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 Tazumi Toyoshima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tazumi Toyoshima. Show all posts
As soon as I heard the first few notes and first few strains of this song, I figured that this had to have been created by lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）and her brother, singer-composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）. The tenderness in the opening piano was too much of a giveaway.
Quite appropriate, too, as this was Tazumi Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）final single to date, released in 1982. "Moetsukite, Desire"(Burn, Desire) actually appears as a slowly fading ember in a campfire or maybe the night lights of the city gradually turning off after midnight once all of the usual hijinks take place. It seems like the perfect bedtime City Pop ballad to tuck folks into sleep. Perhaps it could have been the ideal campaign song for Japan Railways as tired commuters are heading back home after a long day of work and a long night of play.
I have to admit that the acapella scatting that begins Tazumi Toyoshima's（豊島たずみ）"Summer Night Rhapsody" hasn't quite impressed me too much thus far. To be honest, it rather reminds me of Canadian rock band Chiliwack's chant on their "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" which would come several months to a year later.
Toyoshima's track from her June 1980 album"Shukujo no Tashinami"（淑女のたしなみ...Lady's Etiquette） is the first on the B-side, and it was written by Yoko Nishiwaki（西脇葉子）and composed by Mutsuhiro Nishiwaki（西脇睦宏）; not sure what the relationship between the two is. As I said above, I don't quite like the scatting which starts things off, but the rest of "Summer Night Rhapsody" is fine with the electric guitar weaving in and out along with the various other musical tropes of City Pop coming to the fore. Considering what the current times are, I thought that having something summery might make for a nice alternative.
It didn't take me too long to figure out that a lot of Japanese lyricists in the 1980s loved to pluck the Beatles' phrase of "Love me do" or another affectionate collection of words "Hold me tight" for their clients' songs. However, it took me a while of doing this blog before I realized that folks in the Japanese music industry had a love for that particular time period between bright afternoon and dark night if their song (and album) titles were any indication.
Yup, twilight, sunset, dusk, etc. which can be translated into Japanese as yuuyami（夕闇）, yuugure（夕暮れ）, tasogare（黄昏） and just plain sansetto（サンセット） is, I gather, the happy hours for musicians, singers and songwriters alike in Japan. Mind you, we've got our pop cultural representatives for that, too. One of the best examples is Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" mystery TV series. Ironically in Japan, it's titled "Mystery Zone", maybe because the distributors there probably didn't want something spooky to invade their romantic notions of twilight time.
Closer to what the Japanese have envisioned is most likely The Platters'"Twilight Time" from 1958 which I used to hear on some commercial aired in my old stomping grounds. Perhaps it was a beer ad or something for cars; the main point is that I think the Japanese cherish the sunset hours as ones when folks can just hit the highway after work for a relaxing drive or meet up with friends or that significant other for a drink or dinner as the sun dunks below the horizon.
I know that a lot of songs that have been created in Japan have those synonyms of sunset and twilight, many of which are already up here on KKP. And they don't necessarily have to be of the City Pop persuasion although some of the six here are. But I can say that they all have their varying levels of soothing feeling, so enjoy the following half-dozen. It's Twilight Time!
Can't quite believe it's been over a year since I posted a Tazumi Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）song onto KKP. The last one was her "Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi"（街に灯，空に星）from her November 1979 album"Still Night".
Well, allow me to recompense. Her follow-up single to her biggest hit "Tomadoi Twilight"（とまどいトワイライト）was her 5th, "Yukikurete"(Overtaken by Darkness), from October 1979. Despite the ominous meaning of the title, it's a very pleasant bossa nova piece written by Keiko Ochiai（落合恵子）and composed by Jun Sakurai（桜井順）with arrangement by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）. Once again, images of a lady nursing a drink all by her lonesome in a swanky hotel rooftop bar come easily to mind. Omura's arrangement is nicely stylish...resembles compositions that Henry Mancini would have made in the 1960s.
I've never been to Paris. But looking at the above video, I can see why it's been called The City of Lights. It must be quite the thrilling experience to walk down to the Eiffel Tower at night and see all that brilliance.
Paris is what I think about when I hear Tazumi "Tazz" Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）"Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" (Lights in the City, Stars in the Sky) which was a track on her November 1979 3rd album"Still Night". And it's not just because of what the title means. Written and composed by Tazz herself, the song itself has that feeling of a cabaret singalong number performed in a French nightclub. Instead of that pensive figure that she cuts on the cover of "Still Night", I see her sitting the wrong way on a chair in the flood of a spotlight while she's dressed up in a tuxedo (yes, I do realize that I'm getting close to Liza Minnelli territory here). I think it is a City Pop song, but not really of Tokyo and more of Paris itself.
My last Tazz article was whipped up last Christmas Eve, and it also involved a track from "Still Night". "Umi ga Mitai"（海が見たい）was also her 5th single and it preceded "Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" as the penultimate track for the album. Yep, "Machi ni Akari, Sora ni Hoshi" makes for a nice singalong finish for the album.
I realize that it is December 24th but I didn't want to completely ignore the fact that I like to profile the urban contemporary stuff on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" on Fridays so at least I'll put in one here that is completely devoid of the Yuletide.
And this one has got plenty of atmosphere. From her 5th single of October 1979"Yukikurete"（行き暮れて...Overtaken by Darkness）, I give you the B-side, "Umi ga Mitai" (I Want to See the Ocean) by singer-songwriter Tazumi Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）. From that 15-second introduction, though, a first-time listener might think that those strings were going to bring on something rather ominous from a 1950s Hollywood melodrama but then there comes that electric organ and a really twangy guitar that sounds as if Duane Eddy had gotten his hands on it.
Written and composed by a sultry-singing Toyoshima with arrangement by Eiji Kawamura（川村栄治）, "Umi ga Mitai" does have that City Pop beat, but I think it's also overlaid with some of that classy Henry Mancini soundtrack feeling that almost demands a movie of mystery and intrigue to be produced around it. I think that the electric organ jazz solo puts the cherry on the sundae here. If "Umi ga Mitai" is the B-side, I'm curious enough to find out what the A-side "Yukikurete" is like.
Since I did mention December 24th, I might as well put in another plug for one of the great City Pop Xmas combos, "December 24th" by Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）.
Y'know, any more tracks that are like this one and "Belle Epoque"（ベル・エポック）on Tazumi Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）4th album "Shukujo no Tashinami" (The Tastes of a Lady）, and I'm going to have seriously think about taking advantage of some CD Japan coupons here before the end of 2020.
Her June 1980 release contains the third and title track, and those opening chords are so achingly and appealingly City Pop that I have had to wave myself with a "Light Mellow" album as a fan. Toyoshima has the fine voice for "Shukujo no Tashinami" with that level of huskiness and clarity going in tandem with those wonderful keyboards, the boss bass and the wailing guitar. Allow me to also compliment the singer's staccato delivery of the opening line in the refrain as well.
As was the case with "Belle Epoque", the late great Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）was responsible for the cool music but instead of Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）this time around, Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也） brought the words for "Shukujo no Tashinami". The song is good enough to accompany that walk around West Shinjuku or Odaiba.
Well, the title of this happens to be French so I tried to look for something appropriate for the usual thumbnail. Best I could do was this photo of one of my favourite chains, Vie de France. I always liked the very buttery pastries there although I'm sure that my doctor wouldn't. The branch above is in the Akihabara plaza across from the AKB48 Café and the Gundam Café. I only learned a couple of nights ago from the YouTube channel, Active Otaku Channel, through his most recent video that both places have shut down, the former one permanently as of last year. Apparently the adjacent JR AkihabaraStation is still planning for some more renovations so AKB48 Café just had to go (with some hopes that it may return in another location), but according to Active Otaku Channel, the jury is still out for the Gundam Café.
Back to the song at hand, though. When I first heard Tazumi Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）"Belle Epoque", the first track from her 4th album "Shukujo no Tashinami"（淑女のたしなみ...The Tastes of a Lady）released in June 1980, I had gotten that initial sensation in my brain that there was something Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）in there, but actually it was the prime songwriting combination of lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）.
"Belle Epoque" is cool and sultry, possibly like the lady mentioned in the title for the whole album, and my compliments go out to the guitarist which starts things off as well as the other musicians who have helped to create this soundscape of life in the megalopolis of Tokyo at the turn of the decade. I've read comments underneath various YouTube videos of City Pop songs over the years and they've related how much the writers would have loved to have been walking the streets back then. "Belle Epoque" is one tune that would definitely elicit such dreams.
Over the Holidays, I received a very nice gift from fellow contributor JTM in the form of a US-compiled City Pop album titled "Pacific Breeze". Was pleasantly surprised since I hadn't been aware of any such collections being created Stateside although I should have been due to the genre's rise outside of Japan in the past few years. Very City Pop cover, may I add.
The final track on this compilation is Tazumi Toyoshima's（豊島たづみ）"Machibouke" (Waiting in Vain), and from the title, I would say that the lyrics are probably not the happiest but the music is plenty funky. Both were supplied by Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ）(I used Daemonskald's technique of searching for image scans of album liner notes), so the funkiness is explained right there. One commenter wrote that the opening bars of "Machibouke" sounded like the theme for an 80s cop show (either in America or Japan) which I laughed it in understanding. There is that indeed that feeling of "Let's go get those scumbags, partner!" with those horns declaring the good guys getting into gun-toting action.
Originally, "Machibouke" was a track on Toyoshima's April 1979 2nd album"Tomadoi Twilight"（とまどいトワイライト）whose dreamier title track is arguably her most famous contribution. As for "Pacific Breeze", a lot of the tracks have already been covered in the blog but there are a few more for me to explore. Interestingly enough, there is even a Wikipedia article on the compilation so that you can find out what some of the other tracks are.
Well, all that surprise about last weekend in Shibuya being rather sedate for the annual Halloween celebrations was just for those two nights. Halloween night was the usual crazy story of physics-bending crowds, and of course, with the huge density of people roaming all around on the 31st, there were also a few rotten apples getting arrested and thrown into the hoosegow. Actually, I've got a good friend in Tokyo on vacation right now, but I'm absolutely certain that he and his wife avoided Shibuya like the plague.
Anyways, I'm going with a much more peaceful but urban contemporary number by Tazumi Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）called "Yomosugara" (All Night) from her November 1979 3rd album"Still Night". Written by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）and composed by Juichi Sase（佐瀬寿一）, I realize the arrangement is classic City Pop from way back when, but it's still hard to believe that it's been 40 years since this song was first recorded.
It does sound like a nice strut in the bright lights and big city of Tokyo without all of the costumed craziness of Halloween 2019. There certainly wasn't any Halloween back then, and there probably weren't even any English teachers hijacking one car of the Yamanote Line for an entire loop as was the old custom to celebrate October 31st. I don't have "Still Night" but I was able to get my copy of "Yomosugara", thanks to its inclusion in "Light Mellow - Drive".
The late 1970s had the technopop, City Pop and even the exotic kayo, represented by Judy Ongg and Saki Kubota（久保田早紀）. And certainly something like bossa nova would probably be included within that last category whose singers took the listeners to different countries. But for whatever reason, I've also treated bossa nova as something quite different from the rest of that exotic kayo. Such is the magic of Antonio Jobim.
This is my third article on singer-songwriter Tazumi Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）. She may not have become a huge superstar, but I'm finding that she was willing to push into some directions within pop music including City Pop and some of that exotica, and that's always great to me. I discovered this one track, "Tokai no Yuutsu"(City Melancholy), from her 1979 album"Tomadoi Twilight"（とまどいトワイライト）which was also the title for her most famous single.
Despite the title, I wouldn't place it as a City Pop song at all. Instead, it is solidly within the bossa nova territory that I mentioned off at the top, although there are hints of that rarefied lifestyle in fancy hotel top bars. Toyoshima wrote and composed "Tokai no Yuutsu", and may I say created it quite lovingly, and kaz-shin from the Japanese-language "Music Avenue" mentioned that there is some Michael Franks in the arrangement. I also have to remark that the singer's delivery makes it sound as if she were acting like the greatly fatigued, seen-it-all done-it-all femme fatale in that bar.
No, perhaps it wasn't going to be on its way to becoming a hit, but "Tokai no Yuutsu" has its charms and is eminently listenable as part of any compilation of those urban contemporary tunes from Japan from a bygone age.
Had a nice evening down at University of Toronto being part of a panel discussion on students about to graduate from East Asian Studies and what they can do thereafter. It was rather nice meeting the fellow panelists (one of whom is an old friend of over 40 years) and meeting some students who were crazy to go to Japan...reminded me of yours truly a few decades ago.
Still digesting my Indian dinner which was catered into the venue so I'm keeping things simple tonight with a pleasant number from Tazumi Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）. A little over a couple of years ago, I wrote about her 4th single, "Tomadoi Twilight"（とまどいトワイライト）which was most likely her most successful release back in 1979. Well, her previous single is also eminently listenable.
"Everyday, Every Night" is a nighttime City Pop tune from October 1978 with a twist of bossa with Toyoshima singing it in a gently swinging manner. There is also something about it that reminds me of some of Henry Mancini's music from a decade earlier. Some nice solo guitar as well. Veteran lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）took care of the words and Mutsuhiro Nishiwaki（西脇睦宏）came up with the mellow music. It's a nice way to finish up an eventful night.
Tazumi "TAZZ" Toyoshima（豊島たづみ）is a Fukuoka-born singer-songwriter who I first found out about through one of the CDs in the "Good Times Diva" series with her song "Tomadoi Twilight" (The Bewildering Twilight) from February 1979. Showing that Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）wasn't just their only client, Ryudo Uzaki and Yoko Aki（宇崎竜童・阿木燿子）created this atmospheric ballad about a woman going through the sufferings of loneliness. The heroine seems to be spending her nights at the bars surrounded by the usual barflies only to come home to an empty room.
Although the lyrics hint at life in the big city, the music has a bit more of a countryside feeling due to those pan flutes (?) that are part and parcel of the original melody. Momoe may have sounded like the toughest suffer-no-fools-period woman of the city, but Tazumi's delivery of "Tomadoi Twilight" has a more crackly quality as if that same woman Momoe had portrayed was now a wiser, sadder and more resigned veteran now simply going through the motions of hitting the watering holes and hoping beyond hope that someone would even greet her with a friendly word.
Of the 10 singles that Toyoshima has released, this was arguably her most famous song as it peaked at No. 19 on Oricon, becoming the 78th-ranked song of the year and selling almost 150,000 copies. The sad ballad also became the theme song for a 1979 TBS drama titled "Tatoeba, Ai"（たとえば、愛...For Example, Love）about a popular radio DJ who's caught between her current husband and her previous one.
