Milk (pop duo) -- HANASANAI

 

I only heard of the manga-turned-anime "Earthian"（アーシアン）from my anime buddy in passing but never saw a single scene from the series. Apparently it's quite the yaoi fantasy story, though.

What caught my ear here regarding "Earthian" is one of the tracks from the first of the three "ORIGINAL ALBUM" soundtracks for the series. There is also a "Complete Vocal Collection" to throw in for the music behind the anime so it is rather reminiscent of the many albums that have been created on behalf of popular shows such as "Kimagure Orange Road"（きまぐれオレンジロード）.

As for that particular track, it's "HANASANAI" (Never Let You Go) by the pop duo Milk. The fact that I could find another song on YouTube by this obscure sister act is one reason that got me to talk about this one. Another reason is that "HANASANAI" is a fine example of late 80s City Pop encircling a major downtown neighbourhood such as Shinjuku...plus it's got a screaming electric guitar solo. That opening synthesizer thrum hooked me right there and then there are the vocals by Ritsuko Miyajima and Rie Miyajima（宮島律子・宮島理恵）. Strangely enough, when they croon out some of the lyrics, the delivery reminds me of future hitmaker Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）, although her voice is a fair bit higher.

If I've read the description below the video correctly, Rie Miyajima was behind words and music. I also would like to mention that City Pop singer-songwriter Kingo Hamada（濱田金吾）took care of the production for "ORIGINAL ALBUM 1" which supposedly came out in July 1988 according to Discogs.

Junko Yagami -- I'm a Woman

 

Here I was...ready to put up a fresh new article on Junko Yagami's（八神純子）"Secret Love"（シークレット・ラブ）, another wonderful song by the singer-songwriter from Nagoya with that incredibly soaring voice, and talk about all the great things about it. Then, I realized that I had already given my two (non-existent Canadian) cents on it back in July 2018. Well, I have pulled off goofs like that before by providing articles on songs that I had already written but forgot about. To be honest, I have never had the heart to pull down the so-called unnecessary second versions since I may have plugged down some different insights there. Still, I won't put down copies if I can help it.

And yet, I was still itching to put up a Yagami song. Luckily, I was able to find this 11th single of hers, "I'm a Woman" which was a trackmate of not only "Secret Love" but also "Ichi-nen Mae no Koibito"（一年前の恋人）on her February 1982 album "Yume Miru Koro wo Sugite mo"（夢みる頃を過ぎても...Even If The Time to Dream Passes）. The album was another hit for Yagami as it peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and ended up as the 34th-ranked release for the year.

I'm also quite glad that I did go ahead with "I'm a Woman" because I remember that this was a song that I have heard before on her BEST compilations but had never had the opportunity to jot some stuff down about. Moreover, "I'm a Woman" which was composed by Yagami is quite different in tone from its two other City Pop trackmates that have been mentioned up above since it's got more of a rock feeling or perhaps I can call it the raunchier extreme of West Coast AOR.

First off, as a single, "I'm a Woman" was released in March 1981 and what I like about it is the harmony involved in the verses and then the electric guitar screaming in for a landing. There's something quite suspenseful in the lyrics by Sonomi Ari（阿里そのみ）which deal with a woman who doesn't suffer men gladly and is more than happy to be in control. One remarkable thing that I've also noticed is that from Ari's lyrics and Yagami's delivery, "I'm a Woman" could have been a great song for 70s superstar aidoru Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）to tackle if she hadn't retired the year before. A lot of Yamaguchi's later hits in the late 1970s dealt with world-weary women wrapping fellows around their well-manicured pinkies, but perhaps "I'm a Woman" is a tad different in that I don't think the protagonist in the song is world-weary at all but is someone happily relishing being at the height of her powers.

Anyways, enough proselytizing from me. "I'm a Woman" peaked at No. 17 on Oricon. It was also used as a jingle for the Yamaha NS-460 which I'm assuming is a stereo? I couldn't find any sign of the commercial on YouTube unfortunately.

Hi-Fi Set -- Je m'ennuie（ジュ マンニュイ）

 

Well, it looks like I managed to find another August-themed City Pop (or Resort Pop) tune today following Fujimal Yoshino's（芳野藤丸）"AUGUST".

Moreover, this is also a very light and mellow tune, this time by vocal group Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）from their 2nd album, "Fashionable Lover", "Je m'ennuie" (I'm Bored). Released in June 1976, "Je m'ennuie" stands out for the fact that this time around, it isn't Junko Yamamoto（山本潤子）as the lead vocalist but Shigeru Okawa（大川茂）behind the mike, although we can hear Junko in the background.

Toshiyuki Watanabe（渡辺俊幸）was the one behind the classy vacation melody (including the lovely horns which come in near the end) which comes across as the perfect accompaniment to a summer lark on the Riviera. Watanabe has a connection with Hi-Fi Set since he was once the drummer for the folk band Akai Tori（赤い鳥）in the early 1970s; Akai Tori was basically the mother group for Yamamoto and company before they split off to form Hi-Fi Set. As for the lyrics, it was none other than Yumi Arai（荒井由実）who wrote them. In the early days, Arai came up with the lyrics for a number of Hi-Fi Set's songs, and for "Je m'ennuie", it seems as if a fellow is reminiscing about that August with the girl and the sun and the beach, something that is now past history. Perhaps he's suffering tenderly but we listeners are gratified.😎

Fujimal Yoshino -- AUGUST

 

Much as I did for 80s aidoru and Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）graduate Marina Watanabe's（渡辺満里奈）"Hachi-gatsu, Saisho no Suiyoubi"（八月、最初の水曜日）, I kept Fujimal Yoshino's（芳野藤丸）"AUGUST" under backlog lock and key for a number of months since I was waiting for August to reveal it on "Kayo Kyoku Plus".

Glad I did, too. "AUGUST", which comes from Yoshino's July 1983 album "Romantic Guys", is as cooling as a Japanese summer wind chime, and where I sit in the warmest area of my home, the song definitely has come in handy. This is so City Pop that my eyes have blurred looking at the thumbnail image of the video, but then again, that is probably because the uploader didn't put up a clear version of the album cover. 

But no matter. It obviously doesn't take anything from the song which not only has Yoshino's creamy yet smoky vocals but those wonderful guitars and a delectable Fender Rhodes. Kazuko Kobayashi（小林和子）provided the lyrics, and may I say that the background chorus harmonies are just top-notch. I still could use a drink after working on a few assignments today before hitting the blog.

Stardust Revue -- Danger Lady

 

Perhaps a tad early before the usual urban contemporary Friday but hey, why not? And I wouldn't say that Stardust Revue's  (スターダストレビュー) "Danger Lady" is a straight-up City Pop tune...I think that it's more in the jazz-pop range with the synthesizers standing in for all of those Big Band instruments.

A track on the band's July 1988 album "Rendez-Vous", this synth-jazz piece was composed by Stardust Revue keyboardist Yasuhiro Mitani（三谷泰弘）, the same fellow who would come up with the classy and summery "Natsu no Jou" （夏の女王）. However it is indeed the distinctive vocals of Kaname Nemoto（根本要）behind the mike for "Danger Lady" which sounds like a kissing cousin to Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）"No Problem" which saw the light of day in the same year. Maybe Japanese bands were getting into their synth-jazz phase at the time, perhaps? The lyrics, by the way, were provided by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）.

The Carpenters -- Yesterday Once More

 

Almost to the day a year ago, I wrote up a Reminiscings of Youth article on Carpenters' "Close to You", arguably one of the most well-known songs by the sibling pop duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter from 1970. Naturally, hearing Carpenters songs on the radio while I was a kid was par for the course.

When I first went to live in Japan, I soon realized that the Carpenters had even more fame and love in the country of my ancestors than in the United States. In addition to the usual hits, I even discovered a song by them that I hadn't heard before, shockingly enough. And that song was "Yesterday Once More". It was originally a Carpenters single that was released in May 1973, but the first time I heard it was as a the theme song for "19xx Bokutachi no Natsukashii Melody" （僕たちの懐かしいメロディー）, a late-night (or early-morning) Fuji-TV series that quietly showcased some of the oldies from Japanese pop. I remember catching it as I shivered underneath my futon in the wintry depths of Gunma Prefecture in 1990. There was nothing like the velvety voice of Karen to keep me warm before the kayo poured out. Ironically, videos of the show on YouTube have now garnered a lot of nostalgic feelings for it, a show that had been produced to display the nostalgic songs in the first place.

Y'know...if there were ever a theme song for the ROY articles or for the blog in general, it would be "Yesterday Once More" since the vast majority of the entries here is all about the nostalgia and good ol' days of music and kayo. The whole song sounded nostalgic even when it was first released in the early 1970s, and I've found out that this was totally intentional according to the Wikipedia article for the song since it goes along the 50s progression chord that was all the rage for songwriters back in the 1950s and early 1960s. Apparently one of the number of nicknames for it was the doo-wop progression.

I've found out over the years since watching "19xx" that "Yesterday Once More" has also been a popular karaoke tune to be warbled among the students that I've had; it's up there with "Top of the World" and the aforementioned "Close to You". To be honest, I've had a go with "Yesterday Once More" a few times myself at places like Karaoke Kan and Big Echo with varying results.

Furthermore, according to that Wikipedia article, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and has become the Carpenters' biggest-selling single worldwide, so I've definitely been missing out on some information there. And it doesn't hurt that Richard has stated that "Yesterday Once More" is his favourite creation. For me, though, no matter how much I listen to it, I will always think of it as the theme song for "19xx".

So what were the singles that got released in May 1973?

Tulip -- Kokoro no Tabi （心の旅）

Sayuri Ishikawa -- Kakurenbo (かくれんぼ)

Yosui Inoue -- Yume no Naka e （夢の中へ）

Minako Fujishiro -- Furimuite My Darling（ふり向いてマイ・ダーリン）

 

I think the only thing missing from this song is a cold glass of Hawaiian Punch. But then again, listening to the melody, that would be inaccurate since there are those synthy Caribbean steel drums in there. Regardless, this is a happy-go-lucky tune.

Not only that, "Furimuite My Darling" (Look Back, My Darling) was an insert song for a couple of episodes of the famed 80s anime "Kimagure Orange Road"（きまぐれオレンジ☆ロード）. Performed by actress Minako Fujishiro（藤代美奈子）, this was her second and final single released in September 1987, and although the singing makes this sound rather aidoru-ish, the actress label is the only one attached to her, so I've just categorized "Furimuite My Darling" as the poppiest of pop songs.

I have only seen bits and pieces of "KOR" so I don't know in what context "Furimuite My Darling" was used in those two episodes, but I can only imagine that it could have been utilized for those quintessential beach scenes. Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）was responsible for the melody while Ryu Sawachi（澤地隆）took care of the lyrics. As for Fujishiro, her acting career didn't last all that long either with it lasting between 1986 to 1994.