Kirinji -- Kage no Uta（影の唄）

 

"There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

That was a quote for the 1948 movie "The Naked City" which has been considered to be one of the earliest examples of the now common TV genre of the police procedural. I got to see some of this on the Turner Classic Movies channel on cable and it was interesting to see actor Barry Fitzgerald, who for those old movie fans is famous as Father Fitzgibbon in Bing Crosby's "Going My Way", as the wise detective lieutenant in charge of a homicide case in New York City.

For a film like that or perhaps any of the film noir that were coming out at the time, a good boss jazz score always enhances the experience. I was kinda thinking of those old movies of the 40s and early 50s when I was listening to this marvelous song by Kirinji（キリンジ）titled "Kage no Uta" (Shadow Song). This was actually released as the band's first digital download single in December 2005.

However it was also the final track from the band's October 2006 CD album "DODECAGON", I'm not sure what the rest of the album sounds like, but "Kage no Uta" is definitely different from the romantic balladry of "Aliens" back in 2000 and the spacey synthpop of the band's music for "Ai wo aru dake, Subete"（愛をあるだけ、すべて）in 2018. Written and composed by Takaki Horigome（堀込高樹）, it's smooth-as-top-whisky jazz and with those strip club-friendly horns and silky piano, one of those famous detectives such as Sam Spade would be crazy not to come into a place playing "Kage no Uta". It almost demands a detective's voiceover.

Along with the jazz melody, Horigome's lyrics rather describe the lone-wolf nature of the private eye in these movies. With betrayals real and potential all around him, the only thing that he can trust is his own shadow. But what about his gun? In any case, "DODECAGON" got as high as No. 20 on Oricon. And to wrap up, I don't know whether the above thumbnail for the video was actually the photo for "Kage no Uta", but it isn't the only time that the cover for Donald Fagen's classic "The Nightfly" was imitated.

Ken Tamura -- Odori na yo（踊りなよ）

 

Well, it's another Friday night so we're continuing with the more urban contemporary stuff as usual. Singer-songwriter Ken Tamura（ケン田村）and his "Odori na yo" (C'mon and Dance) is just the right song at dusk as it fits both the City Pop and J-AOR genres rather nicely. 

Beginning with a synthesized Jamaican steel drum intro, "Odori na yo" then launches into that cool and sweet 80s City Pop/AOR arrangement as he exhorts folks into some of that summer dancing and loving. It's a tad short at a little over three minutes but I gather that Tamura likes to leave his listeners wanting more. 

"Odori na yo" was a track on his 1982 album "Fly By Sunset", a release which also has another smooth-as-silk song "A Little Bit Easier". If EMS ever returns to Canada, I will certainly try to track down a copy of the album.

GWINKO -- Heart ga Kiseki wo Matteiru（ハートが奇跡を待っている）

 

A couple of weeks ago, I received a comment under my article for GWINKO's "Natsu no Owari, Chikazuita Sora"（夏のおわり、近づいた空）. Rebecca made a recommendation for the opening track of her May 1991 album "Tokyo Uki Uki Girl"（東京UKIUKI GIRL...Tokyo Cheerful Girl）, "Heart ga Kiseki wo Matteiru" (The Heart is Waiting For a Miracle).

Nice recommendation, Rebecca. "Heart ga Kiseki wo Matteiru" is a percolating piece of that aspect of nostalgic R&B known as New Jack Swing, a genre that I'm still trying to wrap my head around since when I think of it, I usually come up with Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step" from 1989. Written by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）and composed by Ichiro Hada（羽田一郎）, try to imagine the refrain from Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky" done in New Jack Swing rather than Eurobeat.

Matsui has come up with the story of a young woman going out on a date in the big city and Hada's music definitely shows that she's more than over the moon in anticipation. As I mentioned to Rebecca, it makes for a fine start to "Tokyo Uki Uki Girl" although that album cover is a tad sinister.

Nagisa Katahira & Katsura Sanshi -- Shiawase ni Kiss Shitara（幸せにキッスしたら）

 

If I'm not mistaken, the extremely long-running TV Asahi variety show "Shinkon-san Irasshai!"（新婚さんいらっしゃい!...Welcome the Newlyweds!）, the Japanese equivalent of America's "The Newlywed Game", has just celebrated its 50th anniversary on the air since I've read on its J-Wiki page that it premiered on January 31st 1971. So, of course, many congratulations to the host, rakugo comedian Katsura Bunshi VI* (桂文枝), and current co-host, former aidoru Mami Yamase（山瀬まみ）. Yamase has had by far the longest tenure as Katsura's sidekick starting her time in 1997 while the host himself has been there right from the beginning.

The second-longest co-host honours though belong to actress/singer Nagisa Katahira（片平なぎさ）and I first knew about "Shinkon-san Irasshai!" on those video rentals of Japanese TV shows with her giggling away at Katsura's antics and the contestants' often hilarious answers. That was back in the 1980s (Katahira's time was from 1981 to 1992) and back then, the veteran comedian had possessed his former stage name of Katsura Sanshi（桂三枝）.

Now, I've already given the premise of the show on the article for Katahira's theme song for "Shinkon-san Irasshai!", "Futari no Symphony"（二人のシンフォニー）which was this tenderhearted ballad created by Etsuko and Takao Kisugi（来生えつこ・来生たかお）. However, the theme song that followed "Futari no Symphony" was "Shiawase ni Kiss Shitara" (When We Kiss Happily) which was a duet between Katahira and Katsura that was also released as a single in October 1984.

Written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）, composed by Takeshi Ike（いけたけし）and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, "Shiawase ni Kiss Shitara" is more lighthearted fare that seemingly describes the honeymoon and the early days of wedded bliss for a couple. I have to say that Katsura holds his end of the singing bargain quite well with Katahira, even providing some nice harmony in parts of the song. And isn't what harmony is all about with marriage...in theory anyways?

*For those who know about Japanese nomenclature, yes, I've broken that one rule and put the surname, Katsura, first which is how it is done in Japan, although all this time in KKP's history, I've put names down in the Western style (given name first, surname last). However, not only is the comedian's name placed in the Japanese style on the Wikipedia page for him, I kinda feel that writing it down this way for him seems right. Incidentally, the comedian inherited his current appellation from his master, Katsura Bunshi V, in 2012. Still, since he was Katsura Sanshi when this song was released, I'm holding to his former name here for this article.

Akira Adachi -- Shiokaze wo Matsu Shojo（潮風を待つ少女）

 

I found another disciple of legendary composer Minoru Endo（遠藤実）after writing up the article for Shuuji Kano's（叶修二）"Suteki na Yatsu"（素敵なやつ）back on Monday.

Akira Adachi（安達明）was born Haruo Osada/Nagata（長田晴夫）in Kita-Kyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1948 and after being taken under Endo's wing, he made his debut with "Shiokaze wo Matsu Shojo" (The Girl Waiting for the Sea Breeze) in May 1964. Endo composed the song with Rumi Matsuda and Osamu Yoshioka（松田ルミ・吉岡治）sharing lyric-writing duties. It's an old-fashioned love kayo pining for that titular girl on the shore.

What I think adds to its likeable folksiness is the mandolin and the oboe along with the orchestra trumpet while Adachi sings with a certain oaken quality in his voice (despite the fact that he was only 15 at the time). In a way, his voice reminds me a little of how a young Shinichi Mori（森進一）started out. Considering the video above with the cute innocent high school (Sayuri Yoshinaga, perhaps?), I had assumed that the song was so popular that a movie was made around it like so many other songs during the 50s and 60s, but apparently this was more of the uploader's imagination at play here since I couldn't find any evidence of a film titled "Shiokaze wo Matsu Shojo".

With this song and his follow-up, "Jogakusei"（女学生...Schoolgirls）, Adachi had a couple of big hits and he became an idol to a lot of the university co-ed set according to his J-Wiki article. However by 1967, the singer decided to retire from show business but even after leaving, he apparently was still making appearances in the Ginza drinking establishments and on TV. He passed away in May 2020 at the age of 62.

KC and the Sunshine Band -- That's the Way (I Like It)

 

I can't remember what the first disco song I heard was. Was it either KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way (I Like It)" or Van McCoy's "The Hustle"? It may as well have been a dead heat between the two because the latter was released in April 1975 whereas the former was first sold a month later in May.

Either way, I can give thanks to old K-Tel LP compilation commercials on television for bringing disco into my home, and that's where I first heard "That's the Way (I Like It)" (ah-hah, ah-hah), and then it was the radio which made Harry Casey and his band a household name. Strangely enough, I didn't see the band perform all that much on the television itself since at the time, I didn't know what "Soul Train" was and most likely it was too late beyond my bedtime to see when the Sunshine Band could come on.

No matter...those who could stay up appreciated those disco sounds and "That's The Way (I Like It)" hit No. 1 on both the US Billboard and Canada RPM charts. Listening to the song again so many years later, I do enjoy the catchy melody and the horns. My only surprise is that it is a very short song at a shade over 3 minutes.

Well, what were the kayo singles coming out in May 1975 or thereabouts?

Takashi Hosokawa -- Kokoro Nokori（心のこり）

Sugar Babe -- DOWNTOWN

Hiroshi Itsuki -- Chikumagawa (千曲川)

Well, I may have found the commercial itself!

Yuko Tomita -- Yukidoke no Hi（雪どけの日）

 

It's been about 18 months since I actually put up an article devoted to pop singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）so I figured that it was time to feature her again as the topic of the first KKP article for July 2021.

Tomita is someone that I've gotten to know because of my work on the blog over the past decade, and as such, I've been able to glean that she's more in the softer side of pop: AOR, Fashion Music/Baroque Pop and balladry. Therefore, it's no surprise that I've come across this B-side to her March 1982 3rd single "Bobby", "Yukidoke no Hi" (Thaw Day).

Beginning with some hard piano strikes, "Yukidoke no Hi", which was written and composed by the singer, takes on the arrangement of a gentle waltz as Tomita sings (I believe) about a woman in a small wintry town perhaps still harbouring feelings for a fellow who has long since left home for a bigger environment. At the very least, she is sending those pen-and-paper letters to him. I think that this is a good cocoa-sipping tune on those cold nights...ironic, considering the time that I'm typing this. Mind you, it's not as hot as it was earlier in the week here in Toronto but summer has nonetheless arrived.