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.
I heard this on a recent episode of "Uta Con" (and nope, it wasn't on this week) and found out that this was a Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）song. And it was used for a Calpis commercial back in the day.
"Yume Densetsu"(Dream Legend) was the band's 5th single from May 1984 and it starts off with a synth-powered slow burn before the score emerges into the light to begin a fun and hopeful summer song. Written and composed by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）with band percussionist Toshikatsu Hayashi（林紀勝）helping out on the words as well, the verses remind me a bit of Olivia Newton-John's"Xanadu" and his lyrics have that star-crossed lovers theme in there. No matter how long or how far, they will find each other over and over again.
According to the liner notes of Stardust Revue's "Hot Menu" BEST compilation via the J-Wiki article for the song, Nemoto had joked back then that if "Yume Densetsu" hadn't become a hit, it would have been the end for the band. Well, it made it up to No. 40, so perhaps it wasn't a runaway hit, but the band's still here in 2026.
A very distinctly Japanese accolade was given to Stardust Revue and "Yume Densetsu" when the song was adopted in October 2013 as the departure melody at Gyoda Station on the Takasaki Line in the city of Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, Nemoto's hometown. Incidentally, the band also acts as tourism ambassadors for the city. "Yume Densetsu" was first included in an album via their July 1984 BEST compilation "TO YOU ~ Yume Densetsu".
I was just having an email exchange with an old friend and former student earlier this morning, and we both agreed that the Christmas feeling has descended upon our respective cities of Toronto and Tokyo. The above photo is a night shot of all that illumination in front of the Microsoft Building in southern Shinjuku.
Then I came across DJ Hasebe who has just put up a Christmas City Pop mix in the last few days, so have a good listen of that. There are quite a few J-Xmas City Pop tunes that I have yet to cover although I've posted on some of the greats such as Junichi Inagaki's（稲垣潤一）"Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa"（クリスマスキャロルの頃には）and Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"December 24".
One example of a song that I had yet to cover that was on DJ Hasebe's list is Stardust Revue's（スターダストレビュー） "Sweet Snow Magic" which appeared on the band's 9th album"Brightest!" from November 1991, a decade following their debut single"Sugar wa O-Toshigoro"（シュガーはお年頃）.
Written and composed by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）, "Sweet Snow Magic" reflects how Christmas in Japan has been a second Valentine's Day with all of the hearts fluttering around in the cooler air even if snow might be hard to come by in Japan's capital city...no problems, those LED lights are still there. I see and hear that the upbeat jazziness that has been part of Stardust Revue's music is also imbued within "Sweet Snow Magic" even if the instruments are almost all of the synth variety. "Brightest!" managed to reach No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies.
From Virtual Japan, here is the 2025 edition of all that Xmas illumination in Tokyo. I know that LEDs are energy-efficient but TEPCO must be making a killing each year.
As I mentioned in the previous article featuring Kiyoshi Hikawa's（氷川きよし）"Koushuuji"（甲州路）, it was quite the emotional roller coaster last night on NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）. It was Hikawa's final time on the program (at least for some time to come) which probably had his fans all misty-eyed. Meanwhile, some minutes later, veteran pop band Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）appeared for the very first time on the show, and they gave quite the crowd-pleasing performance which made me wonder why they couldn't get an invitation onto the Kohaku Utagassen.
The performance they gave was "Sugar wa O-Toshigoro" which I think would translate as "It's Time to Marry Sugar" after reading the lyrics of someone head-over-heels in love. This is actually Stardust Revue's debut single from May 1981 and although the original recorded version didn't have the brassy jazz section that last night's performance came with, the rolling boogie jazz influences were still in there along with some rock n' roll, to boot. Some nice harmonies as well.
Written and composed by Stardust Revue vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）with Akira Teshima（手島昭）also helping out on the lyrics, I thought it was an interesting song for a band to debut on considering all of the 50s rock n' roll, City Pop and technopop that was zipping around at the time. However, as I just stated a few lines above, some of that 50s feeling was in "Sugar wa O-Toshigoro" as well.
Hearing the debut single last night, it just kinda cemented my image of Stardust Revue as a band that never stayed within the lines as far as genre was concerned. Nemoto and his group were more than happy to explore any style that provided the good stuff.
As I'm writing this, I'm also keeping an eye on the count board at CBC because there is a federal election on tonight, so I'm rather curious to know who will be continuing on or getting the new job as Prime Minister. Interestingly enough, there is that party election within the governing Liberal Democratic Party in Japan next week to find out who will be the next President of the LDP and therefore the next PM of that nation.
OK, let's get away from the political and head over to the more enjoyable sights and sounds of the band Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）. I can always depend on Kaname Nemoto（根本要）and company to provide some of that wonderfully upbeat and oft-funky pop. Case in point: we have "Ryuusei Monogatari" which I will translate as "Tale of a Shooting Star" as a slight pun.
A track from Stardust Revue's 6th album from July 1988"RENDEZ-VOUS", "Ryuusei Monogatari" seems less about anything astronomical and more about the happily romantic as it sounds as if vocalist Nemoto is willing to take a lucky lady for a trip around the stars. The song was written by Nemoto and band percussionist Toshikatsu Hayashi（林紀勝）with keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）providing the synth-driven perky music. Although I've also categorized "Ryuusei Monogatari" as a City Pop tune since it has some of that urban feel, I'm wondering if it's more of some of that regular pop goodness.
"RENDEZ-VOUS" peaked at No. 17 on Oricon and later reissues of the album have also included a live version of "Ryuusei Monogatari" to wrap it all up.
Perhaps a tad early before the usual urban contemporary Friday but hey, why not? And I wouldn't say that Stardust Revue's (スターダストレビュー)"Danger Lady" is a straight-up City Pop tune...I think that it's more in the jazz-pop range with the synthesizers standing in for all of those Big Band instruments.
A track on the band's July 1988 album"Rendez-Vous", this synth-jazz piece was composed by Stardust Revue keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）, the same fellow who would come up with the classy and summery "Natsu no Jou"（夏の女王）. However it is indeed the distinctive vocals of Kaname Nemoto（根本要）behind the mike for "Danger Lady" which sounds like a kissing cousin to Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）"No Problem" which saw the light of day in the same year. Maybe Japanese bands were getting into their synth-jazz phase at the time, perhaps? The lyrics, by the way, were provided by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）.
I remember getting the very first iteration of Sony's PlayStation in the mid-1990s. Basically, I was all for the puzzle games and the Sim City sort of software. Some of my friends, on the other hand, were more game for the dating sims which had me knitting my brows in some mystery. Me and Casanova were light-years apart in temperament and passion so I thought some of those buddies would have had much better luck with flesh-and-blood 3D folks than me, but I'll leave it at that.
My anime buddy has mentioned a supposedly legendary dating sim for the PS and other platforms called "Tokimeki Memorial"（ときめきメモリアル）, and I gather that one of the popular girls there was Shiori Fujisaki（藤崎詩織）. From what I've read on Wikipedia, she and the other characters were far more innocent on this game than some of the other more lascivious examples out there.
In any case, the seiyuu for Ms. Fujisaki was Mami Kingetsu（金月真美）who has been in the voice acting industry since the mid-1970s. However, she also began a singing career in the mid-1990s, and between 1995 and 2001, Kingetsu has released 12 singles, and up to 2015, she has also released 12 albums.
Her 10th single from December 1999 is a cover of Stardust Revue's（スターダスト・レビュー）"Twilight Avenue" which originally came out as a single back in 1983. Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by band leader Kaname Nemoto（根本要）, Kingetsu's rendition is a soaring daytime ZARD-esque pop take compared with the sunset Margaritaville AOR feeling of the original. I'm kinda wondering whether Nemoto was actually helping out quietly with the background chorus. I'm also not sure whether her cover was ever included onto an album.
Wow! Haven't used this photo as a thumbnail for a long time, and this was taken over 10 years ago when the English school where I was teaching at was located in Nakano-Sakaue, Tokyo (west of Shinjuku). The view was from the window right by the table where the student and teacher had their lesson, and it faced east toward the skyscrapers in West Shinjuku including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (basically City Hall). Always loved the fact that I could take this shot at sunset.
Appropriately enough, I have another City Pop tune for tonight, but this one is straight out of the 1980s. This would be the band Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）and their 6th single"Omoide ni Kawaru made" (Until My Memories Change) from January 1985.
Nice beat in there carrying the melody along, and it reminds me a lot of the rhythm in Minako Yoshida's（吉田美奈子）classic "TOWN". Words and music were provided by band keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）and those lyrics tell of a melancholy story of the breakup and resulting shock for a fellow possibly at high noon and by a major intersection. Not exactly looking for privacy, I take it? Well, the music is pretty jaunty anyways. The single was also included in Stardust Revue's March 1985 3rd album"Thank You".
Another reason that I went with vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）and his band was that I just saw them on an episode of NHK's "Lunch ON!" show about working folks and their lunch habits. Apparently, Nemoto does love his spicy curry!
It's not a standing order in this blog to always include a cover of the classic "Ue wo Muite Arukou", aka the Sukiyaki song, as sung by the late Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）, but whenever there is a really nice cover of this oft-covered kayo, I like to get in on the action.
And so it goes with Stardust Revue's wonderful take on it. Their "Ue wo Muite Arukou" was the coupling song for their January 1992 single"Tsuioku"（追憶）, and it's performed as this elegiac and hopeful gospel acapella tribute. There's nothing like vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）singing to the heavens with this one.
Hopefully, any talk involving me and a funeral is still a long way off but when the inevitable ceremony does occur, I wouldn't mind this version and the original being played at the church.
I just only discovered this one last night on YouTube, and I was left thinking, "OK, when did David Foster and Jay Graydon (aka the duo Airplay) have time to whip this one up?". But, they had nothing to do with "Monologue", a track from Stardust Revue's 2nd album, "Koyoi wa Modern Boy"（今宵はモダン・ボーイ...Tonight, I'm a Modern Boy）, released in June 1982.
In fact, it wasn't even regular vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）, who you can see at the top there, behind vocals or songwriting. Actually, it was songwriter and keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘） mainly at the mike performing "Monologue" which had me thinking of Airplay and a lot of the late Al Jarreau'sAOR material from around the same time. It's that keyboard goodness that got me reminiscing.
That design cover of the album and the carefree pose by Mr. Tuxedo there, plus "Monologue" now has me thinking about investing some money now into "Koyoi wa Modern Boy". Could it be like Jarreau's classic 1981"Breakin' Away"? I was also smitten enough by Mitani's later creation "Natsu no Jou"（夏の女王）to buy the source 1989 album, "In The Sun, In The Shade", so things look promising.
Didn't touch the blog all yesterday. I was swamped with work and then later on in the evening, the other translators and I had a seasonal get-together at a nice pub with a patio closer to downtown. Pretty nice place, too. It boasts some of the best hamburgers in Toronto, and after having one of their baconburgers, I can absolutely agree. There was also a chocolate Guinness cake for dessert that was very delicious and dense. Even with my colleagues' assistance, I didn't quite finish that.
The important thing, though, is that for the first time, it actually felt like Toronto was finally approaching the hot season. It was sunny and pleasantly cool out there. After what has seemed like an extended winter running over spring to get to summer, all Torontonians are looking forward to a more positive change in the weather.
That's just the introduction I needed to segue into Stardust Revue's（スターダストレビュー）"In The Sun, In The Shade". Although this long-running band has shown its dexterity in providing fun music covering a lot of genres such as pop, AOR and rock, I have to sheepishly admit that the only evidence of Stardust Revue on my shelves until last week was a CD single of their "Kimi no Subete ga Kanashii"（君のすべてが悲しい）that I had bought about 30 years ago.
Ironically enough, that's when "In The Sun, In The Shade" was released as their 7th studio album, back in July 1989. I finally decided to atone for my sins of neglect by purchasing this release on the strength of the thoroughly enjoyable track "Natsu no Jou"（夏の女王）as performed by (now-former) Stardust Revue keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）. My article for that one has a video of "Natsu no Jou" being performed in concert, but here is the original recording.
Listening to "In The Sun, In The Shade", there is that warm feeling of summer approaching and the first track seals the deal. "Brand-New Wind" is some seasonal AOR/pop created by lyricist Shun Taguchi（田口俊）and composer Mitani with some natsukashii synths leading a car drive into southern and warmer climes. And it sounds like Mitani really enjoyed those synths in recording.
"Gekko Ressha"（月光列車...Moonlight Locomotion）takes things back into 50s rock n' roll in feeling if not in instrumentation. I was rather reminded of an old Uniroyal Tire commercial as I was listening to it. Hitoshi Shinohara（篠原仁志）was the lyricist while bassist Kiyoshi Kakinuma（柿沼清史）took care of the music. I like the chorus work here as a couple goes on the train ride of their lifetime.
Vocalist Kaname Nemoto
Vocalist Kaname Nemoto's（根本要）sweet voice comes to the fore with "Be My Lady" which sounds like it was made as a serenade for that sweetheart in the window. This was one of three singles included in the album with "Be My Lady" being the 17th (July 1989) for the band. Nemoto and Mitani composed and arranged this one also as a bit of a 50s/60s tune with Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）providing the words. That arrangement even gives me hints of Eiichi Ohtaki（大瀧詠一）.
For a bit of City Pop, there is also "Triste" which was performed and composed by Mitani. Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）, who has had some experience with the urban contemporary side of kayo, wrote the words for love in the metropolis. As Meme Man would say, "Triste" is cool and good. The requisite boppy bass is in there, too.
"Northern Lights ~ Kagayaku Kimi ni"（輝く君に...To Shining You）was Stardust Revue's 15th single from February 1989. Vocalist Nemoto was once again behind the music which reminds me somewhat of the proud rock/pop that Motoharu Sano（佐野元春）was providing in the early1980s. Ken Takahashi（高橋研）, who wrote lyrics for a number of ALFEE songs at around the same time, gave his contributions here about a fellow who's heading up north to convey his feelings for that woman. It sounds like a more proactive and hopeful song about love getting back together than the aforementioned "Kimi no Subete ga Kanashii" ballad of woe.
"In The Sun, In The Shade" managed to break into the Oricon Top 10 by hitting No. 5 on the charts. I'm now happy to say that I finally have my Stardust Revue album, and perhaps next I will go for a general BEST compilation by the band. But even this particular 1989 release gives a fine description of what Nemoto and company have been capable of all these years.
Another happy-sounding single from Stardust Revue（スターダストレビュー）, a band that I sometimes think has been vastly underrated all these decades. Case in point, their 9th single, "Kon'ya Dake Kitto"(Only Tonight For Sure), released in June 1986, only went as high as No. 92 on Oricon and sold just 13,000 records, and yet, it has become one of the most requested numbers on the band's playlist at concerts. Perhaps it can be considered to be the "It's A Wonderful Life" of Japanese pop in the 1980s.
Maybe at the time, there was a clog of really sunny, summery songs getting out into the market but "Kon'ya Dake Kitto" is really a nice heartwarming tune about optimism. Going through the lyrics by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）and Akira Teshima（手島昭）, my impression is that the guy had a fight with his girlfriend but any lingering wisps of anger ought to blow away by the next morning...hopefully.
As I said, the melody, also by Nemoto, is sunny and summery, and I couldn't help but feel that if I hadn't found out the source of the music, I would have easily thought it was a piece created by Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）or Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）. Basically, "Kon'ya Dake Kitto" has that Niagara sound imbued in it. Considering some of the dark times that are upon us, wouldn't it be nice to be serenaded with this as J-Pop fans? The song also made it on Stardust Revue's 4th album"Voice" which was released in April 1986.
I guess this is the day for "Parting is such sweet sorrow" songs. Took care of a 1970s bittersweet folk song some minutes ago, and now I'm jumping ahead by a couple of decades for something similar but poppier.
"Tsuioku"(Reminiscences) was Stardust Revue's（スターダストレビュー）23rd single from January 1992, and it's a heart-and-soul ballad about a person who may have long parted with someone but still carries that torch. There was nothing written about this song on J-Wiki but I think it still packs an impact thanks to the lyrics by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and the gospel-influenced melody by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）. And the way it comes across, I think that "Tsuioku" would make for the perfect sunset song. Plus, depending on one's mood, perhaps a few tissues may be in order.
I was sampling some of Stardust Revue's（スターダストレビュー）earlier singles and got the impression that the band started life as a somewhat quasi-retro unit bringing some good-time honky-tonk jazz and swing to kayo kyoku.
Case in point: their 2nd single from November 1981, "Ginza Neon Paradise". I couldn't track down the original recorded version but it sounds like the song was a crowdpleaser at their concerts. Written by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）and also composed by him along with Akira Tejima and Noriko Kinai（手島昭・きないのりこ）, I could even hear that feeling of Dixieland; the only instrument missing perhaps is a banjo. The more I hear it, the more I think it's pretty fun to take part in the chorus.
From what I've heard from folks and other sources, Ginza was once a very well-lit place during the boom years of the Japanese economy. However, even during my time there which was supposedly well after the era of the Bubble, things still looked pretty bright in one of Tokyo's tony neighbourhoods. I still couldn't really place an early 20th-century jazz song there, though. It still sounds like a place for Mood Kayo.
Stardust Revue (スターダストレビュー) is a band that I put up there with acts such as Sing Like Talking and Omega Tribe; they have the ability to provide both musical mellowness and some upbeat fun. Unfortunately, I'm not quite as familiar with Stardust Revue as I have been with the other two bands, but hopefully I will be able to rectify that situation in the near future.
And I get plenty of incentive whenever I hear this song "Natsu no Jou" (Summer Queen) which is a track from their 7th album"In The Sun, In The Shade". Appropriately enough, it came out in July 1989.
Up to this point, I've been accustomed to hearing guitarist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）take care of the vocals, but for this poolside-friendly tune, keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）, who also wrote and composed this gem, was behind the mike here. Similarly to Nemoto, Mitani also has that smooth and wafting voice, and in a way, he reminds me of another mellow-toned Yasuhiro. Considering the weather getting slowly frostier, "Natsu no Jou" is a nice reminder of the hot season.
Mitani left Stardust Revue at the end of 1994. Afterwards, he started up his own unit called esq which may have gotten its origins from a number of sources such as the abbreviation for "Essentially Superior Quality" or the suffix "-esque" or even the Escape key on the keyboard. The above video has Mitani and esq providing an even mellower version of "Natsu no Jou"...which is apparently dedicated to Esther Williams. The album "In The Sun, In The Shade" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon.
And for those who do not know Williams, here she is in her wet regal glory.
When I wrote my first article on Stardust Revue（スターダスト・レビュー）, I got a nice recommendation from contributor nikala for one of the band's early songs, "Twilight Avenue". So I was able to find a copy of the original on the Net and enjoyed it thoroughly. The harmony between vocalist Kaname Nemoto （根本要）and the rest of the guys is very soothing, and the music by Nemoto himself has that Jimmy Buffett "Margueritaville" vibe from around the same time. After a hard start to the week, this is the one song I'd like to listen to after kicking off the shoes and stirring up a Brown Cow.
The lyrics by Machiko Ryu （竜真知子）have Nemoto singing about the possibilities of future romance....something that a person sitting on a bench on a pier could fantasize about especially during a comfortable sunset. Stardust Revue's 4th single was released in October 1983 (I think the weather is still comfy enough in Tokyo during that time) and was also a track on their first BEST album in July 1984, "To You - Yume Densetsu"（夢伝説...Dream Legend）.
If I'm not mistaken, this is a shot of
the tony neighbourhood of Jiyugaoka
in west Tokyo.
I think this song is one of the reasons that I just don't want to merely get a BEST hits album by a singer. Going into an original album, I have been able to find tracks that never got released as singles but are just fun examples of ear candy.
Getting interested in Eri Hiramatsu（平松愛理）, I bought her 6th album from December 1993, "Hito Yo Hito Yo Yume ni Migoro"（一夜一代夢に見頃....The Best Time To See A Dream In One Night In One Lifetime） one day. Among the highlights (all of the songs were written and composed by Hiramatsu) was a great Latin Jazz Xmas song, "Holy! Hot Christmas" and this duet number by her and Stardust Revue's lead vocalist, Kaname Nemoto（根本要） (yep, I was inspired by nikala's article on one of the band's songs).
"Kaerimichi de Ciao" (Ciao On The Way Home) sounds like that light uptempo Carpenters song that never got to see the day of light. Mind you, neither Hiramatsu nor Nemoto sound like Karen, but that boppy keyboard intro and the chorus by the duo had me thinking a bit. In any case, "Kaerimichi de Ciao" doesn't revolutionize J-Pop by any means, but it's just a happy little duet about a man and woman goofily in love without any major hangups. To me, that "ciao" on the way home just means "See you tomorrow, same bat time, same bat place, same bat channel".....yes, that was my Adam West Batman reference of the year. Those two will be together forever, come hell or high water. The rom-com-like melodic arrangements pretty much cement the overall theme, and I'm sure there have been a few real couples out there in Japan who have tackled the tune in karaoke boxes over the years.
As the vocal for Stardust Revue, I've heard Nemoto give those great heartfelt performances of some pretty epic ballads, so it was nice to hear him to give his part to a cute little love song.
"Hito Yo Hito Yo ni Yume Migoro" got as high as No. 2 on Oricon.
My memory of my first encounter with Stardust Revue (スターダスト・レビュー) is pretty vague and it's been a while ago. I do remember that they won me over quickly with their AOR and jazzy material from the 80's. So many memorable melodies in their catalogue. One of those is their 25th single, "Mokuren no Namida" (木蘭の涙...Tears of Magnolia), which came out in July 1993, though it originally appeared on the band's studio album "Sola" back in March that year. I had no idea how big that song was until I saw it performed numerous times on Japanese music programs by different singers and then came to Japan only to catch it on speakers in various stores I entered. In fact, they played it at a local supermarket just this past week. When the single originally came out, it peaked at #54 on Oricon weeklies and sold about 150,000 copies. Not exactly major hit material (considering how huge J-Pop sales generally were in those years), though it did chart for 20 weeks. Around the turn of the next decade, it was revived from the ashes thanks to the cover versions that started popping up everywhere. It eventually became one of the most recognizable songs by the band. In 2005, they re-released the single with a stripped-down acoustic arrangement, and that one peaked at #15. You can listen to it here.
My preference, however, is with the original. It has this nice oriental vibe that, according to this page, reminded the band of Shanghai when they first composed the melody. It's a gentle melancholic piece that (surprise surprise) laments the loss of the beloved. Kaname Nemoto (根本要) sings it so elegantly, and the bassist Kiyoshi Kakinuma (柿沼清史), who composed it, also lends his voice in the interlude. Love that part along with the saxophone. The page linked above offers a detailed blow-by-blow account from a radio talkshow on how the song was created. Here are two pieces of trivia I got from it. First, it was originally titled "Roman no Hanasaku Koro" (浪漫の花咲く頃...The Time When Romance Bloomed) and featured more saccharine lyrics, which lyricistHiroshi Yamada (山田ひろし) thought would fit the Chinese-sounding melody. The members of Stardust Revue didn't like it much and asked Yamada to revise the song to make it more down-to-earth and genuine.
The other piece of info is that the intended protagonist was male. However, when it came to karaoke, both men and women would perform this comfortably. Must have something to do with gender-neutral pronouns and Nemoto's high voice. Now, I don't know for sure how loyally the Japanese follow this rule, but I heard that in karaoke women are not supposed to sing songs with a male perspective. (I gotta admit, I break it shamelessly all the time.) However, with this song, anyone could interpret it from whatever angle they wished. It's a universal and timeless heartbreak theme.
As I mentioned above, many artists have covered "Mokuren no Namida" so I'm going to highlight a few versions. Perhaps the most famous one is by Chikuzen Sato (佐藤竹善) with the vocal duo Kobukuro (コブクロ), which they released as a single in 2004. This arrangement is more straightforward AOR with all the guitars. Nemoto's voice will always be the one, but their interpretation is also good.
This is my first time embedding something from xiami, so hopefully it works (sorry but it's now disabled), because the 2002 cover by Satoru Sakamoto (坂本サトル) happens to be my favorite. It's all vocals and piano, similar to Stardust Revue's acoustic remake. Sakamoto's delivery is so piercing, it gives the song an extra layer of sadness. Another singer joins him as it goes along. You have to be a total newbie to kayo kyoku if you don't recognize that voice. :)
And last but not least is the vocal duo Alma Kaminiito (アルマカミニイト), who decided to turn it Spanish in 2012. I'm not sure what to think of this other than that their pronunciation is pretty good. I only came across this cover while doing research for the entry but hey... why not share.
(I'm afraid the above video is just a karaoke version.)
I came across Stardust Revue for the first time while I was lazily watching some music videos on Gunma TV one Sunday night in the early 90s. I had never heard of this band before although they had been around since the late 1970s. But in any case, I started watching the video for "Kimi no Subete ga Kanashii"(You Are So Sad) and was struck by that opening urban saxophone. Strangely enough, though, then the song kinda goes a bit folkie before it returns to that night time City Pop rhythm for the refrain. And throughout it all, Kaname Nemoto's clear-as-a-bell vocals just flies above it.
I never got around to buying a full album by Stardust Revue although I liked this song enough that I did purchase the CD single. The band first came into the limelight when Nemoto（根本要）along with Kiyoshi Kakinuma（柿沼清史）, Masami Terada（寺田正美）and Toshikatsu Hayashi（林紀勝）, all amateur musicians from Saitama Prefecture at the time, formed the band Gypsy and Arere-no-re in 1979 to take part in the Yamaha Popular Song Contest. It was a fateful decision since they won The Best Song Award, and then decided to go professional as a unit. A couple of years later, they changed the band's name to Stardust Revue (good idea, that) in tribute to that famous jazz ballad, "Stardust" (one of my favourite jazz tunes....Nat King Cole is the go-to guy).
"Kimi no Subete ga Kanashii", the band's 20th single released in September 1990, was composed by Nemoto and written by Shun Taguchi（田口俊）, a singer-songwriter who has been involved musically with everyone from Hi-Fi Set to Coco to Jackie Chan. In this song, Nemoto sings about the aftermath of a relationship in which there is now a very empty space where a lover used to be....I think a lot of us have been there. Lyrically and melodically, there is a past and a present involved represented by that innocent-sounding folk verse for the former (hinting at better days) before it gives way to the lonely urban contemporary sound of the latter. Maybe it's good to listen to this song with a glass of Suntory.
