Takako Uehara -- Blue Light Yokohama（ブルー・ライト・ヨコハマ）

 

Rocket Brown and I were having a very cordial conversation earlier today regarding Yokohama-based kayo since one of my recent purchases was the January 2004 2-CD set known as "Yokohama Fantasy"（横浜幻想）which is chock-filled with those very songs. Strangely enough, neither disc has "Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）by Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）or even the original version of the classic "Blue Light Yokohama" by Ayumi Ishida（いしだあゆみ）, both of which I had covered in a KKP article of a decade ago. I guess maybe they were seen as being too obvious although "Blue Light Yokohama" is at least covered by singer-songwriter Tomoko Tane（種ともこ）on Disc 2, albeit in a heavily rearranged version.

If "Yokohama Fantasy" had held off on its release by several months, it could have included another cover of the evergreen "Blue Light Yokohama" as ably recorded by Takako Uehara（上原多香子）, former member of the 90s girl group SPEED. This version of the Jun Hashimoto and Kyohei Tsutsumi-penned（橋本淳・筒美京平）classic kayo was Uehara's 9th single released in February 2004 and it's a comforting and straight-ahead cover with the arrangement amped by synthesizers and a touch of soul.

This cover peaked at No. 33 on Oricon. Hopefully, I'll be able to take a look into "Yokohama Fantasy" in the coming days since there are tracks by some pretty familiar faces that I hadn't know about, although there are also some famous representatives, too. I'd actually written about her previous single, "Make-up Shadow", itself a cover of a Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）tune.

Yosui Inoue/Takako Uehara -- Make-up Shadow

Well, almost time for the weekend. And it's looking pretty decent out there for a change after a really wet May. As I mentioned, I caught "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2" last Monday and enjoyed it thoroughly. One of the longer-lasting effects from the movie, though, came from one of the old-timey pop songs provided by Electric Light Orchestra "Mr. Blue Sky" during the introductory battle between the Guardians and some creature while Baby Groot was dancing up a storm.

It is quite the joyous earworm that can singlehandedly blow away any storm clouds and it just shows that someone can still discover a new song from the old days. As I always say, better late than never. Apparently, "Mr. Blue Sky" and the opening credits for the movie have even sprouted a video meme of sorts with different movies getting the "Guardians of the Galaxy" treatment. "The Matrix" is one such movie.

Speaking discovering fun new songs from the old days, I also found one just a few days ago by the eternally sunglasses-wearing balladeer, Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）. "Make-up Shadow". Coming out almost a quarter of a century ago in July 1993 as his 33rd single, it's a pretty roving tune that's got a humming engine, thanks to the keyboard work. Written by Inoue and composed by Jun Sato（佐藤準）under his pseudonym of Utsuru Ayame（彩目映） , I think the singer is relating a story of a glam young lady painting the night red. This could be a good Friday night song.

Several years later, the song was used for a Toyota Blade commercial. I probably would have used it for something a bit leaner and meaner like a Porsche, and considering the title and the lyrics, perhaps it would have been best utilized for a bold cosmetics ad. "Make-up Shadow" hit No. 2 on the charts and became the 27th-ranked single for 1993.

A decade after the original's release, a cover version was released by former SPEED member, Takako Uehara（上原多香子）, as her 8th single in March 2003. When I first heard the introduction, I wasn't quite sure if I had the right song but I guess the arrangement went for a slightly more dance remix-y feeling. Plus, I think Uehara in the video would have been the perfect figure for that bold cosmetics ad that I mentioned above. This version peaked at No. 29.