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 Yutaka Yokokura. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yutaka Yokokura. Show all posts
Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there! We're gonna have the big family get-together in a few hours but earlier this morning, I was happy to take both my parents out for breakfast. I'd say that Mom's dish wasn't quite as fancy as the above photo which was from our Harmony of the Seas cruise in 2017 but I can guarantee it was more voluminous. I had the Eggs Benedict.
When it comes to music that's just perfect for Sunday breakfast or brunch, I've often thought of musician Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）. His mixture of jazz, AOR, Latin and Japanese instrumentation has had me thinking about a nice glass of orange juice, smoked salmon and a stack of hotcakes.
It's been a while so I'm happy to welcome him back onto KKP with one of the tracks from his 1990 album "Brazasia". Back in 2020, I posted something about the title track itself, and today, I'm writing about another song from there, "Morena", and it's another winner that's very refreshing and comfortable for a Sunday. I've been able to get a number of Yokokura's albums but "Brazasia" is alas still not on my shelf but someday, I'll get my own copy. Meanwhile, please feel free to pass the crème fraiche.
When I wrote up my most recent Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）article, that was back in late 2020 during the time that it was probably really cold, wintry and pandemic-ridden. I also mentioned that I would have to get that 1990 album of the J-fusion musician, "Brazasia". After all, the topic of that article was the title track duet between him and Seawind member Pauline Wilson.
Ahh...let's see. We are nearing the end of September 2022 at the very beginnings of autumn. No "Brazasia" on my shelf. Oh, well. However, I can still talk about another track from the album "Urban Jungle". When I first saw that title, I had been expecting some loud, raunchy and funky music from Yokokura, but I should have known better. As far as I know from the couple of albums that I have purchased by him, he really doesn't do the loud thing.
Instead, the instrumental "Urban Jungle" is probably something that I would love to hear in a drinking establishment to escape the actual urban jungle. That elegant koto combined with the twinkly keyboards make for a fine accompaniment with the cake-and-coffee set. I'm happy to say that there are plenty of those bars and cafes in Tokyo to flee the city grind if it all gets a bit much.
Last year, I was able to purchase a couple of Yutaka Yokokura's（横倉裕）albums: "Yutaka" (1988) and "Another Sun"(1993) and thoroughly enjoyed them. There's another in between those two, "Brazasia" which was released in 1990. Though I couldn't get that one at the time, I have found that it may still exist on Amazon so I will try to make a go at it.
Certainly that first and title track by itself makes it really enticing for me. "Brazasia" the song is one very relaxing tune and I found out on the Japanese-language "Music Avenue" that Yokokura on the koto works with the late Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves to provide a wonderful fusion of jazz and bossa nova. But the piece de resistance is indeed the sharing of vocals provided by Yokokura and Pauline Wilson. Wilson has given her expertise on a number of Yokokura's songs over the years much to all our appreciation.
"Brazasia", as I'm listening to it during the cold of winter, does help in taking me out of the Great White North and down south to sunnier and warmer climes. It's the aural tonic to help me forget about the cold and the pandemic, if only for five minutes and change.
A YouTube commenter pegged the song immediately as a Yutaka Yokokura（横倉豊）creation, and yep, as soon as I heard the intro, the audio signature of the fellow was there.
Actress-singer Tomoko Fujita's（藤田朋子）"Shooting for the Stars" was the coupling song for her 4th single"Run to Him" from February 1991, and it has that romantically sweeping Latin/AOR that rather marks a Yokokura concoction. Indeed, he did compose and arrange the song while Lorraine Feather came up with the lyrics.
Interesting thing about "Shooting for the Stars" is that there is also some feeling of Hollywood captivation in there through the arrangement (and maybe for the title). In fact, as I was listening to it for the second time, I thought that this would be something that could have ended up as an insert song in one of those Disney musical features that were becoming huge at the time. According to kaz-shin at his "Music Avenue" blog, "Shooting for the Stars" was also a track on Fujita's 2nd album"Colors of Love" that was released in September 1990. You can also have a gander at some other Fujita/Yokokura collaborations through her 1989 debut album"The Woman In Me".
As promised from my last article on smooth-singing Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）for his 1988 album"YUTAKA", I now come with his 1993 effort, "Another Sun".
Like "YUTAKA", I was convinced to invest my yen into "Another Sun" through one of the attractive tracks, "The Look on Your Face", a duet with Yokokura and Gracinha Leporace. The title track that starts the album off is quintessential Smooth Jazz with the main man on vocals, koto and keyboards. It rather straddles between resort and city. All of the tracks were composed by Yokokura with Brock Walsh responsible for the lyrics for "Another Sun".
There's a bit more bossa nova involved in "Another Sun", and one fine example is "Smile For Me", a mellow number that almost had me thinking seriously of getting a hammock and investing in real estate on a beach somewhere. Ivan Lins comes in for some guest vocalese and also had a hand in the music. For that added bossa cachet, "Smile For Me" was also produced by both Yokokura and Sergio Mendes himself. Ina Wolf took care of the words here.
I'm happy to hear that Pauline Wilson is back as well for this track "More Than Ever", which was composed by Yokokura and Rique Pantoja with lyrics by Chris Trulio and Kate Markowitz. Some very nice AOR and Latin percussion by Vinnie Colaiuta and Luis Conte, to boot, along with Ricardo Silveira on electric guitar.
As for my final track, both Wilson and Leporace are back behind the mike along with Yokokura to perform "Solitaire", another producing collaboration between Yutaka and Mendes. This one struck me for its more dance-like rhythms, and maybe out there, there could be a remix or Vaporwave version of the song. It's also quite the number for me since I do play quite a bit of the card game as well. The lyricist was Catte Adams.
With another Hump Day, Yokokura's"Another Sun" makes for another melodic tonic...good to brighten up the day when overcast, and enhance the sunny ones.
One of the wonderful benefits from doing this blog for over 8 years is that I've been able to find out a lot of new faces and enjoy their music. I believe that I have mentioned this before, and I will say it again since this time, one of those people is AOR singer/keyboardist/kotoist Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）. He's already got a goodly amount of representation on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" not just for himself but also for his work with the band NOVO and even actress Tomoko Fujita（藤田朋子）, but up until late last year, I hadn't gotten my hands on any of his albums.
So I am happy to say that I did obtain two of his works...finally...for Xmas with the earlier album being "YUTAKA" from 1988 and then "Another Sun" from 1993. Those two albums along with one in the middle, "Brazasia"(1990) were his projects under GRP Records owned by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen. I know that by getting "YUTAKA" I was in for a fine treat, thanks to one of the tracks "Warm & Sunny Sunday Morning" which basically demands an Eggs Benedict and a cup of freshly roasted coffee as a culinary backdrop. At the very least, I had to get it since Yokokura had one of the most impressive mullets in the history of photography.
The vast majority of the tracks on "YUTAKA" are instrumentals showcasing his koto and keyboard work with only three providing vocals including the aforementioned "Warm & Sunny Sunday Morning". The first track is one of those instrumentals "Colors of the Wind", an appropriately warmhearted and breezy number that had me marveling at the fact that Yokokura was able to make a koto sound jazzy.
One of the other three tracks with vocals is "Dreamland". Bunny Hull provides the lyrics and background vocals behind Yutaka's music and main vocals. Those strings add a layer of old-fashioned romance to the koto-driven AOR.
"Night Wave" composed by Yokokura begins with an atypically sinister tone, and there is even the addition of another traditional Japanese instrument in the form of a shakuhachi thanks to Kazu Matsui. As the title would suggest, there's something fairly reminiscent of some 1980s crime drama taking place replete with some shady goings-on but including a bit of lightness (perhaps a romantic interlude). Maybe another crazy thing that I could suggest here is that the song could act as a theme for some nighttime radio program for AOR called "Night Wave" itself.
One more song that I will include here is the remaining track with vocals "Living Inside of Your Love", another Hull and Yokokura collaboration with the two of them backing up Pauline Wilson as the main vocalist. Wilson was also singing on "Warm & Sunny Sunday Morning". This one has some more oomph and horns in the beat, and carrying on with the movie analogy, I think "Living Inside of Your Love" can provide some of the music for a scene where either Sly or Arnie enter a dance club in Los Angeles looking to pick a fight with one of the bad guys.
(I'm sorry but the video has been taken down.)
The above video is for the entire album so you can get to listen to some of the other tracks that I didn't cover this time. As one commenter put it, "YUTAKA" is one relaxing album. It's the type of collection of songs that a person would love to put into the stereo as destressing therapy after a hard day of work. And as a simple observation, I pick up some hints of Pat Metheny and even the poppier ballads of the Manhattan Transfer when I go through "YUTAKA". Moreover, Yokokura's voice itself is as soothing as the koto that he plucks and the smooth arrangements that he has woven.
Well, many Xmas cards, present-buying and a few parties later, I find myself in the homestretch for December 25th. Perhaps just some remaining things to tweak and I should be relatively stress-free for Christmas.
Along with that marshmallow-topped cup of cocoa, I think another calming stress buster is Yutaka Yokokura's（横倉裕）cover version of "This Christmas" from the compilation album "A GRP Christmas Collection" released in 1988. The originating studio is GRP Records which was formed by composer/arranger Dave Grusin and producer/musician Larry Rosen as a jazz label.
"This Christmas" was originally recorded and co-written by the late soul singer Donny Hathaway back in 1970, and it's been called "absolutely the premiere holiday song written by an African American" by guitarist/bassist Phil Upchurch according to the Wikipedia article for the song. I remember hearing the song on radio thanks to that repeated horn riff but from coming across the Yokokura cover, I was finally able to really listen to and appreciate the Hathaway original as an Xmas song in the big city.
However, listening to Yokokura's "This Christmas", I think the AOR arrangement is such that I can consider it to be its own animal, so to speak (although that robotic voice near the end is a weird touch). The top video for the cover version has one scene of a house out in the countryside and for me, it's the crowning Xmas-scape for this song. Just have the family and friends enjoy a sunny day in the cold and crisp air and mounds of snow before coming back in for that fine dinner.
With the Yuletide just around the corner, me and my money decided to collaborate on our annual year-end CD spending binge. One of the CDs that I had been aiming for with laser-beam clarity was kotoist and keyboardist Yutaka Yokokura's（横倉裕）1990 album"Brazasia".
Alas, CD Japan doesn't have it and Tower Records indicated that "Brazasia" now has that dreaded haiban status. I realize that a YouTube channel has the entire album but I actually do want the physical album in my hands and on my shelf. The one reason that I want this one is this one track, "Say You Do" which is so warm and breezy and percolating that I feel like I'm already on the plane down south to tropical climes.
What makes it all work for me is not only the calming arrangement by Yokokura but also the vocal charms of Pauline Wilson, especially when she sings out the title itself...just how it trips off the tongue effortlessly like an Olympic diver hitting the water with barely a ripple. I really have to find out more about Wilson since she was also a member of the group Seawind in the 1970s.
Now, although I couldn't get "Brazasia", I didn't give up since I was able to grab Yokokura's 1988 album"Yutaka" which has him and Wilson working together on another wonderful song called "Warm & Sunny Sunday Morning". I'm looking forward to hearing this one.
Of course, in a conurbation the size of the Greater Tokyo Area, there are plenty of landmarks where you can take photos. Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, Kaminarimon, the Gundam Robot behind Diver City in Odaiba...all very famous. Then, there is also the Shinjuku Eye, just west of the West Exit of JR Shinjuku Station and just before the long covered pedestrian corridor heading to the hotel district of the neighbourhood. Feel free to take some pics there although perhaps not during rush hour.
I have to say that singer-songwriter-musician Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）was rocking one major mullet a few decades ago. He has also been making some very soothing caipirinha-friendly tunes for years and years, including this second track, "The Look On Your Face" from his April 1993 album"Another Sun". Yokokura and Tracy Mann must have created this one for Sunday brunch enjoyment with its relaxing Latin beat.
Going through a Tokyo rush hour, having "Another Sun" within easy reach in a portable listening device is a healing blessing. Not surprising to find out that the Sergio Mendes produced the album.
Dang! I really ought to invest more in Yutaka Yokokura's（横倉裕）material. Well, this will be the third article intended to smooth some rough edges in my day today along with my just-posted "Hajimete no Machi de"（初めての街で）.
As much as Sachiko Nishida（西田佐知子）plied me with sake in "Hajimete no Machi de", I'm definitely feeling tropical cocktail-bound with Yokokura's "Dragonfly" from his 1978 album"Love Light". This takes me from the izakaya to the patio of a beachside bar. All I can say is that it's one funky insect darting about with Yokokura handling both the Fender Rhodes and koto to create one smooth fusion piece.
"Love Light" would definitely be the first solo Yokokura album that I would love to purchase but the last time I checked, it was in that dreaded haiban（廃盤...discontinued）status. However, during my time on this blog, some albums have come back from the dead. This is one that I would love to have reincarnated for not only "Dragonfly" but also for the title track. However, one question that I need to pose is what is up with that aroused red tribble on the cover.
"Very Special Moment" is a Kimiko Kasai（笠井紀美子）song that I found in one YouTuber'sXmas City Pop collection.
I'm not quite sure whether I would agree that "Very Special Moment" was especially made for Christmas, but for those folks who are getting tired of all of the traditional Yuletide tunes from Japan and abroad, I wouldn't mind listening to this funky and jazzy tune while cooking away in the kitchen on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. And the title has got the right thing in mind for the Holidays in any case.
The song has got a lot of that downtown coolness factor thanks to the funky saxes by Takeshi Muraoka（村岡健）and Masafumi Yamaguchi（山口真文）...I hope that I've gotten the names right for both of them...along with the rest of the horns. And then, there is a great trumpet solo by Terumasa Hino（日野晧正）. "Very Special Moment" is a track on Kasai's 1977 album"Tokyo Special" which also includes "Vibration". It also has some pretty big names behind its creation with Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）on lyrics and Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）on music.
I'm figuratively and happily eating some crow for dinner tonight (literally, it was fish n' chips) since that package from Tower Records that I had been waiting for actually did arrive earlier this morning. The Canada Post rotating strikes were included in my last article that I wrote on this band NOVO, but they are now over (for now) and the CDs arrived, and one of them was indeed as you can see above the June 2013 release of "Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works".
What I found out, though, was that this 2013 release by this band that has been called according to one happy Amazon customer Japan's answer to Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 is basically a reconfiguration of an earlier NOVO album from 2003 called "novo complete"aside from a couple of additions. One addition happens to be the subject of the first NOVO song that I discovered, the lovely "Ai wo Sodateru"（愛を育てる）in its 2012 form.
Having one go-round with "NOVO Complete Works" earlier this afternoon, I did get that impression of mellow tropicality in the band's music, including the one other 1973 single that NOVO had released, "Shiroi Mori"（白い森...White Woods）. Written by Toshiyuki Nishimori（西森利行）and composed by vocalist and keyboardist Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）, the song is a happy-go-lucky bossa nova delight sung by Yokokura and Aoi Fujikawa（藤川あおい）that is pretty darn Sergio Mendes to me. Not quite sure what those white woods are from the lyrics (maybe the white-capped ocean?...couldn't imagine it to be Aspen, Colorado in the winter), though the couple there make a content pair. At the same time as that Mendes influence, I couldn't help but also feel a bit of 60s group The 5th Dimension.
There is also an updated album version of "Shiroi Mori", this time sung slightly more delicately by vocalist Diane Silverson (who is co-vocalist on most of the tracks) and with some more jazz in the arrangement. But hey, there is no doubt about the bossa nova of it all here.
If I've read the liner notes in the album correctly, "Kono Hoshi no Ue de"（この星の上で...On This Star）, this love song was the B-side to "Shiroi Mori". Written and composed by Yokokura, it seems like there's a bit more oomph into his keyboards so I got reminded somewhat of the music of The Carpenters and even Vince Guaraldi.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)
The one more song that I will introduce here from "NOVO Complete Works" is the other addition to the 2003 album, "Guanabara Bay" which is titled after the second-largest bay in Brazil according to Wikipedia. Along with the other songs from the album that I've already written about, "Ai wo Sodateru" and "Mado ni Akari ga Tomoru Toki"（窓に明りがともる時）, "Guanabara Bay" has quickly become another favourite of mine with its mix of Latin and AOR.
This time, Yokokura is teamed up with Leeza Miller, and all I can say is that it's amazing about that Sergio Mendes connection, since Miller was one-half of the duet on the 1983 hit "Never Gonna Let You Go" which was a track on Mendes' self-titled album (I remember hearing that song all throughout my junior year in high school). Yokokura was once again responsible for the smooth melody while a person credited as T. Mann took care of the lyrics. Strangely enough, Barry Mann composed "Never Gonna Let You Go", so I'm not sure whether there is a familial connection there.
"Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works" is another nice addition to the collection. Surprisingly, despite the 14 songs, the album only takes about 48 minutes of your time...so each song is short and sweet. Since I first heard about Yokokura earlier this year, I've been getting very interested in his back catalog and this album has just kept the interest stoked.
Ever since I first heard of NOVO back in spring this year via their wonderful cover of a Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モア）commercial song, "Ai wo Sodateru"（愛を育てる）, I wondered about getting their 2013 album"Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works". And a couple of weeks ago, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased it from Tower Records. Just one thing...after the official e-mail from Tower that the order was being processed, those two weeks passed by without any word which is unusual. Then this morning, the folks there finally sent word that they were still trying to get a copy of it for which of course, the red alert sparked off in my head and disappointment has started to coalesce. From experience, that's usually not a great sign, although in one similar case, the CD was actually found and shipped.
Plus, there's the fact that Canada Post is going through rotating strike action right now so there is a load of mail and packages that's piling up everywhere at distribution points. The mail will get through but it will take several days and perhaps that will evolve into weeks. Not too great to hear as we approach the Holiday season.
But I will leave it at that and just hope that somehow I will be able to get the NOVO album. In any case, the final straw which happily broke the camel's back for me to decide on purchasing the CD was this song, "Mado ni Akari ga Tomoru Toki" (When The Light Comes On In The Window). This is another track from "Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works", and as with "Ai wo Sodateru", the original song was created by lyricist Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and composer Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦）for a 1970s folk group...this time it's Akai Tori（赤い鳥）.
As performed so lovingly by Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）and Diane Silverson (or Silberson), there is a feeling of 1960s Bacharach in Yokokura's arrangement as the two sing about putting that light in the window to welcome home a loved one...a nice thing to muse about especially when the days are getting shorter as they are now. But the song extends into the feeling of positivity for tomorrow and the hope that better days are ahead. At the end, though, "Mado" ends back in that cozy and warm house with the couple saying "Let's just enjoy the stew for dinner tonight".
As I said above, the original version was a folk/pop song by Akai Tori from their January 1973album "Utsukushii Hoshi"（美しい星...A Beautiful Star）. I'm not sure but that may be the splendid Junko Yamamoto（山本潤子）as the main vocalist since she was part of the group; Yamamoto would later go off to form the vocal trio Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）. "Mado ni Akari ga Tomoru Toki" is slightly mellower here with some further assistance by some lovely honeyed horns.
According to J-Wiki, "Utsukushii Hoshi" has the dreaded haiban status, but now I'm interested in getting that BEST compilation by Akai Tori. The band is even more famous for first singing the high school chorus standard, "Tsubasa wo Kudasai"（翼をください）.
First full day of Autumn 2018, and although it's not exactly warm out there (14 degrees C at last count), it's gorgeously sunny and a nice walk will be enough to have folks work up a bit of a sweat.
Some months ago, I found this wonderful ballad, "Love Light" (1978) by kotoist and keyboardist, Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）, which brought back all of the loveliness of some of my favourite music from the late 70s into the early 80s.
Now, here is another great track from Yokokura from his "Yutaka" album of 1988. Apparently, it's actually him singing "Warm & Sunny Sunday Morning" alongside Pauline Wilson. It's a nice combination of bossa nova and smooth jazz and his koto to go with that brunch of Eggs Benedict and a cup of coffee. "Love Light" the album might be one of those hard-to-find purchases, but here's hoping that "Yutaka" will be a bit more easier for me.
P.S. This has nothing to do whatsoever with the song, but last night, JTM and I were having a chat and he told me about this fellow who has a blog which seems to be a twin of mine. Actually, I only use "twin" because his Blogger layout is identical to mine. His topic is Japanese words, slang and other expressions, and if you're interested in picking up some of the lingo, you can check out "Japanese Word of the Day".
It's gonna be one of my crazier analogies here but bear with me. There is an ancient Bugs Bunny cartoon titled "Lumber Jack Rabbit" which has the wily rabbit dealing with Paul Bunyan's intrepid gigantic dog, and the most memorable scene for me has always been the one where Bugs finally turns the tables on the canine when he does him a huge solid by scratching his back. The motions of ecstasy that Fido reveals have always remained with me.
I completely understood where Paul's dog was coming from as I was listening to this song for the first time a few minutes ago. I had done my quota of two today but after deciding to go through "Love Light" twice, I just had to include this one as the third article tonight.
And yet, I had thought that this would be the first time I would be putting Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）into "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Well, it is still the first time under that name as a solo artist, but actually he's already been placed twice on the blog, and recently, too. Geez, I remember a Warner Bros. cartoon that aired when I was a toddler and yet I can't remember a fellow who was mentioned in two articles I wrote in May! He was the fellow who was responsible for creating one of the tracks on Tomoko Fujita's（藤田朋子）album "The Woman In Me" and he was in the band NOVO.
Well, getting back to "Love Light" which was the title track for his first solo album released in 1978, who would have thought that I could hear something so wonderfully soulful with a koto in there? It's a duet with him and the Patti Austin. To me, he has got a voice which resembles that of the legendary Stevie Wonder in a slightly more low-key way with him being a master at the aforementioned Japanese musical instrument. Furthermore, this is the type of R&B that I love and miss so much as someone who listened to a lot of DeBarge and James Ingram.
After listening to "Love Light" those two times, I immediately went to see if I could find a copy of the album on CD or even in its original LP format. Alas, it is currently under the dreaded haiban status. YouTube is all I got right now, but that's fine. I will still waggle my ears like Paul's dog whenever I hear this one.
Rather inspired by my discovery of Tomoko Fujita（藤田朋子）as a singer today and then coming across Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）as the producer for her debut album"The Woman In Me", I was interested in finding out more about Yokokura who also goes by the full-cap name of YUTAKA. According to his Wikipedia and J-Wiki entries, the Tokyo-born singer is also well versed as an instrumentalist being proficient on piano, other keyboards and the koto.
The above video has a track from a 2013 album, "Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works" paying tribute to the band NOVO of which YUTAKA was a member in the 1970s. The song "Ai wo Sodateru" (Nurturing Love) with its English title of "Love Is There" on this particular release is a lovely bossa version with Aoi Fujikawa（藤川あおい）sharing the mike with Yokokura. There is something very 1980s David Foster and even Carpenters about the arrangement here. Wouldn't mind sipping a cup of coffee by the sunset as I listen to this.
NOVO's original version of "Ai wo Sodateru" was released as the band's first single in 1973. Although I prefer the new and improved version from "Love Is There ~ NOVO Complete Works", original "Ai wo Sodateru" is also quite sunny with that feeling of the 60s and 70s.
But the source doesn't lie with NOVO, at least not completely. The very first version of the song was as a lush commercial jingle for the Asahi Kasei Corporation which focuses on chemicals and materials science according to its Wikipedia entry. The band behind "Ai wo Sodateru" here was the folk group Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モア）, and not seeing the song in their discography, I surmised that it was probably never released as an official single but as truly something just for the company. The commercial supposedly came out in 1971.
Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦）was behind the music with Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）taking care of the lyrics which incorporated the Asahi Kasei name. I'm assuming that one of the members of NOVO, perhaps YUTAKA himself, made the appropriate changes to the words when making "Ai wo Sodateru" their own.
Tomoko Fujita（藤田朋子）....never thought I would ever see her in the pages of this blog. Who is she, you ask? Well, she's an actress and variety show panelist who has also been quite commonly seen on commercials such as the one above. Probably her most famous role was on the long-running TBS prime-time soap opera "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari"（渡る世間は鬼ばかり...The World We Walk On Is Full Of Demons）.
It has taken a fair bit to shock me when it comes to discovering new songs on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". A few examples of being stunned (in a good way, of course) was when I found out about Makoto Matsushita's（松下誠）"One Hot Love" and the famous City Pop album of Takako Mamiya（間宮貴子）, "Love Trip".
Well, my jaw fell a couple of nights ago and bounced off the rug not once but twice when I found out that Fujita had actually owned a discography. The true shock, though, was not because she sang but she actually sang pretty well...and in English (she majored in the subject at Tamagawa University), too! In fact, on looking and listening to the video above, I had to make some checks that this was indeed the same Tomoko Fujita the actress and tarento although that photograph did indeed show a young and fetching version of her.
Sure enough, Fujita did wear another cap as songstress. Her first album was "The Woman In Me" released in October 1989. And the first song here is "Wait For Me". I've listened to it a few times already, and although the music by Dave Grusin and the lyrics (don't know who wrote them) are nowhere near revolutionary, they are very AOR-pleasant. Furthermore, Fujita's singing kinda threw me for a loop; listening to it, I immediately put her in the same stylistic club as pop singers such as Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）and Reimy（麗美）. This was the same voice behind all those products such as plum wine!
"Summer Without You" is another nice bossa-tinged song. From reading the write-up on "The Woman In Me" on the Japanese-language music blog "Music Avenue",Yutaka Yokokura（横倉裕）was behind the creation of this song. Yokokura also took care of the overall production and arrangement for the album. His inspirations in his career are the aforementioned Grusin and Sergio Mendes, the latter's influence explaining the sound of the music for Fujita here.
Bunny Hull wrote and composed the title track. Listening to this one, I think it is almost a throwback to the mid-80s style of love song. As I'm looking at the video of her on Fuji-TV's"Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒット・スタジオ）, it's still hard for me to believe that she is actually singing this in excellent English. If I were still a NOVA teacher, I probably would have given her a level-up to 3 (the second-highest level).
The author for "Music Avenue", kaz-shin, even thanks Yokokura for producing "The Woman In Me", and he even mentions at the bottom of the article that he was able to buy an old copy of the album at a local BOOK-OFF for 250 yen! I wish I were that lucky and I will see if I can get my own copy of the album at Amazon.
