Milk (pop duo) -- Manazashi ni I feel so love（視線にI feel so love）

 

Happy Halloween Eve! It's overcast and the temperatures are much more seasonal than they were at the beginning of October when it seemed like summer really wanted to stick around. Not complaining too much, although I think the kids will need an extra layer or two when they're out trick or treating tomorrow night.

Anyways to start off this transitional week from October to November, for the first time in over a couple of years, I have brought back the obscure sister act known as Milk with the Miyajima sisters, Ritsuko and Rie（宮島律子・宮島理恵）. The last time I posted anything by them, it was for their "HANASANAI", their 1988 contribution to the anime "Earthian"（アーシアン）. And like it, the B-side to Milk's 1987 EP "For A Week Story", "Manazashi ni I feel so love" (I Feel So Much Love in Your Gaze), has a goodly amount of City Pop in there.

I had to search for the original liner sheet from the EP on Google Images but at least I could confirm that Ritsuko was behind words and music; there is another person who helped out with the composition but I am unable to make out the kanji scratches. "Manazashi ni I feel so love" begins with some bopping percussion and rock guitar before a smooth urban arrangement of keyboards, thumping rhythms and the Miyajimas' echoing chorus of "I feel so love" fills the ears. The guy who flies in here and there is apparently singer-songwriter Hideo Saito（斉藤英夫）.

Friends of Earth -- In My Jungle

 

It wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）has had an influence on a good swath of bands and singers since the late 1960s. Of course, we can and have talked about his direct associations with Happy End（はっぴいえんど）, Tin Pan Alley（ティン・パン・アレー）and Yellow Magic Orchestra. And just recently, I discovered this other group that he was connected with during the mid-1980s called Friends of Earth or FOE.

With my memories not as solid as they once were, I have to say that I'm not sure how I found out about FOE...maybe it was through Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" or Rocket Brown's "Come Along Radio" podcasts. Regardless, the group had its start in 1984 centered around Hosono and musician/DJ Eiki Nonaka（野中英紀）of the technopop band Interiors with other members coming in and out such as Miharu Koshi（越美晴）and Sandii. 

FOE released three 12" singles, a 7" single cover of James Brown's famous "Sex Machine" and a couple of albums. The first album was the May 1986 release of "Sex, Energy & Star" and I have here one track titled "In My Jungle", written and composed by Nonaka. The band has been categorized as a hip-hop group and I've yet to listen to the rest of the tracks, but I'm not sure whether I could treat "In My Jungle" as a hip-hop song. In fact, I'd say that this might come under the ethnic music stylings that Hosono's old YMO bandmate Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）loved to work with. I get some of that technopop but also those African rumbling rhythms and some doodling jazz on the piano. I know that Nonaka himself has commented underneath the 8-year-old YouTube video with information such as Koshi helping out on the piano and vocals, so if he ever finds out about this KKP article, I'd certainly invite him to give some commentary on this particular song and the rest of "Sex, Energy & Star".

As for FOE, they disbanded in 1987 after apparently Hosono himself had broken his leg in the snow in the tony district of Daikanyama in Tokyo soon after the recording of "Sex, Energy & Star". 

Yumi Matsutoya & Takao Kisugi -- Corvett 1954

From Tower.jp

One of the most intriguing album covers that I've ever seen from the world of Japanese pop music has been Yumi Matsutoya's（松任谷由実）1978 album "Ryusenkei '80"（流線形'80...Streamline '80）. That old-style automobile flying in the night sky over a seashore was daunting enough that I had to wonder whether it was simply begging for psychoanalysis. Was it reflecting the Japanese desire to travel beyond their nation's shores in the lap of luxury?

Well, that car is most likely the topic of one of the tracks in "Ryusenkei '80", "Corvett 1954". And yep, there are a couple of things about that title that the fans of the iconic Corvette may want to confront Yuming（ユーミン）over. One is of course the spelling of that title but that is how it was officially placed in the album. The other thing is something we have to go spelunking a little deeper into the J-Wiki article for "Ryusenkei '80". Apparently, Yuming had meant it to be titled "Corvett 1953" initially, after the first-generation Corvettes by Chevrolet that year but in the recording studio, the enunciation of that year didn't go smoothly at all so they just went with 1954. I read though that the actual 1954 models didn't do all that well.

All that aside though, "Corvett 1954" is the song that dreams are made of if folks crave of the calm, reassuring and domesticated well-to-do life as sung by both Yuming and singer-songwriter Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）. There is a bit of Bacharach and perhaps some of that 1950s commercial jingle in Masataka Matsutoya's（松任谷正隆）arrangement for this ménage à trois: a man, a woman and the Corvette. Just imagine heading back home leisurely late at night after a wonderful soirée or dinner party at the Andersons on Long Island while the babysitter has already put the kids to bed.

(27:56)

The word "ryusenkei" is included in Yuming's lyrics so perhaps "Corvett 1954" may also be the title track for the album to match the picture of the car on the album cover. In any case, "Ryusenkei '80" peaked at No. 4 on Oricon.

Do enjoy this video on the history of the Corvette from PD Evolution.

all at once feat. Yuudai Ohno from Da-iCE -- Playmaker（プレイメーカー）

 

Happy final Sunday of October! Usually when we here in Toronto hear the term playmaker, we think of Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Recently though, it's also referred to the ending theme for the late 2022 episodes of "Meitantei Conan"（名探偵コナン...Case Closed）. Yup, "Playmaker" is a collaboration between the vocal duo all at once and Yuudai Ohno（大野雄大）from the 5-piece song-and-dance group Da-iCE. Written and composed by Ra-U, it's been a pretty cool tune thanks to that thrumming underlying rhythm, and for some reason in my head, there's something nostalgic about the arrangement of the tune. One commenter for the music video below mentioned being reminded somewhat of Earth Wind & Fire.

I've only been hearing "Playmaker" in the past few weeks because the TV Japan broadcasts of the anime are about a year behind what's been showing over in Japan itself. Well, as the saying goes, better late than never. The duo all at once already has representation on KKP through their song "Macaron"（マカロン）.

Tulip -- Koi no Dracula（恋のドラキュラ）

From Good Free Photos

Indeed, the annual bewitching hour is almost upon us. My community is supposed to be holding a brief Halloween party for the kiddies later this afternoon. Additionally, I gather that will be devoting some of the posts this coming Tuesday to Halloween-themed songs. Last night, I received a comment from a student at the University of Maryland last night that a radio station associated with his alma mater, WMUC, had devoted an episode to Japanese Halloween-themed music which was surprising and wonderful. My many thanks to that commenter for that playlist.

One of the songs that was on the WMUC playlist was Tulip's（チューリップ）"Koi no Dracula" (Dracula of Love). The B-side to the folk group's 15th single "Yakusoku"（約束...Promises） from October 1978, it's about as playful a pop song that I have ever heard from Kazuo Zaitsu's（財津和夫）wholesome band, and the whole Dracula thing is more analogous than literal. Therefore, there is no master vampire making blood withdrawals; the only stake being thrust anywhere is Cupid's arrow into some poor sap's chest on seeing a fetching young lady. Zaitsu was responsible for words and music. Good choice in starting KKP's annual Halloween thing with Tulip since it's been about a year since I posted about them.

Considering what I've just posted above, I couldn't help but be reminded of Frank Langella's more romantic take on "Dracula" from 1979. More familiar with his older and crustier character roles in recent movies, I've had to be reminded that Langella cut quite the dashing young figure in that movie.

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Mariya Takeuchi -- Gosenshi（五線紙）

 

Number: 029

Lyricist: Takashi Matsumoto

Composer/Arranger: Yasuhiro Abe

From Takeuchi's 1980 album: "Love Songs"

"Gosenshi"（Music Paper） is a song that came out exactly 10 years after Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）had expressed the world of the "windy city" through Happy End（はっぴいえんど）. I feel that he brought together the complete transformation of the cityscape through his lyrics of "The ten years have been the same/Even the shadows of the city are coloured in dreams", and at the same time, that boy from his novel "Binetsu Shonen"（微熱少年...The Slightly Feverish Boy）* has all grown up. The sumptuous melody by Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）as well as the light swing arrangement has led to a marvelous work befitting the 10th anniversary of City Pop.

*Matsumoto's novel is a coming-of-age story that was first published in the mid-1970s and then made into a film in 1987.

Hi, J-Canuck here! Try out the scintillating cover by Abe himself.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Masayoshi Takanaka -- Bamboo Vender

 

Well, being a Friday and all, I gather that a lot of folks are heavily thinking of hitting the nearest bar or hole-in-the-wall to celebrate the end of the work week with plenty of drink and hearty food. For some reason, I also muse about plenty of Latin jazz. 

Guitarist and producer Masayoshi Takanaka（高中正義）has been serving his fair share of tonic since the 1970s. Within his 5th studio album "Jolly Jive" (December 1979),  I have "Bamboo Vender" which has songwriter Takanaka also helping out not only on the guitar but also the steel drums while Izumi Kobayashi（小林泉）is on the keyboards. I don't really think of anyone selling bamboo poles while getting into "Bamboo Vender", but it's very pleasant hearing that rumbling Cuban jazz rhythm (if I'm wrong with my geography here, please let me know). My image is more of beach chairs, white sands and sipping cocktails.

With that December 1979 release date, I can only figure that those who had bought the original LP of "Jolly Jive" had some mighty big ideas about flying out of the cold and over to more tropical climes. I can certainly sympathize although as I'm typing this out, it's been unusually warm here in Toronto with the heat index in the low 20s Celsius.