Hideko Hara -- Mufuu Toshi（無風都市）

 

Erghh...trying to get accustomed to the positioning of a new laptop. Yep, I've moved things from the desktop, where I was for about a couple of years, to a new setup with my latest acquisition. I guess I'm a little ultra-sensitive when it comes to things like how my fingers hit the keyboard.

Anyways, I'm running a little later than usual but I am going ahead with the usual Friday Urban Contemporary list of songs. Up first is the B-side to Hideko Hara's（原日出子）"Aoi Rhapsody"（青いラプソディー）from 1982 which I wrote about almost exactly a year previously. This is "Mufuu Toshi" (Windless City), a slightly less breezy (as the title would indicate) and more melancholy summer's-end song by the same folks behind "Aoi Rhapsody": lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranger Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with Off-Course's（オフコース）Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）helping out with the chorus. The overall arrangement of both sides makes it feel even more like the two sides were meant to be part of a whole.

Still gonna need that old desktop since all of my bookmarked videos for posting are there and not here.

Hideko Hara -- Aoi Rhapsody（青いラプソディー）

 

Hard to believe, but it's been almost eight years since I posted a song by actress Hideko Hara（原日出子）titled "Yakusoku"（約束）from 1981. As I mentioned in that article, I'd thought that we would be getting a City Pop tune from the first few bars, but it actually turned into a regular pop tune...not that I have anything against it for that reason.

"Yakusoku" was Hara's 2nd single of her brief music career. The follow-up and her final single was "Aoi Rhapsody" (Blue Rhapsody), and this time, the needle pulled further away from regular pop into City Pop. As was the case with that 2nd single, Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）was the lyricist and Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）was the composer but the arranger this time was Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. The result was something breezier and more summery.

As well, the chorus is given more oomph thanks to Yasuhiro Suzuki's（鈴木康博）participation in the backup vocals. It's almost eerie how Suzuki's tones just about bring his entire band of Off-Course（オフコース）into the proceedings. The vocal blasts by the man are a bit jarring, though.

H2O -- Kaze no Romance（風のロマンス）

 

My previous article on the obscure song "Shonan Afternoon"（湘南アフタヌーン）by Maria Minami（南マリア）talked about its summery nature while its arrangement sounded like something from the 1950s or 1960s.

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything by the pop duo H2O (the last time was back in 2021 for their "Tsugi no Magarikado"（次のまがり角）) , and their 7th single "Kaze no Romance" (Windy Romance) from June 1984 is also a rather summery number. But this time, the arrangement by Katsu Hoshi（星勝）, who was probably helping out full-time with Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）songs at this point, and the original melody by Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）from the band Off-Course（オフコース）wasn't going for the nostalgic line, instead pursuing the contemporary H2O vibe of light and shimmery pop.

Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）, the future Svengali behind Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）and then AKB48, provided the lyrics for "Kaze no Romance", an H2O tune that this time doesn't have anything to do with an anime and nor does it sound like a minor-key ballad. It's all very sunny and convertible ride-worthy. The song would also find itself on the duo's fourth and final album "Next Corner", released in February 1985.

Akira Terao & Yasuo Tanabe -- Juu-roku no Natsu（16の夏）

 

I've got to admit that this quite a find and my thanks to YouTuber lovely record for posting this song onto the platform, and hopefully the channel won't mind too much about me going ahead and talking about it so soon following its posting a week ago.

Both Akira Terao（寺尾聰）and Yasuo Tanabe（田辺靖雄）are known to me. Of course, Terao started out in the Group Sounds craze in the 1960s but then in the early 1980s, he became an unexpected music superstar in the middle of his acting career when he hit pay dirt with City Pop fare such as "Shadow City". On the other hand, though Tanabe also began singing in the 1960s, he was more in the Mood Kayo realm with songs such as "Lullaby Tokyo"（ララバイ東京）. 

Little did I realize or expect, however, that both Terao and Tanabe would get together in the mid-1970s to do a doo-wop duet called "Juu-roku no Natsu" (Summer at 16). It seems to have been a collaboration out of the blue although I admit that I don't know how close their relationship; maybe they have been good buddies all this time. In any event, August 1977 (the release date of the single) isn't exactly a time period where I would think about all that American 1950s leather jacket-and-bobbysoxer culture in Tokyo. Perhaps it was still a couple of years away. However, Terao and Tanabe were behind words, music and mikes with this nostalgic tune that could have had folks like Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）and Fonzie nodding in inspiration. And the bonus is that folk band Off-Course（オフコース）was also part of the plan as backup chorus. In fact, Off-Course guitarist Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）and Godiego's（ゴダイゴ）Mickie Yoshino（ミッキー吉野）were behind the arrangement. I can taste the tall strawberry malted milkshake right now.

Yui Murase -- Yasashii Kankei（優しい関係）

 

I may have mentioned this before but I think Yui Murase（村瀬由衣）is one of those unsung singers who never really got the attention that she deserved. Perhaps her music wasn't groundbreaking in the annals of pop but she's always struck me as someone who has some fine vocals and pleasant melodies given to her.

Her "Yasashii Kankei" (Nice Relationship) from her 1993 album "Nemuru Kioku"（眠る記憶...Sleeping Memories） is a nice little synthesizer shuffle about a couple of ex-lovers who meet again after some time and realize that a good friendship is more their actual tempo. Murase's breathy vocals and the slightly jazzy arrangement make this a very breezy Sunday experience. Yumi Yoshimoto（吉元由美）, who had worked with Anri（杏里）and Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）, was the lyricist while ex-Off-Course（オフコース）member Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）was the composer. In a way, this could have made for an ideal theme song for a romantic comedy on TV.

At this point, I only have Murase's 1992 debut album "Suiyoubi no Asa, Mado wo Akeru"（水曜の朝、窓を開ける）that I ordered through "Eye-Ai" back in the 1990s but I can always do with a fill-up provided that her other albums are still available for reasonable purchase.

Off-Course/Yasuhiro Suzuki -- Yoru wa Futari de（夜はふたりで）

My impression of an Off-Course（オフコース）ballad was that it frequently dealt with a romantic breakup or the aftermath of one. Beautiful music, to be sure, but not particularly happy circumstances.

But happily, expectations can be turned around once in a while. Case in point: the B-side to the band's 21st single from June 1981, "Yoru wa Futari de" (Night for Two). Not only is it a melodically happy song with a driving-happy chorus put up alongside moments-of-uncertainty verses, the lyrics by Off-Course guitarist Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）and Mitsuhiro Ambe（あんべ光俊）depict a happy couple in bed with one reassuring the other that everything is fine and dandy...no problems.

Suzuki also came up with the melody and though "Yoru wa Futari de" had apparently never been included in an original Off-Course album, the guitarist recorded a self-cover for his October 1996 album "BeSide". The above video was from a 2008 live concert.

Yasuhiro Suzuki -- Suteki ni Cinderella Complex （素敵にシンデレラ・コンプレックス）

Another pleasant discovery. A few years ago, I wrote about the first Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）song that I had on any media in my household, "Suteki ni Cinderella Complex" (Wonderful Cinderella Complex). It was on a compilation tape of Japanese music that I had purchased at Wah Yueh back in university, and even earlier, I had seen Go himself perform it on the 1983 Kohaku Utagassen. Go sang it like a dramatic disco tango as he took over the Shibuya NHK stage like the world's biggest Latin Lover.

The legendary lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）and Off-Course（オフコース）member Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）collaborated to create yet another hit for Go. What I didn't realize that Suzuki himself did his own cover of "Suteki ni Cinderella Complex" the following year in 1984 as the B-side to his 4th single, "STARLIGHT SERENADE" when it came out in November.

Suzuki's version is quite different with more of a City Pop vibe, especially one felt while driving down a highway to the nearest resort. The drama is still intact but instead of the action happening at a night club downtown, the setting might be more apropos to a beachside inn. In any case, it's a refreshing cover of the old Go hit.

Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Yume Juuwa （夢十話）

There was once a fellow back in Japanese Language School 40 years ago or so, and my brother and I remarked to each other that he had the saddest puppy-dog eyes that if he even glanced at us, we probably would have offered to help with virtually anything. That's quite the superpower.

I think the same can be said for pop singer Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）. She's got the same sort of eyes and her high whispery vocals could more than likely have me offering to carry her bags...even if she weren't carrying any, in which case I would have scrounged around for some and then carry those.

One of the two audiotapes of Hiroko's that I bought at Wah Yueh back in university was her 2nd album, "Yume Juuwa" (10 Dreams). Released in August 1985, it was also the 2nd in her first 4 releases which went with a 3-kanji title, the first being "Kokinshuu"（古今集）in 1984, her 3rd album, "Hanazukan"（花図鑑）in 1986, and her 4th, "Hoshi Kikou"（星紀行）in 1987.

I just recorded my old audiotape onto a CD-R so age has brought a certain tinniness to the process, but it was still good to hear. My impression is that although "Yume Juuwa" doesn't have any particularly timeless tracks, whenever I have listened to it, I have been given a pretty pleasant ride. A number of famous songwriters lent their good hands to the 10 songs (referred to as "dreams"), including the prolific team of Takashi Matsumoto and Kyohei Tsutsumi（松本隆・筒美京平）for the opening dream, "Ten ni Hoshi, Chi ni Hana"（天に星、地に花...Stars to Heaven, Flowers to Earth）. It's a smooth ballad that gives a hint of European and folk while the lyrics are basically a man's poetic description of how he thinks of the woman he is courting. When the first line goes, "Stars to heaven, flowers to earth, and love to you...", I can only imagine either the target of his affections will happily fly into his arms or gleefully collapse into a pile of giggles.

"Ten ni Hoshi, Chi ni Hana" was also Yakushimaru's 6th single from September 1985 with the B-side being "Anata wo Motto Shiritakute"（あなたを・もっと・知りたくて...I Want to Know More About You）. Strangely enough, her 5th single from a couple of months earlier consisted of the same two songs switched around.

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/yumejuwa/id803373824

(excerpts from the entire album)

Track 3 is "Tsumetakusaretai"（冷たくされたい...I Want You To Treat Me Coldly）, written and composed by Masao Urino and Tetsuji Hayashi（売野雅勇・林哲司）. It has that appealingly urban and mellow melody that Hayashi can weave in his sleep but that "wah-wah" intro bothers me for some reason. Urino's lyrics has that somewhat complicated situation in which that young lady in question would prefer to have that man who has suddenly fallen for her not be so nice to her though she has quietly also fallen for the guy as well.

The final track on Side A is "Sennen no Kodoku"（千年の孤独...A Thousand Years of Loneliness） by the same duo of Urino and Hayashi, and it's my favourite song on the album. The underlying rhythm track reminds me somewhat of a more famous nighttime song, "Lonely Chaplin" by the Suzuki siblings (Masayuki and Kiyomi), and despite the smooth sounds, Yakushimaru sings about some of the rough n' tumble young punks and their lonely journeys through life and love.

It's possible that Yakushimaru has sung tunes with totally English lyrics since this song, but I have yet to come across one. "Welcome Back To My Heart" is a track that I first encountered as a jingle accompanying a commercial starring the actress/singer. To be honest, it's a bit hard to cut through her Berlitz English which was provided by Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）, but the adorable music by Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）had me thinking this could have made for a nice accompaniment for those Nyan-Cat videos a few years ago.

My final song for this entry is "Aru Hi Inshouha"（ある日印象派...Impressionists One Day） which was written by that late lyrical master, Yu Aku（阿久悠）, and composed by Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）. I'm not sure about whether this song has anything to do with that particular way of painting, but it certainly seems that Yakushimaru is creating her own picture of bittersweet memories of a lost love.

"Yume Juuwa" peaked at No. 2 on Oricon. Though the title and tracks refer to dreams, I think the theme of the album has more to do with the joys and tribulations of love given that extra spoonful of sugar by Yakushimaru's vocals to help the medicine go down. The musical arrangement also pushes a bit into some of the easygoing genres such as City Pop and J-AOR, but the album as a whole is solidly in the pop realm. 

Off Course -- Ronde/Omoide wo Nusunde （ロンド・思い出を盗んで）

"Ronde" and "Omoide wo Nusunde" (Stealing Memories) make up Off Course's 12th single, released in November 1977. Of the two, I know the latter B-side song better so I will start off with that. The reason I do is that about 20 years ago, I placed this song in a homemade compilation tape of J-Xmas tunes, although finally going through Kazumasa Oda's（小田和正） lyrics revealed that it's really not too much in the Xmas spirit. Actually, it's about someone lamenting the end of a romance due to one final argument or a case of loose lips. Still, the trials and tribulations of love were an Off Course staple, especially in the 70s.

I guess I put it into my mix tape since the melody actually sounded rather Christmas-y and I taped it from an Off Course （オフコース）compilation CD, "Off Course Winter Collection -- White Lyrics". "Omoide wo Nusunde" was also a track on the band's 5th album, "Junktion" which came out in September 1977. It peaked at No. 21 on the Oricon album chart.

(cover version)

"Ronde" was written, composed and performed by Off Course member Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博） and is a bit of a musical guilt trip about the distance that grows between Mom and child as the years go by. It's a lovely song, especially with that bluesy saxophone, and it was used as the theme song for a NTV drama in late 1977 titled "Himawari no Ie"（ひまわりの家...Sunflower House）about a mother who has to run a confectionary shop alone after her husband mysteriously disappeared 7 years previously.

Now that 36 years have passed by, it's surprising that this single didn't do too well, only going as high as No. 89 on Oricon. But according to J-Wiki, Suzuki hadn't been too confident in "Ronde" from the outset stating that he felt that he had gotten asked to write something at the age of 29 that perhaps someone in his 40s or 50s would only realize. He even went as far to say that his creation really didn't fit into the direction that Off Course was veering into and that it was a tune that just got left on the side of the road. Ouch! Still, he also stated that he loved the song.

Suzuki also covered "Ronde" twice on his albums "BeSide" (1996) and "Forward" (2004).

Hiromi Go -- Suteki ni Cinderella Complex （素敵にシンデレラ・コンプレックス）

Hiromi Go's（郷ひろみ） Kohaku performance of his 47th single, "Suteki ni Cinderella Complex" (Wonderful Cinderella Complex) on New Year's Eve was the first time I came across it. Compared to his performance of the ballad, "Aishu no Casablanca"（哀愁のカサブランカ） at the previous festivities, Go was back in lively dandy mode as he made his way down the grand stairs on the NHK stage with a ton of ladies bracketing him, of course.

Released in May 1983, the single was written by Yu Aku（阿久悠） and composed by Off Course member Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）. Heartthrob Go made for a perfect choice to sing "Suteki ni Cinderella Complex" as he declares his love for women and the love of the pursuit of them. As he sings "Without a Don Juan, there is no Cinderella", I could probably see him rubbing his hands with glee, although there may be a philosophical debate on whether that statement would be true or not.

In any case, Suzuki's melody is pretty interesting. The refrain is bold and joyous but there is a seam of sinister intent seemingly undercutting across the whole song. In a way, it might be musically describing a charming Latin Lover on the outside while on the inside, he's already lining up his next 5 conquests.

I also managed to get a copy of the song itself via one of those compilation tapes I bought in Chinatown. It managed to peak at No. 9 on the Oricon weeklies and became the 65th-ranked song for 1983.

PS: Suzuki made his own cover of "Cinderella" and the article is here.

Off Course -- Ikutsu Mono Hoshi no Shita de （いくつもの星の下で）

"Ikutsu Mono Hoshi no Shita de"(Under the Stars) was never released as a single but was the final track on Side A of Off Course's 8th album, "We Are", released in November 1980 (it did hit the No. 1 spot). Instead of Kazumasa Oda(小田和正）, this was guitarist/vocal Yasuhiro Suzuki's（鈴木康博）baby in terms of lyrics, melody and singing. I first heard it as one of the featured songs on one broadcast of "The Sounds of Japan" in 1982, and then I later got it on CD when it was a track on one of the band's many compilation discs.

Suzuki's voice isn't quite as strong as Oda's...at least for this song, but I think it works to his advantage. He basically writes what I assume to be a kokuhaku （告白）tune....a song of a confession of love. I could imagine some young nervous guy in his yukata at a summer festival taking the girl he fancies to a quiet bench and pouring his heart to her. Suzuki's slightly quavery vocals evokes that boy's life moment. The melody is soft and romantic throughout, except for the electric guitar solo which I could assume is the joy both parties felt when he finally let his feelings come out.

(cover version)

 "Ikutsu Mono Hoshi no Shita de" is definitely one song I would recommend to any kayo kyoku fan who may know just the biggest hits from Off Course. Strangely enough, Suzuki had struggled mightily to create the song, wondering if it would be any good. But he needn't have worried....one fine compliment from one of the band members let him off the hook.

Suzuki had been with Oda and Off Course from the very beginning, but at the end of their first run at Tokyo's Budokan in 1982, he decided it was time for him to leave and pursue a solo career.