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 Tetsuji Hayashi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tetsuji Hayashi. Show all posts
I'm probably going to have to come up with an Author's Picks regarding New York-based kayo kyoku sometime soon. I've been encountering them during the past fourteen plus years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in business and perhaps it's enough that the bunch of these Manhattan music tributes in Japanese can make up a subgenre of sorts within City Pop.
Anyways, I have another one here by singer-songwriter Iruka（イルカ）who was in her 1980s City Pop phase at the time. I don't have my own copy of her April 1985 12th album"Heart Land" but I have covered at least one song on the list, "Ame no Distance"（雨のディスタンス）, which also qualifies as a City Pop tune. This one here is "NYC wa Toosugite" (New York City is Too Far Away) which was actually written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed/arranged by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, so Iruka was just behind the microphone.
This is quite the romantic strolling tune to be enjoyed at sunset, and of course, Iruka's velvety vocals help with the overall listening pleasure. I can imagine that Japanese tourists must have been swooning for the Big Apple at the time, especially when that saxophone comes into play halfway through. Well, it helps that the Bubble Era started around the time that "Heart Land" was released.
Near the end of last month, commenter Francois informed me of a Linda Yamamoto（山本リンダ）song that I hadn't heard before titled "Crazy Baby", so I decided to investigate.
"Crazy Baby" is actually the B-side to Yamamoto's 37th single from February 1978, "Minato no Soul" (Harbour Soul) and just seeing the title had me intrigued enough to tackle this one first. And yup, it's certainly got that strutting soul as the chorus pipes up like horns on a ship as they rattle off some of the major ports around Japan such as Yokohama. This was written by Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）and composed/arranged by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, no slouch when it comes to the City Pop department. Some nice horns come in near the end as well.
The disco continues with "Crazy Baby" and once again, it was the team of Ito and Hayashi behind this B-side which is a little peppier than "Minato no Soul". Francois and I also noted the sexy and soft kittenish vocals by Yamamoto for both songs compared to the Charo-like voice on her classic "Nerai Uchi"（狙いうち）from a few years earlier. But then again, I think Yamamoto did something similar for her debut single"Kommachauna"（こまっちゃうナ）although not as softly.
I'm just off by a week here but it was a little over a year ago that I posted "Osaka Songs", a list of Osaka-titled tunes, and crazily enough, in all those 53 weeks since then, I hadn't put up anything called "Tokyo Songs". Little old me had naturally assumed that I'd already done so. Nope, that isn't true. Kinda wild considering that I'd just recently written about Takajin Yashiki's（やしきたかじん）"Tokyo"（東京）. Well, that changes today. Quite the wide range of kayo, too!
(1959) Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）
Welcome to another KKP weekend. It's a little chillier if also a little humid, so I'm more than happy to be typing this while the windows are open.
1980s aidoru Nami Shimada（島田奈美）hit her peak in terms of Oricon when she released her May 1987 single "Uchiki na Cupid"（内気なキューピッド）. It hit No. 7 and so did the follow-up single "Pastel Blue no Tameiki" (Pastel Blue Sighes) which came out a few months later in August. Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and arranged by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）, it's a soaring aidoru tune with Shimada's high-toned vocals and it feels like it's describing a fantastical scene involving the lass herself. Couldn't ask anymore from songwriters when it comes to an aidoru song, and heck, she even looks like a chiffon cake in the video below.😁
When it comes to those B-sides, they are often decent enough songs by the artists but of course, when the A-side is a huge hit, those songs on the other side disappear within a huge shadow. Can you imagine Miki Matsubara's（松原みき）monster single "Mayonaka no Door ~ Stay With Me"（真夜中のドアー）when it first got out in November 1979? I can wonder why another song would be placed on the flip side.
But then again, that B-side isn't too bad at all, and it feels as if the songwriters were paying a bit of tribute to the intro of Peaches & Herb's"Reunited" which had been released several months earlier that year. "Soushite Watashi ga" (And Then I) is a musical musing regarding a lady pining over a guy who hasn't quite noticed her yet. The lass wishes she could be a bird or a flower so that she can surreptitiously look over the fellow and hope that he can do the same.
Written by the same duo behind the more famous A-side, lyricist Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composer/arranger Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）have created a creamy and soulful City Pop ballad to contrast with the perky "Stay With Me", complete with those silky strings, keyboards and horns. Listeners can decide which of the two songs are the more poignant.
It's certainly one of the more unusual titles I've ever heard for a City Pop song but "Doukeshi no Tsunawatari"(A Clown's Tightrope) is still some classy urban contemporary to finish this week's and this year's groovy tunes.
Sung by actress and singer Yumi Takigawa（多岐川裕美）for her October 1981 album"Sayo II"（小夜Ⅱ...Evening II）, this feels like a relaxing cruise along the French Riviera with its Latin rhythm and cool horns. Written by Yuriko Matsuda（松田侑利子）and composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, the title is more figurative than literal as a woman finds herself in a romantic bind.
After so long, I think that I may have finally come to the last or one of the very last tracks to be covered on Yurie Kokubu's（国分友里恵）first album"Relief 72 Hours" from 1983. Personally, I think it's one of the great City Pop touchstones in my collection, and thus far, I've posted about most of the album, "Weekend Love" and "Love Song".
The final track on "Relief 72 Hours" is somewhat logically titled "Last Woman" and it's a wistful and slightly soulful ballad of goodbyes sung languidly by Kokubu. Kazuko Kobayashi（小林和子）took care of the lyrics while Tadashi Yamashita（山下正）was the composer here. Yamashita was also behind arrangement along with Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）. I gather that it could been molded into a power ballad but I'm happy that things were kept under simmering levels. The strings certainly help.
This song was something that I discovered through the usual browsing on YouTube some time ago. When I checked to see if I could find some information surrounding it, I came across something pretty interesting.
On Hiroshi Sugai's（スガイヒロシ）blog, there was a small article regarding "Kibun wa Red Shower" (It Feels Like a Red Hot Shower), an obscure song by actress Yuuko Funakura（舟倉由佑子）, or as she was known back in 1980, Tamaki Funakura（舟倉たまき）. With lyrics by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）, the song was composed/arranged by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, the maker of some of the great City Pop tunes, and apparently Hayashi felt that he had a triumvirate of City Pop songs of which the latest release was "Kibun wa Red Shower" while the first two were from 1979: Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"September" (although personally I treat it as a pop tune) and Miki Matsubara's（松原みき）"Mayonaka no Door"（真夜中のドアー）.
Indeed, those two are considered among the primo of Hayashi songs but "Kibun wa Red Shower" is not all that well known. And yet, when I listen to it, I can hear elements from the other two songs especially through the rhythm and the chorus, so it's not that surprising that Hayashi would consider them a trio. However, out of the three, I think "Kibun wa Red Shower" seems to veer away from City Pop over to kayo kyoku. The song was used for a body soap commercial although I'm not sure what a red hot shower is. Considering that I had just been watching some of the finale of "Alien: Earth", I don't really want to know anymore.
From 3:44 of the above video is the B-side, "Yes, I Do" which was also taken care of by Miura and Hayashi. This one is a straight pop tune, quite aidoru...short and sweet. As for Funakura, she was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture but was raised in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. She was a naturally talented athlete so there were thoughts that she would become a gym teacher, much like another singer who happened to start her singing career in that same year of 1980. But in her sophomore year of high school in 1977, she was scouted at Osaka's Umeda Station by an employee of Toei Company and made her debut on film in 1978. The singing part of her career would only consist of two singles, the aforementioned 1980 "Kibun wa Red Shower" and the second one coming out in 1984 under her current stage name of Yuuko Funakura.
My previous posting on Masatoshi Nakamura（中村雅俊）was for his "Akogare no Summer House"（憧れのSUMMER HOUSE）, a B-side that was notable for its pompadour-swinging rock n' roll party sense. Richie and Mary Beth would have felt at home here.
Meanwhile, its A-side, which represents Nakamura's June 1984 21st single, is "Puzzle Night", and no, it has nothing to do with the weekly jigsaw puzzle get-together with the whole family. Instead, lyricist Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）reveals the vagaries of love in the big city where whatever happens there may really have to stay in there. Meanwhile Tetsuji Hayashi's（林哲司）melody under Hiroshi Shinkawa's（新川博）arrangement has a rocking and dramatic feel somewhat reminiscent of Hayashi's work with Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）at around the same time.
"Puzzle Night" wasn't a humongous hit for Nakamura as it went only as high as No. 52 on Oricon, selling around 36,000 records. Hopefully, it did better for the Nissan Pulsar whose commercial featured both song and singer.
Kinda weird our weather but we Torontonians have known that for decades. Meteorologists would love to reside here...or not. Yesterday we had Humidex readings of 30 Celsius but this morning, the wind chill factor was -3 C! And in between, we had a five-minute thunderstorm around the dinner hour which seemed to be filled with a dozen thunderstorms worth of rain. Power went out for a few seconds in my neighbourhood but I consider us to be lucky; there are some other areas in the city which were still out as of this morning.
So I gather that for this week's Hump Day, we can start with a song titled "Weather Report". The last time I wrote on Naomi Kawashima（川島なお美）, it was back in early 2023 for her finger-snapping City Pop opening track "Brunch ga Dekiru made"（ブランチができるまで）from her July 1983 3rd album "Shower no Ato de"（シャワーのあとで...After Takin' Shower）. "Weather Report" just happens to follow after that.
Written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）, the second track takes on a calmer West Coast AOR line. Kawashima sings about how the change in weather can compare to her romantic fortunes. Perhaps this would be the ideal song after that brunch while still savoring the mimosas.🍹
KKP contributor Jari Lehtinen was the first one to get the Nami Shimada（島田奈美）file rolling when he wrote about the late 1980saidoru's "Onegai Kiss Me Again"（お願いキス・ミー・アゲイン）all the way back in 2013. And feel free to read his writeup since he goes into much of her history in the geinokai.
It's always interesting to delve into the slightly less-than-famous aidoru of that decade since I've found that at least some of their material is quite pleasant to listen to. And with Shimada, who I didn't really find out about until the existence of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", there is her 2nd single from August 1986, "Makenaide...Kataomoi" (Don't Give Up...One-Sided Love). It's got one of the nicest intros before some intriguing synths come crashing in and then the arrangement maintains a nice and fairly groovy rhythm throughout. The title pretty much says it all...I'm assuming that Yukinojo Mori's（森雪之丞）lyrics are about holding that torch for that guy in high school. Not surprised that the melody and arrangement are by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）respectively. "Makenaide...Kataomoi" made it No. 15 on Oricon and it was used for a Clearasil commercial.
I'm a bit surprised by this one. I have heard Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"Umi no Mieru Mado kara ~ Omoide no Natsu" (The Ocean View from the Window ~ Summer of My Memories) a number of times before, but I realized that I had yet to cover this one.
A track from Kurahashi's September 1982 3rd album, "Heartbreak Theater", it's a fitting ballad by one of my favourite singers because it is about that sad look out of the bus window while going along the beach where probably the lass in the lyrics had once frolicked with her beau back in the summer. However, it's plainly evident that despite her love for him, the romance is as dead as the autumn leaves fallen from the tree. It's the quintessential Ruiko ballad with her languid delivery, Tetsuji Hayashi's（林哲司） melancholy tear-stained melody and Machiko Ryu's（竜真知子）words. The bluesy saxophone and the chorus backing the singer just ups the ante on wistfulness.
Last month, I made a discovery within Hideki Saijo's（西城秀樹） long discography that hadn't quite surfaced although it earned the late singer a Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 1981. His September 1981 39th single"Sentimental Girl"（センチメンタルガール）was a very pleasant old-fashioned rock-n'-roll and pop tune that fit the man like him and denim.
The B-side to "Sentimental Girl", "Moonlight Party", especially with City Pop maestro Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）behind the music and arrangement and Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）as the lyricist and that title itself, might hit the eyes and brain as an urban contemporary number to contrast with the the feeling of the A-side. However, that's a definite no. "Moonlight Party" continues the good ol' rock-n'-roll and doo-wop times with some twangy country thrown in for good measure. And once again, my head was doing a nice little nodding here and there as it did its three minutes and change.
It was often the time when I went to diners like Lick's here in Toronto to partake in the food and drink including the all-favourite strawberry milkshake in those tall tin cups. Always had mine with a topping of whipped cream.
So I can't be surprised that there was a Japanese aidoru tune titled "Strawberry Shake" since all things aidoru are sweet and frothy by design. This was the opening track on Hidemi Ishikawa's（石川秀美）July 1984 4th album"Summer Breeze"（サマー・ブリーズ）, and yeah, the titular drink must have been very refreshing during the usual torrid Japanese hot season. The lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）though seem to talk about a young lady's deep ardor for that special guy.
Prolific composer Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）was behind the music for "Strawberry Shake". Especially in those 1980s, it was often the time that Japanese composers borrowed hooks from other songs in Japan and elsewhere. I've heard and seen that in other tunes, but this is perhaps one of the few times that Hayashi may have been influenced by two different songs. The jazzy intro and opening verses by Hidemi come right from Elbow Bones and the Racketeers' hit "A Night in New York" from late 1983 (and yeah, a much later tune had its influence from that one), but then when we get into the chorus, it sounds just like Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"September" from 1979, a song that both Hayashi and Matsumoto worked on.
The last time I wrote about late 80s/early 90s aidoru Yuri Kunizane（国実百合）was back in November when I posted her "Hishochi no Sagan"（避暑地のサガン）from her July 1988 debut album"Summer in Blue". That was in the territory of Motown boogie.
However, later in December of that year, Kunizane put out her 4th single"Tomodachi Ijou" (More Than Friends) which was also placed within her mini BEST album"Y-923NE" from July 1989. That album, according to Discogs, has been categorized as synthpop, kayo kyoku and City Pop, and I think that this particular song seems to exemplify characteristics from all three genres. But without any of the three winning out over the other two, I've kept the Label here as aidoru. Written by Shun Taguchi（田口俊）, composed by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and arranged by Hiroshi Shinkawa（新川博）, it's quite the sweetly sung song with a killer electric guitar solo near the end.
I also have to note that the title for that mini BEST album is a pretty cool depiction of Kunizane's full name in an old-fashioned Japanese pager language sort of way. Plus, Kunizane herself looks more like a lady ready to hit the dance floors in a bodicon dress in comparison to the more demure 1950s persona that she showed on "Summer in Blue".
"You can be my wingman anytime". I kinda wonder whether this statement marking the beginning of a friendship between Maverick and Iceman in "Top Gun" was how the key word entered the vernacular meaning a guy who will have his friend's back every time whether it be in war or love. I've been hearing "wingman" quite a lot in movies over the past few decades now.
And that's the reason that I was initially tickled by this manga-turned-anime titled "Yume Senshi Wingman"（夢戦士ウイングマン...Dream Warrior Wingman） from 1984. The Wingman here was actually the star instead of the sidekick. My information on 80s anime is pretty sparse but from what I could glean is that the hero is a high school boy who gets those delusions of grandeur of becoming a great tokusatsu hero and he actually gets his opportunity through an encounter with an alternative universe princess. Of course, as we can see in the above video, the process is never a smooth one. I guess all that chuunibyo stuff goes back further than I'd assumed.
In any case, the opening and theme songs for "Wingman" are surprisingly urban contemporary considering the plot of the show. And both were created by the same team: lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）, composer Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）and arranger Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）...pretty darn potent City Pop guys. The opening theme "Ijigen Story" can be translated as either "Story from a Different Dimension" or "Unprecedented Story". It's got that urbanity along with some haunting interdimensional whimsy as would befit some of the goofy humour. There's even what sounds like a bit of Dixieland jazz that pops up in the full version. Sumiko Fukuda（福田スミ子）, aka Poplar（ポプラ）, provides the bluesy and smoky vocals; she's also one of the singers responsible for the theme song for famous electronics chain Yodobashi Camera.
Norimasa Yamanaka（山中のりまさ）is another singer that I haven't heard a lot about, only writing about one song of his only a few months ago, "Sunrise Sunset"（サンライズ・サンセット）. His second one here on KKP is the ending theme for "Wingman", the West Coast drive-friendly "Wing Love", which is more on the AOR side with some Boz Scaggs/Bobby Caldwell influences in Oku's arrangement. Maybe this could be one song that could greet young Kenta on the stereo after battling his monsters as the title character himself.
I remember back in the early 1980s when astronomer Carl Sagan brought out his TV series "Cosmos" on PBS. If I had been a little older, I would have been more attuned to what he was saying but to be honest, I don't remember much aside from his pronunciation of the word "billions", something that late-night show host Johnny Carson loved to parody.
"Cosmos" was a program that left me rather mystified. What has also mystified me is an early song by aidoru Yuri Kunizane（国実百合）titled "Hishochi no Sagan" (Summer Resort Sagan). I don't believe that it has anything to do with the astronomer and the melody by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）doesn't have one iota of spacy wondrousness. Instead, it's a very down-to-earth Motown-styleboogie pop tune with lyrics by Reiji Aso（麻生麗二）that was a track on her July 1988 debut album"Summer in Blue". The cover of her dressed up like Sandra Dee sitting by an old-fashioned radio tells a lot.
Perhaps the above byline is a little longer and odder than usual but in my defense, I have to explain that all the way back in January, I had jumped the mighty gun and already spoke on singer-songwriter Junk Fujiyama's（ジャンクフジヤマ）most recent album, the album of covers known as "Shoukei Toshi ~ City Pop Covers"(City of Aspirations), several weeks before it was even officially released in March. I was too taken by the tasting menu of Junk's covers of "Telephone Number" by the late great Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）and then "Windy Summer" by Anri（杏里）that were already up on YouTube.
Generally speaking, I don't usually go for albums of cover versions since I'm always going to think that the originals will be far better, but cuing ahead several months, I finally pulled the trigger and bought my copy of "Shoukei Toshi" a couple of weeks ago just on Fujiyama's reputation and his takes on "Telephone Number" and "Windy Summer". Besides, considering how I've wondered how Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）would have handled some of those other City Pop songs outside his own contributions, "Shoukei Toshi" was my best chance to find out.
The cover of "Futari no Natsu Monogatari"（ふたりの夏物語）is another winning one by Junk. Retaining the dashing pace of the 1985 original by Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe, there are fewer bells and whistles in the arrangement but it's still got summer right here. In a way, it's perhaps more reflective of the times now when compared to the craziness of the Bubble Era years of those high-flying 80s (although I don't think stingrays were flying over Tokyo back then).
Up to this time, there probably have been more covers of "Mayonaka no Door 〜 Stay With Me"（真夜中のドアー）than there are shooting stars in the sky, but if one is doing an album of City Pop covers, this song by the late Miki Matsubara（松原みき）obviously has to be in here. In fact, there are two versions including this one that is the final track of "Shoukei Toshi". This version of "Stay With Me" though is done as a duet between Junk and singer-songwriter/keyboardist biki from Saitama Prefecture. It has a bit more keyboard groove and key changes, and the dynamics between the two singers bring some more excitement to the proceedings.
But it isn't just the City Pop from the 1970s and 1980s that's been covered by Fujiyama. He also tackles benzo's 1998 light and funky "Mahiru"（真昼）which I first discovered on one of my "Light Mellow" albums. Aside from the timbre of the vocals, there isn't all that is much different between the original and the cover, although of course, both are fine songs.
The cover that deviates the most from the original among the tracks on the album is the 1983 "Tasogare no Bay City"（黄昏のBay City）, one of Junko Yagami's（八神純子）big hits and a City Pop pillar. Not quite sure how to describe it, except that the funky disco has been replaced by a certain spacey atmosphere. No, I have to admit that this isn't my favourite track; I miss the horns.
I'll finish up here with his cover of Yumi Arai's（荒井由実）"Ame no Station"（雨のステイション）which was originally from Yuming's 3rd album"Cobalt Hour" (1975). This track is still a few away from the last one but it feels like a final song for the album since Junk takes the New Music ballad and makes it even more anthemic, though it still holds to that somewhat downbeat and reserved tone of the original.
For me, these are the highlights of "Shoukei Toshi" although I will at least cover one of the remaining tracks on its own because I hadn't even heard the original version by Original Love.
Let's see...this morning, I woke up to 2 degrees Celsius with a -3-degree wind chill outside. Yeah, I'd say that summer has been erased from our environs (although perhaps Indian Summer might visit us next month).
Still, I have a few summer songs in the backlog to bring onto the blog including this one by singer-songwriter Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）. Believe it or not, the February 1989"Monochrome no Natsu"(Monochrome Summer) was only his own 6th single from a long career that began in the early 1970s, but I gather that he was too busy providing other singers with his compositions or he was never too much into cutting singles. Anyways, with Masao Urino（売野雅勇）providing the lyrics, Hayashi composed and sang "Monochrome no Natsu" which begins sounding like either an AOR tune or something by the Matsutoyas, but it becomes a surprisingly punchy rather than groovy pop song thanks to those synths.
.jpg)
