Qlair -- Sayonara no Chime（さよならのチャイム）

 

For me, the peak decade for female aidoru in the age before the Hello Project and the AKB48 girls poured in from the late 1990s was the 1980s in terms of quantity and popularity. So, I've had a curiosity about the individual aidoru and aidoru groups that came once the Showa Era ended in early 1989 and the Heisei Era began thereafter since by the middle of the 1990s, an aidoru desert had apparently been reached.

Qlair was a name that I had heard bandied about when talking about those final aidoru groups along with CoCo and Wink, but I never got to know them. They were a trio consisting of Sachiko Imai（今井佐知子）, Hiroko Inobe（井ノ部裕子）and Aki Yoshida（吉田亜紀）who graduated from a Fuji-TV-managed tarento training facility called Otome Juku（乙女塾...Teen Girl Cram School）. Qlair had a short run between 1991 and 1994 with 7 singles and 3 original albums under their belt.

Their 3rd single was "Sayonara no Chime" (The Goodbye Chime), released in January 1992. Sounding like a mix between the aidoru arrangements of those early 1990s thanks to the certain keyboards being used at the time and a summery Being song, "Sayonara no Chime" was written by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and composed by Mioko Yamaguchi（山口美央子）. The story was all about reminiscing about that high school where a young girl missed out on an opportunity to make her feelings known to a boy she liked. Of course, it's bittersweet but the happy music gives a big hint that she has moved on to better pastures.

"Sayonara no Chime" was actually their lowest-ranking single in the Top 100 of Oricon, peaking at just No. 72. Now, as for the origin of the name, Qlair was derived from the song "Clair" by Gilbert O'Sullivan who I actually wrote about earlier today for his even more famous "Alone Again (Naturally)". In fact, during any of their live events, "Clair" would be played at the beginning while "Alone Again" would finish the proceedings.

Masayuki Suzuki -- LOVE MACHINE

Last week, I was finally able to track down a copy of Masayuki Suzuki’s (鈴木雅之) album “Perfume” here in Brazil, and for a ridiculously cheap price. I already had some of these songs in the compilation “Martini II”, but it was my chance to have my favorite song by Martin in physical format, which happens to be “Kirai da yo” (きらいだよ).

Over the years, J-Canuck managed to cover many of the songs featured in “Perfume”, such as “Koibito” (恋人), “Shibuya de Go-ji” (渋谷で5時), “Kirai da yo”, and even the album itself (click here for the full article), but there’s still one more song I’d like to give some love (no pun intended), which is “LOVE MACHINE”.

A deep cut from the aforementioned album “Perfume”, which was released in September 1993, “LOVE MACHINE” is a funky tune with Martin’s usual soulful voice and charisma. It’s not outstanding like some of his hit singles, but I like it as a nice hidden surprise towards the end of “Perfume”. It’s also quite risqué, but he’s labelled as the king of love songs, whatever that means, right?

The thing is, even though he portrays a mature, classy and mildly seductive dandy nowadays, especially in the perspective of Western newcomers that discovered him after anime theme songs like “Love Dramatic” (ラブ・ドラマティック) and “DADDY! DADDY! DO!”, the man was a lot wilder in the 90s, like we can hear in “LOVE MACHINE”, but also see in one of the song’s performances, as presented below.

One funny thing to notice in the performance above comes from the background singers. The way they said “love machine” near the end, it sounded exactly like the ending to Morning Musume.’s own “LOVE MACHINE” (LOVEマシーン). Maybe Tsunku (つんく) attended one of Martin’s live concerts and got inspired.

“Perfume” reached #2 on the Oricon chart. Lyrics for “LOVE MACHINE” were written by Saeko Nishio (西尾佐栄子), while music was composed by Kiyonori Matsuo (松尾清憲). As for the arrangement, Akihiko Matsumoto (松本晃彦) was the responsible.

Sowelu -- No Limit

Eight years of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", and the only Sowelu article that I've had thus far is her cover of "Dare Yori Suki Nanoni"（誰より好きなのに）originally by soulful Toko Furuuchi（古内東子）.

There was that period of around half a decade between the end of the 1990s and the mid-2000s when R&B was making some good rounds in Japanese pop music. Sowelu was one of the names that had been bandied about along with other singers such as bird, Misia and m-flo. I knew about Sowelu but she didn't seem to quite get that traction on fame as some of her contemporaries did, although with 19 singles and 6 original albums between 2002 and 2012, she wasn't lacking for fans.

Believe me, I've had no limits in liking "No Limit", her 6th single from April 2004. It's that example of J-R&B that I enjoyed when the genre was itself enjoying the good times two decades ago. In her J-Wiki profile, Sowelu has been a great admirer of singers such as Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, and I definitely get the vibe of the latter singer as Sowelu sings "No Limit". At the same time, I also feel some m-flo in there, too. Lyricist Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and composer Hitoshi Harukawa（春川仁志）were behind the song.

My anime buddy is more of a fan of cars than I am, but I have to confess that I'm quite interested in that blue car that Sowelu was driving in the video. As for Sowelu herself, she took some time off after 2012, but she was back in the saddle again from 2015.

Masayuki Suzuki -- MARTINI

Exactly two months ago, I did a BEST article on Masayuki Suzuki's（鈴木雅之）"MARTINI II", a compilation of the soul crooner's hits of the early 1990s. Well, I'm going backwards here since I will now be taking care of Martin's very first BEST album, "MARTINI" which was released in June 1991. Allow me to show the lineup along with that cocktail.

1. Introduction ~Wakare no Machi~（別れの街）
2. First Love
3. Tatoe Kimi ga Doko ni Ikou to（たとえきみがどこにいこうと）
4. Misty Mauve (1991 Re-mix version)
5. Guilty (1991 Re-mix version)
6. Glass Goshi ni Kieta Natsu （ガラス越しに消えた夏）
7. Oyasumi Rosie ~ Angel Baby e no Homage（おやすみロージー〜Angel Babyへのオマージュ〜）
8. Private Hotel（プライベートホテル）
9. Dry Dry
10. Our Love Is Special
11. Kuu na（くーな）
12. Bayside Serenade（ベイサイド・セレナーデ）
13. Watashi no Onegai（私のお願い）
14. Wakare no Machi（別れの街）

Now, if you compare this article here with the one that I wrote for "MARTINI II" back in February, you'll notice that there are more links for the above playlist since I've already talked about a lot of these tunes. I simply couldn't keep a good man's songs down all these years.

"Tatoe Kimi ga Doko ni Ikou to" (Suppose If I Ask You Where You're Going) is one of those few singles that I had yet to cover, and to be honest, it isn't among my Top 5 favourite Martin songs. However, it IS a Martin song with plenty of soul and strut, and I still can't deny its cool factor. Released as his 11th single in February 1991, it was written by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and composed by Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）with its first album appearance being right here. The lyricist relates the urban story about a fellow who has feelings for a woman but is struggling the right way to approach her. It managed to get as high as No. 38 on the charts.

Although it already has its own article, I couldn't resist but put up "Misty Mauve" again. This song IS in my Top 5 Martin singles, and after all, it was created by the killer tandem of Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）and Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）. Just that horn section in the bridge would be worth the price of admission but of course, we get the whole package including Martin's golden vocals.

"Dry Dry" was Martin's 3rd single from March 1988 and it's some dynamic funk that was written by Nishio and composed by Suzuki himself. If I'm not mistaken, the song is about a woman who's really playing hard-to-get. Rising to No. 36 on Oricon, it was originally placed on the singer's 2nd album "Radio Days" which came out the following month that year. James Brown may approve.

And once again, I'm gonna be putting up another song that I've already parsed about since it was the first Masayuki Suzuki song that I fell for all the way back in my Gunma days between the 1980s and 1990s. As I mentioned in that article, "Wakare no Machi" was the campaign tune for Camellia Diamonds, a company whose TV commercials invited some pretty cool tunes. Damn fine sax and trumpet solos. Plus, of course, this was all whipped up by Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）.

"MARTINI" peaked at No. 6 on Oricon. So, for all of those who have gotten onto the "Love Dramatic"（ラブ・ドラマティック）craze, this album provides some more of the good stuff from the so-called King of Love Songs.

Masayuki Suzuki -- She-See-Sea

Weather can be very changeable overall and even more so in my city. 2 weeks ago, we were looking at a temperature barely reaching 6 degrees Celsius and snow showers whereas today, Toronto will reach at least 28 degrees with a Humidex of around 35 degrees. Summer has landed prematurely...not that many of us are complaining. In other news, we've had a couple of missing capybaras from the High Park Zoo for the past few days.

It's a very warm Friday so perhaps it's time for some hot soul from the guy who owns the lion's share of it, one Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）. I bought his 7th album from October 1994 at a used CD shop one day several years ago and the case certainly saw its share of abuse; the hinges were broken so basically the CD case was a convertible.

Still, nothing wrong with Martin's music. Track 2 is "Toubousha"（逃亡者...Fugitives）, an urgent and speedy number about a couple being on the run...whether from parents, creditors, the Mob, it doesn't matter. The man and woman are crazy in love. Written by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and composed by Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）who decided to go with a pen name that could be read in so many ways that I'm not going to bother translating it, the backing band has got a couple of known names in veteran saxophonist Jake H. Concepcion and keyboardist and arranger Akihiko Matsumoto（松本晃彦）who later provided the soundtracks for the "Odoru Dai Sosasen"（踊る大捜査線）movie franchise.

Track 7 is "Sokonashi no Umi"（底なしの海...The Bottomless Sea）by Abe again and lyricist Kitsuma Ohki（大木きつま）. Slightly mellower in sound but the theme of turbulent love is still in there. I sometimes think that Suzuki would have made the ideal Rod Serling-type of host for an anthology series on romance.

The next track is "Nanimo Iwazu ni"（何も言わずに...Without Saying A Word）written by Hideki Ando（安藤秀樹）and composed by veteran Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. Suzuki goes even more tender as he croons about having those sleepless nights over that special someone he has fallen head over heels with. There seems to be a certain 1970s soul feeling in the arrangement, and the strings really add to the experience.

"She-See-Sea" also has the single "Chigau, Sou Janai"（違う、そうじゃない）, Martin's musical plea for another chance. The album managed to get as high as No. 4 on Oricon.

Yasuhiro Abe -- Kimi （君）

Virtually all of my entries on singer-songwriter Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）have been during the 1980s. According to his article on J-Wiki, he stopped releasing singles in 1993 and there was a 7-year gap between albums from 1995 to 2002. However, he came back with a new album "4 New Comers" and then the next year, out came "Heaven Roses".

I found one track on the album simply titled "Kimi" (You) and despite its 21st-century entry, the ballad had that mix of new and nostalgic. For that latter adjective, I started thinking about some of the Latin-tinged kayo that had been released back in the 1970s with the best representative being Keiko Maruyama's（丸山圭子）"Douzo Kono Mama"（どうぞこのまま）from 1976. With lyrics by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and music by Abe, I realized that the singer may have taken some time off but he could still give out some fine croon. And in the unlikely case that Abe actually reads this article, this is not to give offense about the song which I do like (especially that sax) but I automatically mused about having dinner in an especially nice restaurant as I listened to it. A fine glass of wine I would order to this and I don't really drink. If any more of his tracks on "Heaven Roses" are on this level, then I could be persuaded to part with my cash for the album.

Masayuki Suzuki -- Koibito （恋人）

Another Friday night in the big city, so it's time for another visit from Martin, aka Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）with one of his cool nighttime hits. Tonight's feature is "Koibito" (Lover) which came out in April 1993 as his 16th single. And as has been the case for a lot of his solo efforts since the late 80s, "Koibito" is one of those songs that I would love to hear on the stereo while driving down the metropolitan highway in Tokyo. It just seems perfect while viewing the illuminated skyscrapers as I'm zipping about in a Testarossa...or more likely, a taxi. Hey it's all good.

"Koibito" was composed by musician Kiyonori Matsuo（松尾清憲）and written by Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）. Nishio had also written Martin's biggest hit, "Mou Namida wa Iranai"（もう涙はいらない）about a year previously, and has also provided lyrics for songs by Anri （杏里）and Crystal Kay. This particular single didn't meet as much as success as that previous single, getting as high as No. 8 on Oricon but again I'm not complaining at all. It's still a great J-urban contemporary song.

Strangely enough, I first heard it when it was used as the campaign song for the Lawson convenience store chain back in 1993. I was here between tours of duty in Japan, so it must have been through the commercials on some VHS tapes that I'd gotten from friends back over there. It's probably the most dramatic song for a place selling bento and oden that I'd ever heard. And although it originally came out on his 6th album, "Perfume" in September 1993, I was able to get my own copy through his 2nd BEST album in 1995, "Martini II".

Aside from the perpetual sunglasses and the shorter hair, I'd always thought that Martin had a passing resemblance to a fellow R&B star across the ocean, Lionel Richie, thanks to that shared lantern jaw. And I just had to show one of my favourite hits by Richie and for that matter, one of the coolest R&B ballads, period, in my estimation, "Love Will Find A Way". This is another great drive-in-the-city-at-night song.

Masayuki Suzuki -- Mou Namida wa Iranai （もう涙はいらない）

Another urban soulful from Martin-san. Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之） released his 14th single in May 1992, and the video above of some fine nighttime scenes of Yokohama and Tokyo make for a nice complement. I first thought that "Mou Namida wa Iranai" (Don't Need Your Tears) was another collaboration between the singer and Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）, but actually the creators of the song were Saeko Nishio（西尾佐栄子）and Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）who was behind a number of Miki Imai's（今井美樹）early songs.

The song became Suzuki's highest-selling single as a solo singer with 560,000 copies sold and managed to peak at No. 8 on Oricon. It was also a track on his 5th album, "FAIR AFFAIR" released in September of that year; the album hit the top spot. And "Mou Namida Iranai" was able to get Suzuki his 2nd consecutive appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen. Finally, it was one of the ending themes for the detective TV series, "Deka Kizoku"（刑事貴族...The Detective Aristocrats), starring a whole array of stars such as the debonair Hiroshi Tachi and former aidoru Hiromi Go, a couple of guys who fit well into the nightlife of Tokyo.

There were a whole lot of changes going on in Japanese popular music as there was this divergence into areas such as glam rock, ska and Shibuya-kei. But I was also glad to see some good ol' R&B represented in Japan via singers like Martin.

Anri -- Christmas Calendar/Mr. Santa Claus

A couple of Anri Xmas songs here. I'm not sure if the singer created these songs out of the same frustration that Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）did (see my entry for his "Christmas Eve"), but like him, Anri（杏里）has always been seen as a musical representative for summer. But strangely enough, she has come up with these very Yuletide numbers.

"Christmas Calendar" is a song that I first came across on an album of music box covers of Xmas songs....the Japanese just seem to adore music boxes. I've known about Anri since "Cat's Eye" in 1983, so to hear her sing a Xmas song intrigued me enough to find the original on her 1991 "My Favorite Songs II". As with a lot of the Xmas songs that have been covered in this blog, broken-hearted or wistful past romance is a die-hard theme here, as the main character reminisces over a long lost love. The song first appeared on her 10th studio album, "Trouble in Paradise", released in November 1986. Anri took care of the music while Yumi Yoshimoto（吉元由美）was the lyricist.

"Mr. Santa Claus" was a track on her 19th album, "Twin Soul" from October 1997. The song starts out like the music surrounding a girl making a Santa Claus wish before it quickly moves into a more mature and uptempo beat....the girl growing up. Anri was in charge of both lyrics and music with Saeko Nishio helping out on the former. That girl is now a woman who still hopes that Kris Kringle can help out in the romance department, perhaps on a matter of unrequited love. The melody still kinda hints at a certain innocence in the request.

Hmmm....Christmas as a season for lonely hearts....that's probably a theme for a post-graduate thesis.