Miho Fujiwara -- California Crisis（カリフォルニア・クライシス）

 

During my usual maintenance duties on the blog, I traipsed into Miho Fujiwara's（藤原美穂）file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and noticed that all of her articles thus far involved her presence in Marcos V's "Special Selection Volume II" and the two groups that she was part of: Chocolate Lips and PAZZ. In other words, she didn't have an article all unto herself. Felt somewhat badly about that so it was time for me to rectify this.

And I thought the best thing for me to do was highlight the songs that she contributed to the rather weird anime OVA "California Crisis ~ Tsuigeki no Hibana"（カリフォルニア・クライシス 追撃の銃火...Gun Salvo）. I think that I may have talked with my anime buddy about this 1986 mini-movie before and if I remember correctly, he quickly pooh-poohed it away. Apparently, so did a lot of other people who tried it out.

The article on the site "Cartoon Research" will be a whole lot better on the assessment of what was supposed to be Part 1 of a two-parter anime that was half-road trip and half-science fiction mystery all happening within a fantasized California through rose-coloured Japanese eyes. However the real tragedy is that the production company ran into bankruptcy before a Part 2 could ever be made, leaving things literally incomplete; a cliffhanger that's still hanging. From what I've seen so far is that "California Crisis" is an animated version of an Eizin Suzuki（鈴木英人）painting that was never created by Eizin Suzuki. The scenes were such that I'm sure even Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）was ready to call his legal team before he realized what was going on. For me, though, the one other notable thing is that the crazy California girl Marcia was played by seiyuu Miina Tominaga（富永みーな）who has gone on to take many more roles, including her time as the villainous Majorina in "Smile Precure!"（スマイルプリキュア!）in the early 2010s.

As I mentioned up above, the former vocalist of Chocolate Lips and the future co-vocalist of PAZZ contributed four songs to the anime which were then placed on a release titled "California Crisis" in 1986. If I'm not mistaken, this is probably Fujiwara's first solo project that has been called a maxi-single or a mini-album. Well, since I don't do that many albums compared to the single songs, I'll call this a mini-album for compensation's sake.

Two tracks are on Side A: "Next Move" and "Heartbeat". Both were given lyrics by Fujiwara and music by Matthew Kamei. The whole thing about the anime "California Crisis" is that despite the sparse story and characterization, it was pretty plain that the folks involved were interested in providing their take on life in the Golden State, and listening to "Next Move", there was that feeling of West Coast funk and soundtrack music from a lot of action movies in Hollywood during that time. The other thing is that I have now been reacquainted with the remarkable vocals by Fujiwara although I don't think "Next Move" is the best track on the album.

For those who have been lamenting the fact that they may not be able to get "California Crisis" the mini-album because it's been discontinued, don't lose despair. I say so because the CD version of Chocolate Lips' self-titled album has all four songs from "California Crisis" as bonus tracks, so I've already covered "Heartbeat" there. However, I'm also throwing it in here too for completion's case. There's not much daylight generally between it and "Next Move", melodically speaking, aside from a kittenish voiceover from Fujiwara herself.

My favourite track on the album is "Streets Are Hot" which was created by Fujiwara and her old bandmates from Chocolate Lips, Jimmie L. Weaver and Michael C. Wilson. It also seems to be the most prominent song on the anime since it was played during the presentation of the title card and over the ending credits. Fujiwara gives out her high-toned funk, whispery words and some relatively lower-toned growls which keeps the vocalization interesting. It also helps that the arrangement is gosh-darn catchy as Marcos has mentioned in his article.

The final track is "Eyes" with words by Fujiwara and music by Donald Griffin. The loopy bass is bubbling and there are also some tasty Prince-like guitar licks, and once again, Fujiwara is unleashing some more of her voice. I have to say that I really enjoy Side B better with "Streets Are Hot" and "Eyes" as it feels as if Fujiwara and the band truly settled into their rhythm.

Not sure whether "California Crisis" the anime has been treated much more than a curious oddity but "California Crisis" the album has probably fared better over time. In any case, I've now found out that Fujiwara was part of yet another band, pas de chat, in the 1990s that I will have to explore as well.

Koichi Ise -- Ashita ni Ikiro Baldios（あしたに生きろバルディオス）

 

Wow! Would you get a load of those opening credits? They remind me so much of those "Force Five" shows that I saw as a kid, and yet "Uchuu Senshi Baldios"（宇宙戦士 バルディオス）, which had its run from June 1980, wasn't a part of that five-pack of mecha anime (for obvious reasons since the mecha franchise was a late 1970s program) that made my wake-up calls for school somewhat less painful. However, seeing those credits for Baldios showed the similarities between that mecha and Getter Robo G（ゲッターロボG）which was brought into the "Force Five" realm as "Starvengers".

I can pick out a mecha anime opening theme song from the late 70s or early 80s fairly easily. There's something about the arrangement from that time with the soaring or shimmering strings flying over a rhythm that sounds like fusion which has me thinking about anime like "Macross"（マクロス）or some of the soundtrack from "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）in its later seasons going into the 80s. And that's definitely the case with the opening theme for "Uchuu Senshi Baldios" (Space Warrior Baldios), "Ashita ni Ikiro Baldios" (Live for Tomorrow, Baldios) by Koichi Ise（伊勢功一）. The fanfare horns, those strings and the thumping bass scream heroic robots for me.

"Ashita ni Ikiro Baldios" was written by Kougo Hotomi（保富康午）and composed/arranged by Kentaro Haneda（羽田健太郎）. As for the singer Ise, it's his first time on the blog so let's provide some information about him. Ise is a native of Kobe, and after dropping out of Kansai University, he made his way to Tokyo with aspirations to become a pop singer. In 1968, he made his debut as the vocalist for the group Hiroo Nakagawa and Angeles（中川浩夫とアンジェラス）who would end up releasing 7 singles before deciding to go solo sometime in the early 1970s. Since then, he has released his own share of singles and albums, and apparently has done the dinner show circuit several times a year.

Off-Course -- Aki Yuku Machi de（秋ゆく街で）

 

I do love my Seizo Watase calendar and suitably enough, I've got the autumn look up here.

Yes, now that we are in the colourful season, trees especially up north of us are changing into their orange and golden hues. Furthermore, when it comes to the autumn and Japanese popular music, my mind always travels to Off-Course（オフコース）since their classic and rich "Aki no Kehai"（秋の気配）from 1977 is not only the first song by the band to grace the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", it is also the first song by the band that I had ever heard all the way back in the early 1980s, thanks to the "Sounds of Japan" radio show.

Somewhere on my shelves, I have a compilation album for Off-Course that's dedicated to their more autumn-themed creations, and that's where I probably heard this other just-as-bittersweet but just-as-lovely song, "Aki Yuku Machi de" (In An Autumn Town) by Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）. It was the title track for the band's very first live album "Aki Yuku Machi de/Off-Course Live In Concert"（秋ゆく街で ⁄ オフ・コース・ライヴ・イン・コンサート） which was released in December 1974.  If anything, "Aki Yuku Machi de" sounds even lusher than "Aki no Kehai", and I think it may be the first song with a male vocalist (Oda himself) that I could consider to be an example of Fashion Music or Japanese Baroque Pop, thanks to the string-and-piano arrangement. Up to this point, the examples of Fashion Music that I'd encountered were all vocalized by women.

Next to his beautiful music, Oda's lyrics relate the tale of a couple in a not-so-clear situation but hints that they will have to separate very soon. Parting is such sweet sorrow, indeed. Moreover, to put a very definite round period on "Aki Yuku Machi de", the coda consists of the strings suddenly going into an ominous minor key. I don't want to think what is to come of this relationship.

The live album was recorded on October 26th 1974 during a concert at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo. I've never had the opportunity to enter the place but since I visited the geek paradise of Nakano Broadway frequently, I used to see Nakano Sun Plaza all the time off to the side when I left Nakano Station on the Tozai Line. From the J-Wiki article for "Aki Yuku Machi de/Off-Course Live In Concert", it seems rather interesting since on Side A, there is a massive medley within 6 minutes of famous pop songs from the West including Elton John's "Your Song" and Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" before going into the Off-Course stuff near the end and then throughout Side B.

Akiko Kohara -- Glass no Chizu（ガラスの地図）

 

I believe that our school once had a Xmas party in that establishment. Tokyo contains a lot of stylish restaurants at the bottom of old apartment houses.

Earlier today, I wrote up an article regarding the duo paris match and I remembered that I had also provided an article on a duet between them and singer-songwriter Akiko Kohara（小原明子）. "Kagami no Tsuki"（鏡の月）was quite the lovely match (no pun intended) for the two acts. Well, I've decided that I ought to write a little something on Kohara herself.

I found this track called "Glass no Chizu" (Map of Glass) which came on her September 2002 debut album, "Party Drive". Written by Kohara and composed by Ken Matsubara（松原憲）...and no, that wasn't his café that we attended that night...this laidback example of light soul sounds rather ideal on the stereo for a car driving on the Tokyo expressways, perhaps on the way to or from a pleasant gathering of friends in the megalopolis. It fits the mood that the title is hinting at and Kohara's vocals are appealingly cooing and whispery.

Did anyone say a night drive through Tokyo? Enjoy one...courtesy of YouTuber drive slow.

paris match -- Tokyo Bay（東京ベイ）

 

Ahh, yes. A sunset view from a friend's apartment overlooking Tokyo Bay and the Rainbow Bridge. Indeed I enjoyed my sojourns into the bay area including Odaiba.

It's just the opportunity to put up another cool and soulful number by the duo paris match. May I also add groovy to this track "Tokyo Bay" from their 6th album "After Six" from March 2006? With the album title and track title, one would think that "Tokyo Bay" is about getting ready for a grand Friday night in the megalopolis. Certainly, from paris match composer and arranger Yosuke Sugiyama's（杉山洋介）melody, the feeling would be the anticipation of getting all gussied up to paint the town red.

However, former paris match member and current associate Tai Furusawa's（古澤大）lyrics actually relate someone sitting on the bench right by the titular bay taking a measure of the past, present and future following a romantic breakup. But the way things are progressing in the song, it appears that everything will be OK and tomorrow will be another day. So we have some upbeat groove paired with some contemplation delivered reassuring by the velvet tones of Mari Mizuno（ミズノマリ）.

Kumiko Sawada -- Iro no Nai Sekai（色のない世界）

 

Le Petit Troquet is a French restaurant where my former colleagues and I had dinner one time well over a decade ago, as you can see from the time stamp at the bottom right. Even looking up the place on Yahoo.jp (not far away from Shibuya Station in Tokyo), I'm not sure whether the place is still in business. I hear that restaurants and bars can open and close more frequently than a goldfish's mouth in the big city.

To be honest, I don't remember what I had at Le Petit Troquet but I'm pretty sure that I didn't imbibe on the hard stuff like whiskey or brandy. And sipping whiskey is what I would compare this song to (what a segue!). Of course, I mean that in a good way with Kumiko Sawada's（沢田久美子）"Iro no Nai Sekai" (Colourless World), the opening track from her album "Love Me Or Leave Me" from 1979.

In May 2019, I introduced singer-songwriter Sawada with one of the other tracks on "Love Me Or Leave Me", "Your Love's Away", a disco-funk song perhaps inspired by Cheryl Lynn. Fascinatingly enough, "Iro no Nai Sekai" is a mellow and bluesy slab of sunset City Pop that I thought would be one of the later tracks with "Your Love's Away" being the starter of the album. Instead, this creation by Sawada opens up a relaxing respite at home or at the local bar after a busy week at the company. Nursing a whiskey would be just the thing while listening to "Iro no Nai Sekai", especially when the sax solo rolls in.

As I mentioned in that 2019 article for Sawada, there's very little information on the singer but I did find out at Discogs that she did end up releasing one single, "Imagination", which included "Your Love's Away" as the B-side in 1979. But that's all I can find.

Chrysty -- Lonely Queen

 

About a year ago, I introduced a very obscure 1980s band called Chrysty which put out their own self-titled album in 1984 and I featured the standout track "Mysterious Night".

Still haven't had a listen to the entire album but I have taken a gander at the first track "Lonely Queen". Written by Masami Sugiyama（杉山政美）and composed by Chrysty vocalist Katsumi Takeichi（竹市克己）, I get that Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）vibe while the vocals remind me of H2O, so an interesting combination that. The lyrics for this particular song aren't up online but from the title and from what I've gleaned from City Pop stories, "Lonely Queen" probably centers on a popular lady of the disco who seems to be the life of the party outside while really not so enamored with the luxury life inside.

Yep, as uploader Marty McFlies pointed out in his assessment of "Chrysty", "Lonely Queen" (and perhaps the other tracks) may not measure up to "Mysterious Night" but all in all, it's not a bad song. If Omega Tribe and H2O can be heard to some extent in a fellow City Pop band's creation, then I'm not complaining too much at all.