Planetarium by Kaoru Sudo (1983)

 Kaoru Sudo (須藤薫), was born on May 1, 1954, and unfortunately passed away on March 3, 2013. While she was alive, Sudo made her debut in 1979 she debuted at CBS Sony with the single Yasashii Machi, written by Yumi Matsutoya. Her most frequent music collaborator throughout her career was singer-songwriter Masamichi Sugi, whom she met in 1980. Sudo's style of music could be described as summery resort pop with a pastiche of Rock & Roll and 1960s American Girl Pop. It's the kind of music that makes you feel like a teenybopper in the world of Happy Days or Grease, whose only worry is whether you'll keep the main squeeze by the end of summer vacation. The album that would bring Kaoru Sudo into a more contemporary sound would be 1983's Planetarium. 

TRACKLIST

1. I Love You ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Through The Windshield ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Rain Amusement Park ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Squall City ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Someday In This City ⭐⭐⭐
6. Sad Love Monday ⭐⭐⭐
7. Park ⭐⭐⭐
8. Rendezvous Of Tears ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Amy's Graduation ⭐⭐⭐
10. Prisoner Of Love ⭐⭐⭐
11. Planetarium In The Heart⭐⭐⭐

VERDICT

Arranged by Masamichi Sugi, and produced by Masataka Matsutoya, Planetarium still pays tribute to 50s/60s pop, with songs like the opening number, "I Love You", and "Amy's Graduation", but there's also a better balance with the more contemporary AOR sounds as well. Songs like "Through The Windshield", and "Squall City" fall more in line with the west coast-inspired pop of the early 80s. "Rendezvous of Tears"  No doubt thanks to the contributions of artists like pianist Hiroshi Sato, guitarist Masahiro Andoh (T-Square), and Masaki Matsubara (Parachute), who were Jazz-Fusion/AOR masters of their time. Overall it's a pretty mellow album, thanks to Kaoru's pleasant voice and a wistful backing chorus, thanks to the vocal talents of the sisters Eve, Jin Kirigaya, and Sugi himself. Unfortunately, there are no real "anthems" like in other notable City Pop albums, the closest probably being "Through the Windshield" which makes a relaxing driving song. That said, it's an album you can enjoy the whole way through. Overall, Planetarium succeeds at being a great novelty album that fuses City Pop with a vintage "Sock Hop" sound. Fans of Eiichi Ohtaki's A Long Vacation will feel right at home listening to this album.