Jpop Meets Postwar Optimism

I know I've mentioned SPEED on this blog more than a couple of times, and if you're not familiar with them, well, that's your problem. A group that paved the way for young girl groups, a force to be reckoned with, and also, I've heard that they sold a few records. Well, they're back as adults after some years off, but what do ya think they did in the meantime? Sip lemonade and hang out at the old-folks'-home? Hardly...

After SPEED broke up in 1999, popular member Hiroko Shimabukuro said, "okay, let's just shorten my name to 'Hiro', and I'll take 'solo-careers' for $500, Alex." She did pretty well with that, showing a more mellow side, yet coming back with an ass-kicker or two just to show that she still had it in her.

*Then* someone came up with the bright idea that she should do an album of jazz standards, in English, no less. Called "Coco d'Or", the album was released in 2004. Rather than summarize the album I thought it'd be interesting to go track-by-track, because I don't think anyone else has done the world this favor.

First, though, to give you an idea of the sound of this record (very big band), do enjoy this video. Hiro looks damn good in this, so watch carefully:

[Video removed by user]

The album starts with Route 66, made famous by Nat King Cole in 1946. The song did much to popularize the nearly-transcontinental road, which only exists in fragments today. SPEED did a couple of videos in the Southwest, so it's very possible that Hiro has seen a piece of the actual Route 66; but the execution of the lyrics makes it sound like she's learned the song phonetically, rather than knowing the song inside and out. Still, with an open mind and a love of Japanese girls in general, it's hard not to fall in love with her awkward pronunciations of American places, like Missouri (she says 'mih-ZAH-ree') and San Bernardino ('SAAN-baa-na-DEE-no'). Believe me when I say that this is a good record for travelling.

Next is Avalon, a standard since Al Jolson recorded it in 1920. This version takes a more modern swing feel, as most jazz combos have done in history, and it ends with Hiro holding the last note for over 10 seconds.

And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia) follows, a much more recent song by Chaka Khan (I can't seem to place the exact year). It takes the melody of a 1942 Dizzy Gillespie composition and adds nostalgic lyrics about how the song changed the face of popular music. It name-drops a number of jazz celebrities: "Dizzy [Gillespie] and Bird" [Charlie Parker], "Max [Roach] and Miles" [Davis], "The Duke [Ellington] and The Prez" [Lester Young], "from [John] Coltrane to Stevie" [Wonder, I assume], although I've heard a version that substitutes "Louis" [Armstrong] for "Stevie". So if you've ever wanted to hear a Jpop star talk about the jazz greats of old, this is your song. The middle of the song features a scat section where Hiro does both the melody and the harmony, and just one Hiro is quite powerful -- layer that voice, and it's divine.

Free is a cover of a 1977 DeNiece Williams song, originally a soulful R&B tune, arranged here as a peppy big band number. There's not much to dislike as Hiro switches between time signatures and styles effortlessly.

Fly Me to the Moon was written in 1954 and has been recorded by a number of vocalists since. Arguably the most well-known recording was of Frank Sinatra in 1964. Although the song has been ubiquitous, I'm slightly embarrassed to say that the only reason I now know the words is because of the Coco d'Or version. But the same holds true with a lot of the songs on this record. I might have known a chorus or two, but it took Hiro to get me to pay attention. Go figure.

Summertime, the infamous 1935 George Gershwin composition from "Porgy and Bess", covered by hundreds over time, if not more, still sounds fresh after all these years when Hiro sings along. The backbone of this version is a very "Dave Matthews"-sounding electric-acoustic riff, with lots of arpeggios and some string-slaps for percussive effect. Another scat section is included which ends in a crashing-down-the-stairs resolution. Hiro thinks your ma is "good lookin'," so that's a plus.

The Face I Love, sorry, can't hit you with a lot of history on this one, but appears to have been written by Marcos Valle, in this case an upbeat samba which invites you to "think of things like daffodils and peaceful sheep on blue-green hills" and if you do, "every lovely view introduces you to the face I love". Which is a sweet sentiment not unlike many Jpop songs.

Next, The Girl from Ipanema may be a bit grating to some but I actually love the original recording, probably more than this version. For good measure, this version brings the only other vocalist on the entire record, a soft-spoken gentleman who gets the honor of singing the Portuguese lyrics, as any respectable cover of this song would warrant. Oddly, Hiro repeats a mistake over and over, instead of the word 'she', it's phrased as "when SHE'S passes each one SHE'S passes goes 'Ahh'." Strange, but you get used to it.

It's Only A Paper Moon, written in 1933, covered by that many artists, a song that refuses to die. Hiro lends her talents to this song nicely. The text of this song refers to the world as a collection of fake reality and cheap thrills, but, of course, "it wouldn't be make-believe if you believe in me." Fall in love with Hiro and your life suddenly has meaning.

Orange Colored Sky, presented in video-form above, is one of my more favorite tunes from this album. Like "Paper Moon", the lyric refers to living in a fantasy world, where the sky is inexplicably orange (later it also features purple stripes and pretty green polka-dots), until "wonderful *you* came by". This song was another popularized by Nat King Cole in 1950, co-written by Milton DeLugg, who wrote "Hooray for Santa Claus," the theme from the classic kid's movie (and MST3K episode) "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". I really like the fantastical lyrics, along with the invocation of such words as "Flash! Bam! Alakazam!"

The Very Thought of You can be quite a tearjerker if you're in the mood for it. Sultry, lingering, and featuring a soprano sax solo (thankfully *not* Kenny G), it's a mile away from the Bing Crosby original of 1934. Were it not for the prolific history of this song it might be easy to mistake this as a song written expressly for Hiro. She very much owns this version of the song.

Spain (I Can Recall) is a Chick Corea/Al Jarreau composition which begins a very gloomy sung intro, "Yesterday; just a photograph of yesterday..." about a love gone south, which then has the singer dreaming about being "lovers once again". This intro features Hiro singing in a very low register, probably the lowest she's been on record. But suddenly the song changes gears and over an upbeat Spanish-style rhythm, Hiro sings about those golden days in Spain where she "did love and adore" the subject of the song. Wow, too bad I was battling a vicodin addiction at the time, because that sounds like a wonderful affair, and I would have remembered it otherwise.

In 1943, Tin Pan Alley composer/lyricist Cole Porter wrote You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, and as its title implies, it's a gushy song about a hopeful love affair. While this review is quickly becoming little more than a "same to you, Hiro", let me just say that the sentiment is returned. Hiro *would* be a welcome sight upon returning to the homestead, "under stars chilled by the winter" or "an August moon burning above".

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (...baby), was written in 1928 by a possible several people, and has been covered a great number of times. Nearly every line in the song ends with a tag of "...baby" and Hiro sings the song in a very carefree and coy fashion. Just think of a typical platinum blonde postwar big band singer winking into a crowd of overexcited and underappreciated men, and this is Hiro here. The way she sings it's almost implied that she's wearing a feather boa in the studio. Hilariously, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn sang an intentionally poor version of this song to a leopard on a rooftop (named "Baby") in the 1938 film Bringing Up Baby (which, if you're interested, the scene can be found here).

You're Everything is a song apparently originally recorded by the Chick Corea group Return to Forever. Like "Spain" it's an upbeat Latin feel that is easily accessible to the listener.

Calling You, a.k.a., theme from Bagdad Café, originally recorded for the 1987 film, has been covered by artists as varied as Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, and Jeff Buckley. Hiro puts her own laid-back spin on the iconic song, where the chorus could be easily overdone (think of Whitney Houston's effective-fire-alarm "I Will Always Love You") but she sings the "I-I-I... am calling you" in a breathier tone than the original, and we all know that she *could* do it in a screamier tone.

Overall, this record delivers. Presenting a total of 16 "standards" and nailing damn-near *every* one of them -- especially for someone whose first language isn't the one being sung -- is an incredible accomplishment. I'm so, so impressed with Hiro's vocal talent after hearing this record and its follow up 'Coco d'Or 2' (which takes on more modern compositions) that SPEED recordings are, to me, bullet-proof at this point.

Hiro began singing publicly by *at least* the age of 9 (I tried to find the youTube video, with no result), and has been consistently praised as a competent vocalist ever since. This album is far from being an egotistical display, without the stuffiness that most jazz albums present, and it impresses me with how much it *grooves*. From pretty to powerful, and all-points-in-between, the only conclusion is that Hiro can perform, and she cares about little else. There's no need to reinvent herself or try to become an icon -- those weren't the goals of this record. Sometimes you have to remind yourself, "this is the girl that used to be in SPEED" and after that, you think, "damn! Good job outta you!"

What really rings true is that the "old-fashioned" things, like songs and films, on the surface, tend to be tamer than anything created recently. But from an adult perspective, many of those have deeper implications than anything hot-off-the-press. Some of the old black-and-white films are more offensive, show more drunken behavior, and have cigarette-smoking as a birthright, untamed beyond any single-etendre work being filmed today. Such is the case for these classic songs. When Hiro sings, "you'd be so nice by the fire" she sure ain't talkin' about eating cheese cubes. Nudge, nudge, know-wut-I-mean?

(Extra-special thanks to the editors of Wikipedia (yeah, yeah, it's all *lies*) for help in researching this broad tapestry of recordings, youTube for providing proof for some of these legendary previous recordings, and as a footnote... Coco d'Or recordings *can* be found on the internet, if you just know where to look. Eventually, you'll feel guilty and buy them outright.)