Happy Lunar New Year!/Naoko Kawai -- Chinatown Rhapsody（チャイナタウン・ラプソディ）/Koji Tamaki -- Hong Kong

                                                               From Alexandra Sigrit2323

via Wikimedia Commons

 

I realize that I should have done this yesterday when the Lunar New Year began but it was getting late into the night and I was just too tired. Anyways, perhaps it's just as well that I'm doing this today on Hump Day when I need to get some energy expended especially on a dreary stormy day. So, allow me to give my Happy Lunar New Year greetings to everyone who's celebrating it this week and they include some of my friends and some of my brother's in-laws. Hopefully, you have eaten very well so far. 

To be frank, I'm kinda surprised that I hadn't done an Author's Picks based on the Lunar New Year before but that simply means that I get to do it today when folks are celebrating the Year of the Horse. My picks here don't have any significantly deep meaning aside from the fact that they include song titles connected to areas whose populations would celebrate the holiday. Among the five I'm listing here, three of them already have their own articles on KKP, while the last two are newbies, so I guess this article is a hybridization of an Author's Picks and a regular posting.

(1977) Masataka Matsutoya -- Hong Kong Night Sight

(1980) Takashi Sato -- Peking de Choshoku wo （北京で朝食を）

(1981) Yasuha -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン)

(1985) Naoko Kawai -- Chinatown Rhapsody 

The entries above and below are the newbies as I mentioned at the top and they're being included now since I had been looking for these songs on YouTube for years (and giving up) before they finally popped up. I actually borrowed Naoko Kawai's （河合奈保子）March 1985 11th studio album "Stardust Garden ~ Sennen Teien"（STARDUST GARDEN -千・年・庭・園-...Millennium Garden） from a friend back in my university days but never got my own copy, and the one song that I remember from it is "Chinatown Rhapsody" which also has the English subtitle of "Missin' Girl" which hints at some sort of neighbourhood intrigue. Written by Masao Urino（売野雅勇）, composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranged by Hiroshi Shinkawa（新川博）, the song goes at a good clip with a certain mysterious aura imbued throughout. I do like that twanging instrument in the intro.

(1987) Koji Tamaki -- Hong Kong

Honestly speaking, I hadn't gotten a great impression of Koji Tamaki's（玉木浩二) "Hong Kong" in the intro which sounded like a combination of a soundtrack from an episode of "Doctor Who" deep into the 1980s when the show was frankly going downhill and a little smidgen of a Pet Shop Boys tune. Now that I've gotten to hear it for the first time in many years, "Hong Kong" still won't enter my Top 5 Tamaki songs but it's a pretty tight and sexy song thanks to his considerable vocals and the simmering arrangement by Chris Cameron. Tamaki was responsible for melody while Goro Matsui（松井五郎）provided the lyrics. 

I'd never seen the music video for "Hong Kong" before and it appears that the director was going for a Neo-Noir look in the titular city with Tamaki cutting quite the figure as someone reminiscent of the late actor Yusaku Matsuda（松田優作）. Tamaki's naturally saturnine looks can have viewers wondering about which side he's working for. "Hong Kong" is a part of his debut solo album "All I Do" which was released in August 1987 and peaked at No. 2 on Oricon.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Tomoko, Yasuha & Shozo

 

We're back at the AI art gallery for this Friday night and of course, Fridays mean the more urban contemporary of Japanese popular music. As was the case during the last visit, I got together with my fellow foodie friends including KKP writer Larry Chan for lunch, and this time it was at a nice restaurant existing within a converted former postal station in midtown Toronto. I am still digesting my Steak Frites and Tiramisu as I type. 

Tomoko Aran -- Midnight Pretenders

Yasuha -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン)

Shozo Ise -- Moonlight

City City Pops by J-Canuck

 

Looks like KKP AI representative Kayo is having her fun behind the wheel of a sports car. Pretty impressive if you ask me, especially considering that she was born a couple of weeks ago. 

Anyways to make things clear, I wasn't stuttering when I came up with the above title. It's just that I had one of my rare brain waves about putting up a small and incomplete list of City Pop tunes that basically spell out the city. Y'know...it is a city so why not sing about that city?

 (New York City) Junko Yagami -- Purpletown (パープルタウン）You Oughta Know By Now (1980)

(New York City [though I like to think Tokyo]) Minako Yoshida -- TOWN (1982)

(Yokohama/Kobe/Nagasaki) Yasuha -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン) (1981)

(Osaka) Masaki Ueda -- Osaka Bay Blues (1982)

(Tokyo) Masayuki Suzuki & Momoko Kikuchi -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）(1994)

(Nagasaki) Masashi Sada -- Nagasaki-City Serenade （長崎小夜曲）(1982)

Yasuha -- Go-gatsu ni Naru made（5月になるまで）

 

We're already on April 30th as of this writing, and the tax filing deadline is here in Canada. Also on the COVID front locally...well, nope...not great numbers with over 3800 new cases today but the vaccinations are still plowing ahead and the government is beginning to consider possible re-openings, rightly or wrongly. Just to remind folks, I did get my first shot of Astra-Zeneca almost a couple of weeks ago and aside from some achiness in the first couple of days, I've been OK.

I've been saving this one up for publishing today since it's titled "Go-gatsu ni Naru made" (By May) and we are indeed hitting May 1st in less than 24 hours. Singer-songwriter Yasuha（泰葉）is behind this one but this time around, it's not a City Pop tune like her most famous creation, "Fly-Day Chinatown" (フライディ・チャイナタウン) from 1981. In fact, this is a very bouncy pop number composed by her, written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and arranged by Akira Inoue（井上鑑）for her March 1983 4th album, "Reserved". 

Possibly, Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride" may have gotten into the ears and brains of many a Japanese pop composer, and the underlying rhythm by Yasuha has that resemblance to Wilder's magnum opus. However, "Break My Stride" wasn't released until August 1983 so there goes that theory although I think Pazz's "Minority" may be one of those songs. In any case, that happy keyboard bouncing also reminds me of the theme from "Thomas The Tank Engine".

Ms.OOJA -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン)

 

I'm uncertain about what the status of City Pop is around the world since "Plastic Love" exploded all over YouTube a few years ago. However, I can speculate that three groups have evolved: 1) those that have gotten off the bandwagon and moved on, 2) those whose ardor for the genre has gone down to simmer; they enjoy their favourites but can say that they are no longer breathlessly searching online for that next big City Pop discovery (that's been me with jazz nowadays), and 3) the true believers who are still in love with the genre (I guess that would be me, too).

Of course, the big City Pop songs are still there as pillars, and on the female side of things, there is naturally "Plastic Love" by Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）, "Tasogare no Bay City" （黄昏のBAY CITY） by Junko Yagami（八神純子）and then there is Yasuha's（泰葉）"Fly-Day Chinatown". All three get the blood coursing through the veins and although I have yet to attend my first City Pop dance party, I figure that folks might actually get on the dance floor at that event. No, no...not me, I will be merely observing. At my age, I am more prone to breaking hip instead of shaking it.😨

It's not too often that I do separate articles on cover versions of songs already discussed on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but I felt that I had to give this one justice. In this case, Yasuha's "Fly-Day Chinatown" has been given a marvelous cover by R&B singer Ms.OOJA through her album of covers, "Nagashi no OOJA ~ Vintage Song Covers" （流しのOOJA ～VINTAGE SONG COVERS～）released in late August. The album peaked at No. 31 on Oricon.

Ms.OOJA's "Fly-Day Chinatown" starts the album off, and has more of a elegant 21st-century clubbing sort of feeling. The horns and wailing guitar aren't there but they've been replaced by some thrumming keyboards, while Ms.OOJA adds a layer of silkiness to her delivery. 

Have a gander at this summary of the entire album. You may be interested in Ms.OOJA's takes on the old Showa Era kayo. Also, I wrote my first article on the singer all the way back in early 2017 with "Baby Don't Know Why".

Yasuha -- Koi 1/2（恋 1/2）

Well, being Friday night and having 45 minutes left before November 2nd comes around, I feel like that I have to get in one City Pop tune, and the following person is just the tonic.

This is Yasuha（泰葉）with the first track from her debut album "Transit" released in November 1981. Launching things off here is "Koi 1/2" (Love 1/2), a good old strut of a tune bringing all sorts of good feelings in the big city. Sounding like a mix between classic City Pop and 1970s soul lifted from an ABC sitcom, Yasuha's melodic creation is pretty far away in tone from the rambunctious "Fly-Day Chinatown" (フライディ・チャイナタウン), her most famous song. As with that one, Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）also provided the lyrics to "Koi 1/2", but in terms of the music, this one is for sunny daytime as opposed to the fun nighttime chaos of "Fly-Day Chinatown".

I swear, though, with those high and bright vocals of Yasuha, she could have played the title character in the Japanese version of "Annie Get Your Gun".

Yasuha -- Koi wa Memory（恋はメモリー）

Merry Christmas, everyone! Depending on where you are and whether you celebrate the holiday, I hope that some of you are digesting your poultry without any ill effects. My family has just gotten its turkey into the oven and we're praying that within a few hours, we will get that golden brown and succulent bird...well, I will settle for a golden brown one anyways.

Folks, this article is on another song which reiterates my line on not wholly depending on a singer's BEST compilation to get all of the gems in that singer's career. I was fortunate enough to obtain Yasuha's（泰葉）"Golden Best" collection sometime ago, but it didn't include this little jewel from her 2nd album "ViVid" from April 1982.

"Koi wa Memory" (Love is a Memory) is a pretty infectiously bouncy number which starts off with some punchy horns followed by a happy City Pop beat and Yasuha's light and chipper vocals. It's even open and generous enough to include some technpoppy synth in the middle and jazz at the end, but in the end, it's all about a trippy and joyful musical strut through Shinjuku. If I'm not mistaken, Yasuha came up with the melody while Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）took care of the lyrics.

Yasuha -- Blue Night Blue（ブルーナイト・ブルー）

Earlier this afternoon, I received a message from the contact form from someone who has gotten into 70s and 80s Japanese music and wanted to know a little about this song by singer-songwriter Yasuha（泰葉）. Yasuha is probably most famously known for the gangbusters dynamic "Fly-Day Chinatown" (yeah, I know...ROUND ONE!).

Well, I was quite happy to get the request since it had been a while since I came out with a Yasuha tune. And y'know, it's always nice to hear an 80s Japanese City Pop number with the thumping bass and growling guitar and all those quick key shifts.

The song of note here is Yasuha's 2nd single from March 1982, "Blue Night Blue" which was written by veteran lyricist Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and composed by the singer herself. It is a let's-paint-the-town-red sort of number for enjoying the bright lights and big city of Tokyo, and considering the times when this was released, there were probably oodles to enjoy. There was also a request on what Araki's lyrics all meant, and basically it comes down to a young and beautiful couple having a "You, me and the stars" moment while having a night on the town. I'm thinking cocktails at 8 up in a hotel rooftop bar in Shinjuku. Perhaps it's my imagination but I think Yasuha may have even placed a little echo of "Fly-Day Chinatown" in the song, too.

"Blue Night Blue" was also a track on Yasuha's 2nd album "ViVid" which came out a month after the single. I think the original albums by her might be pretty hard to come by, but the song is also available on her "GOLDEN BEST" album from 2006. Anyways, if you are so inclined, you can play this and "Fly-Day Chinatown" in your car stereo while enjoying a night drive in whichever city you live in.

The Works of Toyohisa Araki （荒木とよひさ）

According to Oricon via J-Wiki, the top five lyricists in terms of singles sold are Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）, Yu Aku（阿久悠）, Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆...the rankings are in his article）, Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）and Tsunku（つんく♂）as of December 2015. I've got a feeling that since then Akimoto has further left Aku and Matsumoto in the dust considering all those songs that he's created for his alphabet girl groups, and he was already in the hundreds of millions.

Lyricist Toyohisa Araki is not within that august group and I don't know where he ranks but considering the breadth of who he has provided words for over the past few decades, he can't be that far behind. I decided to write a Creator article about him one night when I took a look at his file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and noticed the wide variety of singers that he has collaborated with.

Araki was born in what is now Dalian, China in 1943. He attended the Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo where he was also a member of the ski club. Starting out as a writer, he broke his leg one time while skiing and ended up in a hospital. In gratitude to the nurses who helped him, Araki came up with a tune about a Niigata Prefecture onsen. The popularity of the song then started to spread around although the author behind it had remained unknown at the time until Araki finally admitted his participation.

That song turned out to be "Shiki no Uta"（四季の歌...Song of the Four Seasons）which was officially released as a single in February 1972 by Yumi Inui（いぬいゆみ）. Listening to this original version, I wasn't quite sure whether it wanted to be a gentle folk tune or something with a bit of urban pizzazz. Not sure how it did on Oricon but the fact that it didn't seem to make a huge splash was perhaps not that surprising.

However, "Shiki no Uta" has been heavily covered over the years by folks such as Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）, Chieko Baisho（倍賞千恵子）and the Dark Ducks（ダーク・ダックス）, but the most successful cover was by singer Yoko Seri（芹洋子）as a 1976 single. Her version broke the Top 10 by hitting No. 8 and it even became a million-seller. Seri's take was a uniformly innocent pop ballad which most likely was more pleasant on listeners.

Since then, Araki has provided lyrics for many singers. In fact, the reason that I finally pulled the trigger to devote an article for him was re-discovering that he had written the City Pop classic "Fly-Day Chinatown"（フライディ・チャイナタウン）for singer and composer Yasuha（泰葉）in 1981. I've also discovered recently that "Fly-Day Chinatown" has also become another favourite one for all those Japanese Future Funk/Vaporwave enthusiasts (Round One, indeed).

He's also provided some pretty refined material for aidoru such as Yoshie Kashiwabara（柏原芳恵）. The song here is the classy "Machikutabirete Yokohama"（待ちくたびれてヨコハマ）from 1985.

I think, though, Araki has tended to hover in the enka/Mood Kayo field. He wrote a number of songs for the late Teresa Teng（テレサテン）including one of my favourites by her, "Tsugunai"（つぐない）. For me, it was one of the great examples of what I've called European enka.

The above songs have all been covered in the blog but I also found some new entries. "Nageki no Melody"（嘆きのメロディー...Melody of Grief） was sung by Yujiro Ishihara as a 1984 release. Takashi Miki（三木たかし）, a frequent songwriting partner for Araki, came up with the melody so Mood Kayo that the record probably smelled of cigarette smoke and scotch as soon as it was taken out of the sleeve.

In 1990, Araki wrote the lyrics for this contemporary ballad sung by Yuiko Tsubokura（坪倉唯子）titled "Koufuku Game"（幸福ゲーム...The Happiness Game） as her 3rd single. Hiroshi Terao（寺尾広）composed the ballad which was used as the theme song for the TV Asahi drama "Utsukushii Uso Tsukemasuka"（美しい嘘つけますか...Can You Make A Beautiful Lie?）. Love lost and gained seems to be a favourite topic especially for Araki and surrounded by a classy melody.

Another example of that theory also popped up in 1990 through Yoko Minamino's（南野陽子）"Double Game"（ダブルゲーム）which was also another collaboration between Araki and Miki. This was Nanno's 17th single from June 1990 and it peaked at No. 3.

Now, the last couple of Creator articles that I've written for the blog have been on songwriters who unfortunately left this mortal coil recently. Happily, though, it seems like Araki is still quite happy and kicking. Although it's not listed on his own J-Wiki entry, Araki, who is also a bassist, came up with his own release in 2015 titled "Sha Ba Da Ba Da"（シャバダバダ）, a jolly song of party-hearty with the video showing the man himself enjoying the good things in life. I can only hope to be that lucky at his current age of 73. I just hope to be alive at 73.

As I said, Araki has written for a wide group of singers since 1972 so you can take a look at the rest of his works listed under his name in the Labels.

Yasuha -- Mizuiro no One-Piece （水色のワンピース）

Another one of my purchases this time around from CD Japan was "Golden Best - Yasuha"（GOLDEN☆BEST 泰葉）which was a bargain at only 953 yen before taxes! But it wasn't just a bargain financially speaking. Having only known singer-songwriter Yasuha for her only hit, "Fly-Day Chinatown"（フライディ・チャイナタウン）from 1981, I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of her tracks were pretty solid songs which didn't just stay in the realm of City Pop which is where "Fly-Day Chinatown" resides.

I had said in the article for that song that Yasuha Ebina（海老名泰葉）reminded me of some of the more powerfully-voiced kayo songstresses such as Junko Yagami（八神純子）and Junko　Ohashi（大橋純子）. But when I went through the album last night, I discovered that Yasuha could also take on a tone similar to a few other singers.

One of those singers is Mieko Nishijima（西島三重子）, and for those readers who have tried listening to her material either through YouTube or this blog, Nishijima has straddled the line between gentle folk and AOR. Yasuha does the same with her 3rd single from August 1982, "Mizuiro no One-Piece" (Aqua-Coloured One-Piece Dress).

As with "Fly-Day Chinatown", Yasuha took care of the music while Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）provided the lyrics. However, instead of a fun night down in Chinatown, Yasuha's music is very wistful and sweet here while Araki's words plumb the singer's own experiences of heartbreak. Vocally as well, Yasuha also seems to approach the delivery of future pop singer Mariko Nagai（永井真里子）during the refrain.

But there is more to explore with the discography of Yasuha and so I will most likely whip up a BEST article for the singer soon.

Yasuha -- Fly-Day Chinatown (フライディ・チャイナタウン)

No, I didn't goof up on the title up there. It is indeed "Fly-Day Chinatown" and not "Friday Chinatown" according to the write-up on J-Wiki. I gather that singer-songwriter Yasuha（泰葉）wanted to further illustrate the excitement of a night in Chinatown through the title although I think Friday nights in Chinatown can be quite jaunty.

This was another discovery on YouTube and I was automatically drawn in by the booming disco melody by Yasuha Ebina（海老名泰葉）and the interesting horns which start things off. Plus, I also like Yasuha's vocals which are in the same vein as Junko Yagami（八神純子）and Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）. With the setting being Chinatown, my brain couldn't help but pull out some of my times in good ol' Yokohama. Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）provided the lyrics.

"Fly-Day Chinatown" was Yasuha's debut single from September 1981 which managed to peak at No. 69 on Oricon and was also a track on her debut album, "Transit" which was released a couple of months later. The singer is a Tokyo native and the daughter of a rakugo storyteller and an essayist. Apparently, she has also been a tarento although my memory is a bit fuzzy on whether I actually saw her on TV or whether it was another television personality by the name of Otoha（乙葉）.

Including "Transit", she has released 10 singles up to 2009 and 7 studio albums.

This was actually a Friday and the photo seems
good for City Pop!

September 27th 2020: Ms.OOJA has provided a nice cover of "Fly-Day Chinatown".