El DeBarge -- El DeBarge

From Discogs

Welcome to another Thursday Reminiscings of Youth session where I take a look at some of those English-language songs or albums that impressed upon my own ears, soul and mind when I was but a wee lad...namely back in the 1970s and 1980s.

I also sometimes touch upon movies from way back then and this time, it's "Short Circuit" from 1985. I had forgotten the fact that it starred Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg, two thespians who I would send out a "Where are they now?" alert. To be frank, I never got around to seeing the movie although the cute robot Johnny Five was all the craze in that summer along with the phrase "No. 5's alive!".

And this is where this week's ROY target comes in. It's El DeBarge's first solo album "El DeBarge" from May 1986 and three songs from that release are known to me and not surprisingly, all three were released as singles throughout that year. Arguably, the most well-known of them is "Who's Johnny?" which was made into the theme song for "Short Circuit". This was basically my only connection with the movie and I'd say it's the poppiest song that I've ever heard by El...right down to the childish way he sings out the title from time to time. It could even have made for the coolest theme song to a Saturday-morning cartoon. But this was something I was hearing on heavy rotation on the radio. It made it to No. 3 on America's Billboard. Peter and Ina Wolf were responsible for the songwriting.

 

Meanwhile, the dream team of Burt Bacharach, Bruce Roberts and Carole Bayer-Sager took care of "Love Always", and this one and the next song are the tracks that have held better sway over me since this is El in his element: R&B and soul. As much as I have loved the full family's "All This Love" from several years before, "Love Always" is another wonderful ballad by the solo DeBarge that has lived rent-free in my head all these decades. Maybe part of the reason is that it's been compared to the music that Michael McDonald has covered according to the album writeup on Wikipedia, and I'm a huge McDonald fan.

In the same paragraph, "Someone", a splendid mid-tempo track that hovers between "Who's Johnny?" and "Love Always", has also been compared to the works of Stevie Wonder. Created by Jay Graydon, Mark Mueller and Robbie Nevil, this is a song that I also heard regularly on the Toronto radio stations and once I got weaned off of radio after graduating from university, I lost contact with it while forgetting the title and maybe even the singer. I'd figured that it was El behind it but without the title and the fact that life was interrupting me for several decades, I could never confirm it. Well, doing the research on the album for ROY, I finally found it again and it still sounds as wonderfully 80s soulful now as it did back then. Another check off my list. "Someone" got somewhere in the Top 20s on Billboard.

"El DeBarge" did OK by peaking at No. 24 on Billboard. It did even better on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart by coming in at No. 8. So then, what Japanese singles were being released in the merry month of May 1986?

REBECCA -- Raspberry Dream

Miki Imai -- Tasogare no Monologue （黄昏のモノローグ）

Yuki Saito -- Doyoubi no Tamanegi （土曜日のタマネギ）

Yuki Saito -- ONE

 

In comes March...not like a lion; more like a polar bear. Yes, it's still rather Arctic-looking outside my window but we still have three more weeks of official winter to get through.

Outside of her inclusion in ROY articles and any Author's Picks, Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）hasn't shown up on KKP for almost a couple of years, so it's nice to begin this third month of 2026 with one of her tunes. And this time, it's a pretty ethereal one. "ONE" launches her 4th studio album "Fuumu"（風夢...Wind Dream） from April 1987.

Sounding like something that should be listened to after having lit up a particularly pungent cone of incense, Saito's voice suits the high-falutin' English lyrics by BANDIT and the near-mystical melody of Kenjiro Sakiya（崎谷健次郎）. She sings about two becoming one in a paradise-like setting. I'm just surprised that no religious figures were mentioned here. 

Another track that was on the album was "MAY" but I'd like to clarify my statements there by saying that "MAY" was actually on the CD version of the album, and not on the original LP, according to the J-Wiki article regarding the album. My apologies on any confusion.

The Year of the Horse

From Alexandra Sigrit2323
via Wikimedia Commons

Y'know...I should have posted this one up right on New Year's Day almost a month ago, but then again, I was rather busy with family stuff on January 1st. But I digress. This year is once again the Year of the Horse; people who were born in that year are supposedly responsible, confident and agreeable.

As such, I'm not sure whether I can find any kayo kyoku that are responsible, confident and agreeable, but at least I can find some songs that have some sort of relationship to horses.

(1970) Salty Sugar -- Hashire Koutarou（走れコウタロー）

(1980) Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Rydeen (雷電）

(1988) Yuki Saito & Takao Kisugi -- ORACION - Inori （ORACION -祈り-）

(1996) Koji Tamaki -- Den'en （田園）

I realize that this last one may not have anything directly to do with horses, but dang it, the rhythms here just remind me so much of taking a running ride on a steed through the countryside!

DeBarge -- Rhythm of the Night

Soundcloud

Can't quite believe that this song is over forty years old now. Recently, commenter Brian Mitchell remarked that he would be taking a look at the DeBarge file here on KKP, and I realized that it's been a good while since I posted a ROY tune regarding this talented musical family from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In fact, I think the last time I did, it was nearly three years ago and it was for the cool-as-ice "You Wear It Well" from October 1985.

DeBarge could do the upbeat as well as the amazing balladry and even earlier that year from February, the group had another catchy happy-go-lucky hit in the form of "Rhythm of the Night". Yes, I remember seeing the music video with El and the rest of the family almost weekly on the video shows, and dang, that was the most choreographically-talented block party I've ever seen. Diane Warren was the songwriter here and "Rhythm of the Night" is just one of those symbolic 80s songs that makes me swoon and sigh for a decade that I had once inhabited. I also notice that there are a few musicians involved in the song that have had associations with Japanese artists and their works such as guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. and percussionist Paulinho da Costa.

"Rhythm of the Night" peaked at No. 3 in both Canada and the United States. I also have to remember that it was also part of the soundtrack of "The Last Dragon".

So, what was coming out as singles in February 1985? We've got three right here.

Yuki Saito -- Sotsugyo (卒業）

Teresa Teng -- Aijin （愛人）

Momoko Kikuchi -- Sotsugyo （卒業）

The Works of Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）

 

Once again, we've reached Hump Day or the doldrums of a weekly Wednesday, so as such, I wanted to something a little different. I haven't done a Creator article since "The Works of Ayumi Date"（伊達歩）back last November, so I decided to go with that today. And today's Creator contribution will be on the works of singer-songwriter Koji Tamaki. 

Of course, everyone has known him for decades as the vocalist of successful pop-rock group Anzen Chitai（安全地帯） and as a wonderful solo singer who has the ability to make granite weep. However, he has also provided many songs for other singers over the years as well. His band had developed a certain recognizable sound in their music in the early days but I've found that Tamaki the composer was more wide-ranging in the melodies that he has concocted for others.

(1983) Mariko Takahashi -- Gokai（誤解）

The second track from Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）"Garland" album, "Gokai" (Misunderstandings) wasn't a song that was a hit with me initially. I was still in my early phases of appreciating music from all over, and this mix of playfully sultry pop strut and light reggae was perhaps a little much for me at the time, but fortunately, time and experience have proven fruitful. I could easily imagine Tamaki handling this solo but he can still be heard backing Takahashi.

(1984) Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

To be honest, if you had told me in the old days that Tamaki had been responsible in creating the melody for one of Akina's（中森明菜）biggest early hits, I would have just scoffed. Perhaps it was due to the arrangement and of course the singer's then-high vocals, but it sounded like a typically dramatic aidoru tune and nothing related at all to Anzen Chitai. However, I've learned that being able to go beyond the sound that a singer has been recognized for and provide something that fits the other singer's style is an asset.

(1986) Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

I would have said the same thing that I did for the above Akina tune for one of Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）most famous songs, "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa", and it also happens to be one of the most famous anison for one of the more beloved anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）. Mind you, the first few measures of the song has reminded me a bit of the old Anzen Chitai sound but the rest of it is pure breezy melodic optimism.

(1985) Seri Ishikawa -- Ai no Bunryo（愛の分量）

The technopop aside, there is something rather Tamaki-esque in the melody for Seri Ishikawa's（石川セリ）"Ai no Bunryo" (Amount of Love). In some of those Anzen Chitai songs and Tamaki's own solo discography, there have been signs of secrecy or sneakiness, and in fact, Tamaki's own countenance has had those certain saturnine qualities. I think "Ai no Bunryo" has a dollop of that as well as some of that racing guitar which reminds me of him, too. 

(1993) Kaori Kozai -- Mugonzaka（無言坂）

Now, the whole impetus behind me putting up a Creator article for Tamaki is this song right here. When I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）yesterday, the show devoted some of its minutes on the Japanese utahime who included enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）. Ironically, although the Kozai file on KKP is quite healthy, I realized that I had yet to include what is arguably one of her greatest hits, so here it is.

"Mugonzaka" (The Silent Hills) was indeed composed by Tamaki, so he can provide music for enka as well. And the melody is sweeping and earthy (perfect for a go-touchi song) as it envelops the lyrics of Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦） (although he went by the pen name of Mutsuki Ichikawa「市川睦月」 for "Mugonzaka") who came up with them based on the hills within his hometown of Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture. Kuze's lyrics talk of a local romance that has gone so far off the rails that one can no longer go home again in all meanings of the phrase.

Released as Kozai's 6th single in March 1993, "Mugonzaka" won the Grand Prize at the Japan Record Awards that year as it hit No. 10 on Oricon. It would end up being performed five times at the Kohaku Utagassen between 1993 and 2007, and as the biggest tribute, "Mugonzaka" has been covered by a number of artists including Tamaki himself in his 2012 "Offer Music Box".

Yuki Saito -- Mizu no Haru（水の春）

 

The other day, I received a comment from YMOfan04 underneath my posting on Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴） "AXIA" album regarding another song of hers, "Mizu no Haru" (Spring by the Water). It is actually not on the June 1985 "AXIA", but on her third album "Chime"（チャイム）which was released in October 1986.

Even before playing it, I was struck by "Mizu no Haru", which I hadn't heard before because it wasn't part of a single and I never had a chance to listen to "Chime". The composer and arranger for the song was Kenjiro Sakiya（崎谷健次郎）, a singer and songwriter that I usually equated with groovy City Pop, and I had never known Saito to have tried the urban contemporary uber-genre; that was more Momoko Kikuchi's（菊池桃子）realm. Incidentally, Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）co-arranged "Mizu no Haru" with Shun Taguchi（田口俊）providing the lyrics of a happy girl and her boyfriend enjoying a date along a pond.

Beginning with a boogie rat-a-tat drumming from a marching band, "Mizu no Haru" didn't turn out to be a City Pop tune. It was actually more of a jolly synthpop number that, if I hadn't checked the liner notes, I would have assumed to be something by the winning combo of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）and Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）. So I'm happy to hear that there were others who could come up with catchy and perky technopop tunes for aidoru singers of the 1980s.

Yuki Saito -- Christmas Night

 

Did forget to mention that along with all of the meteorological sturm und drang in our province right now, Japan has been getting swamped with heavy snow all over the place, especially Niigata Prefecture, so I definitely would like to send out my sympathies to all those affected there.

One thing that is still on my wish list of things to do is visit the community of Unionville just north of Toronto since it has an annual Christmas market that is probably getting back in gear after a couple of years of the pandemic. I was in Unionville back about 20 years ago when my brother got married so there were some photos taken in the scenic area, but I've never been there during the Yuletide season. My impression is that nights during that time there are pretty much Christmas Eve every night (it's just too bad that the above video by Lvfree Adventures only has daytime footage of Unionville).

Again, I've never been to Unionville during late December evenings so I don't know what it's really like, but I get my own impressions of them when I hear Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）"Christmas Night", her 12th single released in November 1988. Her whispery voice and the delicate arrangement of Akira Okamoto's（岡本朗）melody paint that mood of a hushed snowy night of the Holidays when a couple realizes their love for each other. It's a tad strange though that the music gets a bit eerie in the middle for some reason.

"Christmas Night" reached No. 49 on Oricon and it was also a track on Saito's 6th studio album "PANT" which was actually released earlier in March 1988 with a No. 4 ranking on Oricon. I've got no idea why an album would be called "PANT" except that the producers caught a glimpse of an overly warm dog. Now as for Akira Okamoto, he was once known as Issei Okamoto（岡本一生）, a person who had his own dalliances in the City Pop field.

Yuki Saito/Hiroko Taniyama -- MAY

 

I'm still trying to reconcile the fact that this sweet-singing aidoru of the 1980s was also starring in the tough-as-nails "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）franchise although I've seen my fair share of the episodes. Maybe along with the voice, it's Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）puppy dog eyes.

But I digress. I was watching one episode of "The Best 10"（ザ・ベストテン）recently and saw Saito appear on the TBS music show of the 80s. She sang her 8th single "MAY" which was released in November 1986, and I was immediately reminded that I had heard this one before, so my memory engrams came to the rescue once again. It was the chorus that got me to remember.

Written by Hiroko Taniyama（谷山浩子）, composed by MAYUMI and arranged by Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）, it's pure lovable innocence as a young girl named May keeps trying to assert himself in front of the boy that she loves but, doggone it, she keeps coming up short. The pink fluffy aidoru clouds are further propelled by Saito's soft and slightly whispery voice.

I've only remembered "MAY" as a Saito single, but it's been associated as an NEC jingle and also as the theme song for the 1987 film "Koi suru Onna-tachi"（恋する女たち...Women in Love） with the singer as the star. The song was a track on Saito's 4th studio album "Fuumu"（風夢...Wind Dream） which came out in April 1987. While "MAY" peaked at No.2 and became the 39th-ranked single of the year, "Fuumu" hit No. 1 and was ranked No. 41 on the yearly charts.

Lyricist Taniyama herself did her own cover of "MAY" as her 19th single which was also released in November 1986. It reached No. 85 on Oricon.

Art of Noise feat. Max Headroom -- Paranoimia

There has been of late some love for the pop culture zeitgeist of the 1980s. The hit show "Stranger Things" have brought back Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to prominence after nearly 40 years, Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" got its day in the sun on "The Umbrella Academy", and there's that whole thing for Japanese City Pop since the late 2010s. And now I hear that one of my personal 1980s cultural touchstones may be making a comeback: Max Headroom! One of the streaming networks is thinking about rebooting the suave and stuttering AI for a TV show in the not-too-distant future (maybe 20 minutes later). I told this to my brother last weekend and on hearing that Matt Frewer will be returning as Max, he remarked on how carbon-dated he had to be.

When the smarmy Max Headroom first popped up on television screens whether it be through MTV or those Coke commercials, I actually thought (hoped) that he was actually the first sentient artificial intelligence since I was (and still am) a hopeless nerd. But as it turned out, he was actor Frewer in some elaborate makeup against greenscreen. Still, the character invented in the mid-1980s by George Stone, Annabel Jankel (whose brother is up here on the blog) and Rocky Morton was a hit because of the allure of all that cyberpunk and computer animation. Those brief appearances turned into a British TV sci-fi movie, a music video show hosted by VJ Max and then a 1987 American television series adaptation of the original British movie. 

I remember catching that ABC series which I think lasted for a year. I ended up having an increasingly tenuous relationship with the show as the episodes crept along since I believe that the producers were perhaps a little overly focused on the techno-dystopian elements than they were in a long-standing and cogent story. Not even sure whether Max was all that compelling to anyone by the end which made me think that wrapping an entire series around a pop cultural phenomenon was a step too far.

Anyways, this special holiday edition of Reminiscings of Youth (it's a Civic Holiday here in much of the country) features this wholly appropriate collaboration between this bizarre 80s pop icon and the avant-garde synthpop of Art of Noise. Released as a single in April 1986, "Paranoimia" is all about Max's difficulty in getting to sleep due to various extreme worries (the title is a portmanteau of "paranoia" and "insomnia") while the usual AON bells and whistles are whirling around his ironically soothing tones.

"Paranoimia" hit No. 31 on Canada's RPM singles chart while in America, it got as high as No. 32 on Billboard's Top 100. I got my original version as a track on Art of Noise's album "In Visible Silence" which came out in the same month as the single. The above video features an extended mix.

So, how was the Oricon chart for April 1986 doing? Well, I've got No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6.

No. 3 Sonoko Kawai -- Aoi Station （青いスタスィオン）

No. 5 Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

No. 6 Misato Watanabe -- My Revolution

Yuki Saito --Nemuri Hime（眠り姫）

 

Although I know that Mari Iijima（飯島真理）has created songs as well as sung them, I think on this blog thus far, I've only featured the ones that she has performed although she may have also helped out in the songwriting.

Well, this time, I have her providing the melody for a tune that she doesn't sing this time (although according to the notes for the relevant J-Wiki article, she did provide backup vocals). This would be "Nemuri Hime" (Sleeping Beauty), a track from Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）"Fuumu"（風夢...Wind Dream）, her 4th studio album released in April 1987.

The synthesizers are in there but there is also that feeling of an updated version of the exotic kayo that was quite popular in the late 1970s as the light Latin arrangement by Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）weaves up the magical feeling of a fairy tale and a romance. Meanwhile, Saito herself wrote the lyrics depicting the tale of the sleeping beauty at rest for about a century and her voice is the right type to convey that feeling of fantasy. "Fuumu" hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies and it became the 41st-ranked album for 1987.

Art of Noise -- Peter Gunn

 

Time for another ROY article. Recently, it came to my attention that episodes of the original "Peter Gunn" gumshoe series were coming up onto YouTube including the pilot which indeed I did see. Yep, I now realized where a lot of those lone-wolf detective conventions originated from: the sardonic voiceover by the main character, the down-and-dirty jazz soundtrack and the surprisingly preferred setting of not-so-nice areas of town. And yet, Peter Gunn himself was not just urban but also urbane and sophisticated which apparently wasn't the usual description of movie or TV private eyes back in the day.

"Peter Gunn" had a short-but-sweet run on NBC and then ABC between 1958 and 1961, so the famous theme has been much better remembered than the actual series with Craig Stevens. And to reiterate, it wasn't the theme that begat the show but the show that begat the fame for the theme originally by the legendary composer and arranger Henry Mancini. That's how incredible the song has been. 

It was one of the first songs that I had ever heard in my life thanks to that collection of standards which came with our old oak Victor stereo. And the version that I preferred (which was on that collection of standards) among the original takes of it wasn't the one with Duane Eddy or the one that played in the brief opening credits, but the one with John Williams (yep that John Williams) on the piano and the French horns trumpeting like mad elephants warning of danger. No matter which version, though, "Peter Gunn" was the song that you wanted accompanying you if you went outside on the town and were in that "I gotta a job to do!" mood. You'd invest in the trench coat, even.

"Peter Gunn" has probably popped up in a number of TV shows and movies over the decades to show just that sort of atmosphere for the characters. For example, there was "The Blues Brothers".

Then several years later, I was absolutely gobsmacked when avant-garde pop group Art of Noise (with the help of the aforementioned Duane Eddy and his guitar), whom I'd known for some of the most weirdly infectious songs that had ever come out of the 1980s such as "Beat Box", "Close to the Edit" and "Legs", actually tackled one of the coolest songs ever. I think that I saw the music video first before hearing the song on radio, and that video was glorious with the late Rik Mayall as it took some affectionate pokes at the genre that the original series was representing.

Art of Noise's "Peter Gunn" was unmistakably Art of Noise and unmistakably "Peter Gunn". It was a musical synthesis made in heaven for me and became a must-hear whenever it got onto radio and even now, whenever I need a boost in my energy levels, I go to YouTube to listen to it among other cool tunes. Not surprisingly, it won Best Rock (!) Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group Or Soloist) at the Grammys in that same year. 

I regret not ever buying the remix LPs back in the day but I finally got my copy of AON's "In Visible Silence" which had originally come out on April 14 1986 with both this song and "Legs".

So now that I've gushed forth my love for Art of Noise's "Peter Gunn", what were some of the top-sellers on Oricon in the month that "In Visible Silence" came out? Well, I got Nos. 3, 5 and 6 for you.

3. Sonoko Kawai -- Aoi Station （青いスタスィオン）

5. Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

6. Misato Watanabe -- My Revolution

Yuki Saito -- AXIA (Album)

I wasn't intending on writing about her entire album tonight. Actually, I was just going to write about Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）"Finale no Kaze" since that was in my backlog, but then I realized that I hadn't even written about one of her trademark songs, "Shiroi Honoo"（白い炎）at all. Therefore, I gather that I will be giving myself the second Gibbs slap for today. It turns out that both songs come from her debut album "AXIA" which contains the title tune and another hit for her, "Sotsugyo"（卒業）.

Well, let's cover at least some of "AXIA" which was released in June 1985.

So, why don't we begin with "Shiroi Honoo" (White Flame), her 2nd single from May of that year, and compared to her innocent debut single, the aforementioned "Sotsugyo", "Shiroi Honoo" has more dramatic heft as the young lady in Yukinojo Mori's（森雪之丞）lyrics goes into despair mode about seeing the man that she's in love with dating another woman. Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）of Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）composed the music which begins perhaps a bit off-tune for that sinister effect. Plus the other aspect that I think made "Shiroi Honoo" a standout was the refrain where Saito echoes the lady's self-flagellating questions about whether she's being a fool for wringing her hands for a guy.

The song was also the theme tune for the famous school action drama "Sukeban Deka"（スケバン刑事）when Saito had a starring role as Saki Asamiya. Some years ago, my good friend JTM wrote an extensive article on the show, so give that a look when you can. "Shiroi Honoo" reached No. 5 on Oricon.

Also on the B-side of "Shiroi Honoo" and on "AXIA" is "Shabon Iro no Natsu"（石鹼色の夏..Soap Bubble Summer）. It's also the flip side in terms of tone as creamy-voiced Saito wishes that she were a bubble so that she can get closer to her love target without him noticing since she's the shy type. I'd say that it's a pretty huggable number. Mori also provided the lyrics here but the composer for this one was Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫）from the City Pop band NASA.

The one other song that I wanted to cover from "AXIA" and as mentioned above, the song that I was supposed to have covered on its lonesome is the track "Finale no Kaze"（フィナーレの風...Finale Wind）, another ballad about romantic tribulations. This one isn't quite as dramatic as "Shiroi Honoo" but it's got quite the jaunty beat and a nice bluesy sax to give it that urban contemporary feeling. Fuyuko Moroboshi（諸星冬子）and Shigeru Amano（天野滋）were responsible for words and music here.

"AXIA" the album was a hit with listeners as it peaked at No. 3 on the charts, and it ended up as the 29th-ranked release for 1985.

Yuki Saito/Mioko Yamaguchi -- Owari no Kehai（終りの気配）

Because I hadn't been aware of who singer-songwriter Mioko Yamaguchi（山口美央子）was until this blog was well under way, I didn't know about her contributions to Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）10th album "LOVE" from 1991 when I bought the audiotape version decades ago.

(6:00)

I've now further found out that the Yamaguchi/Saito connection went back even further when the two of them worked together as composer and lyricist respectively on a track from the latter's 6th album "PANT" released in March 1988. The song, "Owari no Kehai" (The Sign of the End) was the lead track and was even used for the above NEC commercial featuring Saito herself. "PANT", by the way, peaked at No. 4 on Oricon.

"Owari no Kehai" is about the end of romance and yet Yamaguchi's melody sounds very innocent and child-like, further enhanced by Saito's near-whispery vocals. The overall feeling is of fragility as if Saito is representing someone all rolled up into a fetal position after having to go through a breakup that she hadn't wanted at all. At some points, the lass' voice almost threatens to vaporize, perhaps triggering the listener to want to pat her head and go "There, there...plenty of other fish in the sea". Then, there is the melancholy piano which takes up the last minute of the song that finishes off the effect; if I were a video director, the camera would be pulling away from Saito in that ball as the room she is gets bigger and bigger making her look even lonelier.

(excerpt only at 8:24)

What got me to write about the song in the first place was due to the fact that Yamaguchi had covered it in her latest album "FLOMA" which I took a look at last week. With the singer's deeper vocals and the somewhat more pensive arrangement, my image of "Owari no Kehai" here and now is that of an older version of Saito just going back through her memories of that long-ago romance with a little regret but also with more wisdom and distance.

Yuki Saito -- Jounetsu（情熱）

As someone who used to buy empty cassette tapes fairly regularly back in my time in Japan, I really liked the AXIA brand of the Fuji Film group. Thin and clear with those pastel-coloured decals, they just seemed to epitomize Japanese style.

Aidoru Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）was the pitchperson for AXIA for some time in the 1980s, and this was one of the songs that was used as the campaign tune, "Jounetsu" (Passion), her 4th single released in November 1985.

"Jounetsu" was created by the dream tandem of Takashi Matsumoto and Kyohei Tsutsumi（松本隆・筒美京平）, and the song is a good example of how some of those aidoru tunes were changing from sunny and summery to somewhat more elegant as time went into the latter half of the 1980s. Mind you, singer-composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）had been doing something similar for some of his clients earlier in the decade.

Couldn't help but feel that the setting of "Jounetsu" was taking place more in Europe than in Japan. I do like those strings and keyboards in this one. The song went as high as No. 3 on Oricon and it became the 87th-ranked single for 1986. It was also used as the theme song for a movie that starred Saito, "Yuki no Danjou ~ Jounetsu"（雪の断章 -情熱-...Literary Fragment of Snow ~ Passion）.

J-Canuck's Graduation Songs

Until I saw last night's "Uta Kon" (うたコン), I had completely forgotten that this was the graduation season in Japan. After all, in a few days, it will be the beginning of a new fiscal year including a new school one. So, there are plenty of cherry blossoms to scatter, tons of tears to be shed, and lots of uniform buttons to be given by the guys to the girls.

Basically, this Author's Pick isn't really a list of revelatory favourites but more of a summary of some of the graduation-themed songs that I've already written about in the blog and have known for decades. At least two of them were played and sung by the teachers for the graduating senior year students in my junior high school on the JET Programme with the tear ducts flowing like crazy.

H2O -- Omoide ga Ippai (1983)

It may have started life as an anime theme song but it's grown into one of the big graduation songs to elicit tears.

Hi-Fi Set/Yumi Arai -- Sotsugyo Shashin (1975)

My fellow teacher on JET who lived in the next village once remarked that he wanted to smash this song into smithereens (he's more of a rock guy anyways) after hearing it so often during graduation season. Well, to each his own. But I still like Hi-Fi Set's old-style version.

Kaientai -- Okuru Kotoba (1979)

Along with "Omoide ga Ippai" above, this was the other song that had my students' waterworks starting up. And who better to send the grads off to a new chapter in their lives than the ultimate TV teacher of Japan himself?

Yuki Saito -- Sotsugyo (1985)

I don't know Saito's "Sotsugyo" as well as the others on the list but I have to say that having young Saito sing it brought that feeling of sweet innocence to the proceedings of leaving school.

Misato Watanabe -- Sotsugyo (1991)

This may be a graduation song but I keep getting the expression "insurance company" popping in my brain whenever I heard this one. Mind you, it was used as the campaign song for Meiji Insurance, and there's nothing like a life-changing event to think of life insurance.

Yuki Saito -- Yume no Naka e (夢の中へ)

NOTE: I finished writing this post before finding out J-Canuck had already done it many years ago. However, as it was done and ready, I decided to post it as a “Follow-Up”. To see J-Canuck’s original post, just click here.

Recently, while researching Oricon’s Top 100 singles from 1989, Yuki Saito’s (斉藤由貴) “Yume no Naka e” just popped as one of my final highlights from that year in the female aidoru segment.

Yuki Saito’s catalogue is one I still have to discover. I remember listening to her debut album “AXIA” and finding it very good, but it’s been many years since I last listened to it. Unfortunately, I only remember a couple of her classic songs, such as “Sotsugyou” (卒業) and “Shiroi Honoo”, and I admit it’s a shame since “Yume no Naka e” sounds so nice.

There’s something very unpretentious about this song, and I don’t know if it’s the combination of the childish, playful and almost jingle-like main synth line with a steady disco beat, or just because I got reminded of the awkward little dance Saito performs everytime I listen to the song. Also, it has many catchy moments, such as the lovely “uh uh uh... uh uh uh... uh uh uh, saaaahhh” segments.

As I could see in J-Wiki, the song is a cover of Yosui Inoue’s (井上陽水) song of the same title. The original, which can be heard below, is a rock-oriented piece originally released by him in 1973.

Released in April 1989, “Yume no Naka e” was a #2 hit single for Saito. Lyrics and music were composed by Yosui Inoue, while arrangement was done by Kenjirou Sakiya (崎谷健次郎).

Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rfli4Fs2L.jpg

Yuki Saito -- Love

Y'know, Yuki...you could put on a few more lights.

I didn't think that I would ever feature a Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）album. Although I did buy her 10th album, "Love" on ancient audiotape, I never considered myself a die-hard fan of the singer-actress and only listened to this particular album a few times before I left for Japan in 1994. Cracking it open again for the first time in over 20 years, I was surprised with some of the nostalgia and enjoyment along with the bit of dust that puffed out of the case.

"Love" was released in December 1991 so I must have gotten it through the "Eye-Ai" order form since I had already returned from Gunma by that point. I don't remember the particular reason for purchasing the tape aside from the facts that I enjoyed some of Saito's earlier hits and was interested in finding out what she was singing at the time.

One of the songs that I remembered as soon as the tape started rolling was "Itsuka"（いつか...Someday）which would incidentally also become her 15th single from January 1992. As was the case with all of the songs on the album, "Itsuka" was written by Saito herself, and then given its melody by singer-songwriter Mioko Yamaguchi（山口美央子）. It's a very comfy and folksy ballad which evokes images of traveling on a slow train through the countryside; Saito's soft vocals make a nice match with the gentle music. The single peaked at No. 50 on Oricon.

Compared to her aidoru days, "Love" is about Saito singing more mature arrangements in a mellow pop vein, somewhat reminiscent of Miki Imai and Reimy（今井美樹・麗美）. And she's apparently added a whispery element to that high-toned voice of hers. "Yours" is definitely in that pleasant pop vein. It's another Saito/Yamaguchi collaboration about a young lady who very sweetly is putting a flame to her potential boyfriend's feet to get him to commit more. It may have been composed by Yamaguchi but there is something fairly Yuming（ユーミン）about the music as well.

The final song here is "Julia" with music by Akira Okamoto（岡本朗）. I'm not sure if the girl from Ipanema was ever named that way, but it's chock-filled with enough bossa nova that to make me go "Hmmm...". Saito probably didn't scare Astrud Gilberto with her delivery...it's not bad but some of those high notes...but I still have enough of a weakness for the genre that I like the song to a certain extent.

After re-acquainting myself with "Love", I think the songs are pleasant enough but perhaps the reason that I let it go for such a long time is that the tracks occupied the same sort of melodic space instead of dipping further into other genres, and I've come to the realization that my most favourite albums have been ones with some good variety. The album reached as high as No.16.

Yuki Saito & Takao Kisugi -- ORACION - Inori （ORACION -祈り-）

I think with the recent article I did on the various works of the sibling songwriting duo Etsuko and Takao Kisugi（来生えつこ・来生たかお）, there is one song by them that has kept nagging at me over the past few days, but I held off on including that one in that article since I did want to feature it solo for its duet nature.

"ORACION - Inori" (ORACION - Prayer) was the official singles for both Takao Kisugi and Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）which I first came across in one of the former's BEST compilation way back when. Just for the record, it was Kisugi's 23rd single and Saito's 11th single released in June 1988, a month before the movie "Yuushun ORACION"（優駿 ORACION...Fine Horse ORACION）was released with the song as the official theme. Not surprisingly, Saito was the heroine of the flick as Kumiko Wagu, the daughter of a captain of industry who was given a racehorse, Oracion, which eventually ran in The Japanese Derby. I vaguely remember seeing some scenes from the movie.

Usually when I think of these horse movies, titles like "International Velvet" and "Black Beauty" come to mind, and all of these heroic songs with horns and low strings come riding in as fast and as urgently as the steeds themselves. However, Kisugi and Saito bring far more cuddly sweetness into "ORACION" as if the title horse were still that just-born colt wobbling about on his legs. You just wanna take that CD and hug it.

As mentioned, the Kisugi siblings created the song which got as high as No. 4 on Oricon.

Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

Not knowing at the time about its connection with the anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）, I used to listen to Yuki Saito's （斉藤由貴）5th single, "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa" (Hello, Sadness) pretty often on one of those compilation tapes of aidoru songs that I got from Chinatown. To me, it was the quintessential aidoru song with the intro synths and Saito's slightly off-tune and quivery vocals.

The lyrics by Yukinojo Mori （森雪之丞）related how even the saddest memories would still be welcomed and embraced as old friends by the singer, while Koji Tamaki's （玉置浩二）music represented a certain hope and defiance and perhaps even a defense of those melancholy feelings. I guess there is something about the Japanese psyche that just loves to protect even those emotions instead of driving the blues away as they would be treated here.

I think with those huge puppy-dog eyes and soft vocals, Saito was probably the best aidoru to relate the lyrics. "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa" peaked at No. 3 when it was released in March 1986 and later became the 19th-ranked song for the year. She also got invited onto the Kohaku Utagassen in December for the very first time and was instantly made the Captain of the Red (Women's) Team! I remember my parents were far from impressed with Saito's leadership since she seemed to be giggling throughout the broadcast. I was rather surprised myself at the promotion but I figured that Saito was probably bleeding off some nervousness through the laughter.

The song was also a track on her 3rd album, "Chime"（チャイム）, from October 1986 which got as high as No. 2. And along with its usage as the very first theme song for "Maison Ikkoku", "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa" was also the commercial tie-up song for some Shiseido cosmetic product.

Yuki Saito -- Doyoubi no Tamanegi （土曜日のタマネギ）

Up until last month, I hadn't heard of this song by 80s aidoru Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）, but I was rather intrigued by the title of "Doyoubi no Tamanegi" (Saturday's Onion), especially since it did break into the Top 10 on Oricon at the peak of No. 6. The doo-woppy music was by Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫）, and the lyrics by singer-songwriter Hiroko Taniyama（谷山浩子） give the analogy of a ruined soup as representing a young relationship on the rocks. With the kitchen sounds in the song, I thought Saito in danger of slicing a finger off considering her depression, but apparently there was the titular onion at the very bottom of the pot refusing to give up and encouraging her to do the same.

There was even an extended single version of "Doyoubi no Tamanegi", which was Saito's 6th single released in May 1986. For the first half of this version, there is an overture treatment of the melody before Saito sighs and gets on with the chopping and slicing. The original single, though, was placed as a track for the singer's 2nd album, "Glass no Kodo"（ガラスの鼓動...Glass Beat） which came out in March of the same year and hit the top spot on the album charts. The above link, however, is not for the extended version but has a lot of Saito musing out loud before she starts singing.

A final bit of trivia here. The guy providing the backup vocals is Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）just around the time of his debut.