Make Believe Mailer 44: Ride One Time
A Dive Into The Single Gems Sparkling In Tatsuro Yamashita's Song Catalog
Scanned from Brutus Magazine, Issue #964, “Tatsuro’s Music Book”
It’s always kind of a Tatsuro Yamashita summer, but 2022 especially feels like that’s the case thanks to Softly, the Japanese pop legends’ 14th album and one of his strongest works of the 21st century (reviewed it for The Japan Times, btw). Excitement for Yamashita’s return has been visible even in my limited treks around Tokyo. Advertisers and TV programmers are working overtime to promote one of the sure-thing sales hits in the industry today (mission accomplished, with Softly moving over 151,000 physical copies in its first week, one of the strongest debut weeks of the year). Yet it goes beyond that, with his music feeling more ever-present in the city and…perhaps the current heatwave just has people dreaming of far-off resorts…more people wearing Yamashita t-shirts.
Part of the spotlight has been on just how prolific his career has been. Forget the solo works…Yamashita appears all over the place, and his fingerprints grace many pages of the Japanese pop songbook. The most impressive tome to his craft comes from the magazine Brutus, which devoted its June issue to Tatsuro. The tour de force would be an interview with the man himself, but just as interesting are smaller interviews with artists he’s worked with and remains close with today, who offer insights into how he ticks. Taeko Onuki, Haruomi Hosono, Mariya Takeuchi…heavy hitters. Rounding it out, sitting right in the middle of the glossy, a fold-out guide to every song Yamashita has ever worked on, including for other acts.
Running through this pull-out, you’re quickly reminded of how Yamashita forged artistic partnerships with other creators that lasted decades, and that these collaborations have resulted in some great music lingering well past the Bubble era. Everyone knows that though.
What about all the people he did just one song with?
Like any good studio staple, Yamashita appeared on and wrote / produced a lot of music for others, almost certainly due to various music industry reasons (also, money). While he’s quite a loyal guy who frequently returns to past partners, a few moments on that Brutus list stick out because…that was it, one tune and never again. Here are those songs. Literally, only a single number and out — Yamashita did a lot two song deals too, but those aren’t getting in here. I’m also only looking at works that he wrote or produced, because dude does pop up with a bunch of chorus credits too (with some notable names including: Agnes Chan, Rajie and Cindy1). Yet these songs carry his sonic signatures…for the most part.
All decided via the Brutus list, if I missed something blame them (almost included Debbie Gibson on here since they only list one of their collabs…but they did two! Be careful Brutus!)
Kumiko Hara — “Magic Night” (1978)
Part of the draw of revisiting (or discovering) the “new music” period in Japan during the 1970s is looking at credits for albums and basically seeing city pop all-stars getting around to write for an assortment of singers. Kumiko Hara never came close to the same heights2 of a Yuming or Taeko Onuki, but the albums the keyboardist and vocalist put out at the tail end of the decade boast wild contributors. Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Brecker Brothers, and for one song on her sophomore effort, Tatsuro Yamashita.
“Magic Night” glides ahead, holding back on the more boisterous sonic additions that would turn a Yamashita song like “Loveland Island” into warmer-climes fantasy in favor of something more spacious. That’s to highlight Hara’s voice and keyboard skills, which are the highlights. Though the little guitar spikes later on offer a hint of the joy to come.
Mami Horie “Loving You” (1979)
Imagine the record industry rush in the late ‘70s, as label and agencies tried to find the next big singer-songwriter that could potentially rise up to start status. Mami Horie wasn’t cut out for this, though it looks like Victor gave it a go with a single in 1979, the A-side done by Yamashita. The intro offers a clue of what Horie was actually gifted in — jazz vocals, and in the years since this release it looks like she’s found her space singing in this world. That’s just a fake-out on “Loving You” — sorry for the smoky start, here’s a groove! And what a groove it is, mellow but featuring some great guitar lines begging to be sampled. A real solid example of Yamashita’s funk side.
Noriyo Ikeda — “Dream In The Street” (1980)
But seriously, I can’t understate how many aspiring pop singers of the late ‘70s emerged from clubs and “lofts” scattered about Tokyo. An especially important document of this era is Loft Sessions Vol. 1, a compilation featuring early recordings from Mariya Takeuchi and several other aspiring performers. These were the talent incubators as the Bubble started rounding into shape.
Not much info about Noriyo Ikeda exists online. Going off of a single janky fanpage, she sang in lofts between Shimokitazawa and Shinjuku. Yamashita found her, and helped her create an album, Dream In The Street. Only number he handled, though, was the titular cut. Another easy-breezy funk number letting the artist showcase her voice…at least until Yamashita can carve out some space for a bridge late in the song to show off some fancy finger work and add some quick “dream in the street” melodies to the song.
Good song from an interesting album, but with the caveat that you should really come for the two Hiroshi Sato inclusions, “Tsumetai Ame” and “My Prayer,” with the prior featuring some real slick talkbox touches in the hook.
Dadei Takechiyo And Tokyo Otoboke CATS — “Itsuwari No DJ” (1980)
Otoboke Beaver > > > Otoboke CATS when it comes to names, for sure.
Everyone gushes about Tatsuro Yamashita in recent times, for good reason! But what constitutes a bad Yamashita song? Personally, I usually zone out whenever he gets too crunchy and drifts towards a jam session (“Jinriki Hikoki” on Softly stinks, if you need a contemporary example), as he’s way better at plotting out pop than trying to improvise it. “Itsuwari No DJ” from 1980, though, presents the rarest form of Yamashita airball — despite moving at a swift enough pace, this single is just pure vapor in the air. It’s the least Tatsuro-sounding song here, and everything just feels…there? This isn’t just me being bored, because Dadei Takechiyo And Tokyo Otoboke CATS hoped this collab would be a hit to revitalize their career…but nobody cared, despite the presence of Yamashita entering his golden period. They broke up shortly after.
14 Karat Soul — “The Girl In White” (1988)
For all the images of sunny beaches, island escapes and nights out in neon-bright cities, it’s always important to remember Tatsuro Yamashita loves like, ‘50s American pop more than anything. This must have been a dream come true for him.
New Jersey a cappella quintet 14 Karat Soul have an accomplished career, puttig out dozens of albums worth of doo-wop songs and dips into other styles. They appeared on Saturday Night Live when that was actually cool, and have their own page on the Muppet Wiki. Of course, they also managed to become big in Japan, to the point that years after “The Girl In White” they’d appear on music shows to rightfully blow the minds of a gaggle of celebrities. I don’t know how they got popular in Japan during the ‘80s — I’d make the pure guess that you already had groups like Rats & Stars enjoying immense popularity, so why not bring an American group, ideally one not rubbing their faces with shoe polish before every performance — but at some point beverage maker Suntory paired them with Tatsuro Yamashita to create a song to help sell Suntory White.
They also sang about Kleenex a few years later
Whatever marketing forces birthed this song, it was perfect for Yamashita’s workbench. Dude loves doo-wop and the non-lyrical capabilities of the human voice (see “Kokatsu Girl” and “Christmas Eve” for two great examples of him weaving that into city pop), so getting to just work with an American vocal outfit must have been like getting dessert as your whole dinner. A fun song from a guy who ventures into this sound frequently, and also a dream I imagine.
NEWS — “Snow Express” (2008)
Arashi — “Fukkatsu Love” (2016)
Softly isn’t a fully optimistic album. “Oppression Blues” takes on a more somber tone as inspired by various rights crackdowns around the world in recent years (Yamashita cites Afghanistan, Myanmar and Hong Kong as main inspiration, though the list probably stretches out a lot more today). There’s also ghosts lurking in the corners of these songs. Never intentionally, but go through the liner notes and you’ll see this release has been dedicated to three close collaborators who died between 2011’s Ray Of Hope and Softly — Alan O’Day (who Yamashita collaborated with frequently and gets a words credit), Katsuhisa Hattori (another frequently collaborator) and Mary Yasuko Fujishima (honorary chairperson of Johnny & Associates).
Like a lot of popular composers, Yamashita has done a fair amount of work for Johnny’s groups, most notably with KinKi Kids. Yet there’s two other Yamashita tunes in that pop juggernauts stable. Yamashita showed off his ability to move with the times on 2008’s “Snow Express,” a dance-pop number avoiding the sounds the singer-songwriter built his career on in favor of something more bouncy, featuring Spanish guitar (it was in the air). This is the always-tinkering Yamashita, willing to play ball in modern times with modern sounds.
A decade-ish later, the world wanted to go back. Arashi’s3 “Fukkatsu Love,” written by Yamashita and wife Mariya Takeuchi, arrived in 2016, right as “city pop” became a buzz word again in mainstream J-pop, accurately or not. It’s designed to tickle fantasies of the Bubble era, not quite as joyous or funky as either artists’ material…but few acts bring their top stuff to a Johnny’s group. Still, it’s a catchy retro model, stampled by Yamashita’s signature harmonizing behind the main vocals. Ten years earlier, people wanted his chops. Now, as city pop reached a new generation, they wanted his signature style clearly present.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
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Sometimes I check in on YouTube city pop compilations to see what the compilers are trying to introduce to the world, and I feel like Cindy is appearing more and more over anime footage of cars driving through a glistening animated Tokyo. Good, because Angel Touch deserves a huge re-issue push / proper celebration.
Though she did reach impressive heights quite literally in her post pop days, where she developed a love for climbing mountains. She wrote an entire book about her experience scaling to the highest peak in France. Look at the doggy!
Fun fact…Yamashita also did chorus work for a band called Arashi in the ‘70s.