The Too-Gentle Singing Voice of Yasuhiro Abe (Memories of City Pop ⑥)

The City-Pop in my Memory Ⅵ

　This is a "note" about an artist I listened to as "City Pop", but this time, I would like to write an article about Yasuhiro Abe.

　Yasuhiro Abe participated in Masamichi Sugi's band Mari & Red Stripes, which was formed while Sugi was in university, alongside artists like Mariya Takeuchi and others, but the band broke up... 　After that, he briefly took a regular job, but unable to give up on music, he became a solo artist.

　Perhaps he was the most understated artist among those I have introduced so far. 　But for me, as someone who followed the Yokohama Tire commercial series, Yasuhiro Abe was actually the one I was most into during my middle school years.
Yasuhiro Abe

　　Akira Terao, Akira Inoue, and Junichi Inagaki were followed by Yasuhiro Abe, who was also signed to Toshiba EMI (EXPRESS), being featured in the commercials. 　He was an artist I discovered through these commercials, and while he had a sophisticated, urban mood, he also had a refreshing quality that wasn't as dark as Akira Terao's, which was just the right balance.

　And I am certain that it was that gentle singing voice that created that perfect balance.

　For example, if you compare the version of "Long Version", a song Yasuhiro Abe provided to Junichi Inagaki, with Abe's own self-cover version, I think you will be able to feel that gentle quality.

"Long Version"

　Lyrics: Reiko Yukawa / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe

<Yasuhiro Abe Ver. (Arrangement: Yasuhiro Abe)>

<Junichi Inagaki Ver. (Arrangement: Akira Inoue)>

　Of course, the difference in arrangement plays a big part, but while Junichi Inagaki's singing voice has a sense of urgency or yearning, Abe's self-cover definitely has a gentler feel. (Regardless of which one you prefer...) 　It was this gentle singing voice that I was hooked on back then.

◎An exquisite blend with Takashi Matsumoto's lyrics

　However, I believe it was Takashi Matsumoto's lyrics that created the perfect balance so that Yasuhiro Abe's gentle singing voice wouldn't become too sweet. 　
Takashi Matsumoto was in charge of the lyrics for all songs from Abe's debut single to his second album, and I was captivated by lyrics that exuded the kind of dandyism typical of Takashi Matsumoto at the time, while evoking a sense of storytelling like a scene from a movie.

In the single CAFE FLAMINGO, which was used in a Yokohama Tire commercial, a scene of parting with a woman at a cafe-bar is depicted.

"CAFE FLAMINGO" Feb. 1983

Lyrics: Takashi Matsumoto / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Nobuyuki Shimizu

It really hits the spot, that 'Kazemachi' (Wind Town) feeling of Takashi Matsumoto!
The man in the song, while still attached to the woman, breaks up with her decisively.

Matsumoto's lyrics from this period often use dismissive phrasing like "♩a man who's bad at..."it. This kind of dandyism is also common in the lyrics for
Akira Terao, but the singing voice is gentle and the musical style is lighthearted. I think the blend of these lyrics with this singing voice and the moderately pop feel is exquisite. In that sense,
Yasuhiro Abe
, whom I became obsessed with, is a set with the world of Takashi Matsumoto's lyrics. And, on the B-side of the single "CAFE FLAMINGO


", "STILL I LOVE YOU", which was also used in a commercial, a scene of parting is also depicted.

"STILL I LOVE YOU" Feb. 1983

Lyrics: Takashi Matsumoto / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Nobuyuki Shimizu

Even though it was a song used in a commercial, it wasn't included on the album at the time, and that was so sad, so sad, that I went to buy the single record. It's a song I loved that much.

The word 'wind' doesn't appear, but it's a song that depicts a scene of parting at a windy station. The man says goodbye to the woman and leaves on a train to a distant place. .... However

He jumps off a moving train! It's too cool! (Don't interject with "There's no such train!") It's a very dramatic lyrical worldview, but with

Yasuhiro Abe's voice, it's strange how it doesn't feel like he's trying too hard... it doesn't feel unpleasant. It's masterful how he compiled these two sides of the story into a single, depicting a scene of parting just like the A-side "CAFE FLAMINGO
", but with the opposite ending.

◎ Two albums I listened to thoroughly

The 1st and 2nd albums had all lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto.
Yasuhiro Abe didn't really have any big hit songs, but the albums were very good. There were up-tempo tunes, pop songs, refreshing AOR, ballads, and occasionally funky numbers; there were various types of songs, but for these two albums, it felt like they were unified by a certain tone through the world of the lyrics and the singing voice.

"HOLD ME TIGHT" Mar. 1983

In addition to the lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto, all arrangements were handled by Nobuyuki Shimizu, and this arrangement is quite stylish.

"MODERATO" Mar. 1984

And the 2nd album, "MODERATO," is a particularly memorable album for me.
That is because this "MODERATO," was the first thing I listened to on the audio component system I finally got (my very own) as a gift for passing my high school entrance exams. (I feel like I listened to this album non-stop that spring.)

This album, excluding the first track, was recorded in LA, and Charlie Calello served as the arranger.
Honestly, I'm not knowledgeable enough to describe the characteristics of Charlie Calello's arrangements, but since LA musicians of that time participated, it ended up with that AOR and soft rock sound of that era.
This kind of Western-oriented sound production is what I felt was "City Pop" at the time.

And, on this "MODERATO," the song that thrilled me with Takashi Matsumoto's story-driven lyrics was a song later released as a single called "Rainy Day Girl."

"Rainy Day Girl"

Lyrics: Takashi Matsumoto / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Charlie Calello

I didn't notice it at the time, but listening to it now, the intro feels just like "Airplay."
Also, the lyrics starting with the word "glass-colored" are pure Matsumoto world.
As you can see from the later lyrics, glass-colored represents the fact that it is raining; the song begins with meeting an old girlfriend on such a rainy day.

With nowhere to go, they start talking on the overpass, but you can't help but wonder how your old girlfriend is living her life.

It seems she is living happily, but I can't bring myself to ask for details.
There is a faint sense of jealousy in that.

The title "Rainy Day Girl" comes from memories of rain when they were dating, but on this rainy day, he hears that she is already married and expecting a child.
The man cannot help but feel the different paths of time they have each spent.

After she leaves, being left alone and watching "time" instead of the train—doesn't that feel just too heartbreaking?
Even though the lyrics are so heartbreaking, the fact that it sounds refreshing rather than overly pessimistic is exactly what I consider the "Yasuhiro Abe" blend.

Similarly, "Topaz-Colored Moon," which is also included on this album, is a masterpiece, so please check out my previous article!

◎ The 3rd album moving toward a poppier world

Unfortunately, after the 2nd album, the partnership with Takashi Matsumoto came to an end, but with various lyricists being brought on board, his world expanded into even more diverse pop music.

"Double Imagination" 1984.9

Lyrics: Kyoko Matsumiya / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Nobuyuki Shimizu "Skyline" CF Image Song

"Double Imagination," which became the commercial song for the so-called "Newman Skyline," has a really pop feel to it. Double Imagination It feels a bit too bouncy, so it's not quite to my personal taste, but the 3rd album released after that, "
SLIT," also contained many different types of songs.

"SLIT" 1984.12

It's a shame that the dandyism found in lyrics like those by Takashi Matsumoto has faded, but it's still a great album colored by Yasuhiro Abe's pop sensibilities~

"Irene"

Lyrics: Chinfa Kan / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Nobuyuki Shimizu

When you listen to something like this "Irene," you really get the feeling that Yasuhiro Abe's pop sensibilities are overflowing. It even feels a bit more relaxed than the previous two works... The previous work was recorded overseas, and I once read an interview where he said he was doing his best just to keep up with the world of Takashi Matsumoto's lyrics, so he might have been under quite a bit of pressure. That's probably why this 3rd album turned out with such a sense of openness.

On this "SLIT," in addition to Chinfa Kan, lyricists like Taeko Onuki and Minako Yoshida provided lyrics, but on the song at the end of the album titled "Kimi no Ai ga Subete," which sounds like a drama title, Abe himself wrote the lyrics.

"Kimi no Ai ga Subete"

Lyrics: Yasuhiro Abe / Composition: Yasuhiro Abe / Arrangement: Nobuyuki Shimizu

It's a sad song about being told by a girlfriend you've been with for five years that she "can't keep up with you..." It's overflowing with a kind of gentleness, though, and it makes me cry💦 ↑ Do you have personal experience with this?....

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Even though I think there are few people who know him, he is one person I cannot leave out when talking about "City Pop" for me.

In these days when "City Pop" is being rediscovered, I think Yasuhiro Abe is an artist who deserves to be re-evaluated. If you are interested, I hope you will definitely listen to the three albums introduced this time👍

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