Kyoko Endo -- Jenny Fey

http://50451a0673bded08.lolipop.jp/JENNY%20FEY%20K.ENDO.mp3

(excerpt only)

Didn't take me long to appreciate this wonderful singer Kyoko Endo (遠藤響子) since I first came across articles on her in Japanese City Pop. Beautiful feminine songs carried by a charming voice are what attracted me to her. It also didn't hurt that she showed a pretty smile on many of her covers, such as the "Yumemiru Star" album, which I purchased shortly before my departure for Japan. Listening to songs from that early part of her career between 1981 and 1985, I'd say my image of her would be that of an outgoing young lady straight out of university (which she actually was) with a colorful fashion sense and a fondness for European things. And then I saw the above video of her single "Jenny Fey", which came out in April 1988, and thought to myself: "Well, ain't this a cheerful tune..." Here was Endo in the early Suzanne Vega mode with an acoustic guitar conveying a girl's cry for help from her mother as she feels neglected by a father who originally won that custody battle. Quite a departure from her early sound, but then again, she did take a 3 year pause between her previous single and this one.
Like I said, "Jenny Fey" is a heavy song but it's a beautiful one nonetheless. The melody and Endo's poignant delivery are what drew me in. The arrangement is pretty straightforward with a nice addition of folksy guitar which gives off a sense of (crushed) innocence. It especially stood out during the instrumental interlude before the final chorus. The song was written and composed by Endo and arranged by Yutaka Hosoi (細井豊), a member of Sentimental City Romance. It was also included on her album "Girl life", which was released on the same day as the single.

Random piece of trivia from Endo's official profile on her home page that I found personally appealing: she's apparently a fan of the Soviet animator Yuriy Norshteyn, whose films I often watched as a child.

Source: amazon.jp

Misia -- Hi no Ataru Basho （陽のあたる場所）

Considering all of the hit songs and their remixes that have come from Misia all these years, I almost forgot about her 2nd single, "Hi no Ataru Basho" (A Place in the Sun). It came out in May 1998, exactly three months following her debut, "Tsutsumikomuyouni"（つつみ込むように。。。）.

With lyrics by Misia and Jun Sasaki（佐々木潤）, who also took care of the composing, "Hi no Ataru Basho" is really mellow. With her debut, I just wanna strut down the street, but with this second song, I merely desire to sashay quite slowly (having written that, I would prefer you not to imagine this too deeply). The official music video above rather enhances the cool and relaxing vibe as Misia is out in the countryside or by a waterfall. Heck, I just changed my mind....I wanna be in a hammock now with an Orange Mimosa!

That opening line is nice to hear again: "I can sing a song for you and me forever....", along with that combo of horn and keyboard.

Though "Hi no Ataru Basho" didn't make into the yearly Oricon rankings, it did peak at the No. 9 spot on the weeklies. No matter....she was on her way to attain places that even her voice didn't reach. Her 2nd single was also on her debut album of "Mother, Father, Brother, Sister".

Isao Sasaki -- Hoshi no Pendant （星のペンダント）

(cover version)

Hard to believe Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお） was once doing rockabilly tunes. The man is the master of the anison...especially when it comes to those majestic marches and ballads that he did for "Space Cruiser Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）. The goosebumps still stand up and salute whenever that main theme or "Makka no Scarf"（真っ赤のスカーフ） comes over the speakers.

"Hoshi no Pendant" (Star Pendant) may not be as well remembered as those two, but it's still one of those ballads that can get me in the nostalgic gut. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠） and composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）, the men behind the original Yamato theme, it's another lush orchestral ballad sung by Sasaki for the third motion picture in the franchise, "Yamato yo Towa ni"（ヤマトよ永遠に...Be Forever Yamato）. It seems that this particular movie which came out in August 1980, just in time for the kiddies during Summer Vacation, had quite the selection of epic tunes performed by Sasaki, Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）and Akira Fuse（布施明）. Half-jokingly, the movie could almost have been a musical.

This song also seems to be a hybrid of the Yamato march and the ballad that is "Makka no Scarf". It starts off as this stellar tender-hearted love song but then as it goes into the refrain, the horns make their staccato presence known. If I remember correctly, Sasaki cues in just when the Yamato launches yet again to save the Earth.

I had written the first Sasaki article in March last year just when the reboot of the franchise, "Space Cruiser Yamato 2199" was about to launch itself. Well, my friend and I have gone through the majority of the series, and I gotta say it's been a fine ride. Of course, the special effects have been kicked up way more than a notch, and there's quite a bit more story to chew on. I can say that J.J. Abrams may have been quite the inspiration.

Top 10 Singles for 1975

1. Sakura to Ichiro                                 Showa Kare Susuki
2. Akira Fuse                                         Cyclamen no Kahori
3. Kyoko Kosaka                                   Omoide Makura
4. Kenji Sawada                                     Toki no Sugi Yuku Mama ni
5. Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band     Minato no Yoko, Yokohama Yokosuka
6. Hiromi Iwasaki                                  Romance
7. Kaze                                                   22-sai no Wakare
8. Takashi Hosokawa                             Kokoro Nokori
9. Hiroshi Kamayatsu                            Waga Yoki Tomo yo
10. Momoe Yamaguchi                         Fuyu no Iro

Akihiko Matsumoto -- Odoru Dai Sosasen Soundtrack

Well, a year after its debut on the big screen in Japan, the final chapter of the long-running "Odoru Dai Sosasen"（踊る大捜査線） is finally making its way to TV Japan tomorrow night. So, on that note, it was time to go over the original first soundtrack for the 1997 TV series by Akihiko Matsumoto（松本晃彦） to complement my article on the famous theme song.

I didn't find out about the series until it was basically over. But catching it in reruns in the afternoon made me appreciate not only the show with Yuji Oda and Toshiro Yanagiba, but also the techno-influenced soundtrack by Matsumoto. I did end up getting that original CD along with a couple of more albums from the movies. Just like Toshifumi Hinata's（日向敏文）classic soundtrack for another Yuji Oda series, "Tokyo Love Story", "Odoru Dai Sosasen" (aka Bayside Shakedown) also has some very recognizably strong themes. Unfortunately, it was actually a bit more difficult than expected to track some of these on YouTube, but I managed to glean a few. The above video contains the music for the original TV series including the dance version of "CX".

"CX" is the theme for the institution that is supposed to serve and protect, and has that officious heroes-in-everyday-action march feeling to it. The dance version, which also popped up throughout the franchise, is the one placed in the original soundtrack CD, though.

Track 7 is "G-Groove", which fits in hand-in-glove with Yanagiba's character of the stiff-necked Inspector Muroi, just like "The Imperial March" does with Darth Vader. With all that thunder and guitar pounding the ears, one just knows that there's gonna be trouble when Muroi comes into the Bayside Precinct.

Then there is the mysterious "Moonlight" which pops up whenever something is afoot while Aoshima and his motley gang of cops are investigating some malfeasance in their zone of Odaiba.

(7:36)

This track doesn't actually exist on the original soundtrack but I decided to put it up anyways. It's "Kiki Ippatsu" （危機一髪....Critical Moment）, and just like it's title, the timpani signal some major action about to take place.

(from 06:28)

The above video is "Otoboke", the theme song for The Three Amigos, namely the three sycophantic senior officers who denigrate the real good guys while sucking up to the superior suits whenever they invade Bayside. It kinda reminds me of a goofier cousin to "El Condor Pasa".

(IT'S HERE NOW!)

Actually, the one track that I couldn't find but wish I could've put up here with its fellow tracks is "Ding Dong". Used in the more comically frenetic scenes of the show, the original version on the soundtrack has a certain Mexican cachet just like the main theme with a trumpet going on like a mariachi band. There is another version of the track used in the very first movie of "Odoru Dai Sosasen" which takes on the larger atmosphere of the Rio Carnival.

Well, there is one more track that would've also made a nice addition. I find that in a lot of J-Dramas and anime, there will always be some version, orchestral or otherwise, of the opening or ending theme. The original soundtrack has the "Sweet Love Version" of "Love Somebody", the Yuji Oda-sung ending theme for the franchise. The jazzy sax in there makes this version something to be played in a bar in one of the hotels that the Bayside Precinct would be protecting in Odaiba.

In any case, I guess I managed to get a nice sample of songs from the Matsumoto soundtrack after all. I've enjoyed listening to it since he just throws out a variety of tracks that don't seem to take themselves too, too seriously....kinda like the show at times, and the album cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SPnwTHeddI

Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band -- Minato no Yoko, Yokohama Yokosuka （港のヨーコ・ヨコハマ・ヨコスカ）

Over the past couple of years that this blog has been in existence, I've mentioned about the songwriting husband-wife team of Ryudo Uzaki and Yoko Aki（宇崎竜童・阿木耀子）behind the more muscular hits of Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）in the latter half of her career such as "Yokosuka Story" and "Imitation Gold". Well, let me tell you about the song that got the team started. And it's been a song that has popped here and there, now and then for almost 4 decades.

The famous bass riff of "Minato no Yoko, Yokohama Yokosuka" (Yoko From The Docks) has been used often as part of a gag on numerous Japanese variety shows over the years; the one I remember most recently is the late-night show "Pussuma"（ぷっすま）starring loudmouth tarento Yusuke Santamaria and SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi for one of their segments. And the song sometimes gets highlighted on those retrospective shows. It's certainly one of the more interesting tunes that popped up during the 70s.

As for the band itself, Uzaki was fronting an amateur band in late 1972 when he came up with the long and unique name of the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band. However, his co-members at the time were a bit skittish about going pro which brought about a breakup. Undaunted, though, Uzaki only needed a few months to get a new group of rockers together to launch a new band with that long name, and the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band came up with their debut single in December 1973 titled "Shirazu Shirazu no Uchi ni"（知らず知らずのうちに...While Not Knowing）.

Then, almost a year and a half later, Uzaki's wife, Yoko Aki, made her debut as a lyricist, penning this mystery about a guy looking for the seemingly streetwise-but-vulnerable Yoko through the docks of Yokohama and Yokosuka. According to J-Wiki, Uzaki, who composed the song, was so impressed by the words that he felt that he had to be the one to sing them. However, he had a difficult time trying to wrap his tongue and notes around the lyrics, so instead he decided to make them a tough-guy patter uttered to the guy searching for his Yoko, with only the title being sung by the band. Just imagine Uzaki as this Mickey Spillane character in a none-too-safe bar giving it straight to the kid. I found the English translation to the song right here by Ben Bullock.

As they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention". Or perhaps innovation. Whatever the case, it worked. After its release in March 1975, "Minato no Yoko", the band's 4th single (it was initially the B-side to the original single, before it got flipped due to demand), hit No. 1 in late June and stayed there for about a month, as its title and lyrics became popular catchphrases for the year, especially the line, "Anta, ano ko no nan nano sa" (Hey, what does the girl mean to ya?). It would also win four awards, including the Grand Prize from the Japan Record Awards, before becoming the 5th-ranked song of the year.

Plus, seeing Uzaki and crew looking like the baddest biker badasses (for 1975, anyways) that you wouldn't want to encounter on a lonely prefectural highway at night didn't hurt either in the coolness factor in front of the young. I'm sure they made quite the spectacle on stage when they got onto the 1975 Kohaku Utagassen, and just my speculation, I'm fairly sure that the NHK switchboard lit up with indignant calls about letting virtual hoodlums on the Shibuya stage on New Year's Eve.

To be honest, whenever I've seen them on those old tapes, I just wondered how serious or tongue-in-cheek the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band was with "Minato no Yoko", especially now considering that I've seen the lyrics which include Yoko and a kitten. Still, the musical approach to it and the looks of the band pretty much immortalized them. A year later, Uzaki and Aki would get down to work helping immortalize Momoe Yamaguchi.

globe -- Feel Like Dance

Man, the mid-90s....the age of the Komuro. When I got into town to start my next stint as an English teacher in the Tokyo area, branches of the Komuro Family had already started making their mark: trf was the big dance band, Namie Amuro and The Super Monkeys were heading up to the top themselves, and Tomomi Kahala was just around the corner. And there was globe.

I was in my bedroom taking care of laundry as I let the television run on in the living room when I heard the unmistakable sounds of a new Komuro tune come out. At first, I had thought it was the latest from trf via YU-KI due to the familiar sort of voice. But then that voice sounded even more high-pitched. I returned to the living room to see the entire screen filled up with some sort of test pattern and the one word in small letters slowly fade into view: globe. Techno-Svengali Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）just added to the family, and the delivery package was titled "Feel Like Dance".

"Feel Like Dance" was released in August 1995 as the debut single for this new unit comprised of lead vocalist Keiko Yamada（山田桂子）, rapper/vocal Marc Panther (aka Ryuichi Sakai...酒井龍一) and the big man himself, Komuro, on instruments and chorus. I guess TK couldn't resist getting back into the performing saddle again after several years of primarily producing, writing and composing. I'm not sure if he had wanted to find another separate musical niche for his new project, but I found that globe had a distinct sound compared to trf although the Komuro Technopop was still underlying both bands. Perhaps it was just something as simple as the different voices involved or a different sort of techno.

In any case, "Feel Like Dance" was fun to listen to, but I waited a while to get my own copy of the song. In fact, I waited until the next five globe songs came out and became huge hits (two of which I got as CD singles) before I finally relented and bought their first album, "globe" the following year. And man, what a year for globe! That album merely ended up selling 4 million copies, getting a rash of awards, and became the top-selling disc in Oricon history at that time (it currently resides in 7th place). Being the No. 1 album of 1996 after its release in March seems rather small potatoes in comparison.

As for "Feel Like Dance" itself, it was no slouch itself. It sold close to a million copies (going Triple Platinum), peaked at No. 3, and was the 36th-ranked tune for 1995. It was also used as the theme song for the Fuji-TV drama "Hitori ni Shinaide"（ひとりにしないで....Don't Leave Me Alone）.