Kohei Dojima -- Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティロマンス）

I guess there must be a thing for the combination of words that goes Sentimental City Romance. Not only has there been a long-existing band by that name but there have been two songs at least with that title, one of which I spoke about yesterday.

The other song is this "Sentimental City Romance" that I'm musing about here. I was actually looking up the debut number by the band Sentimental City Romance when I saw this song with the popular title on the right side. Out of curiosity, I gave it a spin and enjoyed it right then and there. Considering its release date of December 1999, I started thinking Shibuya-kei and perhaps even a new example of City Pop but then reconsidered that this particular tune doesn't go too far into either genre so I just put it in as pop.

Still, Osaka-born and Ibaraki-raised singer-songwriter Kohei Dojima（堂島孝平）does a nice job of providing his corner of sunniness through "Sentimental City Romance", his 13th single. And I guess one other reason that I thought Shibuya-kei was that Dojima's vocals and perhaps even the arrangement with the horns reminded me a bit of one of the prime acts of that genre, Flipper's Guitar. In his biography on J-Wiki, it's said that his music incorporates neo-acoustic, soul and jazz, and I could hear some of that middle category in "Sentimental City Romance".

The single was also included in his 6th original album "Tasogare Espresso"（黄昏エスプレッソ...Sunset Espresso）from March 2000. I just listened to samples from the album on Amazon.jp and I think it might be a future purchase. Plus, Dojima was also responsible for an anison that I have heard before but I will talk about that later on.

Sentimental City Romance -- Uchiwamome（うちわもめ）

Not quite a follow-up to my preceding article today involving EPO but considering that a shout-out was given to the rock band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）and I hadn't written about those guys in many a moon, I decided to do a bit of digging.

Now my first mention of Sentimental City Romance came through their contribution to Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）inaugural album "Beginning" from 1978 but it was nikala who wrote the first article on the band exclusively when she wrote about their 1980s song "Flight Tonight". As was her experience, I had only found out about them through the pages of "Japanese City Pop". And as she wrote down, in contrast to the cool City Pop of "Flight Tonight", the early part of their discography in the 1970s was kinda straddling the line between country and rock n' roll.

So I went way back and checked out their debut single from July 1975 (SCR had actually formed in 1973), "Uchiwamome" (Family Problems). Yup, it's definitely not City Pop but maybe something more akin to the roots rock of Creedence Clearance Revival, although I still have to listen to more of their stuff during that decade to get a better idea, of course.

Vocalist and guitarist Tokuo Nakano（中野督夫）wrote and composed their first single, and the topic is also notable in that it goes into the protagonist fretting about an upcoming family reunion that he's not too thrilled about attending. However, any conflicts hinted in the lyrics seem mild enough that the song could also be about a young man being introduced to his prospective in-laws. In any case, it has that sound of a good-time tune that would be included in the Japanese New Music of the 1970s.

EPO -- Go Go EPO

After experiencing the soulful "Downtown Rhapsody" and the perky "Middle Twenties" from EPO's 9th album from April 1987, "Go Go EPO", I decided to pull the trigger once more and get it. The singer-songwriter had a hand in all of the tracks with help from various other folks who I will mention below.

Compared to the City Pop of her first albums, it looks like EPO was expanding a bit more into other genres such as R&B. There's the aforementioned "Downtown Rhapsody" and this one called "Diet Go-Go" that starts off a bit like "Dance On Your Knees", the prologue tune before Hall & Oates' "Out of Touch". Kenzo Saeki（サエキけんぞう）co-wrote the lyrics and although I'm not sure where the diet comes into play there, it sounds like EPO providing the recipe to get out of the blues. At the very least, perhaps "Diet Go-Go" made for some good background music to an aerobics session. Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame arranged the tune.

EPO was solely responsible for "Hachi-gatsu Juu-Shichi-nichi"（八月十七日...August 17th）, a mid-tempo tune with a touch of Latin about a woman reminiscing over a past love perhaps somewhere in an old resort area where the former couple used to patronize. It starts off slightly melancholy but then gains some speed as if the lady has used the opportunity to say goodbye to that past and move on into a better tomorrow.

"Kuroi Hitomi no Girlfriend"（黒い瞳のガールフレンド...Dark-Eyed Girlfriend）by EPO and Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）is another R&B-infused tune that kinda strikes me with a bit of Motown and perhaps even some brassy 70s New York soul. EPO goes a bit sassy here about a guy who's trying to track down his girlfriend and apologize after a fight. Supposedly, the woman has one killer stare...or glare. The track was also the singer's 15th single from June 1987.

The band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）had a hand in one track that bears its name, "Sentimental City Romance" written and composed by EPO. Sunny and mellow is how I would describe this pop tune about a couple making their final goodbyes at a bus stop. The now-former leader of the band, Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）, arranged this one with the entire band backing her up.

There are a couple of more tracks worthy of note on "Go Go EPO" but I will leave them for individual articles. It took me a second listen to finally cotton onto the album as a whole but the tracks are now settling in nicely into my memories. EPO's 9th has still got plenty of punch and sweetness although I would say that it's more of a mainstream pop release than the City Pop stuff of earlier years.

Yujiro Ishihara -- Yukiguni no Machi（雪国の町）

"Yukiguni"（雪国）by Ikuzo Yoshi（吉幾三）has remained my juu-hachi-ban at karaoke all these decades. But I have discovered a near-namesake of sorts done by one of the other great men of kayo.

"Yukiguni no Machi" (Town of the Snow Country) is another ballad by Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）from September 1965 that has the Tough Guy crooning about a lost love while he's in some sort of onsen village during the winter. Despite his sadness, I can only envy him since I have never been in the middle of one of Japan's most seasonally picturesque scenes.

This particular song sticks out to me since it's more along the enka/kayo end of things than his usual Mood Kayo numbers. The music by Kenroku Uehara（上原賢六）is arranged to bring in that feeling of swirling snow and wind thanks to the fluttering flute and perhaps even that haunting organ. Shiro Hagiwara（萩原四朗）provided the lyrics here.

My anime buddy actually went to Aomori Prefecture during his last trip to Japan in January 2017. A lot of my family and friends (and even some of the folks he met up in the area by his admission) remarked that he was frankly nuts to do so due to the snow up there, and it just so happened that a winter storm blanketed the area when he arrived. So even he was considering his mental state when he first hit Hirosaki but as it turned out, he was able to get some great seasonal photos. He's back there again even as I type but this time, he is more than happy to go to relatively warmer climes by heading to Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture.

(karaoke version)

Hibari Misora -- Zassou no Uta（雑草の歌）

I don't think I had ever come across a song that would place the weed on such a high pedestal but I did find one.

Not that I was looking for a number that paid tribute to the botanical outcast in the first place. Actually I was searching around for a Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）song. I think we've managed to cover her biggest hits for the most part on the blog but Misora had a career that spanned from the late 1940s into the late 1980s so I figure that she must have had many many more jewels to be re-discovered.

And so I think I have found one right here. I never heard of it but her "Zassou no Uta" (Song of Weeds) is one of her mighty songs of pride along the same lines as "Yawara"（柔）and "Jinsei Ichiro"（人生一路）. Released in April 1976, Misora sings about all the trials and tribulations that she has gone through to reach her heights and that just like the unnamed plants that populate the roadsides of Japan, she has refused to be trampled down and has continued to stand proudly.

If I were to describe the arrangement of Minoru Endo's（遠藤実）melody, it would be grace and strength. And perhaps Kazue Kato's（加藤和枝）lyrics might be describing the life of Misora herself. It's still an enka tune but I could pick up some of those 1970s-style kayo drums and those strings provide an epic sheen on the proceedings.

According to her biography on J-Wiki, "Zassou no Uta" was her 272nd single!

Mariya Takeuchi -- Ashita no Watashi（明日の私）

My friend and former contributor to "Kayo Kyoku Plus", JTM, and I were having a chat last night about a number of things including "The Last Jedi" and last week's annual Kohaku Utagassen. As I've mentioned before, the show didn't earn all that much in the ratings department so the two of us were talking about the future of the show. Well, I think it will continue to slog on unchanged for the most part perhaps until 2020 since NHK has declared that it would keep the same theme of "Let's Sing A Dream" until the Tokyo Olympics are done. On the other hand, perhaps some more ambitious producers may decide to renovate once the new reign period begins with the accession of the new Emperor near the middle of 2019.

So, "Ashita no Kohaku"? Not sure at all. However, let me try to segue smoothly to "Ashita no Watashi" (The Me of Tomorrow), Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）23rd single from March 25th 1994. The timing was good for this release since April is seen on the Japanese calendar as the start of not just a new financial year but basically a fresh start for pretty much everybody.

Takeuchi's husband Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）produced this bouncy and optimistic entry about leaving the old hometown and heading to strike it big in the city. Although Mariya's lyrics talk of making those new friends, having those long phone calls and aromatherapy sessions, and not coming back until she makes a success of herself, the music is still more reminiscent of getting out somewhere on the beach. Mind you, Tokyo has got a pretty nice beachfront thanks to Odaiba.

"Ashita no Watashi" managed to peak at No. 19 on Oricon. According to J-Wiki, the song has only been placed on one album thus far which is "Impressions", her 2nd BEST album from July 1994.

(karaoke version)

Kanako Wada -- Jenina（ジェニーナ）

Happy Monday! Some snow here but at least the temperatures have finally gotten up to something near seasonal at an absolutely balmy 0 degrees Celsius. I would expect folks here to get jump out in their T-shirts and flip-flops just about now.

Some weeks ago, I read that one of the seiyuu from the 80s classic TV anime "Kimagure Orange Road"（きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード）, Hiromi Tsuru（鶴ひろみ）who had played the main character of Madoka Ayukawa, passed away suddenly last November. Over the past several weeks, I've seen some comments mourning the loss of Tsuru who left this mortal coil too early at the age of 57.

It's been over a year since I've put up an article featuring one of the go-to singers for songs connected with "KOR", so it's nice to have Kanako Wada（和田加奈子）back on the blog. Unlike some of her other contributions, "Jenina" wasn't an opening or a closing theme but a number that was used somewhere during the show's run. However, having listened to it again, I think it is the most urban contemporary song by her in the "KOR" collection. It's nice to hear those keyboards and that sleek arrangement.

Composed by Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）and written by Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）, the mysterious Jenina is greatly coveted by an ardent admirer who will go to the ends of the earth for her. The song was the B-side to Wada's 5th single the breezy "Natsu no Mirage"（夏のミラージュ）, itself one of the ending themes for "KOR" when it was released in May 1987. If I'm not mistaken, it's been included in at least one of the soundtrack albums for the anime and it's definitely on "Kanako Wada ~ Golden Best".