Hideki Saijo: A Fan Perspective Part 2

 

Chibi Maruko-chan & Hideki Saijo

Hideki Saijo was one of the most prolific idols and music artists of the 70s & '80s. He would gain a following that would last generations with more people becoming fans of his work to this day, even after his passing in 2018. Saijo left such an impact on the Japanese music industry and popular culture that only the fan's testimonies can truly do it justice. Thanks again to the Hideki fans who shared their experience with me for this week's article and to the ones who waited patiently for me to post this. There may be a follow-up in the future, but in the meantime,  You're welcome to share your Hideki experiences in the comments below.

"将来的にフォローアップが行われる可能性がありますが、それまでの間、下のコメントで秀樹の経験を共有することを歓迎します。"

How did you discover Hideki Saijo?

@aono109: When I watched him sing on a TV show in 1972. I fell in love with him like I was struck by lightning. 

@lbintang_jp: When I was 2 or 3 years old, my mother and sisters watched music programs on TV every day. In the 1970s - 80s Japanese TV programs, we were watching many singers every day including Hideki Saijo.

@25152hs: In the 1970s, there were many TV programs that featured live music and I got to know Hideki. When I heard his song "Chigireta Ai (Torn Love)" in 1973, I was completely fascinated by him.

@mori99saki: In August 1977, two weeks after graduating from college, I moved to Osaka Japan to teach Conversational English at a Japanese Church. I didn’t know any Japanese except, Sayonara and Tokyo. My roommate was a Japanese High School Student and thought watching the Japanese Music programs would help me learn Japanese. I saw Hideki on the very first program that I watched. I was mesmerized by his charisma on stage and his voice. From that first day, he became my “idol crush” and has been ever since.

What kind of impact has Hideki Saijo's music had on your life?

@aono109: His songs evoke a wide range of emotions in me, love, fun, joy, sadness, loneliness, etc. He covered a lot of foreign pop songs and taught me a lot of good music and many of them became my favorite ones. And then he passed away. That still makes me brokenhearted.

@lbintang_jp: His music, songs, and his vocal was my starting point.

@25152hs: During my teenage years, I had been a big fan of Hideki and he was always in my life. In 2018 I heard of his tragic death and the news took me all the way back to the years. I'm usually not very active and don't like to go out. But when it comes to Hideki, I can be an active person. He is just like my driving force and he motivates me. When I lost my relatives and became ill, he and his songs really provided moral support to me.

@mori99saki: I don’t believe it's only Hideki’s music that has impacted my life, but his way of life and how he approached everything with positivity has had the greatest impact. When I’m having a hard day I listen to Hideki’s music and think about how Hideki would have approached the situation.

What’s your favorite memory associated with Hideki?

@aono109: If I had to choose one, it would be the first concert I ever went to at Budokan. I was 11 years old at the time. I felt like I was in a dream then.

@lbintang_jp: I cannot forget his innocent smile on the Japanese curry CM. I thought he was our brother and a big star in another world for his correct pitch, groove, athletic ability, caring personality, and handsome!

@25152hs: When "Hop Step Jump" became a hit in 1979, I had opportunities to dance behind Hideki. At that time I was a member of his fan club and sometimes I went to TV stations with the other members to dance. It was a lot of fun to be able to see Hideki up close.

@mori99saki: 

My roommate’s parents bought us tickets to a Hideki Saijo for my birthday in 1978. Seeing him live on stage was much more impactful than watching on TV. His energy as well as that of fans was electrifying. It’s a memory I will never forget.

Favorite Songs & Albums?

@aono109:  Hideki worked with Fujimaru Yoshino for the first time in Koi No Bousou. You can see he performed very happily with Fujimaru in this video. Since I've become an adult, I used to listen to "TWILIGHT MADE..."  while driving around.

@lbintang_jp:  BoomerangStreet & WakakiShishitachi (Young Lions). Most Favorite album is First Flight.

@25152hs: My favorite albums are "Wakaki Shishi Tachi (The Young Lions)" and "Valentine's Day Concert". My favorite songs are "Wakaki Shishi Tachi" and "Kono Ai no Tokimeki(This Crush of Love)" I also recently fell in love with "Once Again" from the album "33 Years Old".

@mori99saki: I returned to the US in the early 1980s essentially leaving Hideki and his career behind. I have only begun to discover his music from the late ’80s to the 2000s so I have no favorite at this time.

What would you tell people who want to listen to Hideki’s music?

@aono109: First, close your eyes and listen to his velvety smooth singing voice. Then open your eyes and watch him sing on stage that's like a great musical and will capture your heart. 

@lbintang_jp: His music range is very wide and deep beyond language. Rock, Musical (including Japanese Kayokyoku), City pop, mood music, and so on. Please start listening to Hideki from your favorite type.

@25152hs: Hideki is famous for his cover of the Village People's "YMCA", which became a huge hit in Japan. But it would be a mistake to think of him only as a YMCA singer. I would like everyone to just listen to his songs without any preconceived notions. He sings a lot of songs from different genres, so please give them a listen. I believe so thanks for sending them my way. I think I might have more than enough!

@mori99saki: Hideki’s music transcends language barriers. Close your eyes and listen with your heart. The depth of emotions that come through his voice will take you to a whole different realm even if you don’t understand the words.

Thru Traffic by Narumi & Etsu -1982 | ALBUM REVIEW

THE HISTORY

The story of this album begins with Tohoku Shinkansen, no not the train line, but rather a singer-songwriter duo consisting of the late Hiroshi Narumi (鳴海寛), and Etsuko Yamakawa (山川恵津子), who also go by Narumi & Etsu. Both of these artists had roots in classical music, but where Yamakawa would begins to draw influence from Group Sounds and wester pop from the 60s, Narumi would venture into the realms of soft rock, R&B, and bossa nova.

Their paths would officially cross at Yamaha Music Foundation which was behind the Popular Song Contest (PopCon). As a young college student, Yamakawa would work part-time at the Yamaha Music Foundation as an office assistant. While there she got to know the staff in the Creative Works "R&D" department, where she met famous composers & arrangers like Mitsuo Hagita, Motoki Funayama, and Osamu Totsuka. While she did her routine duties, she would secretly take a look at the scores that they had created, take notes on some of their techniques and methods.

Before long, Yamakawa was able to work with “Cocky Pop”, a popular radio program sponsored by Yamaha, where she first encountered Hiroshi Narumi. Narumi was still a high school student at the time, but due to his innate talent, he was recognized and his compositions were used as television themes. Copies of his demo tapes eventually made their way to Yamakawa, and she was immediately impressed with his skill as a composer at such young age. Narumi & Etsu would later join the backing band for the female singer-songwriter, Hiroko Taniyama, Etsu as a keyboardist, and Narumi playing the guitar. Narumi's guitar skills would be noticed by his senpai, Makoto Matsushita, and work under him on his 1979 album, Summertime Love Songs.

Soon after, positions opened up in singer-songwriter Junko Yagami’s backing band, The Melting Pot. Narumi & Etsu joined and helped out as both studio musicians, and as stage arrangers for the band. A Yamaha director who had been paying close attention to their work suggested that perhaps the both of them could form their own music unit. Thus began the official duo of Tohoku Shinkansen. While both would handle arrangements and chorus work, Hiroshi Narumi handled the guitar playing on his Gibson Byrdland, Yamakawa was in charge of the arrangement of all of the keyboards along with strings and horns. Other notable musicians on the album included popular anime composer Kentaro Haneda on piano, renowned bassists Tsugutoshi Goto and Kenji Takamizu, drummer Hideo Yamaki from the jazz band Toshinori Kondo & IMA, percussionist Motoya Hamaguchi, and of course, saxophonist Jake H. Concepcion. Junko Yagami herself also joined in the backing vocals, along with British singer-songwriter, Rupert Holmes, and American singer Christine Faith. Singer-songwriter Yasuhiro Abe also provides a song for the album, September Valentine, which he originally wrote for folk artist Yukio Sasaki (佐々木幸男).

While recording the album went comparatively well, the overall production was faced difficulties with alternating staff, disagreements contracts between the duo and the Yamaha Studio, and lack of promotion. Even the odd name of Tohoku Shinkansen came about from the fact that the project's own setbacks mirrored the real-life express trains' own troubled construction. The album eventually released on June 25th, 1982. While it did not sell well and the production disagreements would hurt their relationship with Yamaha, it served as a vital launching point in their careers. A fellow AOR artist, Tatsuro Yamashita, had just released his own seminal album, For You, that same year. When he heard Thru Traffic, he immediately invited Narumi & Etsu to join him as backing vocalists for his live tour.

Narumi also joined Takao Kisugi’s band and would become a producer for artists like Cindy and Kyosuke Kusunoki. His fame grew exponentially later that decade when he participated in Yamashita’s JOY Live Concert in 1989. Harumi's performance on the song “Soubou”, is most notable with his soulful guitar playing. Later on, in 1994, he would put out three more albums with the band Frasco. Meanwhile, Yamakawa also distinguished herself as an arranger and composer, handling a wide area of genres from Jazz Fusion, to AOR, to idol music. In 1986, she would win an award in arrangement for a Kyoko Koizumi song at the Japan Record Awards.

THE MUSIC

• Summer Touches You: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The album wastes no time and starts off with a smooth summer grove with a Bobby Caldwell rhythm and awesome vocal harmonization done by Hiroshi Narumi.
• Up And Down: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A smooth jazz number perfect for when you're stuck in traffic, featuring Etsuko's angelic singing, a hypnotizing flute, tight horns, and a groovy guitar solo accompanied by a beautiful string arrangement. The song sneaks a very surprising, split-second cutaway from the music as Narumi & Etsu silently whisper, "up & down" in your ear. 
• 心のままに (Kokoro no mama ni/ As You Please) :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Narumi channels his inner Christopher Cross, to provide a relaxing yacht rock melody accompanied by yet another great string arrangement, some acoustic guitar, and mesmerizing vocal harmonies. 
• Strange Wine: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A Gino Vanelli-style soft rock ballad about lost love. The song starts off as a soft, sensual ballad where Narumi croons about reminiscing over his ex while getting tipsy, then the instrumentation swells up until finally, he's wailing sorrowfully, as if pleading for forgiveness, over an electric guitar solo.
• September Valentine: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A jazz lounge ballad of the Frank Sinatra persuasion, featuring beautiful piano playing, a relaxing bassline, and an angelic, Manhattan Transfer style vocal chorus. 
• 月に寄りそって (Tsuki ni Yorisotte/ Leaning On The Moon): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Narumi & Etsu exchange verses in this romantic R&B duet.  
• Cloudy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• A relaxing ballad is sung by Etsu with some Michael Franks style bossa nova influences sprinkled in.
• Spell: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Another Latin-jazz tune, this time as an instrumental complete with a saxophone solo, mesmerizing flutes, and a ghostly sensual background chorus. All tied together with Narumi's excellent jazzy guitar riffs. 
• Last Message: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The album ends with Etsu's sultry voice lulling us to a 50's style love ballad.

    THE VERDICT

A few years ago I would have told you Ride On Time was my favorite City Pop album of all time. Well, let's just say that my tastes have matured since then. That's not to say it's not one of my favorites, it's still very near and dear to my heart as it has a lot of songs I grew up listening to. But now that the nostalgia glasses are off, I've since discovered other records that represent the peak of City Pop's brilliance, this is definitely one of them. Each song represents a different faction of the easy listening music scene and does so flawlessly. Blending the AOR sensibilities of Gino Vanelli, Bobby Caldwell, in songs like Strange Wine and Summer Touches You, channeling the essence of Bill Chaplinin in Leaning On The Moon, even taking a few pages out of the Great American Songbook with songs like September Valentine & Last Message.

And don't even get me started on the vocals! If you would have told me that this was a collaboration between Makoto Matsushita and Junko Yagami, I wouldn't be the wiser! Narumi & Etsu's singing was top-notch! Narumi's deep voice is just as smooth as the likes of Matsushita or Yoshino Fujimaru, but he's never afraid to hit any high notes. Etsuko Yamakawa has a voice that's so ethereal but manages to sound sultry when it needs to. Thru Traffic is the pinnacle of Japanese AOR and my personal favorite City Pop album. From the aesthetic of the cover to the variety of music styles, everything is done with extreme polish, smarm, & class. If you are a die-hard City Pop fan, then this is a must-have.

JAPANESE REGGAE! Summer Nerves by Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龙一) 1979 | YOUTUBE REVIEW

This week we'll be taking a deep dive into Summer Nerves, where Ryuchi Sakomoto teams up with some Jazz Fusion and disco artists to tackle the sounds of reggae & dancehall music! FULL ALBUM:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7-mu...​ Check out J-Cannuck's website here: http://kayokyokuplus.blogspot.com/​​​​​ Check out the NEO TOKYO Here: https://discord.gg/QyEQBY6​​ If you enjoy my content, consider supporting me through: TEESPRING - teespring.com/stores/come-along-radio PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/comealongradi...​ In no way or form, I am the owner of this musical work. If you enjoy the music, please consider supporting the artists.