[Song Review #79] "Haru no yokan - I've been mellow" by Saori Minami
Hi. Today's song is "Haru no yokan‐I've been mellow" (Spring is on the way) by "Saori" (Saori Minami).
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Index
1. Song data
| Title | Haru no yokan‐I've been mellow (Spring is on the way) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Saori (Saori Minami) |
| Album Title | I've been mellow |
| Catalog Number | DYCL-13 |
| Track No. | 9 |
| Duration | 3:10 |
| Released | 1978 |
| Publisher | Sony Music Direct(Japan)Inc. |
| Lyricist | Amii Ozaki |
| Composer | Amii Ozaki |
| Arranger | Amii Ozaki |
- About the creators
Amii Ozaki
"Amii Ozaki" is a brilliant singer-songwriter debuted in 1976.
A wind of change
For the J-pop, 1970s was a remarkable one decade. So many marvelous front runners started new style music in this interval.
In fact, the seeds of pop music flowers bloomed in the '80s, seemed to be planted during this unshaped period.
Singer-songwriters
Among them, the artists like "Yumi Matsutoya", "Minako Yoshida", "Akiko Yano", "Amii Ozaki" (and 10+ more), are the notable names for establishing female singer-songwriter category, in new style pop music in Japan.
Dare to say, for the Japanese music fans, they are the artists like "Carole King", "Billy Joel"(Not a female though), or "Suzanne Vega" in the United States.
Here is a sample of Akiko Yano's earlier work.
Denwa-sen
(Telephone line, 1976)
Partnership
These talented creators have been delivering so many superb pop musics to the listeners since debut.
Not only singing by themselves, they offer song to the various other singers including the stars in main stream market.
That type of partnership sometimes shows a synergy, and create a unique hit song.
Today's track, "Haru no yokan‐I've been mellow" (Spring is on the way) is a good example of such, achieved by "Saori Minami" and "Amii Ozaki".
Cover art
- Sound impressions
Elegant & mellow
This is a very elegant and mellow popular song in slow ballad style.
Shine of spring
An arpeggio of the electric piano and acoustic guitar start the mellow introduction, and the bass, drums, harp, and the strings join soon.
The sound of harp is like a sparkle of melting icicles, the string ensemble has a flow of the stream like image.
Smooth and lively
The voice of "Saori Minami" is tender and smooth, but also has a bit of attractive lively character.
That might be the reason why her songs can always relax and energize us.
- Reference
- About the artist
Cynthia
"Saori Minami" debuted in 1971 with single "Jyūnana-sai"(Seventeen). Since then, 33 singles, and 21 original, 3 live, and 36 best albums has been released until now.
"Cynthia" is her Christian name, and being a well known nickname among the people, especially by the young men of the '70s Japan.
(Wikipedia, Saori Minami)
Top idol star
After the debut, she quickly became popular with her good singing and good-looking.
She particularly attracted young men, since her beautiful straight black hair, and pure & natural atmosphere were exactly the quality which their imaginary(sorry, future) girlfriend might have.
Therefore, her portrait photos (often called "Bromide" in Japan) sold extremely well, actually the sales of hers championed in the market in 1971 and 1972.
So, she was a competent pop singer with no doubt, but more importantly, she was a top idol star in the early '70s.
(Wikipedia, Saori Minami)
Saori
By the way, she used "Saori" in alphabet as a name of singer for this album, instead of her very famous "Saori Minami" name in Japanese Kanji letters.
It may be a part of new identity creation. For the sake of it, she sang the songs as natural as possible, as if the singer wasn't "Saori Minami" who usually sings in a characteristic way.
Stop singing, and ...
In 1978, she announced her decision to finish activities as a singer, and would share more time to go to the college.
A lot of young men, who were loving her, wept for their fate. But soon, they convinced themselves that this was a necessary thing for her happiness, and as a true fan, they must congratulate.
One more punch
A year later, another hard punch hit their faces. A popular photographer, who had been famous with his artistic Nude photo works, revealed that he was going to marry with "Saori Minami" soon.
The news must have been so shocking for them. The mood in town became spooky for a while, since so many young men were casting a curse on him in everywhere. (just a joke)
It might be better to stop writing before the topic gets off the track. Thank you for reading.
(Ref: Wikipedia, Saori Minami)
- Samples from online music stores
About the samples
Please go to the page below, and just play or click track No.9.
Trial button is on the left side of the song title.
AD : Free listening samples
Amazon JP(en)
recochoku.jp
Apple Music(jp)
12
8. Japanese Letters
| Song Title | 春の予感‐I've been mellow (Haru no yokan) |
|---|---|
| Artist | 南沙織 (Saori Minami) |
| Album Title | I've been mellow |
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