Presents -- Feeling Like a Child (Part 2)

 

Last Friday, just before 2022 entered the history books, I gave my account on Part 1 of this one-and-only light and mellow album from 1980, "Feeling Like a Child" by a group of childhood and then university buddies known collectively as Presents. Just to remind folks, the lineup included keyboardist/percussionist Fumio Miura（三浦文夫）, guitarist Kiyoaki "Kiyo" Nakamura（中村清明）, guitarist/percussionist Shunya "Chabo" Hashimoto（橋本俊哉）, bassist Takeshi Nakajima（中島猛）, drummer/percussionist Tadashi Noguchi（野口匡）, backup singers Reiko Hibino（日比野礼子）and Yuriko "Yurippe" Yamazaki（山﨑有里子）. The "Feeling Like a Child" project was only ever meant as a labour of love and the thinking was that once the album was given out to family and friends, that would be all she wrote. However, 42 years later, there were some minds changed. The album is now out for City Pop fans everywhere and there's even an English-language website for the band.

Before we get into the next three tracks of "Feeling Like a Child", let me marvel at the fact that because the band couldn't afford renting any sort of studio at the time, the entire project from writing to recording was done in Miura's tiny one-room apartment measuring just 11 square meters or 118 square feet. Man, Miura and company, and for that matter, their neighbours, must have been an extremely patient lot. Go ahead and read the Production Story on their website.

Track 4 is "Hohoemi no Naka de"（ほほえみの中で...In Smiles） which was written and composed by Miura with our first listen to Hibino on main vocals and Yurippe on backup. If I've interpreted the lyrics correctly, the story behind the song is relating a woman's encouragement to her husband to get out there and get at 'em. And she actually likes his facial growth. There is the brief commentary for each track on Presents' website but I was even more attracted to the CD's liner notes in which it was mentioned that "Hohoemi no Naka de" has that tone of a "Grey Skies" Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）who had just begun her solo career in the mid-1970s.  I would certainly agree with that observation.

As mentioned in those liner notes, the title track "Feeling Like a Child" is groovy and soulful and it has that sunny 1970s vibe. Perhaps I may not be too amiss when I state that the song is reminiscent of the stuff that Ohnuki's old bandmate, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, was doing in the early part of his solo career in that decade. The website's assessment of the song describes the scene of a sports car heading to a chic café near Victor Aoyama Studio in Tokyo. I'm not sure whether any of the band actually did that (considering their tight budget, probably not), but it must have been nice for them to fantasize it. "Feeling Like a Child" is another Miura creation with Kiyo handling vocals this time. 

I believe Track 6 (and the final track for this week), "Dim" started off Side B on the original 1980 LP and Miura provides word and music here, too. There's some bossa nova and jazz infused into this bittersweet song which Hibino tackles with aplomb although at points, the instruments almost overwhelm her vocals. "Dim" is a lovely tune nonetheless as it relates the story of the memories of a love affair slowly dimming. Probably out of all of the tracks, this one really seems to fit the album cover illustrated by the Hiroshi Nagai（永井博）; indeed, it's good ol' Resort Pop. I was a tad surprised by the comment on the website comparing the synths at the end of the song being reminiscent of the early progressive rock by Genesis.

Next week, we'll wrap up "Feeling Like a Child" with the last few tracks.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE -- Dancehall（ダンスホール）

 

My memories of the rock band Mrs. GREEN APPLE have been so tied to their contribution to the anime "En En no Shouboutai"（炎炎ノ消防隊...Fire Force） via the opening theme "Inferno"（インフェルノ）that I had forgotten that I wrote about the group only a couple of weeks prior with their jumpy "StaRt". Well, reminding myself that Mrs. GREEN APPLE did possess some of that quirky fun, I was no longer as surprised as I was when I first came across their most recent digital download single.

I read on the band's J-Wiki profile that Mrs. GREEN APPLE had taken a brief break between 2020 and 2022 after which the five-piece unit that I discovered through "StaRt" was now pared down to a trio consisting of vocalist Motoki Ohmori（大森元貴）, leader/guitarist Hiroto Wakai（若井滉斗）and keyboardist Ryoka Fujisawa（藤澤涼架）. Maybe their sound has changed as well since "Dancehall", their May 2022 digital download single, is definitely in the pop vein.

Ah, I should correct myself. It's a fun pop tune with some Jackson 5-type R&B rhythm which was written and composed by Ohmori. Instead of all the world being a stage, Ohmori's feeling is that all the world is a dancehall which is even more considerably enhanced thanks to the presence of a beloved one being the dance partner. All that happiness is most definitely reflected in the song.

Heck, I was writing about SEKAI NO OWARI's "Habit" yesterday in which I remarked about the band getting into choreography. The same thing has happened here with the three guys unexpectedly getting into dance mode, perhaps in the Takarazuka Troupe or Johnny's Entertainment way. "Dancehall" became their second digital single to break into the Top 10 at No. 8 on Billboard Japan's Top 100 after the aforementioned "Inferno" which rose as high as No. 6. The song is also a track on Mrs. GREEN APPLE's 4th mini-album "Unity" which was released in July 2022 and hit No. 3 on Oricon.

ELLIE -- So I

 

Sparkly singer-songwriter ELLIE is someone that I remember from her days singing in Love Tambourines in the 1990s straddling the line between R&B and Shibuya-kei. One would think that she had been born and raised in the United States during the age of Motown music, though she did spend three years in the Philippines as a child.

Following the breakup of Love Tambourines in 1995, the singer took on the stage name of Eli in either large or small letters for several years until she opted to bring back her old name of ELLIE once more in 2018. In that same year, she released a new album titled "Stay Gold" and one of the tracks is called "So I" which was created by ELLIE and Hajimu Hase（はせはじむ）.

The years may have passed but she certainly hasn't, despite the change in hairstyle and most importantly, her vocals can still punch a hole in the wall. And maybe by this point, the Shibuya-kei label isn't quite relevant for this tune; this is pure groovy funk n' soul that we are listening to here. I'm not sure if she would even accept the invitation, but wouldn't it be nice if ELLIE could make it onto the Kohaku at the end of this year?

The Pointer Sisters -- Jump (For My Love)

 

As mentioned in the previous Reminiscings of Youth article regarding Earth Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland", this is a ROY twofer because not only of the passing of EWF percussionist Fred White on New Year's Day but also of the passing of Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters on New Year's Eve.

Now, I first heard of The Pointer Sisters back in the 1970s through their television appearances on various talk and/or music shows. Back in those days, I think that they were doing quite a lot of boogie jazz and even some country music. If I'm not mistaken, Anita, Bonnie and June even showed up on "Sesame Street" with some of their golden harmonies.

However, going into the 1980s, I remember that The Pointer Sisters also discovered the novelty and power of the music video, and one song and video that really had them soaring up on the charts was their April 1984 single "Jump (For My Love)". This video was on such heavy rotation on the local shows that I assumed that it would apply for permanent resident's status.

Created by Stephen Mitchell, Marti Sharron and Gary Skardina, listening to that beat again after so long had me swooning over how the pop music of the 1980s were. Also, The Pointer Sisters were already being seen as chart-topping superstars during the decade. Its release just before the Los Angeles Olympics was timely, especially with that title, so excerpts of athletes doing their amazing thing were included in the video. "Jump" jumped to No. 8 on Canada's RPM singles (while hitting No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts) and it got up to No. 3 on America's Billboard.

My condolences to the family, friends and fans for Anita Pointer.

So, what was scoring on Oricon in April 1984? I have Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

1. Checkers -- Namida no Request （涙のリクエスト）

3. Anzen Chitai -- Wine-Red no Kokoro （ワインレッドの心）

5. Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

Earth Wind & Fire and The Emotions -- Boogie Wonderland

 

This being a Thursday, it's time for Reminiscings of Youth, and this being the first Thursday of 2023, we're getting a twofer since I didn't put up a ROY on New Year's Day. Also, and more importantly, over the Holidays, the music world lost two people who belonged to a couple of groups that I've reminisced about for the beloved tunes of yesteryear.

For this article, I read that percussionist Fred White of Earth Wind & Fire passed away right on New Year's Day at the age of 67. According to his Wikipedia biography, he was fellow EWF member and co-vocalist Maurice White's (who himself died in 2016) half-brother and the brother of another bandmate, Verdine White.

I've enjoyed doing the ROY articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for a few years now because it's given me the opportunity to additionally talk about the non-Japanese songs that I've loved hearing since I was a kid. And it's always a joy to include the discography of Earth Wind & Fire as you've seen from some of the past entries by the guys. Their May 1979 single "Boogie Wonderland" that they share with the R&B vocal group The Emotions is another EWF legend that was created by songwriters Allee Willis and Jon Lind. Willis was also behind one of my other band favourites "September", and Lind is someone that I was surprised to discover would come up with a couple of tracks for Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Femme Fatale" album almost a decade later including the title track.

The Wikipedia article for "Boogie Wonderland" relates the good times at the discotheques and house parties as conveyed through the song, and I have to admit that though it would take a Mac truck to drag me onto the dance floor now, "Boogie Wonderland" still may...just may...change my policy. It's that great a song. And it wasn't just the dancers and the partiers who agreed. I recall a number of movies and TV shows that used the hit such as the hilarious "Caddyshack" above. In fact, I think that I first heard it during segments of the regional hockey telecasts and I know that it was used as the ending theme for a Fuji-TV late-night information series. Yup, Japan really loves Earth Wind & Fire too!

The smashing horns, the cool and sexy vocals by Maurice and The Emotions, and those funky rhythms still have me shimmying in front of the computer screen almost 44 years following the song's release. "Boogie Wonderland" hit No. 11 in Canada while in the United States, it peaked at No. 6 on Billboard. My condolences to Mr. White's family, friends and fans.

Now, what was coming out in April and May 1979? Well, I found some stuff at Straw-Wara.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Natsu ni Dakarete （夏に抱かれて）

Yutaka Mizutani -- California Connection （カリフォルニア・コネクション）

Circus -- American Feeling

Naoko Ken -- Kyoto no Onna no Ko（京都の女の子）

 

On a recent episode of the information variety show "Don't Sleep Through Life" with the CG Chiko-chan（チコチャン）on NHK, there was a segment which involved the city of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture. During their annual summertime O-Bon festival, the locals have been dancing to the go-touchi song "Kyoto no Onna no Ko" (Kyoto Girl) for decades although Kyoto is obviously located outside of Aichi Prefecture. As for the reason, one resident simply replied that it just sounded good to dance to. End of story.

"Kyoto no Onna no Ko" was recorded by veteran singer-actress Naoko Ken（研ナオコ）as her 4th single in July 1972, and it's been seen as a nostalgic throwback to the Group Sounds days of the late 1960s. Indeed, the intro especially reminded me of Pinky and Killers' "Koi no Kisetsu" (恋の季節）of 1968. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, it's a 60s jangly cool tune about falling for that cool beauty of Kyoto. The interesting thing is that I've heard of the reputation (true or not) of Kyoto women being outwardly polite and hospitable but concealing some haughtiness and a razor-sharp tongue as a verbal shiv.

The single reached No. 52 on Oricon. As far as I know, those Toyotans will continue to be dancing to Ken-san later on this summer.

SEKAI NO OWARI -- Habit

 

I have to admit that I don't know a whole lot about the long-running band SEKAI NO OWARI although up to now, there have been three songs put up about them on the blog. They have appeared on the Kohaku Utagassen before, and from their tunes such as "Sazanka"（サザンカ）, my impression was that they have been a fairly down-to-earth folksy pop group.

But then they showed up for their most recent appearance on NHK's annual New Year's Eve special, and Fukase and company gave a song-and-dance performance that had me thinking more along the lines of a Johnny's Entertainment clan! The intro before SEKAI NO OWARI performed the comically urgent "Habit" was that the choreography on its music video was one of the big pop culture meme moments for 2022 with folks trying their hand at it.

As SEKAI NO OWARI's 18th single (including both indies and major) released in April or June 2022, "Habit" has got a rapid-fire delivery telling folks not to categorize themselves and fall into supposed habits or traditions. Basically the message is you just go ahead and do your thing while I go ahead and do my different thing and that's OK and that's our own beeswax. The video antics in that school struck me as the band doing the "Glee" or "Fame" thing while filtering itself through a Weird Al Yankovic sieve.

Lyrics were by Fukase with fellow member Nakajin handling the music. "Habit" was also used as the theme song for the live-action version of the original manga "XXXHOLiC". The song went Gold on the download charts while hitting No. 4 as a CD on Oricon and No. 1 on streaming. It won the Grand Prize at the Japan Record Awards.

As one example of how popular the habit-forming dance was (yep, I was being cute just now), here is one video by *nakisuna.