Ruiko Kurahashi -- Ai, Soshite Anata （愛、そしてあなた）

Rather delighted to find this one by Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）. As I've said in some of the other articles about her, she's been one of those under-the-radar singers that I've enjoyed listening to all these years. That breathy voice of hers and her choice of adult contemporary ballads and light mid-tempo tunes have been a weak spot for me. When I scour through YouTube, I often find multiple videos of her most prominent songs such as "Glass no Yesterday" and "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete"（ラストシーンに愛をこめて）, so it's great when I can come across one of her lesser known examples of her discography.

"Ai, Soshite Anata" (Love, And Then You) is definitely one of those rarer gems that never even came out on any of her singles, but instead was a middle track on her 1987 album, "Sailing" (for some reason, she had decided to call herself Ruika Kurahashi for that album). However, I first heard it as one of the tracks on one of Ruiko's BEST albums that I had gotten sometime during my years in Gunma. Right from the beginning of her career in 1981, she'd become known amongst her fans for putting out these heart-on-a-sleeve love tunes with arrangements that hint at some of the torch songs from decades past. Being a fan of the movies and music from that era, I was automatically drawn to "Last Scene", the very first song of hers that I'd heard at my old karaoke haunt of Kuri back in my university days.

Written and composed by Toshiki Fujiwara（藤原年樹）, "Ai, Soshite Anata" has a bit of that torch song feeling but there is also quite the power ballad in there. Around the mid-80s, there were a few of her songs that seemed to coax her vocal cords to punch a hole into the atmosphere, and this is definitely one of them. The lyrics have her declaring her love most strongly for that special someone, and that nothing will come in their way. Perhaps it may not be the most subtle song to be used when popping THE question (especially when that electric guitar just explodes at the end), but the heart is certainly there. And it's another one of her songs that I consider a career highlight.

Strangely enough, after having known about the song for just a little while, I actually heard it on TV as the closing tune on one of the Japanese channels after a whole day of special broadcast of the marriage between Prince Akishino and the former Ms. Kiko Kawashima in June 1990. And against a backdrop of fireworks, to boot.

Since I'm on the topic of "Sailing", I feel somewhat compelled to talk about another track on that album. It's actually a Ruiko cover of a ballad by singer-actress Maria Conchita Alonso whom I knew more for her 80s Hollywood movies such as "Moscow on the Hudson" with Robin Williams and "The Running Man" with a former governor of California with a penchant for intoning "I'll be back".

"O Ella O Yo" was also on that BEST album, and like "Ai, Soshite Anata", it's another one of her ballads that I've also liked over the decades. I hadn't known who the original singer was, so when I first heard it done wonderfully by Ruiko, I rather assumed that Julio Iglesias was the first vocalist according to the songwriter, Juan Carlos Calderon, and my impression that the song had that Euro-Latin tender-heartedness.

In any case, until I find the actual Ruiko recording somewhere on the Net, I'll be happy to keep the song tucked away here.

P.S. I couldn't resist....I couldn't quite believe a Vocaloid like Miku Hatsune（初音ミク） would cover such an obscure song like "Ai, Soshite Anata", so here it is.

Off Course -- Kimi Sumu Machi e （君住む街へ）

The first time I heard Off Course's "Kimi Sumu Machi e" (To The Town Where You Live) on an audiotape, I almost thought that Whitney Houston was gonna suddenly jump in considering the intro. Then I heard the mellow tones from Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）, the song's creator. But then it was evident that this was going to be a group effort with bassist Hitoshi Shimizu（清水仁） and guitarist Kazuhiko Matsuo（松尾一彦）also joining Oda in the vocals.

Even listening to this song of hope and reassurance for the first time, I got the distinct impression that there was also a certain finality. The old Off Course tropes were in there: the soft-but-growing-in-power Oda vocal progression and the swelling of the music to that climactic refrain, but when I listened to it, I just felt "These guys are wrapping up for good". I wasn't far off my hunch. "Kimi Sumu Machi e", their 34th single released in January 1988, was actually the band's third-last single, with the final song in the Off Course oeuvre getting out later that year in October. But I think for all intents and purposes, the Sayonara (in-house pun intended) was put into this song. It was rather ironic then that it was placed in their final album titled "Still A Long Way To Go".

I haven't really seen an Off Course music video....there are plenty of videos of them in concert, but nothing like the mini-dramas or comedies that I've seen with other artists. And the only video I've ever seen of Kazumasa Oda as a solo artist was for "Oh Yeah", and that was only once. Good luck trying to find that one! So it was nice to see the band get together to make this video at a Sapporo high school; there's nothing like scenes of high school students in their uniforms goofing about and waiting for that train home to get the folks all nostalgic. And in fact, speaking about nostalgia, Off Course used the song before its official release as the concert closer during their tour the previous year. I could imagine dozens of pairs of wet eyes by the time the song was done.

"Kimi Sumu Machi e" would be the band's final Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 11. Oda would do a self-cover of the song for his 2001 "Looking Back 2" album.

Good ol' Toronto!

NHK Nodo Jiman (NHKのど自慢）

When my family watches TV Japan (which is pretty much all the time every day), there are a number of programs that are must-sees for us. One is the old-style comedy program, "Shoten" on Sunday nights, and then there is NHK's "Kayo Concert" which comes out here on our tube on Tuesday nights (although over in Japan, I think it's televised on Mondays).

Then, there is the tentpole for Sunday afternoons. At 1 p.m. here in Toronto, we hear those tubular bells get rung and we know it's time for NHK's "Nodo Jiman" (Proud of my Voice). In Japan, though, it has been running forever from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Although I've never watched a single episode of "American Idol" (never got into the reality TV genre), I can't help but make comparisons, the biggest one being the ultimate aim. For "American Idol", it's having the contestants being run through the vocal hoops and getting whittled down (or, if being judged by Simon Cowell, hacked into little toothpicks) until that one champion comes out and gets that contract and perhaps that launch into a new lucrative career.

"Nodo Jiman"is somewhat less ferocious. Since its debut on NHK Radio in 1946 and then its transition onto TV from 1953, it's been about NHK traveling to the various community centres and high school auditoriums all over Japan, and getting the local population out to enjoy 45 minutes of singing on a weekly basis on the largest karaoke stage. Yes, there is competition in that each singer tries to make it through the first refrain so that he/she/they can get that triumphant round of tubular bells and then even earn a prize at the end of the show. Sometimes, if the singer is not having a good day, it'll be some lines and then just that one clang of a bell, but there's nothing malicious in the proceedings. Everyone is just appreciative of getting that 15 seconds in front of the cameras.

I was just reading through the write-up for "Nodo Jiman" on J-Wiki, and the audition process is rather similar to that for getting onto a game show. Probably thousands of postcards come in as applications from which about 250 acts over high school age are chosen. On the Saturday before the Sunday broadcast, those acts are brought to the auditorium where the Sunday show will be broadcast for private auditions. There, the final 20 acts are chosen for the real broadcast the next day.

On broadcast Sunday, with the greeting of those bells, everyone comes marching out to the jaunty theme song, and the emcee (currently Sen Odagiri) quickly launches things off. My parents sometimes criticizes him for being a little too brisk with the singers, especially when they're all pretty nervous. In any case, the NHK band can handle pretty much anything from enka to R&B....in other words, any song that has gotten onto the charts over the last 60-odd years. In a way, it's a bit like the Kohaku Utagassen....some retiree could sing enka classic "Yokohama Tasogare" by Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし） and then a few minutes later, a university co-ed is hitting the high notes to a Misia tune. And to add a bit more to the excitement to amateurs and audience, a couple of guest performers also show up weekly. Basically, if the pros have shown up on "Kayo Concert", there's a good chance that they will show up on "Nodo Jiman", so it would truly be a special show if someone like Yuming（ユーミン） or Kazumasa Oda（小田和正） ever appeared.

I think the wonderful thing about "Nodo Jiman" is that it has been this weekly traveling road show through all of the prefectures, instead of just having it planted at the Shibuya studios. The local audience can get that touch of NHK fame and see a few of their own make it big while the TV audience can also find out some more about that region, whether it be Hokkaido or Kochi or Gunma. And speaking about some making it big, there have been some of those locals who truly did hit the big time. Enka singers such as Itsuki and the legendary Hibari Misora（美空ひばり） had appeared on the show as participants before making their professional debuts. And even one future leader of Morning Musume, Ai Takahashi（高橋愛）, won a prize when the show came to her prefecture of Fukui.

Every March, out of the pool of weekly champions, 15 of them are selected for the "NHK Nodo Jiman Grand Champion Competition", held at the network's Tokyo HQ in Shibuya. Just imagine that one person or duo who becomes the yokozuna after that contest. In karaoke-crazy Japan, it must be like winning the lottery. But even with all of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the steps leading up to that grand competition, I think most people just focus on those three-quarters of an hour each week just to see plain folks like themselves do what they probably like doing whether it's singing in the shower or hitting the mike at the local Shidax. And maybe...just maybe....they may be inspired enough to pick up that pen and send in that postcard.

Crazy Cats & Yuming -- Still Crazy For You

Imagine the Queen of New Music with the Kings of Japanese comic bands. Imagine a nutty group of funny musicians whose heyday was in the 50s and 60s collaborating with one of the most influential singers in Japanese music who had her effect on the 70s through to the 90s. I never would have heard myself saying "Ahh...together at last" for Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）and Crazy Cats, but in 2006, that's what happened.

I'm not quite sure how Yuming and the Cats met up, but according to J-Wiki, the huge entertainment production company, Watanabe Productions wanted to celebrate its 50th anniversary and thought that a theme song to commemorate it would be just the capper. And it just so happened to be the Cats' golden anniversary as well. And so Yuming was able to whip up this ditty dripping with nostalgic jazz with the help of sampling from some of the Cats who had already left this mortal coil. Shades of Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.

Although "Still Crazy For You" was released in April 2006, it sounds almost old-time Christmas-y right from the opening strings, and that video reminds me so much of my childhood memories of those Rankin & Bass Yuletide cartoons such as "Frosty The Snowman". And it's quite something to see trombonist Kei Tani（谷啓） croon it up with a Yuming dressed up as if she were heading to a Cleveland suburb dinner party in 1955. I have to say that her voice, which has gotten more nasally and reedier over the last couple of decades, actually fits quite nicely here since the seeming aim for the song is to have a couple of old pros dusting off their tux and gown for one more sentimental go behind the mike.

Tani and Yuming are the singers here, but there is the middle voiceover that probably had a lot of the Crazy Cats' fans lumping their throats up a bit as Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）, arguably the most famous member, has some friendly banter with her. Just a little less than a year later, Ueki would pass away at the age of 80. And then in 2010, Tani would head to that bandshell in the sky at the age of 78.

"Still Crazy For You" managed to make it up to No. 14 on the Oricon charts. The above not only has the official animated video but also a "Making Of" segment which has Tani and Yuming meeting for the very first time. Being born just smack dab in the middle of all those musical tropes that have been mentioned in the article, the song has a little bit of everything to make me smile. And I have to say that the title is well-chosen for its double meaning.

Kyoko Koizumi -- Hanbun Shoujo (半分少女)

Kyoko Koizumi (小泉今日子) had a nice style of singing for mellow songs and sugary melodies. “Hanbun Shoujo”, her sixth single, which was released in July 1983, is a great example of this very special Kyon Kyon style. Her voice, although cute, had a subtle sexiness in songs such “Hanbun Shoujo”, “Adesugata Namida Musume” (艶姿ナミダ娘) or “Yamato Nadesico Shishihenge” (ヤマトナデシコ七変化).

As one of the most preeminent aidoru singers of the 80s, Kyon Kyon has a very impressive catalogue. In the case of “Hanbun Shoujo”, it’s your typical aidoru song with synths, strings and a bouncy bass line, which also features some traditional Japanese elements. The melody is very warm and, together with the arrangement, gives the listener a playful but innocent feeling. Even the high pitched “hold me tight” line near the end is an interesting touch.

“Hanbun Shoujo” was a hit single for Kyon Kyon, reaching #5 on the Oricon charts. It sold 227,000 copies, which made the single grab the #56 position on the yearly Oricon charts. The song was later included in Kyon Kyon’s fifth album “Whisper”, which was released in December 1983. The lyrics were written by Jun Hashimoto (橋本淳). As for the music, it was composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi (筒美京平). Finally, Eiji Kawamura (川村栄二) was responsible for the arrangement.

Nanase Aikawa -- Cosmic Love

First getting to know Nanase Aikawa（相川七瀬） as the snarling Osaka rock girl in "Yume Miru Shojo Ja Irarenai"（夢見る少女じゃいられない） and her other earlier hits, it was pretty funny (and fun) seeing her perform her 12th single, "Cosmic Love" through that video. Just like the title, the video itself had Aikawa going somewhat spacey. And although the song still guaranteed her rocking on, there was also a bit more pop and even some technopop thrown into the mix. I gather that she wanted to relax that hard image a bit. In any case, watching the video and hearing the song, I wondered if she were trying to filter a bit of Puffy sensibility into her performance. Ami and Yumi could be just as comfortable doing this one.

Written and composed by Aikawa and Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎） for release on St. Patrick's Day 1999, "Cosmic Love" peaked at No. 6 on the Oricon charts. After paying attention to her for the first few hits, I kinda lost track of her for a couple of years until my ears first caught onto "Cosmic Love" which got me to buy the CD single. Along with the refrain, it was her "Ah-ah-ah-ah" that finally hooked me.

Nanase Aikawa -- Cosmic Love

Yoshitaka Minami -- Seventh Avenue South

One Friday afternoon in June 2011, knowing that my days in Tokyo were indeed numbered after my decision to head back home to Canada, I decided to take a long walk through some downtown areas of the Japanese megalopolis. During those few hours, I traipsed through Akasaka, Roppongi and Daimon, taking a lot of photographs with my Casio. And one of my favourite shots is above. This was taken in Daimon just when the sun had set just below the horizon and night was taking over with an illuminated Tokyo Tower off in the background. Tokyo may not have the huge mass of skyscrapers lining its skyline such as in New York City, Hong Kong or even my hometown of Toronto, but where the towers do congregate in areas like Daimon and Shinjuku, it still makes for a striking sight. Generally, although I never became a regular part of the night urban scene there, I often enjoyed walking through the bright lights and big city of the evening.

Having established my love of night scenes, I came across this album by crooner Yoshitaka Minami（南佳孝）, his 7th, titled "Seventh Avenue South" (September 1982) via my copy of  "Japanese City Pop". I was immediately struck by the familiar picture of Edward Hopper's famous painting of "Nighthawks" on the cover. I would have loved to have been in that diner on the corner....not just for that burger and fries and a silver-cup strawberry shake, but also for that ambiance. I was wondering about the music on the album when I decided to take my chances on YouTube and see if I could find some tracks from "Seventh Avenue South".

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/seventh-avenue-south/id762065216

(album samples)

I was lucky enough to find quite a few of the tracks there, and even luckier to try out the first track, "Cool", first. I was immediately hit with one of the coolest and bluesiest saxophone solos by David Sanborn....something so cool that I literally got chills. And then, Minami's velvety voice saw Sanborn's bluesiness and raised him 20. All this plus some fine metropolitan jazz from a past era. I automatically got reminded of a couple of other favourite albums of mine, Billy Joel's "The Stranger" from 1977 and Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" of 1982, notably his jazz ballad of "Maxine". Right from the get-go, right then and there, I knew that I had to get the album.

But before I plunked down my credit card in front of the Amazon.jp gods, I wanted to further kick the tires, so to speak, via YouTube. I tried out "Scotch and Rain", which was composed by Minami and written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）. In fact, most of the tracks were created by the pair. And once again, this track again reminded me of Joel and Fagen from their time in the late 70s and early 80s. Instead of the jazz of "Cool", "Scotch and Rain" has that mix of City Pop and Latin. One could be sipping the titular hard stuff in one of those rooftop bars in one of those Shinjuku towers or drinking down one of those bright cocktails with one of those paper umbrellas down by the beach while listening to this song.

"Natsu Fuku wo Kita Onna Tachi"（夏服を着た女たち...The Girls In Their Summer Dresses） is another wonderful fusion of jazz and City Pop fashioned as a light waltz. As Minami sings Track No. 4, he is probably at some swanky soiree, being a bit louche in a not-so-properly arranged tuxedo as he ogles those young women in their summer fare. Even he would admit that he doesn't stand a chance with the girls, but that doesn't mean he won't try.

(Refer to apple link above)

"Tenmondai"（天文台...Observatory） kinda caught me as a rather odd title for a song, but once I got into the music and lyrics, I realized it made for a beautiful backdrop of a romantic memory. Not sure if Minami still had the girl in this one, but that trip to Palomar to search for stars and UFOs paid off in some dividends. According to the liner notes, there were a lot of instruments involved in this recording, but the one instrument that stood out was that innocent piano by Warren Bernhardt which accentuated the mood of that time for the stargazing couple. Since I am referring to a lot of Western songsmiths of the 80s here, I will say that the piano kinda reminded me of Joe Jackson from his "Night & Day" album, which also came out in 1982.

(cover version)

The final track on "Seventh Avenue South" is "Chat Noir". Minami took care of both the composing and writing duties on this one, and it's also very much a city-based tune but it stands out as being the only 80s rock track. With that guitar by Sid F. McGinnis and Larry Fast's Prophet-5, I got vague impressions, melodic ones anyways, of Glenn Frey & Don Henley from Eagles....not sure if they're still not speaking to each other. In any case, "Chat Noir" has that mysterious cautious edge just like that black cat on the prowl.

I knew Minami for the songs that I had already written about in this blog, songs that ranged from disco to 50s to technopop. But "Seventh Avenue South" has truly been a revelation for me. Overall, what I enjoyed about the album was that although the music was kept within that general framework of City Pop, Minami still managed to bring in little elements from other genres to make each of the 11 tracks fresh and interesting. And I can thank my lucky stars to a 1942 American painting.

Perhaps a Tokyo version of "Nighthawks"?
Nope, it's a little nomiya in Daimon.