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.
When I hear a PSY-S song, I look forward to two things usually: CHAKA's high and beautifully resonating voice and Masaya Matsuura's（松浦雅也）synthesizer hooks.
I still get those with "Separate Blue", a track from the duo's 6th album"Signal" released in July 1990. With Matsuura, I get those "thrip, thrip, thrip..." notes from his synth (your onomatopoeia mileage may vary) while CHAKA gives out those plaintive and penetrating vocals. "Separate Blue", along with that ever-present jangly beat, also has some added warmth thanks to a brief interlude in the song which sounds like the melody dropped in at an old-fashioned toy shop in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. It's these little turns in new directions that made PSY-S stand out as a technopop band.
In April 1994, PSY-S released "Home Made", an album of self-covers and they performed a quieter and unplugged take on "Separate Blue". Next to Matsuura's melody, Norie Kanzawa（神沢礼江）provided the lyrics.
Tokyo Midtown is one of the two big commercial complexes in the Roppongi area along with Roppongi Hills. Of course, being a foodie, I've known it more for the restaurants in there, and when I was living there, there was Francis Ford Coppola's establishment along with a burger joint and one of my favourite tonkatsu restaurants, Hirata Bokujo. I did go there during my last visit to Tokyo in 2017, and I tucked into some sort of seasonal course. Of course, extra helpings of shredded cabbage, miso soup and rice were on the house.
Yup, did love my Tokyo and still miss the various areas of Roppongi, Ginza, Omotesando, Shibuya, Sugamo and all the rest. That's why when I encountered this speedy video of driving through the megalopolis, I got all sorts of pangs for my former area of work and hobby life.
Moreover, the song that goes with it isn't too shabby either. This is "Tokyo Lovelight" by house DJ MAKAI with YUCHUN (now formerly) of the South Korean group Tohoshinki（東方神起）providing the smooth vocals. Especially with those opening seconds, the visuals of bombing down through the bright lights and big city of Tokyo along with "Tokyo Lovelight" playing in the background brought back all sorts of wishes of being able to return and soak up all the atmosphere. Memories of Mondo Grosso and some aspects of Fantastic Plastic Machine come to mind. I especially like the way YUCHUN's vocals echo off the walls.
I heard all about Tohoshinki when I was living there due to their popularity but didn't know anything about MAKAI. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1979, he started spinning those discs from around 1990 and released 6 original albums between 2005 and 2010. His Wikipedia page says that his career is still going on, but on J-Wiki, he apparently announced his retirement from DJ'ing in 2012. "Tokyo Lovelight" is the lead track on his 4th album"STARS" released in September 2008 (which peaked at No. 32 on Oricon). As for the official music video, if anyone is asking, it's model Katrina Ikeda（池田カトリーナ）enjoying her city life there.
I checked online and happily the Hirata Bokujo branch at Tokyo Midtown is still there. I'm hoping that it continues to do so. Try not to eat the screen.🐖
It's been almost six years since I purchased "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1", an unusual album released in March 1978 consisting of songs of varying genres including City Pop performed by female vocalists who had an association with the live house chain Loft in Tokyo. There's even a J-Wiki article devoted to Loft which was first founded by former (then known as) Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications employee Yu Hirano（平野悠）in 1971 as a jazz café. After that, folk/rock branches of Loft were set up in areas such as Shimo-Kitazawa, Nishi-Ogikubo and Shinjuku.
I purchased the album which was featured in my City Pop bible of "Japanese City Pop" for a couple of reasons. One was that a pre-debut Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）had a couple of tracks in there which have already been written about in the blog, and the other is that I rather fell hard for that wonderful album cover with not only a great bird's-eye view of a city but also of the logo of a couple tripping the light fantastic. Unfortunately, it's taken quite a while for some of the other tracks on "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1" to see the light of day...or YouTube, but finally a number of those songs have appeared so I can write about them.
The first track is Kaoru Uemura's（上村かをる）cover of "Hoshikuzu"（星くず...Stardust）, originally created by Youma Fujita（藤田洋麻）and performed by band Makoto Kubota to Yuyake Gakudan（久保田麻琴と夕焼け楽団）back in 1977. The original has that mellow Margueritaville folksy vibe but Uemura takes things downtown disco with her version. I can see the Shinjuku or Roppongi glitter ball now.
Back a few days ago, I made my first article on Shizuru Ohtaka（おおたか静流）and her ethereal cover of the kayo classic "Kanashikute Yarikirenai"（悲しくてやりきれない）in 1992, and at the end, I remarked that Ohtaka had actually been singing since the late 1970s at least under the name Shizuko Ohtaka（大高静子）. Well, this is the song that she composed and recorded as the 2nd track on "Loft Sessions", "Black Coffee"（ブラック・コーヒー）.
With lyrics by Yasuki/Yasuteru Konishi（小西保輝）and music by Ohtaka herself about a cup of joe no longer being quite so bitter to perhaps indicate a woman getting over a broken heart, "Black Coffee" explodes out of the gate sounding quite progressive rock/pop and reminding me of a Joni Mitchell song. Ohtaka back then seemed to have a voice similar to that of City Pop/R&B chanteuse Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, ranging from wafting and delicate to slightly growly. Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）of Ippu-Do and Minoya Central Station fame arranged this song which also wavers from that dramatic rock passage to some of that softer melodic contemplation in the café.
The above video uploaded by LX Archives is actually one of the not-so-full album (due to the usual copyright issues...ahem). However at 9:03 is the one song that I really wanted to feature from "Loft Sessions" and that is "Ame wa Itsuka"（雨はいつか...When is the Rain?）by singer/songwriter and guitarist Yoshiko Yoshida（吉田佳子）. A cover of a Sentimental City Romance song from the band's December 1977 3rd album"City Magic", this splendid song by SCR member Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）is handsomely crafted into this version performed by Yoshida. I couldn't have asked for a more comforting folk-country kayo about a long walk or a long walk through life.
The performance here also includes a couple of guests, Koichi Matsuda（松田幸一）on harmonica and Ritsu Murakami（村上律）on steel pedal guitar, from a band that I had just written about yesterday, The Last Show（ザ・ラストショウ）. I would have included "Ame wa Itsuka" in its own article in comparison with the original by Sentimental City Romance since the video for it is up on YouTube, but I couldn't wait. However, I will tackle that one soon enough.
The last song that I'll put up here has the singer who started things off. Kaoru Uemura wrote and composed "Kyo kara"（きょうから・・・From Today）. It's a bluesy jazz ballad close to a torch song about a woman recovering from a hangover after a most interesting night with a fellow. She seems to be making amends for her follies but then near the end, the song takes a 90-degree turn and goes super funky for some reason. Perhaps the lass didn't learn her lesson after all.
Not sure whether founder Hirano ever decided to have a concert version of "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1" but that would have been quite the gig for everyone including the fans. There was never a Vol. 2 unfortunately, but recently a new version of the 1978 album was released called "Loft Sessions, Vol. 1 Outtakes" which includes most of the original tracks (but not the Takeuchi and Ohtaka entries) on one CD with another CD featuring outtakes of those originals.
Well, I guess I can add singer-songwriter Chiharu Matsuyama（松山千春）to that list of 1970 folk artists such as Shozo Ise（伊勢正三）, Iruka（イルカ）and Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）who made that crossover leap into City Pop.
He himself didn't perform this particular song but he was responsible for words and music. "Yume wo Nosete"(Ride The Dream). Recorded by multifaceted band Pedro & Capricious（ペドロ＆カプリシャス）, this Latin-tinged City Pop tune may start off sounding a bit like the theme to a Japanese cop show, but then the familiar rhythms of far south and that urban contemporary arrangement come to the fore once more. I believe that Naoko Matsudaira（松平直子）, who replaced Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）as the vocalist for the group, is singing wonderfully here, and although it's quite subtle in "Yume wo Nosete", the background vocals are also sublime. Plus, isn't that Jake H. Concepcion performing the sax solo?
The song was the B-side to Pedro & Capricious' April 1981 single "Silky Silver Rain"（シルキー・シルバーレイン）. Speaking of Matsudaira's vocals, I think when she stretches out some of her notes in the refrain, I can imagine the emotions of Matsuyama doing the same here, too. A few months following the release of the single, I arrived for my first five days of my Japan odyssey at the Tokyo Prince Hotel. I remember walking outside of the hotel on July 6th in the steamy night with my fellow classmates and seeing modernity all around me. "Yume wo Nosete" would have made for the ideal companion song back then.
For those who are really in the know when it comes to Japanese television, this song and the way that it's been delivered in that scat should be instantly familiar to you. The reason is that it's at least a partial cover of the theme song for "11 PM", the long-running late-night variety show on NTV that often had that slightly risque bent to it.
And indeed, it's Keitaro Miho（三保敬太郎）who composed the original theme, and once again he's behind this version which has lyrics this time by Hiroshi Hoshino（星野博志）. With the title "Oui Savadava", the new arrangement has got some more Latin spice added to the scat, and the performers are a vocal trio known as Alan Dolon（あらんどろん）, which is a slight deviation from the famous French actor, Alain Delon, who's practically a legend in Japan. Try as I might, I couldn't track down who the three singers were. If anyone does know, please let me know. As well, I was seeing quite a few years being listed as the release date for "Oui Savadava", but the liner sheet with the original 45" states that it is 1980.
Well, time for another Reminiscings of Youth article where we find out how the Oricon Singles chart was faring as one of my beloved Western pop songs was becoming a hit. Moreover, congratulations are in store for Daryl Hall and John Oates as they become the first act in a ROY article to show up twice in "Kayo Kyoku Plus", after their 1981 hit"Private Eyes", a popular one in Japan as well.
Now, we move on ahead a few more years to October 1984 as Hall & Oates were getting into something a bit more New Wave, a bit more dance remix. I first heard their single "Out of Touch" on Toronto's CFTR-AM when the station was still doing music (it's been doing all-news for almost 30 years) through their "Top 6 at 6", and I thought "Yeah, it's a pretty good Hall & Oates song".
Then, I saw the music video...and I went "Oh, man....this is a GREAT Hall & Oates song!". Daryl and John and their band were doing their usual hijinks but on a music set that seemed to have come from "Land of the Giants" and everything started out with "Dance On Your Knees" before exploding into "Out of Touch". These guys just went epic! After that, I wanted to hear the extended remix version on the Saturday-night radio remix shows (which I did). It hit the middle of the Top 10 here in Canada and hit No. 1 on Billboard, too.
But before I go into what the Top 3 singles were on Oricon, I have to detour since I only found out in the last couple of months that a couple of years ago, some enterprising anime fan had the bright idea to pull off a pop cultural Reese's Peanut Butter Cup thing and merge the opening credits of "Lucky Star" with "Out of Touch". I can truly say that I was out of touch since I didn't know about this. Although I can't say that it is a perfect synch, the creation does have its charms. I'm not sure how "Out of Touch" ever did in Japan but I can say that like "Private Eyes", this particular Hall & Oates number has its Japan connection.
Earlier this year, a YouTuber by the name of lamb sauce decided to provide a bit more "Out of Touch" and a bit more "Lucky Star". I may have to look forward to the extended treatment including "Dance On Your Knees".
One more further comparison can be made between "Private Eyes" and "Out of Touch" through the KKP crucible in that both songs made their premiere when a 1980s aidoruhad the top spot on Oricon for that month. And here we go!
Good to hear from singer-songwriter Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）once more. Have been missing her and her golden vocals.
Takahashi brings out some lovely 1990s City Pop with "Fushigi na Tori"(Odd Bird) which was the coupling song for her 23rd single "Sotto...Lovin' You"（そっと…Lovin' you...Secretly...Lovin' You） from July 1994. It's an odd title for this one although I'm not complaining about the synth-heavy melody at all, but apparently the lyrics by Takahashi refer to the flightiness of love in the big city. Not surprisingly, considering the uptempo and breezy nature of "Fushigi na Tori", it was used as the theme song for a TV Asahi drama special centering around Kansai International Airport which hadn't been due to open officially for another couple of months. Naturally, music and drama always like to congregate at an airport when it comes to Japanese pop culture.
Composition was the responsibility of Makoto Mitsui（三井誠）, one of the members of the 1970s folk group Craft（クラフト）in which another member turned out to become quite the City Pop veteran, Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）. Mitsui was also responsible for the 1992 Xmas classic recorded by Junichi Inagaki（稲垣潤一）,"Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa"（クリスマスキャロルの頃には）and he also provided the melody for another Takahashi song, "Sincerely" in 1993. As for the single, it peaked at No. 19 on Oricon.
