatever was in that glass on the front cover of the album). Created by two of the three members of Mother Goose, Mayumi Kaneda（金田真由美）and Yumiko Kyoda（京田由美子）, the song is reflective of that myriad blend of genres involved in "Panorama House". There is that overall feeling of Margaritaville tropicality with that country music-necessary steel pedal guitar and some sprinkling of City Pop. It's another friendly "How do you do." by the ladies on the radio during a sunny Sunday.

Mother Goose -- Mada Minu Kaitakusha e（まだ見ぬ開拓者へ）

 

Having described Mother Goose's（マザー・グース） 1977 2nd album "Panorama House" as a mélange of 70s kayo styles that don't include enka or aidoru such as New Music, City Pop, folk and country, I can recommend this album to City Pop fans although the songs aren't all of that genre.

At 15:37 of the above video for the entire album is an interesting track called "Mada Minu Kaitakusha e" (To the Pioneers Who Have Not Yet Seen). That's a pretty high-falutin' title and the song, written/composed by Mother Goose member Yumiko Kyoda（京田由美子）and arranged by Jun Sato（佐藤準）, begins with some fairly dramatic pop orchestra including strings, timpani and what sounds like a harpsichord, so on first hearing this, I'd assumed that the ladies were entering some form of progressive rock.

However, "Mada Minu Kaitakusha e", despite the presence of these instruments which at times make the mid-tempo song sound rather fit for a "Masterpiece Theatre" soundtrack, comes across as a rather inspiring New Music piece. Plus, Kyoda's lyrics are encouragement for those trying to make a name for themselves and she even gives a shout out to Jesus Christ as he crosses the Jordan River and makes his return into Jerusalem. The band sings that if he can do that, then we humans are capable of anything that we set our minds to. It's definitely a standout track.

Mother Goose -- Panorama House（パノラマ・ハウス）

I didn't think that I had a snowball's chance in Hell in getting this album by 1970s band Mother Goose（マザー・グース）because of the group's relative obscurity, although from listening to songs of theirs like "Marine Blue"（マリン・ブルー）and "Boekifu ni Sarasarete"（貿易風にさらされて）, I did like their mellow vibe with varying levels of sunniness. However, I needn't have worried too much since Tower Records does have both their albums "Indian Summer" (September 1976) and "Panorama House" (June 1977). And now I have the latter album.

Even before getting into the music, I was able to glean one bit of interesting information from the liner notes for "Panorama House". Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）wasn't the only New Musician who had taken an interest in the trio of singer-songwriters Mayumi Kaneda（金田真由美）, Yumiko Kyoda（京田由美子）and Sachie Takada（高田幸枝）. Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）herself contributed some glowing comments about Mother Goose in the notes, and in fact, the cover with the empty glass and straw happened to have been illustrated by Yuming herself! Apparently the trio visited the Matsutoyas' residence shortly after their wedding and she did the illustration right then and there. I'm awfully glad that Yuming decided to make singing and songwriting her main bread n' butter, but if she had ever decided to go into a different field, I think illustration would have done right by her as well.

Unfortunately, aside from the single version of "Marine Blue" that has been represented by its own YouTube video, the only other evidence of "Panorama House" on the service is through a video with the whole album by uploader remoteconsole. But he/she has kindly provided time information underneath the video, and of course I will mention the times for the tracks that I introduce here, too.

Reading the liner notes, the writer, Yoshi Nagato（長門芳郎）, certainly has thrown in a number of specific genres describing the individual tunes. They include folk rock and swamp rock balladry; I actually had to remind myself of what the latter sounded like through a check into YouTube itself.

First up is "Sunrise Girl" which has been described in the notes as a short n' sweet slice of Latin soul written and composed by Kyoda and arranged by Chuei Yoshikawa（吉川忠英）. It's the type of beginning that would invite a sip through that glass that Yuming has drawn on the cover.

"Watashi no Doctor"（私のドクター...My Doctor）at 2:50 is described as a pop/soul number a la Tin Pan Alley（ティン・パン・アレー）featuring strings and saxophone. Kyoda provides words and music here as well. I don't know Tin Pan Alley so well that I can immediately sense the similarity between this particular number and a typical song by Haruomi Hosono's（細野晴臣）old unit, but there's a fair split between mystery and action here, including an interesting bridge involving the romantic sax and some very punchy percussion as if there were parallel stories taking place. Kyoda's lyrics are also intriguing since they may involve the protagonist whimsically asking either for a good friend to come by and take the blues away or an actual medical professional to come and cure her of her neuroses.

At 11:48 is "Otsuna Game"（おつなゲーム...A Stylish Game）with Kaneda on lyrics and Kyoda on music. Arranged with a happy looseness that even includes some warming up before the song finally gets started, it has the trio in a humourous back-and-forth about a couple's relationship. Some nice Dixieland jazz with violin work reminiscent of Stephane Grappelli. This is the type of music that I also used to hear on AM radio in that same decade where some of the bands wanted to bring back some of that old-timey cheer.

Then there is "Nagaremono"（流れ者...Stranger）at 23:40 which is that swamp rock ballad that Nagato was referring to in the notes. It's quite the romantic sweep of a tune about a person who's had enough of the cold city and wants to head somewhere warmer, physically and spiritually. I could easily hear this as a City Pop tune but the steel pedal and the harmonica bring in the country. Perhaps the fellow in the song can actually make his immediate world a better paradise in the metropolis instead. Takada took care of this one.

My final contribution here is the album version of "Marine Blue" at 8:00. The single version, which was the B-side to Mother Goose's final single "Boekifu ni Sarasarete" from November 1977 and has been included as a bonus track, was arranged by Tats himself and has its own article on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". That one has a richer and more of an open sunset (for lack of a better way to describe it) arrangement, whereas the album version comes off as being mostly more contemplative and intimate as if it had been meant to be performed in front of good friends and family at a home party. I'm sure that I will come up with more comparisons in the years to come as I continue to play "Panorama House", but I like both versions equally for their differences.

"Panorama House" is appropriately titled since I've been able to get quite a wide swath of styles from Mother Goose. Although it can obviously be played at any time of the day or night, I probably would prefer to hear it sometime in the afternoon. You can have a go at it yourself and let me know what you think.

Selection of 10 Japanese City Pop Singles by Tsutomu Mori, Part 1

Yep, time to put up my City Pop-friendly photo from the small community of Ito since I'm putting up an Author's Pick for some tunes from my favourite genre in the wide world of kayo kyoku. I was inspired by Marcos V's article on his own selection of his beloved songs. However, my article has a bit of a lemon twist on it which I will now explain.

My eyes decided to wake up before the rest of me did early this Sunday morning. Therefore, just on a whim, I decided to pull out my bible on the genre, "Japanese City Pop", and took an umpteenth look through it for the next hour in bed. On Page 58, there was an article by one of the contributors to the book, Tsutomu Mori（森勉）, who is a manager of a record store somewhere in Japan (at least at the writing of the book), and he listed his selection of his 10 City Pop singles, titled originally as "Single de Kiku Japanese City Pop 10-sen" （シングルで聴くジャパニーズ・シティ・ポップ１０ 選）.In fact, I will provide a translation of his opening paragraph (to be accurate, though, it seems like he may have just asked people around him [such as customers and colleagues] to come up with their favourite City Pop tunes and he simply collated them for the article):

I had songs selected just for the reason that they were well-loved and much-listened for many years. For space considerations, there are many songs that were omitted, but when it comes down to it, the feel of a single record is wonderful, isn't it? So from the oldest songs onward...

Now, I haven't asked Mr. Mori's permission to put up his list here but I am hoping that if he or any of his friends or contemporaries ever come across my interpretation of this list that he has contributed to "Japanese City Pop" that he can appreciate that I am simply interested in letting other people know of a professional's favourite list of City Pop. Unfortunately, for the most part, aside from some technical details, Mori doesn't provide a whole lot of personal insight about his choices for this particular list.

I'm providing the first five entries today with the second half a few days later. The comments for each of the songs are my own but if I find something interesting in Mori's original comments, I will paraphrase them in. Also, although the first two entries are new ones for me, the following three already have their own entries on the blog. In the end, I'm writing the article so I can get to hear some new City Pop fare and revisit the ones I've already talked about just to see if I have gleaned some additional insights of my own.

1. Chiemi Eri -- Tabitatsu Asa (1971)

With that certain sound of strings and those fat drumbeats (provided by legendary drummer Hal Blaine), that nostalgic 70s sound comes in loud and clear. I've written about the late Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）before in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for a song that she released later in 1974 called "Sakaba nite"（酒場にて）about having that rather melancholy night at the bar, but her earlier "Tabitatsu Asa" (旅立つ朝...The Morning of the Trip), her 84th single from May 1971 has a more hopeful air. It was composed by Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦）and written by Kougo Hotomi（保富康午）; the lyrics are actually about a woman's upcoming trip back to her hometown but my impression is that the lady is waking up in her small apartment in the big city. Plus, the arrangement really feels urban.

I don't know about you folks out there but when I was living in my bedroom town of Ichikawa east of Tokyo, I always found that there was something unique about the sun rising over a still-sleepy urban area.

2. Tonpei Hidari -- Tonpei no Hey You Blues (1973)

Someone brought in the atmosphere of New York City from "The French Connection" for this soul strut of a song. Tonpei Hidari（左とん平）is an actor who was born as Michihiro Hidaki（肥田木通弘）in Tokyo in 1937 and his nom de guerre came about with his last name making a slight sound shift from his birth name and the first name of Tonpei coming from the name of an izakaya he used to know.

Composer Goro Gou（郷伍郎）created "Tonpei no Hey You Blues"（とん平のヘイ・ユウ・ブルース...Tonpei's Hey You Blues）with lyrics by Yoshimichi Mochizuki（望月良道）for release in November 1973. I'm not sure whether Tonpei's character in the song was a gangster or a hard-bitten private detective but from the melody, I could feel that he was quite the worldly and world-weary type. And in terms of the lyrics, Tonpei was possibly wasted and wailing skyward about why he seemed to have become a human wad of gum under the crushing soles of society. The song managed to reach as high as No. 73 on the Oricon charts. Tonpei could have certainly used a sympathetic ear from Popeye Doyle (go watch "The French Connection"). Mori mentioned that although the music and vocals may have sounded somewhat mismatched at first, he gradually discovered that the overall sound worked out.

3. Taeko Ohnuki -- Summer Connection (1977)

I've already written about this song as a part of the article for Tabo's（大貫妙子）album of "Sunshower" from July 1977. That article was something I typed in all the way back in February 2012 so since then I've gotten a lot more listening in to that particular album as well as her other later albums. And considering that period in the early 80s when Ohnuki embraced that appealing and quirky mix of technopop and French pop, hearing something as urban kayo and sunny as "Summer Connection" also makes for a nice refreshing reminder that the singer-songwriter had been involved in genres such as City Pop and New Music.

4. Mother Goose -- Boekifu ni Sarasarete (1977)

"Boekifu ni Sarasarete", a mellow mid-tempo song that fits nicely into the sub-genre of Resort Pop within the bubble of City Pop, is also a tune that has already been covered. Listening to this one again, I feel that I gotta get that debut album "Indian Summer" by the female trio of Mother Goose. I'm just afraid though that every month that passes, this release will get pushed further deeper into the rarest of the rare. However, I've pulled off a few miracles before.

5. Minako Yoshida -- Koi wa Ryuusei Parts 1 and 2 (1977)

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/nm26486855

Probably one of my favourite Japanese songs...period. If there is a reason to turn off the lights, open the window and simply watch the stars during a night of enjoying a drink, it can be heard here. Minako Yoshida's（吉田美奈子）rhythm section and horns are absolutely splendid.

In any case, I will plow ahead with Part 2 later this week.

Mother Goose -- Marine Blue （マリン・ブルー）

About the better part of a year ago, I told you about this really mellow-sounding band with the whimsical name of Mother Goose and one of their songs "Boekifu ni Sarasarete"（貿易風にさらされて）. I really liked the summery sheen of it and the fact that it was given a blessing by one of the band's heroes, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）made it pretty easy to include it in the blog. Furthermore, at the time I wrote it, Toronto was going through one of the worst winters in recent memory...I definitely wanted to bring something warmer to the proceedings on that day.

Well, guess what? We're just into the New Year of 2015 and once again as I'm writing this, Toronto is getting hit with another barrage of the white stuff, although this winter hasn't been nearly as bad as the one last year. Therefore, it's nice to find out that I could bring in the B-side to "Boekifu ni Sarasarete", "Marine Blue". Just as a reminder, this was part of Mother Goose's final single released in November 1977. And once more it was written by Mayumi Kaneda（金田真由美）and composed by Yumiko Kyoda（京田由美子）, both members of the band.

Whereas the A-side represented that pleasant windswept drive down the highway toward the seaside house, "Marine Blue" was the theme song for just rocking gently in that hammock behind the house. It's just a relaxing and laidback ballad to drink that Perrier to. I'm not sure how Mother Goose did on Oricon or any other of the metrics whereby a band's success can be measured but I wouldn't mind trying to get one of their two albums. Could be rather rare, though.

This is a dusky shot of Ito.
It's looking for a City Pop album to become
its cover.

Mother Goose -- Boekifu ni Sarasarete （貿易風にさらされて）

Toronto has been getting dumped with snow frequently this year, the United States has been getting far more than usual, and even Tokyo is perhaps getting a second wallop of the white stuff sometime today. I think for a lot of folks in these affected areas, winter can't get away soon enough.

Allow me to spread a little summer into your lives (you still remember that season, don't you?). I inputted "City Pop" into the YouTube search engine and tried this video containing this song titled "Boekifu ni Sarasarete" (Touched by the Trade Winds) by 70s group, Mother Goose（マザー・グース）. I had never heard of this band before, but I enjoyed the summery and appropriately breezy sensation of this song. It took me all the way to Margaritaville.

Mother Goose consisted of a trio of friends from Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. In high school, Mayumi Kaneda（金田真由美）, Yumiko Kyoda（京田由美子） and Sachie Takada（高田幸枝） started singing together under the name of The Campus and performed at record shops and other venues within their hometown as an amateur group. After graduating from high school in June 1975, they released their debut single, "Indian Katie no Uta"（インディアン・ケイティの唄...The Song of Indian Katie） which started getting attention, with Sumio Akutagawa（芥川澄夫） of the now-disbanded band Toi et Moi becoming their first mentor through Toshiba-EMI. It was Akutagawa's idea to have the name changed to Mother Goose, and in July 1976, their 2nd single, "Tonderu Lucy"（とんでるルーシー...Flying Lucy）was released.

"Boekifu ni Sarasarete" was their 4th and final single from November 1977 although it was on their first album, "Indian Summer" from September of the previous year. Written by Kaneda and composed by Kyoda, their producer was none other than Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）. During the band's amateur days, Mother Goose was heavily influenced by the band Sugar Babe (Yamashita's old unit with Taeko Ohnuki) and its album, "SONGS". You can imagine their reaction when they saw their hero in the audience when he noticed that they were performing at a Shinjuku live house.

Yamashita's production of "Boekifu" turned out to be his very first gig in this capacity, and the song has that feel that would go into a lot of his future songs. In addition, the chorus work reminds me a lot of the background work that EPO would contribute to her own output as well as those of her contemporaries later on.

Mother Goose would release 2 albums along with those 4 singles before breaking up in 1978.

March 3rd 2025: Commenter Robert was kind enough to inform me of some concert footage of Kyoda from 1994, I believe.