I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
I'm pretty convinced that the famed theme song for the anime "Lupin The 3rd" is one of those rare creations that cannot be ruined no matter what the arrangement (although I may grow a bit antsy at a heavy metal version).
And happily that record has held thanks to the man who created the song, Yuji Ohno（大野雄二）, and his jazz group of the Lupintic Five with an updated version of "Lupin The 3rd". This take was a track on the May 2011 album "Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Five: Let's Dance", and it has a swinging 1960s jazz arrangement that would get the attention of Austin Powers and Don Draper. Brylcreem and martinis for all!
But what makes the song really sing here is the sexy and sultry vocals of Yoshie Nakano（中納良恵）from Ego-Wrappin'. She isn't merely singing to the audience but seducing it like a Japanese Brigitte Bardot for most of the song while unleashing her full volume at certain parts.
The above has Ohno and the Lupintic Six performing that same song, although without Nakano. It's a more standard but no less cool version.
Just in the last couple of months, Toronto has had a couple of visitations by Japanese pop artists: Babymetal and the lead singer of Kome Kome Club（米米クラブ）, Tatsuya Ishii (although I'm not sure whether the latter came to sing specifically) just down the street from my place at the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre. It's a pity that I missed them but if I ever hear of a one-night performance by Nakano somewhere in my burg, I am grabbing that ticket!
I really find it interesting that I immediately took a very strong liking to "Neon Bune" at first listen. It even made Ike-Teru one of my Top 6 favourite enka singers (his other songs contributed to that as well)! He's not within the Top 3 though, and if you've been paying attention, you'd probably know who are occupying those spots already.
Anyway, I had taken note of this quintessentially enka song when I read J-Canuck'sarticle on it, but since I had no idea who Teruo Ikeda (池田輝郎) is, it did not cross my mind to play that song. However, on an episode of "Nippon no Uta" early this year - it's originally supposed to be on TV last year if I'm not wrong, but the NHK channel here is quite behind schedule - he was one of the 3 to perform on the "Kayo HOT Zensen" corner since "Neon Bune" did well on the regular charts (peaked at 24th place) Enka-yo charts, and I couldn't stop listening to it since. I can safely say that it's currently one of my most-listened-to enka songs, besides the multiple covers of and the original "Tabi Sugata Sannin Otoko" (旅姿三人男) and Yoshio Tabata's (田端義夫) "Otone Tsukiyo" (大利根月夜), just to name a few.
As to why I am amused by this, it's because I'm actually not a particular fan of this type of enka with a heavy atmosphere, I'd usually go for the more cheery, jaunty sort. And if the tune is sung by someone with the type nasally warbling used by Ikeda and some others like Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎), it'd take a while for me to accept it. So "Neon Bune" was a surprisingly rare exception. The full MV is on Dailymotion, you can check it out here.
Just like J-Canuck mentioned in his article, this song, though only released in 2014, sounds like it came from way back in the 70's, especially in terms of its music. Composed by Hideo Mizumori (水森英夫), what I like about the refined score is that it has some rather dramatic bits throughout. I seem to enjoy listening to "Neon Bune" most after tiring school days, it makes me imagine a white collar worker, probably more worn out than I am, drinking away at a quiet bar - it's too refined for me to picture a gruff fisherman after a tough day at work. Hmm, I should put listening to "Neon Bune" at an izakaya when I return to Japan as a new item on my bucket list. 2 items have already been crossed out: looking at moose, and gawking at American bison (at the Munich Zoo)... They are so BIG. Doesn't sound like much, but those are a couple of my favourite animals and they don't have them in Singapore - most likely too hot.
Moving on, Toshiya Niitani (仁井谷俊也) penned the lyrics to "Neon Bune", and they have Ike-Teru singing about our lead here drinking away his problems e.g. missing home, probably also missing the woman he loves, y'know, just some of the usual enka stuff.
Here's a video of Ike-Teru talking about his 8th single, and he even gives tips on how to sing it during a karaoke session, although I really didn't get that... or about half of what he's saying.
For some reason, I always manage to confuse Mood Kayo crooner Frank Nagai's (フランク 永井) "Kiriko no Tango" with Jazz singer Dick Mine's (ディック・ミネ) "Yogiri no Blues" (夜霧のブルース). I think may be due to both songs having the character "Kiri" (霧) and "no" (の) in it, so at one quick glance, I'd assume one was the other until the song starts playing.
As the name implies, "Kiriko no Tango" sounds very Tango-esque with its steady, rhythmic beat and trumpets, and elegant strings, there seems to be some accordion in it too. Together with Nagai's lovely baritone, it really makes me imagine a couple doing... well, the Tango under some soft lighting. It was composed and written by Tadashi Yoshida (吉田正), and it can't get anymore Latin Mood Kayo than that! Whereas "Yogiri no Blues", which I have only just listened to while writing this, is not as upbeat; it's your typical Jazz Mood Kayo that sounds perfect to listen to at a quiet bar while having a drink.
"Kiriko no Tango" is at the 2:30 mark
Anyway, before actually listening to the original a few weeks back, I had come across various "Kiriko no Tango" covers. One of those would be by singer-actor Makoto Fujita (藤田まこと), who seems to sing Nagai's hits quite often. Though his throaty delivery is not as smooth as the man himself, it still is quite a good effort, and his voice still sends shivers down my spine - the good type - when he hits the low notes, like at the start. Man, I wish he were still alive. It'd be great to see him on shows like "Kayo Concert".
Speaking of "Kayo Concert", the theme for last week's episode was dancing songs. It was a pretty good episode with Yukio Hashi (橋幸夫) singing "Koi no Mexican rock" (恋のメキシカンロック) and Teruhiko Saigo (西郷輝彦), "Hoshi no Flamenco" (星のフラメンコ), and of course "Kiriko no Tango" was being sung, this time by Kiyoshi Maekawa (前川清). Of all weeks he had to appear during the week I was off on vacation... Well, I had the episode recorded to watch it when I got back, but still, I much prefer watching it live on Tuesday nights while melting into the couch. And I don't know why I expected him to move more, I suppose it's because of the nature of the song. Instead he just did his usual shtick of standing there motionless like a pillar with that unamused look on his face.
That is one weird shade of green to wear. (The Mae-Kiyo video got taken down, so here's Itsuki's rendition).
"Kiriko no Tango" was released in 1962, and it seems pretty successful, judging by the number of times it's being sung by other singers.
Currently the sunset is just right out there. My window faces east but the reflection of the sun off of the houses on the other side of the street is of the perfect softness coming through the blinds. So, it's the right time for another Takako Mamiya（間宮貴子）song from what is probably the only album she has ever released, "Love Trip" in 1982. Another trigger for me bringing in another track from this rare album is a comment from Cerulean Cerise for the article for another "Love Trip" track, "What A Broken Heart Can Do" in which he/she asks about whether this album was the sole album for the enigmatic Mamiya. As I replied, the article may be old but the music...and the mystery...are still fresh, and so the Mamiya file is still very open.
Tonight's song is "All Or Nothing", a languid sunset-friendly ballad that would be welcome to hear in the twilight hour of any season except winter...couldn't imagine hearing it with the presence of icicles or snow out there. Katsu Hoshi（星勝）is responsible for the oh-so-City Pop melody while Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）provided the lyrics.
A bit of a Hail Mary here but if Ms. Mamiya somehow reads this and would be willing to respond, let us know how you're doing and why you only provided the one album...the quintessential City Pop album.
Yep, just a few more days before we officially enter Summer 2015, so I figure it is time to bring in another Anri（杏里）album. This time, it is "Neutral" from June 1991, her 15th original album whose title sounds awfully bland for a typical Anri release, especially during that time when she (composer) and her go-to team of lyricist Yumi Yoshimoto（吉元由美）, arranger Yasuharu Ogura（小倉泰治）, and Jerry Hey and his horns were coming up with all those high-octane upbeat tunes. I remember her 13th album, "Circuit of Rainbow" as being one of the first CDs that I bought while working up in the mountains of Gunma; "Neutral" would be one of my last purchases before heading home.
No singles were included on "Circuit of Rainbow", but there were three for "Neutral" including the first track above, "Back to the Basic". Anri took care of both writing and composing duties for her 25th single from June 1991, and I remember it as being the commercial song for aToshiba VCR. The original music video was pretty dynamic, too, as I recall, with all of the usual fast rhythms and choreography that I had gotten accustomed to hearing and seeing in an Anri tune...with CG.
The album version has the extended mix which starts off with what sounds like an audio time trip through a woman's life (that frankly gets a bit weary with all of the "I love you") before the synths and the Hey horns burst in like gangbusters. Strangely enough, it's not all about the hedonism. In fact, Anri seems to be pushing folks to not focus on the luxury seaside life at the expense of the basics of life. It's my favourite track which is not to say that it's all downhill after that...there are also some other gems.
One such gem is "Ku-gatsu no Hometown kara"（9月のHometownから...From the September Hometown） which had Anri and Yoshimoto cook up this comfortable song about discovering and savoring the love. It may be set in September but it's one of those songs that can be enjoyed on any Sunday morning although in keeping with the overall theme of the album, the lovers are most likely waking up on some tropical island paradise somewhere. With the summer coming to a close, I'm pretty sure a lot of folks would also love to be in that sort of setting.
"Sweet Emotion" is Anri's 24th single from February 1991 which was another oft-heard CM song, this time for Kanebo Cosmetics. I also like the album remix version here as well although I was never all that enamored with the singer's rapping here and in some of the other tracks. All of the typical remixing effects that seemed to have been crammed into the song had me getting nostalgic about all those 12-inch singles that I used to buy on LP back in university.
"Private - Sold Out" has that soul that reminds me of a Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）song. It's got that nighttime urban vibe as a couple paint the town red, energized by that first feeling of love for each other. I especially love the horns and sax here.
The last track also happens to be Anri's 26th single, "Uso nara Yasashiku"（嘘ならやさしく...If It's a Lie, Then Be Gentle） from August 1991. There's also plenty of energy and Hey horns in there but the feeling is decidedly more bitter as the song goes into a relationship on its last legs...with amputation imminent. One half of the soon-to-be former item has decided to shack up with somebody else but just won't blurt it out although the other half is stubbornly holding out for a chance.
"Neutral" managed to reach as high as No. 2 on Oricon but unfortunately didn't place in the annual Top 50 rankings. Obviously, Anri continued to keep on with the summery sounds for many more years, but that period of time from the late 80s into the early 90s ending with this album was the notable one for me when it came to the singer's big embrace of American R&B.
Only if love were indeed easy, but that is about as far as I go in terms of philosophizing that concept. Still, despite that tiny difference in opinion with singer-songwriter Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）, I think her song "Love Is Easy" goes down like that calming cup of chamomile with cream (yes, I do like my alliteration). It's one of the tracks I remember well from her 3rd album, "Naturally" which came out in September 1987.
One of the reasons that it has stuck so well in my mind even though I bought the audiotape well over a quarter-century ago is because of that ol' American country music arrangement. I mean, if Kobayashi had written English lyrics for it, this could have been given to Crystal Gayle. However, the singer herself does her usual fine job with it, and "Love Is Easy" is quite the tonic for her fans after a tough day (had a few mini-crises to stamp out over the past couple of days).
I also have another track from the album that I've covered..."Helpless".
A bit of a follow-up from an article I did on Puffy's debut single, "Asia no Junshin"（アジアの純真）all the way back in 2012. Ami and Yumi really pulled off quite a splash when they started their singing career with this zanily-worded travelogue that was reminiscent of good ol' Electric Light Orchestra.
Then I found out a couple of covers of the song on YouTube. The above was done by seiyuu Kana Hanazawa（花澤香菜）who's been all around the anime universe for the past several years, although for me, I know her best as the hyperactive Mei-Mei, the little sister of main character Panda from "Shirokuma Cafe"（しろくまカフェ）. She did her own version of "Asia no Junshin" back in 2010 for the anime "Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin"（世紀末オカルト学院...Occult Academy）, and I found out that it wasn't even made into either the opening or closing theme. It was actually used as the song backing the announcement for the next episode. Kinda too bad since Hanazawa does a pretty good job here. The arrangement is fairly close to the original Puffy version and I actually like it when Hanazawa breathes out some of the lyrics.
Earlier than that...much earlier...the songwriters for "Asia no Junshin" themselves, Yosui Inoue and Tamio Okuda（井上陽水・奥田民生）performed a cover of the song for the duo's first album together, "Shopping" which was released in March 1997. This album version has a slightly footloose-and-fancy free 70s vibe to it. I wonder if the two were imagining driving an old yellow Volkswagen van in the countryside while they were singing to it. The above video has more of a honky-tonk feel. "Shopping", by the way, peaked at No. 4 on the charts.
A cute strawberry milk at the maid café Maidreaming
Ahh...couldn't resist...have to put in that Mei-Mei.
