Ginger Root -- Loretta

 

I was talking with commenter Matt K. earlier today regarding one of his recommendations, and that had me thinking about this whole City Pop craze which went worldwide starting a few years ago with Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Plastic Love". If I'm not mistaken, it's been about three years now and I'm happy to say that there are still folks finding out about City Pop, J-AOR, Neo City Pop and the like. 

However in my opinion, I believe that the early stage of falling head over heels in the thralls of hatsukoi with this wonderful umbrella encompassing jazz, Latin, soul and other genres has generally crested and it's now most likely the case that J-Urban Contemporary has taken up a solid niche among the many world music genres. It's not a fad...longevity and continuing popularity have seen to that. There are probably three groups of people: 1) the ones who jumped onto the bandwagon but have decided to get off, 2) the ones who continue to like City Pop but want to move onto other genres out there, and 3) the true believers. At least, some of 2) and all of 3) will keep the flame alive. 

But I think that City Pop has already entered a second stage of sorts in its time on the world stage. Folks outside of Japan are not only putting their own spins on the established works by artists such as Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）, the aforementioned Takeuchi and Miki Matsubara（松原みき）, but they are also creating their own original songs based on those certain funky/soulful patterns and arrangements. For instance, I've seen some YouTube videos of artists in Mexico and South Korea coming up with their own City Pop tunes.

One person that I've already mentioned is Masa, a singer-songwriter who I've been able to communicate with occasionally via Discord, and from his videos on his YouTube channel, I've found out that he has wanted to meld some of that Neo City Pop sound with blues through his own works such as "Komorebi". 

And now finally we come to Matt's recommendation. He informed me about a singer-songwriter based in the United States, Cameron Lew aka Ginger Root. Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, he's been performing since 2017 with this indie soul project which he describes as "aggressive elevator soul". Well, if his "Loretta" is of any indication, then there must be a whole ton of neon and disco glitter in that lift along with several people dancing about.

His latest single from June 2021, "Loretta" has got that late 1970s City Pop and Vaporwave feel paired with a video which brings the fond memories of bleary VHS. I definitely love those spacey and sparkling keyboards as well. Not sure if Ginger Root was trying to emulate Tatsuro with the shoulder-length hair (although Ginger seems to be using a more effective conditioner than Tats) and those high tones in the video, but as I was mentioning to Matt, I think this cat from California is pretty much his own man with his creations. 

Anyways, "Loretta" will also be appearing on Ginger Root's next EP, "City Slicker", which will supposedly be released in a few weeks in August. Many thanks to Matt and I will have to explore a little more of Ginger's discography.

EVE -- Namida no Night in Tokyo（涙のNIGHT IN TOKYO）

 

As I mentioned in the first article devoted to this chorus group consisting of the three Shinzato（新里）sisters, Leona, Clara and Lilika, EVE seemed to be basically part and parcel of pretty much every Japanese pop album created in the 1980s and perhaps beyond as the backup trio. I'd probably think that the one other super-prolific musician listed in many a liner note booklet, saxophonist Jake H. Concepcion, probably treated the ladies as virtual neighbours.

Yet, hearing them perform on their own is still fairly rare to me, thus the only other KKP article starring EVE is their 1976 cover of "Never Can Say Goodbye". However, I do have their second entry right here which is a track from their 2nd original album "Passion", released in May 1987.

I've heard "Namida no Night in Tokyo" (A Tearful Night in Tokyo) a number of times now, and to be frank, depending on my mood, I've taken the song as a slick Japanese urban contemporary number or I've cringed a bit at the somewhat overwrought delivery by EVE. But just to reiterate, that all depends on how I'm feeling. There's a bit of vocal cheese in there, but then again I do like fondue (yes, and chocolate, too). Moreover, fondue is a really rich and perhaps pricey dish in my eyes, and "Namida no Night in Tokyo" fairly gushes over with that Bubble Era sensation of living the crazy high life in the late 1980s version of the megalopolis.

Written by Ben Uozumi（魚住勉）and Brian Richy and composed/arranged by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）with the arrangement being done under one of his pseudonyms, Mark Davis, "Namida no Night in Tokyo", through its title and the melancholy melody, comes across as a 1960s Mood Kayo brought forward and contemporized into a 1980s nocturnal West Shinjuku/Akasaka City Pop tune. Furthermore, Makaino's creation reminds me of a couple of other songs: there are echoes of WHAM!'s "Where Did Your Heart Go?" and Michael Frank's "Antonio's Song", both of which I have enjoyed. I will definitely have to give some attention to the latter ballad for a future ROY article.

Teruo Nakamura and Rising Sun Band -- Mr. & Mrs. Funk

 

I think that it's fair to say that I've had an affectionate affinity for the old TV theme songs. I've loved them all whether it be the action-filled one for the original "Mission: Impossible" or the sci-fi anthem for "Star Trek". The same would also go for the many sitcoms ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s. I've enjoyed the themes for "Sanford & Son", "The Brady Bunch" and "Bewitched". And I even did the AOR-friendly "WKRP in Cincinnati" as a ROY article back in the spring. 

Another theme song that I enjoyed was for a show that perhaps didn't get as much popularity as the others that I've just mentioned. However, watching some of the episodes and especially that opening credit sequence, I still have some fond nostalgia for "What's Happening!!". I wish my childhood had been as carefree and relatively stress-free as it seemed to be for Raj, Dwayne and Rerun, although I've read that their setting of Watts, Los Angeles wasn't exactly the safest area to be. Still, seeing the guys happily dribbling that basketball down the sidewalk while Henry Mancini's happy-go-lucky and slightly funky theme has still lodged itself firmly in my memories.

It's a bit of a weird and far-reaching segue to the topic of this article but for some reason, I still get that "What's Happening!!" vibe when I listen to "Mr. & Mrs. Funk" by jazz bassist Teruo Nakamura（中村照夫）and his Rising Sun Band. I think that the song could have made for a pretty cool theme song for an American TV show of any genre.

Last week, I had a talk with Rocket Brown of "Come Along Radio" and we got on the topic of what would make some fine examples of New York-themed City Pop or urban contemporary. I found this particular song and sent it over to him. "Mr. & Mrs. Funk" is indeed fun and is a track on Nakamura's 1979 album "Big Apple" (splendid cover, by the way). The song just feels like a happy Saturday walking through some of the boroughs of The Big Apple such as Manhattan or Brooklyn. That beefy sax even reminds me of the yellow taxis coursing through the many streets, and there's the combination of the flute and sax that sounds perfect as the accompaniment to a stroll. Nice rollicking piano, too.

Tomoko Saito -- Kaze no You ni（風のように）

 

A few days ago, commenter Misha contacted me inquiring about a certain song by an actress Tomoko Saito（斉藤とも子）. Regrettably, I couldn't identify the track but in my attempts to do so, I was able to encounter another pleasant song by her.

(cover version)

Saito has indeed been categorized as an actress on J-Wiki and nothing more. However, in the late 1970s going into the early 1980s, this native of Kobe did release three singles and a couple of albums. Her debut single was "Kaze no You ni" (Like the Wind) from June 1979 and from the looks of the cover, I had naturally assumed that the song would be of an aidoru nature.

Nothing was further from the truth here. Despite Saito looking like a junior high school kid on the cover of "Kaze no You ni" (she was actually around 18 when the single was released), the song is an appropriately breezy tune within the genres of City Pop or AOR. I think that I can even categorize the tune as something quite Resort Pop since I easily envisage beach umbrellas, boardwalks and tropical cocktails. Saito's voice is quite innocent-sounding, light and skippy, though, as I would expect from an aidoru.

"Kaze no You ni" was written by Hiromi Igarashi（五十嵐ひろみ）, composed by Akira Fujimoto（藤本あきら）and arranged by Yoichi Takahashi（高橋洋一）. Just a few weeks after the single's release, "Kaze no You ni" also got onto Saito's debut album "Arigato, Anata"（ありがとう、あなた...Thank You To You）. Listening to that song that Misha told me about, I also received some urban contemporary vibes there, too, so I'm wondering during her brief time as a recording artist whether she was solely into City Pop and the like.

Shinji Harada -- Shadow Boxer（シャドー・ボクサー）

 

It's almost as if that photo of relative wunderkind singer-songwriter Shinji Harada（原田真二）was snarking "Where the heck have you been, J-Canuck, for the past 4 1/2 years?" And it has been that long since I posted one of his songs onto the blog. For that, I do apologize especially because the song that I have here tonight is definitely a banger for City Pop/J-AOR fans.

My last article on Hiroshima-born Harada was way back in November 2016 when I wrote up on his remarkable debut album "Feel Happy" from February 1978. It is chock-filled with all sorts of New Music daubed with that City Pop and West Coast goodness but it is missing the singer's 3rd single which was released in December 1977, "Shadow Boxer".

Harada brings some of that wonderful metropolitan funk in his own melody through "Shadow Boxer" which came out a few mere weeks following his 19th birthday and it's paired with the lyrics of Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, the fellow who provided the words for all of the tracks on "Feel Happy". It seems to be the starter kit squeezed into one song for anyone that wants to get into the world of City Pop thanks to those disco strings, boppy bass, bluesy saxophone and that funky strut of an arrangement.

And it all could have gone awry according to an interview provided within the liner notes of arranger Tsugutoshi Goto's（後藤次利）2008 "Fitzbeat Years 1983-1985", a 3-CD collection of his own solo works. Bassist Goto was still feeling his way around the world of arrangement at the time when he was requested to put in those strings into "Shadow Boxer" which had him purchasing an electric piano and an arrangement book to study. However, when it came to have Tomato (the strings) do their stuff, there was enough unwanted dissonance in the initial result that an emergency break was ordered and Goto had to do some fly-by-the-seat-of-one's-pants rearranging on the piano to get it right. No pressure.

Well, from what I've heard, it looks like there was a happy ending to the proceedings. And in all honesty, when the recording session includes Harada and Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）on keyboards, Tatsuo Hayashi（林立夫）on drums, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）on electric guitar, Nobu Saito（斎藤ノブ）on percussion, and Jake H. Concepcion on saxophone among other stars, I think that Goto, who was on bass and classic guitar, had some enormous backup helping him out. Folk singer Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）was even joining Harada on backup chorus. Those strings sound great...along with everything else!

Unfortunately "Shadow Boxer" didn't become the 3rd consecutive Top 10 hit for Harada, peaking at No. 14, after the No. 6-ranked debut single "Teens' Blues" (てぃーんず ぶるーす) and his sophomore "Candy"（キャンディ）which came in at No. 10. It still sold approximately 230,000 records and ended up as the No. 40 single for 1978. Plus, his following single, "Time Travel" became his highest-ranking song at No. 4.

"Shadow Boxer" finally got to make its album debut on Harada's 20th studio album from August 2007, "Feel Free", albeit in a new arrangement. However, after only a few months, the singer released the 30th anniversary remastered version of "Feel Happy" with the original version of "Shadow Boxer".

The Parachute Club -- Rise Up

 

Well, I did that special Reminiscings of Youth article yesterday on behalf of Japan's Disco Day via the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive". Today is the regular weekly version for ROY.

And no, no disco tonight. Instead, I'm going with Canadiana once more after doing Spoons' "Romantic Traffic" nearly a month ago. I'm not sure whether The Parachute Club ever successfully broke out into the United States but here in the Great White North, this Toronto band formed in 1982 made an instant impression with their July 1983 debut single, "Rise Up".

Just to quote the Wikipedia description of The Parachute Club: "The band was well known for being one of the first mainstream pop acts in Canada to integrate world music influences, particularly Caribbean styles such as reggae and soca, into their sound." I also have to point out that as a teen, The Parachute Club was the first band that I've seen and heard that had both a nearly equal ratio of men and women working together.

With "Rise Up", there was this feeling of all-encompassing love, optimism and amity which was emphasized in the original music video for Canada at the start when the mime invites all sorts of people from all walks of life to join in the parade of joy in downtown Toronto. The video also includes scenes of Roy Thomson Hall where we got to see Professor X and Magneto having their first tete-a-tete in the very first "X-Men" movie. And of course, there is the soulful boomer of a voice within vocalist Lorraine Segato.

"Rise Up" was the band's most famous hit and it broke the Top 10 by peaking at No. 9 on the Canadian RPM chart. I got to see the video a lot and hear the song a lot on radio and it began a pretty good run for The Parachute Club in the 1980s. And as the Wikipedia article for the song states, "Rise Up" has been a good choice as an anthem for various causes although Segato has said that it was always meant to be "... a universal anthem of freedom and equality". 

So, what were the Top 3 singles on Oricon for July 1983?

1. Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語）

2. Tomoyo Harada -- Toki wo Kakeru Shojo （時をかける少女）

3. Akina Nakamori -- Twilight - Yugure Dayori （トワイライト -夕暮れ便り-）

Hironobu Kageyama -- Into The Night

 

My knowledge of singer-songwriter Hironobu Kageyama（影山ヒロノブ）is limited but thanks to my anime buddy, I've grown to know him as this leather-lunged rock belter who has come up with the themes for anime franchises "Dragon Ball"（ドラゴンボール）and "One Punch Man". That full-power voice of his could cut through steel.

However, I've found this track from his very first BEST compilation from February 1989, "THE BEST OF HIRONOBU KAGEYAMA". "Into The Night" has that nighttime urban rock vibe and Kageyama toned it down a bit here in his vocals, sounding a bit more like Eikichi Yazawa（矢沢永吉）with the sultriness. Lyricist Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）provided the words while Kageyama provided the melody via his inverted pseudonym of Nobuhiro Yamakage（景山浩宣）and bassist Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）arranged everything into its motorcycle ride-friendly format.

I hear that his nickname is The Prince of Anison! After seeing his long list of anime tie-up songs on his J-Wiki profile, I can certainly believe that.