ALBUM REVIEW: Ride On Time by Tatsuro Yamashita - 1980

Not too long ago last year marked the 39th anniversary of one of the most important albums in Japanese music history: Tatsuro Yamashita's 5th album, RIDE ON TIME. If you were born in Japan you probably recognize this album/song name from either the original Maxell Audio Cassette commercial that it debuted on or more recently in the early 2000’s TV drama "Good Luck!". However, if you’re like me you discovered this album through the ever-changing algorithm known as YouTube Recommendations. Either way, this album holds a special place in many people’s hearts for a multitude of reasons. It was the album that transitioned City Pop from a niche crowd into the mainstream, as well as cementing Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎) as a household name in Japan.

HISTORY

The story of RIDE ON TIME begins in the summer of 1979 during the recording of his 4th album Moonglow, where Tatsuro Yamashita would meet his soon to be permanent rhythm section, the late drummer Jun Aoyama (青山純) and bassist Koki Ito ( 伊藤広規 ). Then 22-year-old Aoyama already had prior experience performing with several big artists at the time such as The Square, Hi-Fi Set, Hiroshi Sato (佐藤博), & Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実 ). Koki Ito at that point had experience recording with both Jun and Hiroshi Sato, as well as songwriter Youichi Takizawa (滝沢洋一 ). As an artist who would end up changing session musicians with each album, these two key individuals would allow Tatsuro to finally create music live & in the studio with a consistent team. This gave him a clear sense of direction and the ability to better capture wider forms of expression and dynamism that he wasn't able to before in his music.

The album was recorded at CBS SONY Roppongi Studio, in Minato-ku, Tokyo. All songs were composed by Yamashita himself, while most of the lyrics were handled by fellow songwriter Minako Yoshida(吉田美奈子), who also helped with backing vocals. Other feature musicians included New Music veteran Kazuo Shiina (椎名和夫) on guitar, pianists Hiroyuki Namba ( 難波弘之) on keyboards, jazz trombonist Shigeharu Mukai( 向井滋春 ), and alto sax player Hidefumi Toki ( 土岐英史 ). These musicians, plus Aoyama & Ito, would go on to become Tatsuro Yamashita's all-star band that defined his signature City Pop sound for the next 4 decades. Around the same time, longtime director Kosugi Riyuzo was arranging a tie-in deal involving TV commercials for Maxwell's new line of audio cassettes. For Yamashita, who has already had a career as a composer for commercial jingles, it seemed natural to have Yamashita himself be the star of his own commercial, leading to the creation of the titular hit single, Ride On Time. The actual commercial was filmed at a beach in Saipan, the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the photographs were taken during the shooting would be used for the album cover.

RIDE ON TIME was released September 19, 1980, for months after the title track became a hit in May. It gained commercial success, reaching No.1 on the Japanese albums chart for a week in October, selling more than 220,000 copies.

THE MUSIC

1. Someday (いつか): The album opens up with Tatsuro Yamashita announcing “Go ahead” to the band, which commences a bouncy bass intro that leads into a beautiful jazzy piano melody, with uplifting lyrics about not giving up on love and finding a better tomorrow. The song ends climactically with very gospel music-inspired chorus.
2. Daydream: A happy-go-lucky, four-to-the-floor dance number about painting a cityscape with all the colors of the rainbow. According to Tatsuro himself, this was the best song Minako’s ever written lyrics for. The highlight of the song is definitely the horn arrangements, including the trombone solo done by Shigeharu Mukai (向井滋春), who plays in such a way that serves as the metaphorical paintbrush of the song.
3. Silent Screamer: The funkiest song on the album, Tatsuro hearkens back to the Isley Bros. to create an exciting funk-rock number about the thrills of street racing. Leading in with a drum intro that would give Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean a run for its money, a whole 4 years ahead of its time! Complete with sound effects that give the illusion of speeding through a highway tunnel at night. Suddenly transitioning into a rocking intro inspired by the Isley Bros’ 1979 single, Liquid Love, but with more emphasis on the rock. The best part of the song is when instead of just leading straight into a guitar solo, we first get an epic bongo percussion solo thanks to session musician Saitou Nobuo (斉藤信男).
4. Ride on Time [Album version]: The last song of the A-side is easily the most iconic song in Tatsuro's career for obvious reasons. We open up with Tats singing over a piano intro which leads into one hell of a disco number. This song embodies all of the best elements of Tatsuro's music career, from the hypnotic bass line, to the powerful horn arrangements, to the kick-ass saxophone solo, to Tats’ own warm yet assuring voice accompanied by Minako's angelic backing vocals. While the single version fades out into the chorus, the album version leads into some soulful improvisation on Tatsuro’s end before fading, only to surprise you with an A Capella rendition of the chorus before finally ending. The A Cappella arrangement of the song was used in one of the Maxell commercials.
5. The Door into Summer (夏への扉 Natsu e no Tobira): The second half of the album focuses more on rich melodic slow jams, beginning with Door Into Summer, a Light & Mellow tropical number written by Minako Yoshida, originally featured on Hiroyuki Namba’s own 1979 album, Sense of Wonder. While the song title was inspired by the novel by sci-fi author Robert Heinlein, the lyrics in the song reference the 1894 anthology, The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling.
6. My Sugar Babe: A love ballad written as an ode to Tatsuro’s very 1st band, Sugar Babe. After the album’s release, it was issued as a single and featured as a theme song for the television drama Keishi-K starring and directed by Shintaro Katsu, which Tatsuro also did the soundtrack for the show.
7. Rainy Day: Another ballad that Tatsuro originally recorded for Minako’s own 1980 album Monochrome, but because of logistics, her album came out a few months later, and Tatsuro’s cover came out 1st. While Minako’s version is much more minimalist, Tatsuro’s cover adds some groovy bass and some A Capella vocals to the already enchanting piano melody.
8. Clouds (雲のゆくえに Kumo no Yukue ni): Another song that was previously featured in Minako Yoshida’s album, this time from the 1978 record, Let’s Do It. The original song had a Motown vibe to it, Tatsuro takes the song in a more West-coast AOR direction.
9. Kissing Goodnight (おやすみ Oyasumi): And finally, the album comes to a close with a brief but beautiful piano solo, reminiscent of his work in SPACY, with Tatsuro serenading the audience to sleep, wishing them goodnight.

THE VERDICT

Production: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Vocals:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Arrangement:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aesthetic:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Memorability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Composition:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It’s no secret that Tatsuro Yamashita is my all-time favorite J-Pop artist, so it comes as no surprise when I say that RIDE ON TIME is one of my favorite City Pop albums of all time. Dare I say one of my favorite music albums of all time, period. It’s a classic LP that embodies everything great about his music. The A-side is lined up back to back with some of the most dance-able songs in his catalog, although because of that the album might feel a bit front-loaded since the second half is mostly slow to mid-tempo ballads. Side B is definitely a lot slower, but I personally find the arrangements engaging enough to keep me entertained by their excellent combination of jazzy riffs and enchanting doo-wop style vocal harmonies.

Thank you, Tatsuro Yamashita, for putting summer in our hearts.

 The entire album is a superb display of nigh-perfect production quality with each song, thick with perfectly balanced instrumental layering that rivals even the meticulousness of Steely Dan. From the midnight club dancing with Silent Screamer to summertime relaxation with Door Into Summer to day time driving with Ride On Time to the soulful crooning of My Sugar Babe, RIDE ON TIME has Tatsuro provides a song for every occasion while capturing all the essential elements that make City Pop so great as a genre all in one package. The opening song in particular, Someday, holds a special place in my heart as it was the song that introduced me to Tatsuro Yamashita’s music. And at a time where I was in a very dark place spiritually & emotionally, the song rejuvenated my soul with its uptempo beat and gospel-influenced chorus and changed my life forever. 

To anybody starting their City Pop journey, this is the 1st album I recommend people check out for obvious reasons, it’s the absolute pinnacle of the genre. I would highly recommend getting the 2002 Remastered Edition which includes never before released instrumental interludes, an instrumental version of My Sugar babe, as well as the single version of the titular song.


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