Slit by Yasuhiro Abe - 1984

Yasuhiro Abe (安部恭弘), born January 13, 1956, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. While studying at Waseda University towards a degree in architecture, he started pursuing music on the side. He began his career writing for other singers such as Junichi Inagaki and Mariya Takeuchi, but the success of Akira Terao’s 1981 hit “Ruby no Yubiwa” inspired Abe to become a singer as well. He debuted as a solo artist with his hit single, "We Got It!" in 1982 under Toshiba EMI, as part of their\ "New Wave Four" campaign to promote their new artists debuting that year ( Junichi Inagaki, Yasuhiro Abe, Yudai Suzuki,  & Akira Inoue ).

 Slit is Abe's 3rd album released in 1984, produced by electronic jazz-fusion composer, Nobuyuki Shimizu. The album also features prolific session musicians like saxophonist Jake H. Concepcion, drummer Shuichi Murakami, who often goes by "Ponta", bassist Yasuo Tomikura, who's performed with artists like Jun Fukamachi, and fellow City Pop crooner, Makoto Matsushita.

THE MUSIC

1. Thrill Down ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Irene ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. My Dear ⭐⭐⭐
4. New York Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Double Imagination ⭐⭐⭐
6. Heart Trick ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Cause I Love You ⭐⭐⭐⭐
8.  Sand Colored Dawn (砂色の夜明け) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Your Love is Everything (君の愛がすべて) ⭐⭐⭐

THE VERDICT 

While Slit isn't a groundbreaking album, everything on here is still catchy, slick, and well-produced. You can tell that Yasuhiro Abe took a lot of inspiration from Canadian Producer & Songwriter, David Foster. Songs like "Irene" and "New York Night" are jazzy, breezy soul numbers reminiscent of songs like "Breakin' Away" by Al Jarreau or "Nothin' You Can Do About It" by Airplay. "Heart Trick" is an exciting AOR number with hints of New Wave, a perfect tune for cruising down the freeway. "Cause I Love You" provides some pleasant swing jazz-inspired synth-pop. The ballads here are nice too, my favorite being "Sand Colored Dawn", with Abe's smooth, soft voice paired with the beautiful piano playing. Speaking of his voice, Abe's singing actually reminds me a lot of Kiyotaka Sugiyama, it's a deep but breezy calm voice that's comforting to listen to. Overall, Slit is a pretty standard city pop album, but one you won't regret adding to your collection.