Ruiko Kurahashi -- Tsumi na Ame （罪な雨）

I have to admit I'm a sucker for languid ballads....which is why I like Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）, Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）, and of course, Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）. These are slow songs that were never created in North America; they sound more European, but I've got a feeling that people listening to French or Italian or any other European ballad back in the 80s would listen to these Japanese versions and would probably say, "Hmmmm....not quite like our stuff", and they would probably be right. There might be that Japanese twist at work even here.

In any case, this is another Kurahashi ballad that was released in December 1983 as her 5th single, and "Tsumi na Ame" (Criminal Rain) is quintessentially Ruiko: slow and breathy but sweeping. The fact that it was written and composed by the Etsugi Siblings gives the song that 80s feeling with that arrangement of strings, harp and piano. Listening to it, I can imagine some sad young lady staring out from a Renoir Cafe (the coffeehouse chain that had been the dominant House of Java in Tokyo until a certain company from Seattle landed in 1995) while a steady rain falls outside. I can also imagine Ruiko being a bit sad, too, trying to negotiate that vocal crescendo up to the refrain during practice until she finally got it.

The above video has Ruiko performing the song in a Shimo-Kitazawa club (according to the YouTube writeup). I couldn't imagine her performing in some of those huge arenas such as Yokohama Stadium or Tokyo Dome; they'd be too big for her tender voice, and besides I think she and all of her fans prefer the intimacy of a small chic venue. Strangely enough, when I did attend her special concert in Minami-Aoyama a few years back, there was a driving rain out there. But I don't think it was criminal at all; it perfectly set up the scene for her performance.　

I may be mistaken, but I think the song also came out as a track on her 5th album, "Thanks", on the same date of release as the single. The album's tracks were all composed by Takao Kisugi.