Fubuki Koshiji/Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars -- Yogiri no Shinobi Ai （夜霧のしのび逢い）

"Yogiri no Shinobi Ai" (An Affair in The Night Fog) has turned out to be one of those interesting songs that had a history to track down. I first heard it the night before just by chance as performed by the Mood Kayo band, Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）. It was quintessentially Latin Mood Kayo so I wanted to find out more about it, but when I looked up their file in J-Wiki, I couldn't see any hint of the title in their discography. (Unfortunately, the powers-that-be have taken down the Mahina Stars version above so it's the Koshiji original.)

(cover version by

Kiyoe Tamura)

So, it was off to YouTube to see if there were any more examples of the song since a few of the entries there sometimes would have some information via the uploader. I didn't find any other information on Mahina Stars' contribution but then I saw this performance by legendary Japanese chanson singer Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）on the 1965 Kohaku Utagassen. As it turned out, she was the original singer of the Japanese version.

Yep, Japanese version. The very original of this song was "La Playa" (The Beach) by Dutch guitarist Jo Van Wetter which had been first released in February 1965. Supposedly the song garnered quite a bit of popularity through the world's radio stations, and I'm assuming that would include those in Japan since the late lyricist Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）came up with the Japanese lyrics, and then it was up to Koshiji to interpret them.

Koshiji may have been more well known for her interpretations of French tunes but I think she also gave a great performance at that Kohaku (I was barely a month and a half old at the time) with that feeling of a slow contemplative tango. I'm currently unsure whether "Yogiri no Shinobi Ai" had ever been an official Koshiji single although it is known as one of her prominent songs, and I don't even know when the Mahina Stars cover came out unfortunately. Either of the Japanese versions though would be fine as musical accompaniment while sagely nursing that tumbler of whiskey.

Sayuri Kokusho -- Ohkii Neko （大きい猫）

A few months ago, I observed through an article for another late 80s aidoru tune that quite a number of Japan's cute bubblegum pop singers mixed in some international influences through their composers. When I was coursing through YouTube today, I just came across this song by Sayuri Kokusho（国生さゆり）.

"Ohkii Neko" (Big Cat) has that ever-comforting polished Bossa Nova beat provided by composer Jun Sato（佐藤準）with Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）writing the words about how much Kokusho wants to cuddle that cute feline. Knowing Kokusho's musical output only through the two other songs that are listed here on the blog, it was a nice switch hearing this pleasantly light ballad. The song was a track on her 2nd album, "Balance of Heart", which was released in February 1987 and peaked at No. 2 on Oricon.

The above is a fine karaoke version.

Dick Mine -- Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko (旅姿三人男)

Dick Mine's (ディック・ミネ) "Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" definitely beats Haruo Oka's "Akogare Hawaii Koro" in the age department, making it the oldest song I like. "Hawaii" was released in 1948 as a spirit-lifting postwar song about longing for the Hawaiian shores, "Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" on the other hand was released almost a decade before that in 1939!

Seeing a thumbnail with Mine on it in the "Recommended" list on YouTube, I was curious with the reason being I know of the guy, but I had never actually listened to any of his songs, and he seemed to be quite the popular singer back in the day, so why not? "Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" sounded pleasant and lighthearted, and the Jazz singer's deep rumble made it all the more likable.

That video I had watched was of a 1971 performance of the traditional sounding Enka song, so it probably had a more modern music arrangement. Plus, it sounded like any Enka tune of the 70's so I had no idea of its real age. It was only until I looked it up on Mine's J-Wiki page... the song is 76 years-old... its almost as old as some of the members of vocal group Duke Aces! Well, but for me, the age of the song doesn't really matter, as long as it sounds good. I think "Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" gave me a good introduction and impression of Mine, so I think I may go searching for more of his singles.

(around 3:11)

Other Enka singers like Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎) and Hiroshi Itsuki (五木ひろし) have done covers of it. I enjoy both covers and they are somewhat different in their own way. Kasuga's one is similar to Mine's version in terms of vocal delivery as I find that they sound quite similar, with Kasuga having the slightly higher voice.

Itsuki's rendition of it is smoother and his voice is not as Enka-y as compared his predecessors.

"Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" was written by Tabito Miyamoto (宮本旅人) and was composed by Tetsuo Suzuki (鈴木哲夫).

www.fanfan1.com

Keiko Kimura -- Denwa Shinai de （電話しないで）

When I met the newest collaborator in the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" family, Larry Chan, on December 30th last year, I told him that when it came to Japanese popular music, I realized that I had only tapped the top 10% of the iceberg. There was still that 90% that I've only started digging into. The genre of City Pop was one definite example of how much I had to go through, thanks to all of these new folks I have been discovering through the pages of "Japanese City Pop".

And the crazy thing is that Keiko Kimura（木村恵子）isn't even in my bible of the genre. I discovered her purely by accident when I was grazing through YouTube. And frankly speaking, that picture of her on the cover of her debut album, "Style" (1988) stopped me in my tracks. I had wondered if she was one of those models that kinda fell into a singing career (rather like Miki Imai).

Then I heard the track that was on "Style", "Denwa Shinai de" (Don't Phone Me). And it had that splendid 80s City Pop groove that I've always swooned about. It was slick and urban contemporary, along the same vein that Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）classy "Nemurenai Diamond"（眠れないダイヤモンド）and Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭知子）cool "Slow Nights" followed. I mentioned once before that at least some of the output from ennui-laden chanteuses like Asami Kado（門あさみ）and Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）back in the early 80s was given that label of Fashion Music. Perhaps Keiko, Junko and Tomoko during the 80s were tapping Fashion Music II or a sub-genre that I would label as Sophisti-Pop. And yep, "Denwa Shinai de" makes me think that Kimura chose the right outfit for painting the town red. The song was created by lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composer Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）, according to the Japanese music blog, "Music Avenue". It was enough to get me wondering about acquiring "Style".

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information on Kimura but I was able to glean some data from her J-Wiki entry. She was born in 1963 in Kanagawa Prefecture but spent part of her childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before returning to Japan to attend junior and senior high school. From there, she was admitted into prestigious Keio University where she learned all about songwriting in the same music department that had Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）as members. Debuting in 1988, she would release 4 original albums and a BEST album along with 6 singles.

Kanako Wada -- if

It was another bitterly cold day in good ol' T.O....I think we got all the way to -9 degrees C today. I managed to take a walk around the neighbourhood for all of 15 minutes before I decided to get the paper and dash back home.

Well, it was time to get warm and then I was reminded suddenly of an old Kanako Wada（和田加奈子）song from around a quarter-century ago (yep, all you "Kimagure Orange Road" fans...it's been that long). However, "if" didn't have anything to do with the beloved 80s anime but was a part of her 6th album, "dear" (1989). As I mentioned on the article for that album, it was a wonderful re-acquaintance with Ms. Wada, compared to my introduction to a more serious-looking younger lady via her debut album, "Tenderness" (1986) whose voice hadn't quite ripened yet. For "dear", it was all about some cool and mellow songs and a very smiley singer.

"if" is a quintessential track from "dear"....not too slow and not too fast. It has that mellow AOR vibe and those horns...and nothing says AOR more than the fluegelhorn. It's one of those nice little tea-time tunes by Wada that was written by Goro Matsui (Anzen Chitai) and composed by Chika Ueda (上田知華).

For another mellow tune from "dear" that has its own article, you can try "See You".

She had me at the smile!

Noriyuki Makihara -- Tohku, Tohku （遠く遠く）

(karaoke version)

"Tohku, Tohku" (Far Far Away) would be the ideal song to send over to that Japanese businessman who has had to go through the corporate custom in Japan known as tanshin funin（単身赴任）, that order from Personnel to move away from family and nearby friends to another city (or even another country) for a few years to work at the local branch there. I've never experienced that myself but I've watched news reports on the phenomenon, and it's almost like the displaced staffer has gone back to bachelorhood. However, at least initially, there could be that sense of loneliness as well.

Noriyuki Makihara's（槇原敬之）"Tohku, Tohku" was never an official single but was a track on his 3rd album, "Kimi wa Boku no Takaramono"（君は僕の宝物...You Are My Treasure）from June 1992. And it has gained a lot of popularity over the years to the extent that I was surprised to find out that it hadn't gotten its own single release. Sheepishly, I also have to admit that I had forgotten that it was on "Kimi wa Boku no Takaramono", a CD that I've had for over 20 years in the collection. Time to put that on the player again then.

Like so many of Makihara's output, "Tohku, Tohku" is one of those happy and heartwarming songs that would be great to be sung at karaoke or even acapella at one of those drinking parties. It just calls for colleagues and buddies to lock arms and move side-to-side while someone is manning the microphone. So, it's not surprising that it has been covered by a number of singers over the past twenty-odd years such as Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）and May J. And as I said at the top, it would make for a nice cheer-up song for that fellow who's had to be transferred far, far away...the lyrics point out that no matter how great the distance, old friends will always stay together even if the guy has to decline the latest invitation to that school reunion. After all, tanshin funin will eventually end.

Especia -- Aventure wa Gin'iro ni （アバンチュールは銀色に）

I gotta say that Especia does have some pretty retro-slick videos. After falling for the charms for their "Kurukana"（くるかな）from their "GUSTO" album due to the 80s-style tribute to television signoffs and the City Poppy sound, I wanted to learn a bit more about this 21st-century aidoru group with a sound that has taken me back 2 or 3 decades. Then, I came across an earlier song, the catchy "Umibe no Sati"（海辺のサティ）, and that was it. I needed to track down their discs.

So, thanks to the good folks at CD Japan, I was able to get a couple of them for Xmas. One was their maxi-single, "Midnight Confusion" (2013) which has "Umibe no Sati", and then their first full-fledged album, the aforementioned "GUSTO". I listened to both discs and a few of the new tunes stood out. One was "Aventure wa Gin'iro ni" (Adventure in Silver) from the latter album which was created by Maserati Nagisa（マセラティ渚）, who also took care of "Kurukana".

The top YouTube video has the original version of "Aventure"....the coupling song to Especia's 2nd single, "YA-ME-TE!" from January 2014. As with "Kurukana", both the song and the video brought back some of the funky images and sounds from my high school days....the folks who were responsible for the video must have really done their homework for the visual effects of that time. The above video has the version from "GUSTO" which has more of a late 80s/early 90s R&B beat somewhat reminiscent of CeCe Peniston, and is the one I prefer. 

As Marcos V. stated in the very first article for Especia, the girls' vocals aren't exactly supremely polished. However, I guess as someone who has been listening to unpolished aidoru for over 30 years, I don't particularly mind as long as the music has got a pretty darn good hook, and as a lot of you readers know, I never paid all that much attention to the lyrics until my reading ability began improving during my years in Japan. For me, it was fascinating enough to listen to these off-tune aidoru tackling a genre whose heyday was back in the late 70s and early 80s.

Considering those slick music videos, their live performances seem to go into the other direction. Sometimes, I've wondered if Especia invited their fans to come to the basement of one of the girls' houses (Coke and Pringles are complementary over there in the corner by the hot water heater!), and the group suddenly whipped up their choreography.

"GUSTO" was released back in May 2014 and peaked at No. 42 on the album charts, while the single "YA-ME-TE!" did a bit better by reaching No. 34.

Especia -- GUSTO

P.S. I think I'd be rather remiss if I didn't introduce the members of Especia.

Haruka Tominaga（冨永悠香）from Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture
Chika Sannomiya（三ノ宮ちか）from Ikeda City, Metropolitan Osaka
Chihiro Mise（三瀬ちひろ）from Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture
Monari Wakita（脇田もなり）from the Goto Islands, Nagasaki Prefecture
Erika Mori（森絵莉加）from Uji City, Metropolitan Kyoto
Akane Sugimoto（杉本暁音）left in 2014