Michiyo Nakajima [中嶋美智代] was one of the handful of Pony Canyon artists that appeared in the OTOMEJUKU MATSURI Concert Festival that I’d bought solely for CoCo’s appearance, but like ribbon and Qlair, it was this exposure that opened my eyes to how great some of CoCo’s sister acts really were!
I’ve spoken a bit already about how this Matsuri concert made me a diehard and lifelong fan of power-trio RIBBON, but watching the whole concert was such a gas that I eventually started liking all the other groups on the disc as well, among them a shy and petite sweet little thing all duked out in a VERY Rieko Miura-ish party dress coming out to sing her new song, a blueprint j-pop laden song called “Hatsukoi Dori”
The girl was Michiyo Nakajima and she had the honor of being the first artist onto the stage (after the big opening production, of course), and it is SO CUTE to see how shy and unsure of herself she seems at this stage in her career. Hatsukoi Dori was her third single proper, but you wouldn’t think so by how subdued she is on stage, seeming more like a kid reciting a Christmas poem than a full-fledged Paradise Gogo Idol!
But she seems to REALLY appreciate the attention, and the applause gives her the power to give her all- Sure, maybe she’s a bit shaky at times, but she gives SUCH a SINCERE performance!!! With catchy dance moves during the choruses and a happy smile throughout, it’s this kind of sweet-and-slightly-off-kilter anime sounding voice sung with real determination that made me just fall in love with the song (The same could probably be said about why I love Ishikawa Rika’s Onnanoko Rikaishite so much as well!) and made me want to know more about the singer as well!
So one day I’m walking through the Shirokiya BOOK OFF section, and what do you know- they had a first pressing Michiyo Nakajima CD there! Gee, I wonder what the chances are that it would have that song on it? Entitled simply “Nakajima”, I went ahead and just purchased the CD blind, not knowing, but hoping it would have that song on it. I suppose it really woulda helped to know the song title beforehand, because sad to say, in the end, the song just wasn’t on it.
That following weekend I related my failed gamble to a friend about my attempt to secure that enchanting opening tune. “Yeah, I was hoping it would have that cute song she did at the Otomejuku Matsuri concert” I explained. He nodded and, in a hilarious sing-song voice, sang, “hatsukoi do-o-ri?” to which we both fell on the ground laughing! You just can’t hear that line in your head without picturing her adorable performance, really!
You know, one really, really great thing about those Pony Canyon concerts is that (for the most part) they always employed a live band to accompany the girls onstage and so what you got to hear were fresh, vibrant and rocking performances of your favorite songs, songs that you’d learned and loved from the albums were bumped up a notch and given a little extra zing!
That’s one thing that was REALLY evident the first time I got a chance to listen to the CD single’s studio version of Hatsukoi Doori, because the FIRST thing I thought upon hearing the track is, “HEY! This sounds really…PRODUCED! The guitars very exact, the drums as sure as a click track, all backing up some very polished singing from Michiyo –Chan… I never realized how “organic” the Otomejuku Concert version was! All along I’d just assumed that the studio version would sound just like it!
There are, of course, reasons to love the studio version, not least of which is the great George Harrison twinged guitars and the lush dreamy keyboards, and though it’s a pop perfect tune, somehow the ending refrain when the guitar kicks back in to deliver us to the end is REALLY missing something without Michiyo’s grateful and heartfelt “Doomo Arigatoo!” to wrap the song up all sweet and nice.
For me, the Live Version is the one I fell in love with and the one that really will remain the “true” version. This is one performance that will definitely put a smile on your face!
