B’z -- Taiyou no Komachi Angel (太陽のKomachi Angel)

 

*I haven't payed attention before but my fellow friend J-Canuck had already written an article for this song years ago, so click here for his original "Taiyou no Komachi Angel" post. Anyway, since I had already finished writing up mine, I'll just add the Follow-Up tag.

I never thought I’d ever like B’z, but here I am enjoying a good portion of the duo’s early songs. Before listening to them, a more serious and heavy rock style always came to my mind when I thought about the music created by Koshi Inaba (稲葉浩志) and Takahiro Matsumoto (松本孝弘). I’m not totally wrong, though, since they really focused in a more guitar-driven sound after some years, but by the late 80s and early 90s they were still doing this blend of rock with synthpop that was very reminiscent of TM NETWORK (well, Takahiro Matsumoto played for TM NETWORK, so he just went along with this type of sound when B’z was formed).

The epic and stadium-ready anthem “BAD COMMUNICATION” is a great example of their early hits, but it’s “Taiyou no Komachi Angel” that really caught my attention. Released as the duo’s fifth single in June 1990, this chart-topper song (their first one) is a Latin-tinged and bouncy pop song with a ferociously catchy chorus. Besides the verses, the song is almost entirely built around this main melody, since the synth arrangement even follows it. In the end, when Inaba is not singing the chorus, we can still hear it through the synths, making this a great and fun pop song.

“Taiyou no Komachi Angel” reached #1 on the Oricon charts, selling 464,000 copies. An English version was included in the duo’s second mini-album, “WICKED BEAT”, also released in June 1990. Lyrics were written by Koshi Inaba, while music was composed by Takahiro Matsumoto. As for the arrangement, Masao Akashi (明石昌夫) was the responsible.

Luckily, I was able to find an used copy of this mini-album here in Brazil a couple of weeks ago.

Tomi Kitagawa -- Hajimete no Haru（初めての春）

 

The above photo was actually taken four years ago downtown near the University of Toronto but the weather reflects what it's like today as we take our baby steps into Spring 2022. Yup, no sight of snow on the ground except for the blackened piles at certain points on the curbs, but the weather forecasters have stated that there will be another dusting of the pure white stuff later on this week.😞

I did want to find at least one kayo with a hint of spring in there so I was able to track down one song in the backlog titled "Hajimete no Haru" (The First Spring). Sung by Tomi Kitagawa（北川とみ）, this number is a folksy New Music number that starts off pensively enough before suddenly launching into something more determined. Written and composed by Keizo Okuyama（奥山景三）, the song details the story of a young couple who may be reaching a turning point into the relationship which has reached its first spring. Although the song strikes me as being a little too quick-paced to be purely a folk number, Okuyama's lyrics have that folk message of naïve youths making those hesitant strides into adulthood.

Having written about Kitagawa once before for her "Wasuretainoni"（忘れたいのに）, I'd made an error when I said that it was her debut single. Actually I was able to find out some more about the singer via "Idol.ne.jp" that "Hajimete no Haru" is the B-side to her actual first single, "Ajisai Dera"（あじさい寺...Hydrangea Temple） from February 1976 before her sophomore entry "Wasuretainoni". In total, Kitagawa released three singles and an album up to 1977. Returning to her native Aichi Prefecture in 1980, she went into writing and radio program production.

The Yellow Monkey -- Taiyo ga Moeteiru（太陽がもえている）

 

A good Monday to you! And it's looking very nice out there with the sun and not-so-frigid temperatures. Not a bad beginning to the first full day of spring 2022.

I don't think that it was with this particular song, but one time when I was out with fellow teachers and students at a karaoke box in Tokyo, one of our teachers, who was even a bit more quieter than I was at these things, took the microphone and belted out a Yellow Monkey number that brought the house down. It was a grand performance by this fellow representing teachers who usually went for the 80s and 90s English-language stuff ranging from Elvis Presley to Nirvana.

But in any case, I wanted to show "Taiyo ga Moeteiru" (The Sun is Burning), The Yellow Monkey's 8th single from September 1995. I didn't recognize the song until vocalist Kazuya "Lovin" Yoshii（吉井和哉） (who also wrote and composed the song) went into the refrain; then I realized that it was a song that I had heard over and over again, thanks to its long run on the charts via shows like "Countdown TV". Once again, the nostalgia kicked in because of the guitar arrangement.

"Taiyo ga Moeteiru" is a grand love song that brings in all of nature since that sun of the guy is burning with passion and glee deep within him. Dang nice song for this day. Their 8th single was also The Yellow Monkey's first Top 10 hit with it getting as high as No. 9 and earning Gold. The band would get even higher with the next several singles including that coveted No. 1 a few years later.

The other members of the band are guitarist Hideaki "Emma" Kikuchi（菊地英昭）, bassist Yoichi "Heesey" Hirose（廣瀬洋一）and drummer Eiji "Annie" Kikuchi（菊地英二）. Their original run was between 1988 and 2004 but they got back together again in 2016.

Sayuri Yoshinaga & Akira Mita -- Asu wa Sakou Hana Sakou（明日は咲こう花咲こう）

 

I caught this being performed by a married couple on today's episode of "Nodo Jiman"（のど自慢）which took place this week in Okinawa. Good to see that the show is still active out there, by the way.

This article is for the Sayurists since we've got actress Sayuri Yoshinaga（吉永小百合）paired up with singer Akira Mita（三田明）for the jaunty and hopeful "Asu wa Sakou Hana Sakou" (Let Tomorrow Blossom, Let The Flowers Blossom), a single that was released back in April 1965. Yoshinaga is no stranger to duets especially since she performed one of the most famous kayo of them all with Yukio Hashi（橋幸夫）, "Itsudemo Yume wo" （いつでも夢を）back in 1962.

(karaoke version)

Not surprisingly, this was another hit for Yoshinaga, and true to form for the connection between music and cinema back then, "Asu wa Sakou Hana Sakou" got to become a movie released later in August under the same title starring Yoshinaga as a health worker assigned to a backwater village outside of Tokyo that is in desperate need of help of any kind due to the rampant poverty. I've not seen the movie, but with a title song this genki, I think it's pretty much a given that the village gets at least somewhat better by the end. Mita himself even shows up in one scene as a popular entertainer with the same name who just happens to be from that very village. Hmm...guess which song he sings with Yoshinaga? By the way, the above video has Mita's performance with singer Midori Oka（丘みどり）.

The lyrics were provided by Sou Nishizawa（西沢爽）while the melody was composed by Tadashi Yoshida（吉田正）, the same person behind "Itsudemo Yume wo".

LOU -- Nichiyoubi no Asa（日曜日の朝）

 

Well, this is coming out about a few hours after the titular time of this song has already passed but it's still looking pretty gorgeous out there for the first day of spring on this sunny Sunday, so I'll let the oversight pass.

"Nichiyoubi no Asa" (Sunday Morning) is a track from the band LOU's self-titled one-and-only album from April 1976 that I thankfully found. There's very little information on this group with almost all of the data that I could find being on the Tower Records website. This was apparently a Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）-produced project featuring guitarist/vocalist Takuya Takahashi（高橋拓也）, vocalist/electric sitarist Osamu Yamazaki（山崎修）, vocalist Yoichi Imamura（今村陽一）, drummer Seiichi Tanaka（田中聖一）and bassist Michiaki Suzuki（鈴木享明）. I did find out on Suzuki's J-Wiki page that LOU was formed during his time attending Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama (perhaps some or all of the band members were there). Some guest musicians also helped out on the album including keyboardists Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）and Kentaro Haneda（羽田健太郎）.

(19:08)

This particular track has had one comment comparing it to Quiet Storm music and even the Isley Brothers. On Tower Records, LOU has been described as a soft rock group bringing together a refined blend of folk and sweet soul. Hayashi's melody is the sort of light and mellow music that I used to hear on the radio as a kid. Meanwhile, Machiko Ryu's（竜真知子）bittersweet lyrics relate the story of a man feeling that his place is a whole lot bigger and sadder now that his significant other has now left the residence for good. As for me, when I think of Sunday mornings, I'm a lot more gastronomically happier with my bacon, eggs and Eggos.😋

Rui Tachihara -- Dustin Hoffman ni Naretajanaika（ダスティン・ホフマンになれたじゃないか）

 

Consider this article a sequel or a follow-up to the previous one that I just put up. A few minutes ago, I posted the late Hakudo Otsuka's（大塚博堂）"Dustin Hoffman ni Narenakatta yo"（ダスティン・ホフマンになれなかったよ...Couldn't Become Dustin Hoffman）, a ballad about a regretful loss of love with its comparison to a couple of early Dustin Hoffman movies. This probably became Otsuka's most well-known creation.

However, Otsuka's life was cut short due to a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 37 in 1981. His friend and fellow singer-songwriter Rui Tachihara（たちはらるい）then came up with an answer song titled "Dustin Hoffman ni Naretajanaika" (You Did Become Dustin Hoffman) which was used in an October 1981 musical in tribute to Otsuka under the same title as his trademark song, some months following his funeral.

Composed by Tachihara and written by Konosuke Fuji（藤公之介）, the same fellow who came up with the lyrics for "Dustin Hoffman ni Narenakatta yo", "Dustin Hoffman ni Naretajanaika" as would be a case for a tribute song has a more hopeful and perhaps even heroic feeling. During the musical, it probably had Otsuka's fans bawling in the aisles as Tachihara and cast sang the title as a final farewell. This time as well, Fuji's lyrics make note of another classic movie starring Hoffman, "Midnight Cowboy". The song was also a track on Tachihara's album "Ja, Mata"（じゃ、また。。。Well, See Ya）. The album also contains a number of tracks that were unreleased Otsuka compositions.

I've written about Tachihara once before for his 1974 debut single "Kita no Daichi"（北の大地）.

Hakudo Otsuka -- Dustin Hoffman ni Narenakatta yo（ダスティン・ホフマンになれなかったよ）

 

First off, let's welcome the arrival of spring a few minutes ago, although over here in Toronto, we may be getting a few centimetres of the white stuff in the middle of this week. Such is meteorological life here.

Now, as for the start of today's KKP articles, this hasn't been the first time and it probably won't be the last time that I see kayo with references to Hollywood celebrities. Anri（杏里）had her debut thanks to Olivia Newton-John and there was even a two-for-one deal involving Al Pacino and Alain Delon within Ikue Sakakibara's（榊原郁恵）discography. In addition, although this is the British group Bananarama I'm talking about here, even a waiting Robert DeNiro got a shoutout through one of their 80s tunes.

Well, I've found out that there is a 1970s song titled "Dustin Hoffman ni Narenakatta yo" (Couldn't Become Dustin Hoffman) by the late New Music singer-songwriter Hakudo Otsuka（大塚博堂）. Born Hirotaka Otsuka in the city of Beppu, Oita Prefecture, he made his debut as a singer in 1972 but struggled to make a dent in show business and was playing his guitar in clubs when he decided to make another go of it with a new single in June 1976, the song of this article.

Otsuka composed the music for which arranger Yasunori Soryo（惣領泰則）added some more elegance to the wistfulness with the strings. Konosuke Fuji（藤公之介）provided the lyrics of a man lamenting the loss of the love of his life to another man and also notes that his former flame now has two kids; apparently, watching the 1969 romantic drama "John & Mary" starring Hoffman and Mia Farrow triggered the memories and he even throws out the question to the lady whether she remembers the time that they saw "The Graduate" together. You can take a look at the trailer for the former movie at the very top.

I'm not sure whether Otsuka approached Fuji to write for the song, but in the J-Wiki article for "Dustin Hoffman", it was interesting to read that during the singer's tough period between 1972 and 1976, he had found a book of poetry by Fuji and composed music to some of his poems. As well, Otsuka said that the song had also resonated with some of his own circumstances at the time. Ironically though, the song finally connected with listeners and critics alike so that a studio album of the same name was produced a couple of months later and other songs also became well-praised.

Tragically though, his life and career didn't last much longer. In May 1981, Otsuka succumbed to a cerebral hemorrhage in his home and he passed away at the age of 37. During his funeral procession, "Dustin Hoffman ni Narenakatta yo" was the song playing. 

There is a sequel article to this one, courtesy of Rui Tachihara（たちはらるい）.