Oricon Top Singles for 1987

1.  Eiko Segawa                         Inochi Kurenai
2.  Akina Nakamori                   Tango Noir
3.  Ikuzo Yoshi                          Yukiguni
4.  Hikaru Genji                         Starlight
5.  Seiko Matsuda                      Strawberry Time
6.  Akina Nakamori                   Nanpasen
7.  Akina Nakamori                   Blonde
8.  Daisaku Ogata                      Mushaku Ryojou
9.  Hiroshi Itsuki                        Tsuioku
10. Shonentai                            Kimi Dake ni

Pretty interesting writing this list up in a year that I thought was the one of transition between the early 80s aidoru (Seiko, Akina) and late 80s aidoru (Miho, Shizuka). For one thing, I don't see any of those late 80s girls up there, and for another 40% of the list consists of enka, including the No. 1 song of the year....pretty nostalgic. Akina Nakamori had another banner year to complement her successful 1986 of 2 songs in the Top Ten; this time it's 3, including "Tango Noir" which for me has the sexiest cover I've seen for her (when my friend Anthony showed me the single back at U of T, I took a long look at it...and that was all). However, Seiko-chan still has that one memorable single in there.

Johnny's Entertainment is also well represented by Hikaru Genji and Shonentai. The latter group also got into the Top 10 of 1986, but Hikaru Genji was about to hit the jackpot. The following year, Moroboshi-kun and company had a stranglehold on the Top 10 by capturing the top 3 spots.

And on a personal note, my go-to karaoke song (juu-hachi-ban), "Yukiguni" is at No. 3.

courtesy of swonderful
from Flickr

Off Course -- Suiyoubi no Gogo （水曜日の午後）

Was looking for something seasonal to put up today, and then I remembered that I had "Spring Time Best From Off Course" on the shelves. I found the perfect song, "Suiyoubi no Gogo" (Wednesday Afternoon), not just because I'm writing this on Wednesday (night, mind you), but also because we got quite a bit of rain today here in Toronto, and the lyrics did make a lot of reference to precipitation. However, despite the rain mentioned in Kazumasa Oda's（小田和正）words (he also composed it), they come together in a way that is more optimistic than in some of the other Off Course（オフコース） songs he's been responsible for. There are no sad romantic breakups here in this song; instead, Kazumasa sings about getting that calmness and hope from the healing power of weather on a Hump Day.

"Suiyoubi no Gogo" was never released as an official single, but was included in the band's very first album, "Boku no Okurimono" (僕の贈りもの...My Present) released in June 1973. It is a lovely if short song that would be at home in any repertoire at an annual high school song contest.

courtesy of bearseye
from Flickr

Miho Nakayama/Toshiki Kadomatsu -- You're My Only Shinin' Star

I heard this song quite a lot via "The Best 10" and "The Top 10" from Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）, and it was probably the one that I knew the best from her at the time due to the frequency of her appearances on the programs to perform this particular song. I also have to admit that I wasn't all that impressed with "You're My Only Shinin' Star" at the time either; perhaps it was the fact that the melody seemed to have been pushed into the background behind Miporin's voice, and frankly, I never thought that she had the strongest vocals when performing live on music shows.

But then hearing the original version on CD helped bring up my impressions of Nakayama's 12th single. Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生） was behind the creation of this song in both writing and composing when it was released in February 1988, and it was here that I could hear the same Kadomatsu magic that made Anri（杏里） a star a few years earlier. Although it was released in the winter, I think "You're My Only Shinin' Star" makes for a great summer ballad. It had actually started life as the final track on Nakayama's 3rd album, "Summer Breeze" (released in July 1986), but in the following months, it was evident that it was becoming popular amongst the fans and even with Miho herself, so it was re-recorded into its own single. It was a winfall for all concerned as it hit No. 1 on Oricon and won the Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards. Eventually, it would become the 15th-ranked single of the year.

In November 1999, Kadomatsu released his own version of the song he had made as his 26th single with three different takes, including an English-language cover above. I've only listened to it once (as in half an hour ago), so my insights on it are even smaller, but I think it's more in the AOR vein. It peaked at No. 27. The first Japanese take is also available on Kadomatsu's first album of self-covers, "The Gentle Sex", released in January 2000; it hit No. 1 on Oricon.

courtesy of HubbleColor (Zolt)
from Flickr

Kyoko Koizumi -- Anata ni Aete Yokatta （あなたに会えてよかった）

Man, time does fly! Right now, the NHK morning serial drama, "Ama-chan"（あまちゃん）, stars veteran singer-actress Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子） as a middle-aged, suffer-no-fools mother whose high-school-age daughter realizes she wants to become a diver for sea urchin and other shellfish. A little over 20 years ago, she would've been playing the daughter. And that she did on a Fuji-TV drama titled "Papa to Natchan"（パパとなっちゃん....Papa and Natchan） back in 1991 in which she played a university sophomore against Masakazu Tamura (the future Columbo of Japan, Ninzaburo Furuhata) as her father. I only caught a few scenes of the show with the most notable one near the end where Kyon-Kyon's Natsumi is giving her thanks to her father before getting married as Papa dissolves into a wreck of lachrymal fluid.

The theme song for the drama was "Anata ni Aete Yokatta"(Glad To Have Met You), whose lyrics were written by Koizumi herself while the melody was made by Takeshi Kobayashi（小林武史） who has had strong connections with bands like My Little Lover and Mr. Children. Instead of the aidoru tunes I first knew her for back during the 80s, this song was firmly in breezy pop territory; not teen stuff but something that I could identify as a song for women in their 20s. I wouldn't be surprised if it had become an unofficial theme song for the OLs starting their lives in Japan Inc. I remember hearing "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" a whole lot in the last few months of my Gunma stay. Considering that scene from the show I talked about in the previous paragraph, I think the song probably would still be a popular one to be played at wedding receptions.

The song hit the top spot on Oricon after its release in May 1991 and became the 6th-ranked song of the year. And it also won two Japan Record Awards, one for Koizumi in the category of songwriting. It would eventually sell 1.5 million copies, and to date, it is the final No. 1 for the singer. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it on the Net, but the coupling song for "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" is "Saigo no Kiss"(最後のキッス....A Final Kiss), a bluesy jazz ballad also written by Koizumi and composed by Japanese guitarist/songwriter, EBBY. I actually like that song just as much as the A-side.

Kyoko Koizumi -- Anata ni Aete Yokatta

Yumi Arai -- Hikoki Gumo （ひこうき雲）

With all of the incredible concerts-turned-cultural experiences and the slick production methods that Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実） has demonstrated over the past few decades, it's sometimes nice to go back to the days of Yumi Arai（荒井由実）. Until recently, "Hikoki Gumo"(Vapour Trails) was the earliest Yuming song that I'd ever heard, and I was surprised to hear that it never got its own single, instead being a B-side on her 2nd single, "Kitto Ieru"(きっと言える...Can Tell You Straight）, released in November 1973. It sold 3,000 copies, almost four times as much as her very first single the previous year, "Henji wa Iranai"(返事はいらない....I Don't Need An Answer).

It's one of the more tenderhearted ballads that I have ever heard with Yuming initially sounding whispery-soft, almost child-like, before her voice grows up and punches through the air in the refrain. Lyrically, she modeled "Hikoki Gumo" after the premature death of her friend. It may be a time of mourning, but the singer also mentions that her friend is now happy and the feeling in the melody hints that not all is sadness and that he/she is now reaching for that blue sky.

The white hill road kept on going as far as the sky
The shimmering heat haze envelops that child
No one notices, he is just by himself
That child rises up
There is no fear, and then he soars

Longing for the sky,
He runs for it
That child's life is a vapour trail

At that tall window, that child, before he died
Also gazed at the sky, I don't know about now
I don't know about other people
I just think he was too young
But he's happy

Longing for the sky,
He runs for it
That child's life is a vapour trail

Listening to this song has often made me stop and get pretty introspective. With all of the daily spiritual detritus that builds up over time, it's always good when a particular song can help in getting rid at least some of that pile-up. Sometimes, I've thought that Yumi Matsutoya went overboard with a few of her albums and her concerts, and so I've often wondered if she needs to hear some of her earlier, simpler work again.

That 2nd single of hers may not have made much of a dent in the Oricon rankings, but it was included on her 1st album, also titled "Hikoki Gumo". It was released a few weeks after that second single, and although it took a few years, the word of Yumi Arai as the newly-crowned matriarch of this genre called New Music did get around to the masses so that the album eventually got ranked No. 10 for 1976.

courtesy of bugmancx
from Flickr

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra & Hiroto Komoto -- Hoshi Furu Yoru ni （星降る夜に）

I kept seeing one small clip of this video that made me wanna get this song: Hiroto Komoto（甲本ヒロト） of The Blue Hearts looking like a snazzily dressed middle-aged Gilligan from "Gilligan's Island" accompanied by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and doing a heartwarmingly goofy "Hey, Ma, it's me!" greeting from a window frame.

Listening to the song (especially the great intro and Komoto's mellow rasp) is fantastic as well, but the video also provides plenty of entertainment. Just seeing Komoto looking as if he were Popeye chewing on a Jawbreaker while his legs go spastic is worth the price of admission. And there's nothing better than seeing talented well-dressed professional musicians plainly enjoying themselves.

"Hoshi Furu Yoru ni"(On The Night of Falling Stars) was released in May 2006 as the band's 30th single since the first one was released in 1990. It got as high as No. 13 on the Oricon singles chart, and was also a track on TSPO's 12th original album, "Wild Peace" (June 2006) which peaked at No. 2. It is also on "Best of Tokyo Ska 1998-2007" which also got as far as No. 2, and is the album that I got to hear this gem. The song itself was written by the band's baritone saxophonist Atsushi Yanaka（谷中敦） and composed by the man on trumpet, NARGO.

The only thing I can say is to Komoto to lay off the multiple carafes of coffee before filming.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Best of Tokyo Ska 1998-2007

Takako Okamura -- Kokoro no Sogen （心の草原）

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1qqtgXBR6o

Although I remember hearing and seeing the adorably earnest duo of Aming（あみん） on the 1982 Kohaku performing their major hit, "Matsu wa"（待つわ）, I never found out the names of the two singers, and since "Matsu wa" was basically their only notable hit, I thought that was pretty much it for my connection with them.

But then I came across this huggably soft music video on either "MTV Japan" or the video clip show on Gunma TV at the beginning of the 90s. I didn't know it at the time, but it turned out that singer-songwriter Takako Okamura（岡村孝子） was one half of Aming....the one who decided to continue her career as a solo singer after Aming quickly broke up in the early 80s. "Kokoro no Sogen" (Meadow of the Heart) was just this cute little song that probably appealed to everyone from 8 to 88 and had me unconsciously shifting my head from side-to-side like an inverted pendulum with a goofy grin on my mug. The video itself had the young Okamura setting up roots in her new pad; she looked like every toddler's favourite nursery teacher, although I was kinda wondering about that shirt with all of the card suit patterns.

Interestingly enough, according to J-Wiki, Okamura was inspired to come up with the song after listening to Janet Jackson's "Escapade"(1989). "Kokoro no Sogen" was released in June 1990 as her 13th single. It got as high as No. 35 on the Oricon weeklies. However, it was also a track on her 6th album, "Kiss - a cote de la mer -", released on the same day as the single, which hit the top spot on the album charts and was the 10th-ranked album for 1990, selling over half a million copies.

And if anyone needs a reminder about Ms. Nasty, here is "Escapade". Feel free to make comparisons.

Takako Okamura -- Kiss
(no relation to the Prince song)