I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Showing posts with label Noriko Matsumoto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noriko Matsumoto. Show all posts
Well, as Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico are showing up above, "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is celebrating its 13th birthday today, so I gather that the blog might be showing signs of teenage rebelliousness in the years to come. As was the case last year, I've opted to show off any other Japanese singers who are celebrating their birthday on January 30th, too.
(1948) Sumio Akutagawa of Toi et Moi -- Dare mo Inai Umi (誰もいない海）
It's been nearly four years since I've posted anything on 80s aidoru Noriko Matsumoto（松本典子）. Ironically enough, the day that I did post my last article on the Tokyo-born singer was on KKP's 8th birthday on January 30th and we're fast approaching No. 12.
For the record, I think the original "Kanashii Kotori"(Sad Little Bird) by fellow 80s aidoru Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）with its particular arrangement will always be the best one for me. However, having said that, Matsumoto's cover of that 1985 song isn't too bad either. A track on her 3rd album"Jasmin" from October 1990, this version of "Kanashii Kotori", which was written and composed by the poet and photographer Natsuo Giniro（銀色夏生）, sounds somewhat more mature under the selection of synthesizers including one that sounds like an accordion from Paris and the slightly more measured singing by Matsumoto.
When I first heard this song, the first words of "Gomen ne..."（ごめんね...I'm sorry） suddenly sparked an engram of recognition within me. I hadn't quite remembered the title of Saito's signature song but as it went along, I finally could get my memories in order.
Indeed, it's rather cheaply done but it is to signify that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" just turned eight years old today.
So in the day or so leading up to January 30th, I was thinking about what to do to commemorate this admittedly not-so-commemorative anniversary. I mean, 1, 5 and 10 are fine but 8? Supposedly, according to tradition, something bronze is the way to go as an anniversary gift. However, I couldn't really find a kayo kyoku with anything to do with that alloy.
Then, I decided to look for anyone who's celebrating a birthday on January 30th, and as it turns out former aidoruNoriko Matsumoto（松本典子）was one such person. Happily enough, I have yet to write about her debut single.
"Haru Iro no Air Mail"(Spring-Coloured Air Mail) was how she entered the music business publicly. Matsumoto's first song came out right on the first day of spring in 1985, and it's a cheery and bouncy number that was written and composed by EPO. Listening to the melody with those strings in there, I feel indeed that the song is quite EPO-esque, plus the other remarkable thing is how grounded her vocals sound in her delivery. I'm certainly not saying that she's a baritone here but it's not the usual high-and-chirpy voice that I've often associated with 80s aidoru.
The song managed to get as high as No. 28 on the Oricon weeklies. Plus, it was given an album version on her first album"Straw Hat" released in July 1985. That release peaked at No. 31.
I only found about singer-lyricist Yuko Kanai（金井夕子）by accident last night when I saw her YouTube video of "Hashire Usagi"（走れウサギ）, a song that I had thought was solely in the territory of 80s avant-gardish chanteuseMiharu Koshi（コシミハル）. Whereas Koshi added that extra whimsy to the proceedings with her high voice, Kanai's vocals were quite a bit huskier.
Kanai made her debut just before her 20th birthday in June 1978 with "Pastel Love" which was written and composed by Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）. And as would befit a song by the great Ozaki, Kanai's 1st single is mellow and sunny, and rather nice to stroll in a park with while wearing those rose-coloured glasses. Although according to her article in J-Wiki, in a world of new aidoru, she never really got that hit, I think her voice was just right for me and for this ballad. It was also on her debut album, "Feeling Lady" which came out in November of that year, and is a collection of mellow tunes and City Pop. Apparently each of her four albums had a certain melodic theme in mind varying from the aforementioned two genres above to a more 80s Taeko Ohnuki-like sound which her original version of "Hashire Usagi" would represent.
I'm not sure whether Kanai is still active in the music business but supposedly she is now managing a handbag shop somewhere and is also teaching yoga.
For the longest time, I had once thought that former aidoru Noriko Matsumoto（松本典子）had been one of the members of that first big aidoru supergroup, Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）in the 1980s. But she actually started out a few months before them. The Tokyo-born and Gunma-raised Matsumoto debuted in March 1985 with "Haru Iro no Air Mail"（春色のエアメール...Spring-Coloured Air Mail） which was created by City Pop princess EPO.
Virtually all of my knowledge of Matsumoto was through TV since I knew her only as a tarento acting as the giggling straight person against the nutty comedian Ken Shimura（志村けん）on his old Monday night show on Fuji-TV (yup, years before "Hey Hey Hey Music Champ"). On the B-side of her 7th single, she did a somewhat more tropical and twinkly cover version of Kanai's "Pastel Love". She didn't exactly impress me in that video above but the original recording below is a bit easier on the ears. Strangely enough, that A-side was actually her cover of the Kim Wilde hit, "Keep Me Hangin' On" from April 1987.
As I mentioned, Matsumoto was a regular on "Shimura Ken no Daijoubu da"（志村けんのだいじょうぶだ...Ken Shimura's It's OK） on Monday nights. One of the usual segments involved her being the good daughter calmly putting up with her zany and argumentative parents played by Shimura and Masashi Tashiro（田代まさし）, former member of doo-wop group, Rats & Star. That was my go-to program at the beginning of my week when I was living in the mountains of Gunma.
