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 Sentimental City Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sentimental City Romance. Show all posts
Last week, I posted up "Sagamihara Singers" in tribute to the fact that my hometown of Toronto and the city of Sagamihara had a sister-city relationship. Tonight, I'm talking about "Nagoya Singers" but my inspiration isn't connected to any similar bond between Nagoya and a Canadian city. In fact, I don't think Nagoya has any sister-city relationships with any urban zones in my nation although it does have them with Los Angeles, Mexico City and Sydney.
Nope, the impetus for writing about singers or bands who come from Japan's 4th-largest city is today's edition of NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）morning information show. It just so happens that the focus was on Nagoya and all of those scrumptious dishes that originate there and elsewhere in its Aichi Prefecture. When I saw that wonderful dish of grilled eel called hitsumabushi（ひつまぶし）on my screen earlier, I just went "OK...got my second article for Hump Day!". But have a look at hitsumabushi and some of the other famous local treats in the video above from Mui's Diary.
Anyways, I've got four acts here from Nagoya. Please enjoy!
Anyways, Nagoya has been in the news for being one of the hottest places in Japan right now, so I'm hoping that folks there are trying to keep cool and safe. As a PS, you can also take a look at another Nagoya specialty, ten-musu（天むす）, from YouTuber Just One Cookbook.
After reading Rocket Brown's article on Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）beautifully delivered but cautionary tale of seeking fame and fortune in Hollywood, "Natalie", I discovered that any signs of the original song on YouTube had been excised more thoroughly than Natalie's happiness and hope (but take a look at that article...all is not lost). 😒
However, in my search on YouTube, I did find a cover version of "Natalie" by the veteran band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）. Now, the cordial relationship between Takeuchi and SCR has been around since Mariya's first album in 1978, "Beginning", when the band contributed to some of the tracks there. And I think there has been an affinity between the two in terms of their choice of music since both she and Sentimental City Romance have enjoyed playing and singing in the country genre. In fact, SCR vocalist Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）arranged the original "Natalie" when it came out in 1981.
So I gather that it was a natural for SCR to cover the song itself many years later through the band's August 2011 album"Yattokame"（やっとかめ）. There hasn't been a dramatic change in arrangement. It's still the most laidback country and pop ballad and Mariya herself is helping out on background vocals. And indeed, it's still a lovely song about a tragic tale.
If there were a Weird Al Yankovic type in Japan, I would recommend him to give his take on "Natalie"...about a good person gone bad. However, I would also re-title it into "Anakin".
Back on June 14th, the weekly Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100 article was devoted to Sentimental City Romance's（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）"Natsu no Hi no Omoide ~ Dancing Music"（夏の日の想い出 ~ ダンシング・ミュージック）. In it, there was a reference to Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Synchronicity".
Now, to be perfectly transparent, I hadn't ever heard about "Synchronicity" which was Takeuchi's 32nd single. Actually, I should correct myself. The official title for the single was "Henshin/Synchronicity ~ Suteki na Guuzen"（返信/シンクロニシティ (素敵な偶然)...The Reply/Synchronicity ~ A Splendid Coincidence） that came out in September 2006.
So, one of those A-sides, "Synchronicity" is a song of a couple completely in lockstep with each other, written and composed by Mariya while her husband, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, took care of the arrangement. As for why Kimura referred to it in his glowing review for "Natsu no Hi no Omoide", he felt that it was an extension of the good ol' days of Sentimental City Romance back in the 1970s, and that's not surprising. As we can hear and see in the official music video, it looks like the Yamashitas brought back SCR to record the song together. The return of the steel pedal guitar gives it away immediately (of course, Tats is in the circle keeping his usual low profile while strumming away at his guitar).
Yeah, it's a sunny and pleasant country pop tune, and not only do I think it is an extension of the early days of Sentimental City Romance, perhaps it is also an extension of Mariya's debut album"Beginning"from 1978 because the band helped out a lot in the recording there, too. I guess I can consider the "Synchronicity" project a reunion of sorts.
The single hit No. 8 on Oricon and "Synchronicity" was used as a Meiji Chocolate chocolate-covered almonds commercial song. You can take a look at a very early ad below. I used to devour those like anything.
A signature tune from Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）in the 1970s with a good melody and harmony hinting at a whiff of manliness and dust storms, and feeling something more suburban than urban and more of a scene along the national highway than actually on it, "Natsu no Hi no Omoide"(Memories of a Summer Day) also comes with a splendid harmonica solo. Take in this wonderful special delivery by the band as something everlasting that can also be found in Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Synchronicity" 30 years later.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised"(2020).
To reiterate the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". And I've often thought this but that cover photo of Sentimental City Romance's（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）November 1982 album "Dancing" is simultaneously cute and creepy; I'm assuming that the animal there is indeed feline. The picture has never left my mind since I first saw it in "Japanese City Pop".
A couple of songs from the album have found themselves on the blog, nikala's posting for "Flight Tonight" and her other article on "Miss Biscuit". Tonight's contribution from "Dancing" is "Turning Point" which is quite the AOR/rock number created by vocalist, the late Tokuo Nakano (中野督夫) with further help from lyricist Takao Ito（いとうたかお）. Some great guitar and percussion being pummeled away in this one. The title, the exciting arrangement and Nakano's growly vocals hint at some thriller adventure out in America.
To remind us that although all of us here in the Greater Toronto Area are done with winter, winter is certainly not done with us (and probably won't be until May as is often the case here), we woke up to a few centimetres of snow this morning. Well, at least, it was neither frigid nor windy out there. Incidentally, the photo above is of the bridge between Tokyu Hands and Kinokuniya Book Store in the Times Square complex in South Shinjuku.
(19:50)
Up until today, I had only the one article regarding 80s aidoru Takako Ohta（太田貴子）on KKP and that was for her cute "Goodbye Mr. Extra" (Goodbye Mr. エキストラ) from late 1984. Today I am upping that number with another song a few years down the line of her discography, "Kanashimi wo Koete" (Farewell to Sorrow).
A track from her 6th album from May 1987"Pop Station", "Kanashimi wo Koete" takes Ohta into a more pop/rock direction perhaps a la Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）and very early Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）, and her voice goes a little deeper. I can almost imagine Ohta in leather atop a motorcycle riding down the highways and byways of California as I hear this. The lyrics by Kei Hayakawa（早川渓）proudly declare the endurance of a romance even if their surrounding acquaintances aren't too happy with the association. Rebels to the end!
According to one blog, the CD version of "Pop Station" comes with a bonus 11th track which is the English version of the song under that title of "Farewell to Sorrow", although I'm not sure whether it was Hayakawa behind those as well. The melody was provided by singer-songwriter Kazuhito Murata（村田和人）and the arrangement was taken care of by none other than Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）.
It's been a little over four months since the passing of Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）guitarist and vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）so I thought before the end of the year, it would be nice to put up another song by SCR.
Always liked the cover for the band's December 1977 album"City Magic". There is that truck cab looking off into the cloudy sky and the road ahead, and it's the perfect picture for the launching track of "Highway Song". Written and composed by Nakano with co-lyricist credits to Masami Takeuchi（竹内正美）, it's indeed the type of tune that one would love to have on the car stereo when heading off on a vacation drive on the highways and byways going outside of the big city. Like a good traveling companion on the ride to anywhere, it's open, friendly and provides lots of fun.
There's a lot to love in "Highway Song" including the harmonies in the vocals, the steel pedal guitar and the good-natured banter between the roots rock and country.
We've started off with a sunny Saturday which isn't too hot and not too cool either. I had lunch a couple of hours ago so I've also just come out of a short afternoon nap which has become all too common in the last few years. Still feeling a bit woozy in parts.
Well then, it's the perfect kind of day and time then for this particular track by the band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）from their 1976 album"Holiday". "Akegata Kobanashi"(Dawn Anecdote) is a lovely laidback song written, composed and comfortably crooned by SCR guitarist and vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）who had passed away back at the end of July this year. Fans are probably still mourning his departure from this mortal coil, but perhaps this ballad has helped put them at ease.
With that touch of country in the arrangements, "Akegata Kobanashi", despite the title, sounds like it can be heard at any time several hours following the indicated sunrise, and thematically it makes for a nice setting involving a couple or a parent-child combination sitting on the porch or stoop in the wee hours of the morning. I don't know about the city in this case, but there's definitely a sentimental romance going on with this track.
At this point, there really hasn't been any media announcement about it outside of J-Wiki and a Facebook page, but unfortunately for the rock band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）and their fans, they lost a prime member in the last few days. Guitarist and vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）passed away on July 27th of a subarachnoid hemorrhage at the age of 67. I'd just written about "U.S. Time Machine"（U.S.タイムマシーン）, a track from one of their 1970s albums, "Holiday"（ホリディ）, earlier this month. I actually found out about the news of Nakano's passing from my good friend, Rocket Brown of "Come Along Radio", while we were doing a taping of another podcast this afternoon.
Nakano was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in February 1954 and outside of his work with Sentimental City Romance, he was also providing support to other singers such as Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）, EPO and Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）through songwriting and backing musician support. He also released three solo albums between 1997 and 2016.
As a tribute, I'm putting up a couple of Sentimental City Romance songs up here to show some of the band's versatility during some of their career. The aforementioned "U.S. Time Machine" from 1976 was about their roots rock roots. But the above video has SCR's "Potato Chips Kajirusuriru" (Gnawing on Potato Chips) from their December 1977 album"City Magic". Written and composed by fellow guitarist and leader Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）, this strikes me as being a gritty and subdued urban rock tune with some hazy hints of progressive rock as someone slowly gets overwhelmed by life among the bright lights in the metropolis with only his potato chips to console him. I can imagine the poor fellow walking the seedy streets of 1970s Kabukicho, a notorious district in East Shinjuku.
KKP contributor nikala was the first person to bring SCR into the blog with her articles on "Flight Tonight" and "Miss Biscuit", both of which appeared on the band's November 1982 album"Dancing". What was interesting about these two was that the album was Sentimental City Romance's foray into a more AOR direction. Another track is "Turning Point" which was co-written by Nakano and Takao Ito（いとうたかお）and composed by Nakano. I think that this particular song has more of that TOTO AOR/rock edge to it as Nakano sings about overcoming all the bricks and sticks being thrown and knowing that there is always a brighter tomorrow...a theme that all of the current Olympians in Tokyo would be happy to accept.
In any case, I would like to offer my condolences to Nakano's family, friends and fans out there. YouTuber Toru Imai uploaded the following video to his channel featuring Nakano and friends covering "Downtown".
Wow! That's all I can say about "U.S. Time Machine", one of the tracks from Nagoya rock band Sentimental City Romance's（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）August 1976 2nd album"Holiday"（ホリディ）.
On hearing this for the first time, I immediately got hit with images of American roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and started wondering whether SCR had been inspired by CCR (which apparently broke up acrimoniously in 1972 according to their Wikipedia file). But not being too cognizant of 70s rock music in general, I might be off-base in my assessment since with "U.S. Time Machine", there is also a mellow smoothness in the arrangement which could also get it included in any of those "Light Mellow" compilation CDs. So, perhaps a comparison with the Eagles might be more accurate?
In any case, I just love the harmonies and the country rock with that rollicking beat and the steel pedal guitar, the latter especially in the middle of "U.S. Time Machine". It makes for the perfect car driving song through the United States itself, and it was quite the thing for this song to come out in the Bicentennial year for America. Masami Takeuchi（竹内正美）and SCR vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）came up with the lyrics while Nakano brought together the melody.
Happy Friday and perhaps today might be a happier Friday than most because there seems to be more optimism around the corner with another couple of vaccines approved for use here in Canada. That's the case despite the fact that the daily case count has been creeping up over the past few days although many more tests have been done thereby dropping the positivity rate. Even the mayor, who's been sometimes discouragingly straight with us about the situation, has said that there's a fairly good likelihood that the summer may be close to normal. Well, I'll believe it when I see it.
Along with "Nantonaku, Crystal"（なんとなく、クリスタル）, I also ended up buying another book from Indigo a few weeks ago, and it's right up above. Yep, being the Steely Dan fan and having realized Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker's influence on one corner of kayo kyoku, I purchased "Steely Dan FAQ" on the history of the famous band since I wanted to know what made these guys tick. So far, I've made it up to the point where they completed "Pretzel Logic" (1974), and what I've read about them has made me wonder if a comedy-drama biography couldn't be produced.
Anyways, allow me to shift things to another long-running band in Japan, Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）. Come to think of it, I wonder where some parallels could be made between Steely and Sentimental in terms of the direction of these two outfits. Both being born in the 1970s, I think they also started out dipping their toes in a number of genres such as rock and folk before getting a little jazzier and AOR, although perhaps SD may have gotten there a little earlier, thanks to "Aja" in 1977.
From their May 1982"Smiling" album comes "Honey Lady" which was written and composed by vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）. I'm not sure if I can say that the arrangement is a full lift of Steely Dan hooks and chords but there is a definite essence of Fagen and Becker in this alternately smooth and strutting tune. Through the use of instruments, I also get both 1970s and 1980s City Pop/AOR vibes which I don't think I've ever felt in one song before, and yet on hearing Nakano and the rest of the guys singing in the chorus, I still feel that their folk-rock vibe never left them on entering the new decade.
It's been almost six years since I purchased "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1", an unusual album released in March 1978 consisting of songs of varying genres including City Pop performed by female vocalists who had an association with the live house chain Loft in Tokyo. There's even a J-Wiki article devoted to Loft which was first founded by former (then known as) Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications employee Yu Hirano（平野悠）in 1971 as a jazz café. After that, folk/rock branches of Loft were set up in areas such as Shimo-Kitazawa, Nishi-Ogikubo and Shinjuku.
I purchased the album which was featured in my City Pop bible of "Japanese City Pop" for a couple of reasons. One was that a pre-debut Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）had a couple of tracks in there which have already been written about in the blog, and the other is that I rather fell hard for that wonderful album cover with not only a great bird's-eye view of a city but also of the logo of a couple tripping the light fantastic. Unfortunately, it's taken quite a while for some of the other tracks on "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1" to see the light of day...or YouTube, but finally a number of those songs have appeared so I can write about them.
The first track is Kaoru Uemura's（上村かをる）cover of "Hoshikuzu"（星くず...Stardust）, originally created by Youma Fujita（藤田洋麻）and performed by band Makoto Kubota to Yuyake Gakudan（久保田麻琴と夕焼け楽団）back in 1977. The original has that mellow Margueritaville folksy vibe but Uemura takes things downtown disco with her version. I can see the Shinjuku or Roppongi glitter ball now.
Back a few days ago, I made my first article on Shizuru Ohtaka（おおたか静流）and her ethereal cover of the kayo classic "Kanashikute Yarikirenai"（悲しくてやりきれない）in 1992, and at the end, I remarked that Ohtaka had actually been singing since the late 1970s at least under the name Shizuko Ohtaka（大高静子）. Well, this is the song that she composed and recorded as the 2nd track on "Loft Sessions", "Black Coffee"（ブラック・コーヒー）.
With lyrics by Yasuki/Yasuteru Konishi（小西保輝）and music by Ohtaka herself about a cup of joe no longer being quite so bitter to perhaps indicate a woman getting over a broken heart, "Black Coffee" explodes out of the gate sounding quite progressive rock/pop and reminding me of a Joni Mitchell song. Ohtaka back then seemed to have a voice similar to that of City Pop/R&B chanteuse Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, ranging from wafting and delicate to slightly growly. Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）of Ippu-Do and Minoya Central Station fame arranged this song which also wavers from that dramatic rock passage to some of that softer melodic contemplation in the café.
The above video uploaded by LX Archives is actually one of the not-so-full album (due to the usual copyright issues...ahem). However at 9:03 is the one song that I really wanted to feature from "Loft Sessions" and that is "Ame wa Itsuka"（雨はいつか...When is the Rain?）by singer/songwriter and guitarist Yoshiko Yoshida（吉田佳子）. A cover of a Sentimental City Romance song from the band's December 1977 3rd album"City Magic", this splendid song by SCR member Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）is handsomely crafted into this version performed by Yoshida. I couldn't have asked for a more comforting folk-country kayo about a long walk or a long walk through life.
The performance here also includes a couple of guests, Koichi Matsuda（松田幸一）on harmonica and Ritsu Murakami（村上律）on steel pedal guitar, from a band that I had just written about yesterday, The Last Show（ザ・ラストショウ）. I would have included "Ame wa Itsuka" in its own article in comparison with the original by Sentimental City Romance since the video for it is up on YouTube, but I couldn't wait. However, I will tackle that one soon enough.
The last song that I'll put up here has the singer who started things off. Kaoru Uemura wrote and composed "Kyo kara"（きょうから・・・From Today）. It's a bluesy jazz ballad close to a torch song about a woman recovering from a hangover after a most interesting night with a fellow. She seems to be making amends for her follies but then near the end, the song takes a 90-degree turn and goes super funky for some reason. Perhaps the lass didn't learn her lesson after all.
Not sure whether founder Hirano ever decided to have a concert version of "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1" but that would have been quite the gig for everyone including the fans. There was never a Vol. 2 unfortunately, but recently a new version of the 1978 album was released called "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1 Outtakes" which includes most of the original tracks (but not the Takeuchi and Ohtaka entries) on one CD with another CD featuring outtakes of those originals.
It's been announced today that for the first time in a few months, the number of new infections in Ontario has gone down below 200 (knocking on wood). That welcome news along with the fact that the number of people getting together at any one spot can now go from 5 to 10 has most likely buoyed spirits considerably in Toronto, although unlike the rest of the province, we here in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area will have to wait at least another week before we can join the rest in Stage 2, so no restaurants for dine-in and no haircuts for the time being. A second wave may be in wait like a pack of hyenas but for now, we can all bask in some relief and glory.
Would like to show off the perfect song for that feeling. It's the optimal bench-sitting sort of number called "Romance Kouro" (The Romance Run) by the band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）from their 1976 album"Holiday". "Romance Kouro" certainly is far away from any enka or aidoru tune, and that's not to slag this song or either of the genres that I've just mentioned; it's simply to illustrate that I think it's a fine and relaxing New Music song which can perhaps also be placed into the centre of that Venn diagram for New Music, City Pop, AOR, and J-Rock. Along with those calming elements at the beginning and ending (helped by the soothing delivery of the lyrics), there is also a middle part that seems to consist of a jam session among the band members. It sounds all-so-nostalgically 1970s.
I guess in a way, "Romance Kouro" pretty much sums up the three words in the band's name. Nothing better for a summertime walk on a weekend. Hope yours is a good one!
It was only relatively recently that I found out that singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）is the daughter of the 4th-generation owner of a long-standing ryokan called Takenoya in her hometown of Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. Well, thinking that I may be able to visit Japan again sometime next year (though definitely not during the Olympics), the wheels started turning in my head about possibly taking that train trip over to Shimane out in the west, but looking at its website and the above video of some lucky fellow actually staying there, it looks like it's a little too rich for my blood. Gotta say, though, that the staff at Takenoya didn't hesitate to show how proud they are of Mariya.
The thing about a ryokan is that, like any hotel or motel, it's a place to rest those weary bones after a day of traveling. Takeuchi's song "Jinsei no Tobira" (The Door to Life) strikes me as having the same effect.
A coupling song to her 35th single"Chance no Maegami"（チャンスの前髪...Front Bangs of Chance） from August 2007, "Jinsei no Tobira" seems to take things back all the way to Takeuchi's beginnings as a singer with the gentle country-and-gospel arrangement. Of course, when I think of her beginnings, her debut album"Beginning"(1978) naturally comes to mind. The singer did write and compose this ode to not only the fun celebrated in the past but the better days to come, with her husband Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）arranging, but the band Sentimental City Romance also had a hand in its arrangement, and they had a fair bit to do as well with "Beginning" all those decades ago. I guess it must have felt like a school reunion back in the recording booth.
"Jinsei no Tobira" and its partnering song managed to reach No. 23 on Oricon. It has also been included in Takeuchi's 10th studio album"Denim" (May 2007) and her massive BEST compilation, "Expressions" which was released a year later. I first heard the song from the latter album.
I'm sure that "Jinsei no Tobira" has had its share of covers in its decade of existence, but I found this lovely version by Lisa Ono（小野リサ）which was included in her June 2013 album"Japao 2". Of course, her take has been arranged in a relaxing bossa nova fashion.
Getting back to that trip to Takeuchi's hometown of Izumo, which by the way is also home to Izumo-Taisha Grand Shrine, one of the most important shrines in Japan, if any of you decide to stay over at Takenoya, why not splurge some more yen and go in style on the Sunrise Izumo overnight train from Tokyo? Listen to "Expressions" while you're in your berth!
When I heard the intro for this song the first time, I wondered whether I was about to hear music history's first country ambient tune.
(13:02)
This is actually "Sutekissukippu", a track on the December 1977 3rd album"City Magic"（シティ・マジック）by the band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）, an act that I've come to realize has been somewhat underrated over the years. Digging into some of their discography, vocalist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）and his bandmates have come up with very pleasant and mellow fare.
Under normal circumstances, I would have romanized the title here as "Suteki Skip" (Lovely Skip) but there is the issue of that middle part: キッス. Nakano, who wrote and composed this romantic ditty, must have had a method to his madness when titling "Sutekissukippu", and perhaps he wanted to run three words together cleverly: suteki, kiss, skip. Therefore, maybe, he wanted his title to mean "Lovely, Kiss, Skip".
Whatever the reason, "Sutekissukippu" sounds like a sunset invitation for a slow dance by the beach. Nakano may have been the one behind the creation of the song but when that keyboard plays in the solo, I can't help but feel that there is something very Tin Pan Alley（ティン・パン・アレー）and/or Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）in the arrangement. A nice tune for the romantic couples.
I will be taking December 25th and 26th tomorrow from my day job duties but I was still getting a few articles translated earlier this afternoon. And y'know, the above song would probably be the tonic that I would've listened to at the end of all that.
This is Sentimental City Romance's（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）"Shounai Bojou" (Longing for the Countryside) which was a track from the band's August 1975 self-titled album. Nice and leisurely, this is a pleasant musical interlude through the more rural parts of Japan. Although I have categorized it as well as a New Music tune, which by definition takes original Western melodies and places Japanese lyrics onto them, "Shounai Bojou" still has that feeling of that Japanese countryside of rice paddies, narrow paths and old mom-&-pop shops selling dagashi and Calpis.
Considering how warm it's gonna get in Toronto past Xmas, it would be nice to take a walk around but instead of rice paddies, it will be through quiet industrial parks.
Not quite a follow-up to my preceding article today involving EPO but considering that a shout-out was given to the rock band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）and I hadn't written about those guys in many a moon, I decided to do a bit of digging.
Now my first mention of Sentimental City Romance came through their contribution to Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）inaugural album"Beginning" from 1978 but it was nikala who wrote the first article on the band exclusively when she wrote about their 1980s song "Flight Tonight". As was her experience, I had only found out about them through the pages of "Japanese City Pop". And as she wrote down, in contrast to the cool City Pop of "Flight Tonight", the early part of their discography in the 1970s was kinda straddling the line between country and rock n' roll.
So I went way back and checked out their debut single from July 1975 (SCR had actually formed in 1973), "Uchiwamome" (Family Problems). Yup, it's definitely not City Pop but maybe something more akin to the roots rock of Creedence Clearance Revival, although I still have to listen to more of their stuff during that decade to get a better idea, of course.
Vocalist and guitarist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）wrote and composed their first single, and the topic is also notable in that it goes into the protagonist fretting about an upcoming family reunion that he's not too thrilled about attending. However, any conflicts hinted in the lyrics seem mild enough that the song could also be about a young man being introduced to his prospective in-laws. In any case, it has that sound of a good-time tune that would be included in the Japanese New Music of the 1970s.
After experiencing the soulful "Downtown Rhapsody" and the perky "Middle Twenties" from EPO's 9th album from April 1987, "Go Go EPO", I decided to pull the trigger once more and get it. The singer-songwriter had a hand in all of the tracks with help from various other folks who I will mention below.
Compared to the City Pop of her first albums, it looks like EPO was expanding a bit more into other genres such as R&B. There's the aforementioned "Downtown Rhapsody" and this one called "Diet Go-Go" that starts off a bit like "Dance On Your Knees", the prologue tune before Hall & Oates'"Out of Touch". Kenzo Saeki（サエキけんぞう）co-wrote the lyrics and although I'm not sure where the diet comes into play there, it sounds like EPO providing the recipe to get out of the blues. At the very least, perhaps "Diet Go-Go" made for some good background music to an aerobics session. Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame arranged the tune.
EPO was solely responsible for "Hachi-gatsu Juu-Shichi-nichi"（八月十七日...August 17th）, a mid-tempo tune with a touch of Latin about a woman reminiscing over a past love perhaps somewhere in an old resort area where the former couple used to patronize. It starts off slightly melancholy but then gains some speed as if the lady has used the opportunity to say goodbye to that past and move on into a better tomorrow.
"Kuroi Hitomi no Girlfriend"（黒い瞳のガールフレンド...Dark-Eyed Girlfriend）by EPO and Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）is another R&B-infused tune that kinda strikes me with a bit of Motown and perhaps even some brassy 70s New York soul. EPO goes a bit sassy here about a guy who's trying to track down his girlfriend and apologize after a fight. Supposedly, the woman has one killer stare...or glare. The track was also the singer's 15th single from June 1987.
The band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）had a hand in one track that bears its name, "Sentimental City Romance" written and composed by EPO. Sunny and mellow is how I would describe this pop tune about a couple making their final goodbyes at a bus stop. The now-former leader of the band, Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）, arranged this one with the entire band backing her up.
There are a couple of more tracks worthy of note on "Go Go EPO" but I will leave them for individual articles. It took me a second listen to finally cotton onto the album as a whole but the tracks are now settling in nicely into my memories. EPO's 9th has still got plenty of punch and sweetness although I would say that it's more of a mainstream pop release than the City Pop stuff of earlier years.
Yesterday I got another shipment from Tower Records. The main thing was that I wanted to get a Mt. Fuji calendar for 2017...it's a bit of a custom to have at least one Japanese calendar hanging at home, but since Tower Records also sells CDs...heck, why not get some music as well (heh, heh)? It ended up that 3 compact discs got put into a huge box because of the calendar so I'm sure the guy from Canada Post was wondering how could a box that size be so light. Mind you, I'm sure he wasn't complaining.
Speaking of light, once again, I got the latest in the "Light Mellow" series of J-AOR/City Pop tunes from the last few decades of the 20th century. This time, I got the disc called "Sunshine" which had apparently been released a year ago. As usual, there were a few songs that hit me right off the start and some that will most likely grow upon me over the years.
Just as usual, there was a Sentimental City Romance (センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス) song on it. Fellow collaborator nikala and I have contributed to the small list of the SCR songs that we have on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" including my own take on "Sun Sunny Friend" which was also placed on another in the "Light Mellow" series. Well, I'm now putting up a just-as-summery tune that is the earliest release I have offered on KKP to date.
The song is "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" (Memories of a Summer Day) which was a track on the mellow rock band's 3rd album from December 1977, "City Magic". Despite the title, though, this is far less a City Pop tune than it is a pleasant AOR ditty. No thick bass in here...just nice strumming of the guitars with a soulful harmonica during the bridge. In fact, the whole original recording that I heard on the "Light Mellow" disc has that happy American soul feeling. It was written by Yui Hosono（細野優衣）and composed by band vocalist Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）.
Wow! Billy Joel did have hair back then, didn't he? Just teasin', Piano Man! Strangely enough, "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" sounds a fair bit similar to Joel's later hit from 1983, "Leave A Tender Moment Alone", another one of my favourites by him. There's also a wonderful harmonica solo in there as well by the late Toots Thielemens.
I just wanted you to have a listen to the original recording of "Natsu no Hi no Omoide" from their BEST compilation, "Sentimental City Romance Golden Best" on the Amazon site. Of course, it's just the excerpt but at least, you can hear some of that soul. Just scroll on down to Track 4. (June 14th 2024: I found a full version of the original recording).
As I mentioned when I wrote the article on EPO's oh-so-sunny single, "Sanbanme no Shiawase"（三番目の幸せ）, I had first received the album that it appeared on, "Poptracks" as a tape lent to me by a university friend over a quarter-century ago. It was the first EPO album that I had heard and gave it my frequent ear on the tape recorder. Many years later, I would finally get the CD itself. Speaking of the CD, I get the impression that EPO may have had a bigger say than most in how the cover was photographed. Usually with an Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）or a Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）album, there would be a full head shot of the singer either beaming at the camera or giving a come-hither expression. On the other hand, EPO seemed to want to become part of the pop art cover design on a number of her albums aside from her first two releases "Downtown" and "Goodies". Not that I'm complaining at all...she was rather fetching back then. Another more vivid cover would be the one for "Vitamin EPO".
In any case, getting to the topic at hand, I wanted to talk about a few of the tracks on EPO's 10th album from December 1987,"Poptracks". As the lead track "Sanbanme no Shiawase" would hint, the singer-songwriter has gone further afield from her City Poppy beginnings; in fact, I would say that first song is perfect for a seaside town away from the metropolis.
Track 2 is "Someday". I also wrote on the original article for "Sanbanme no Shiawase" that this song by Tatsuro Yamashita and Minako Yoshida（山下達郎・吉田美奈子）was created as a rebuttal tune for the former song. While "Sanbanme" touted the joy of enjoying life solo, the peppier "Someday" had EPO singing about trying to find that special someone.
The two impressions I got from "Poptracks" is that, as the title indicates, the songs are all more on the straight pop side without too much of the urban feeling.
The other impression is that the album also has its share of covers. EPO tries her hand at a number of the older poppier kayo. Track 3 is a cover of Yuko Asano's（浅野ゆう子）bizarrely titled "Sexy Bus Stop" by Jun Hashimoto and Kyohei Tsutsumi（橋本淳・筒美京平）from the early 1970s which seems to start off like a country hoedown. It's not the best track on the album since I think the backup vocals sound a bit off for some reason but Ms. Sato keeps her usual high energy levels so that I still like it to a certain extent.
Track 4 is my favourite original track, "Sayonara wa 2B no Enpitsu"（さよならは２Bの鉛筆...Goodbye is a 2B Pencil）, written and composed by EPO. Although I said that "Poptracks" was more on the straight pop side, there's something quite cool and urban contemporary about the arrangements. The song is about the sad kiss-off to a summertime romance...in pencil, apparently (maybe the lovebirds are still in elementary school?). The AOR/City Pop band Sentimental City Romance is backing her up here and they also do so for two of the cover songs on the album.
I have to say that I'm a huge fan of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）, but I think even EPO gives an even better performance of one of Ohnuki's standards, "Yokogao"（横顔）which is Track 5. It's because EPO has that ability to up the cheeriness quotient and also to bring in one of her vocal signatures of scatting.
My final song from the album tonight is "Try to Call" which was naturally used for a KDD phone commercial. This was another EPO creation on the soul/funk side of things with the singer going for a surprisingly high-pitched Minnie Ripperton-like intro. Here, EPO is encouraging those lovers, post-spat, to pick up that phone and make amends before it's too late. Coincidentally, the final track of the album is her cover of Ripperton's "Loving You". To be frankly honest, I don't think Ripperton's spirit has anything to worry about with EPO's cover.
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