Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Seiko Matsuda -- Sukoshi Zutsu Haru (少しずつ春)


There are certain melodic touchstones when it comes to the individual decades that I've known kayo kyoku. For the 1980s in the aidoru department, it would be the early Seiko Matsuda(松田聖子)numbers with the spritely synths anchored by the soaring strings and the galloping electric guitar. Whenever I hear that instrumental combination, the old days start flowing like spring water.


So why not have a Seiko number here with the ideal "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru" (A Little Bit of Spring)? I think I've pretty much exhausted all of the A-sides for her heyday singles so that I'll probably be doing the B-sides now. And "Sukoshi Zutsu Haru" is the B-side for the singer's 4th single "Cherry Blossom"(チェリーブラッサム)that I've already written about.

Written by Yoshiko Miura(三浦徳子)and composed by Yuuichiro Oda(小田裕一郎), the same duo behind Seiko's big hit "Aoi Sangoshou"(青い珊瑚礁), this quintessential early Seiko song weaves back and forth between super-cheerful and coquettish as the lass sings about the usual tribulations behind young love. I would say that there is an echo of "Aoi Sangoshou" as well in there.


The above video has the all of the instruments taken out, just leaving Seiko's bright voice in acapella mode. An interesting experience.

"Sukoshi Zutsu Haru" apparently didn't make it onto an original album by Seiko but it did make it onto "Seiko Box", her 4th collection of greatest hits from November 1985. That got up to No. 7 on Oricon.

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