Perhaps the above byline is a little longer and odder than usual but in my defense, I have to explain that all the way back in January, I had jumped the mighty gun and already spoke on singer-songwriter Junk Fujiyama's（ジャンクフジヤマ）most recent album, the album of covers known as "Shoukei Toshi ~ City Pop Covers" (City of Aspirations), several weeks before it was even officially released in March. I was too taken by the tasting menu of Junk's covers of "Telephone Number" by the late great Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）and then "Windy Summer" by Anri（杏里）that were already up on YouTube.
Generally speaking, I don't usually go for albums of cover versions since I'm always going to think that the originals will be far better, but cuing ahead several months, I finally pulled the trigger and bought my copy of "Shoukei Toshi" a couple of weeks ago just on Fujiyama's reputation and his takes on "Telephone Number" and "Windy Summer". Besides, considering how I've wondered how Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）would have handled some of those other City Pop songs outside his own contributions, "Shoukei Toshi" was my best chance to find out.
The cover of "Futari no Natsu Monogatari"（ふたりの夏物語）is another winning one by Junk. Retaining the dashing pace of the 1985 original by Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe, there are fewer bells and whistles in the arrangement but it's still got summer right here. In a way, it's perhaps more reflective of the times now when compared to the craziness of the Bubble Era years of those high-flying 80s (although I don't think stingrays were flying over Tokyo back then).
Up to this time, there probably have been more covers of "Mayonaka no Door 〜 Stay With Me"（真夜中のドアー）than there are shooting stars in the sky, but if one is doing an album of City Pop covers, this song by the late Miki Matsubara（松原みき）obviously has to be in here. In fact, there are two versions including this one that is the final track of "Shoukei Toshi". This version of "Stay With Me" though is done as a duet between Junk and singer-songwriter/keyboardist biki from Saitama Prefecture. It has a bit more keyboard groove and key changes, and the dynamics between the two singers bring some more excitement to the proceedings.
But it isn't just the City Pop from the 1970s and 1980s that's been covered by Fujiyama. He also tackles benzo's 1998 light and funky "Mahiru"（真昼）which I first discovered on one of my "Light Mellow" albums. Aside from the timbre of the vocals, there isn't all that is much different between the original and the cover, although of course, both are fine songs.
The cover that deviates the most from the original among the tracks on the album is the 1983 "Tasogare no Bay City"（黄昏のBay City）, one of Junko Yagami's（八神純子）big hits and a City Pop pillar. Not quite sure how to describe it, except that the funky disco has been replaced by a certain spacey atmosphere. No, I have to admit that this isn't my favourite track; I miss the horns.
I'll finish up here with his cover of Yumi Arai's（荒井由実）"Ame no Station"（雨のステイション）which was originally from Yuming's 3rd album "Cobalt Hour" (1975). This track is still a few away from the last one but it feels like a final song for the album since Junk takes the New Music ballad and makes it even more anthemic, though it still holds to that somewhat downbeat and reserved tone of the original.
For me, these are the highlights of "Shoukei Toshi" although I will at least cover one of the remaining tracks on its own because I hadn't even heard the original version by Original Love.
