The 14th Moon by Yumi Arai - 1976

The 14th Moon is the 4th album of singer-songwriter Yumi Arai(荒井由実), or as her fans call her, Yuming, and her final one before she got married to the producer of the album, Masataka Matsutoya (松任谷正隆). The title comes from a line from the Japanese movie Love and Farewell to Sri Lanka, although apparently she never saw the movie, rather she read it in a synopsis from the movie magazine about it.

Including Matsutoya, the album also features Tin Pan Alley members Haroumi Hosono(細野晴臣) and Shigeru Suzuki(鈴木茂). However, Hosono isn't on bass here and drummer Tatsuo Hayashi(林立夫) is absent. Thankfully, one of the session members,  Ryuske Seto(瀬戸龍介) on acoustic guitar & banjo, was able to use his connections  get two American session musicians to fill in. Leland Sklar, one of the top bass players from Hollywood who's played for artists like Diana Ross, Hall & Oates, and Phil Collins, and Mike Baird who's been a drummer for big rock bands like Ironhorse and Journey. We also get fusion guitarist Masaki Matsubara and percussionist Nobu Saito (斉藤信男). In the backing chorus, we have the vocal talents of Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎), Amii Ozaki (尾崎亜美), Minako Yoshida(吉田美奈子), Taeko Ohnuki (大貫妙子), and the jazz ensemble, Time Five.

Interestingly enough, Yuming was actually considering retiring after this album but soon changed her mind. It may have been in due part to the great receptions since the album reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts and became the 4th-most successful album of 1977. Many of the songs were popular enough to be featured in various TV shows and movies. Chuo Freeway was featured in the TV drama, Rouge Message (ルージュの伝言), coincidentally named after another Yuming song from the previous year. Smile in the morning sun was used in the movie, Frozen Heart (凍河). In The Morning Light was used for the movie drama, Rip Van Winkle's Bride.

THE MUSIC

Ripples (さざ波) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The 14th Moon(14番目の月)⭐⭐⭐⭐ Where Does Loneliness Go? (さみしさのゆくえ )⭐⭐⭐ In The Morning Light (朝陽の中で微笑んで )⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Chuo Freeway (中央フリーウェイ) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Like Nothing Ever Happened (何もなかったように) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sun Shower (天気雨) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Summer Place (避暑地の出来事)⭐⭐⭐ Good Luck And Goodbye⭐⭐⭐⭐ Late Summer (The Lonely Season)( 晩夏 ~ ひとりの季節)⭐⭐⭐⭐ THE VERDICT ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The 14th Moon veers away from the Tapestry-esque style of Hikoki Gumo and Muslim and has a brighter, Middle of the Road (MOR) sound. Many songs have added brass & string orchestration on top of the rich backing vocals that give it a sound closer to something from The 5th Dimension or The Carpenters. That being said Yuming's signature interpersonal songwriting is still at work here, covering everything from getting over breakups, to college students dealing with love affairs, even getting over your dog dying. Songs like the opening track, Sazanami, and Sunshower offer breezy sunshine pop sound akin to the works of Sugar Babe. The title track 14th Moon dives into some cool piano rock ala, Elton John or Billy Joel. Chuo Freeway is a funky jazz-pop track about driving on the real-life Chuo Expressway. In the Morning Light and Like Nothing Ever Happened have got all the tropes of a signature Yuming ballad. It has sad lyrics, beautiful melodic piano backed by an orchestration, and it's been covered to death by everyone else.  In the Morning Light is probably one of my favorite Yuming songs, especially the way the song progressively becomes a power ballad with the build up of the drums and orchestral arrangement.  A Summer Place takes a detour from Tokyo to Chigasaki, as we get a tropical samba dance number perfect for a beach party.  Overall, The 14th Moon was a great way to cap off Yumi Arai's bachelorette years. It's a pretty standard 70's Adult Contemporary album, most comparable to something like Now & Then by The Carpenters or Olivia Newton-John’s Don't Stop Believin'. Which feels appropriate considering both features a marriage between the producer and lead singer. Unlike those albums, The 14th Moon has the added benefit of Yuming's knack for composing & writing catchy, original, and relatable songs. The 14th Moon is a must-have if you want to experience Yumi Arai at her best.