Allspice – S.T.
One of the giants of Japanese pop music, Taeko Ohnuki began her career as a founding member of Japanese pop band Sugar Babe alongside Tatsuro Yamashita. Though the group failed to achieve much success, they would prove to be highly influential to the city pop sound that would explode in the late ’70s into the ’80s. Ohnuki’s sophomore album, the masterpiece Sunshower, often gets labeled city pop, but actually precedes the glamorous, metropolitan style that the genre is known for and touches on subjects closer to home. Notably, this album features one of the most stacked lineups we’ve ever seen with pre-YMO Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tatsuro Yamashita on backing vocals, guitar legend Kenji Omura, and Sadistic Mika Band bassist Tsugutoshi Goto.
Recommended – Full Listen
Tags: City Pop / Essential Listening
Tracklist:
A1 Summer Connection
A2 くすりをたくさん
A3 何もいらない
A4 都会
A5 からっぽの椅子
B1 Law Of Nature
B2 誰のために
B3 Silent Screamer
B4 Sargasso Sea
B5 振子の山羊
Credits:
Art Direction – Kazuhiro Sato
Backing Vocals – Tatsuro Yamashita (tracks: A1, A2, A4)
Bass – Haruomi Hosono (tracks: A2, A4, B2), Tsugutoshi Goto (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B1, B3, B5)
Drums – Chris Parker (2)
Engineer – Shinichi Tanaka
Guitar – Kenji Omura (tracks: A1, A2, A4, B5), Tsunehide Matsuki (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B1, B3, B5)
Keyboards, Music Director, Arranged By – Ryuichi Sakamoto
Lead Vocals [uncredited], Co-producer – Taeko Ohnuki
Percussion – Nov Saitoh* (tracks: A1-A5, B1-B3, B5)
Photography By – Tohru Ohnuki
Producer – Akira Ikuta*, Seiji Kuniyoshi
