 |
| Rondo |
The first song I remember hearing from her was the theme song for the 1995 Matsumoto Akiko / Hosaka Naoki drama The Bride-To Be , featuring her song “Rondo”. I remember thinking it was a happy tune, very flamenco in style. But it was the theme song for the next show I watched, a serious drama called “Watashi No Unmei”, starring Azuma Mikihisa as a young man struggling with cancer, that caught my attention. The song for this drama was quite unlike the prior one. It was powerful and stunning, with HAUNTING vocals that I would later come to recognize as her “trademark”. The song was called “Inochi No Hana”, and this song really struck a chord with me…The chanting voices and the spiralling sitars throughout the song REALLY mesmerised the listener. Perfect for the show.
 |
| Watashi No Unmei |
The song that finally pushed me over into fan status of all things Yumi Matsutoya was one that I heard only by chance. It was an older song from one of her earlier albums, and although I was to learn it was one of her more popular tunes, the first time I heard it was at a Karaoke Club! Some gal was beltin’ the song out, and I was blown away by it. It was catchy and WAY ROCKING! I asked who the artist WAS, and I was pretty amazed when they told me it was Yumi Matsutoya! MAN, this was the first time I had ANY IDEA that Yuming could rock out like that!
When I thought about it, it was really pretty impressive that one artist wrote such diffferent sounding songs. I mean, with 'Rondo', I thought she wrote ,you know, FESTIVE songs. then when 'Inochi No Hana' came around, I was amazed she wrote this moody song…and now, with this new rocking song, I just KNEW I had to explore more about her! I quickly asked someone what the name of the song was, but all he could help me with was , “All I remember is that the single had a painted cover, like a romance novel”.
Later that week, me and a friend made our way down to a store that rented out j-pop CDs and CD singles. There was a bin up in the front selling older CDs that were too old to rent anymore, and were selling them for cheap. The great thing about this is that they had quite a bit of out-of-print stuff in there. I remember getting an old Eri Hiramatsu single as well as an Ishida Hikari single there, and I was hoping they’d have the Yuming one. It couldn’t hurt to look! Searching through the “Ma” section of CD Singles, I immediately struck gold and pulled out this:
EUREKA! This HAD to be the song I heard…and no wonder no one could remember the title. It was long and full of Kanji! The song was called “Manatsu No Yo No Yume, roughly translated into : “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”.
When I got home, I put in the disc and cranked up the volume…and was once again floored! MAN this song was just AWESOME! I loved it so much I inevitably had to purchase the entire album that it was from, an eclectic album called U-Miz. I also ordered a Laserdisc Concert of Yuming’s called Into The Dancing Sun, because I wanted to see her perform "Manatsu No Yoru No Yume" live. This concert was mostly composed of songs from her two albums U-Miz and The Dancing Sun.
 |
| U-Miz Album |
 |
| Into The Dancing Sun Concert |
When U-Miz turned out to be as great as I hoped it would, I knew that I’d be purchasing The Dancing Sun, too! Not to mention picking up Kathmandu, with the songs that first got my attention: Rondo and Inochi No Hana. Every time I would buy an album, I wanted to see the songs live, so I would get the concert, then I would learn older songs via the concert, and get more CDS...Before I knew it, I had quite a few Yuming CDs in my possession!
Over the years I've managed to get much of Yumi's back catalog, from her very Carole-King-ish beginnings as Yumi Arai down through to her very latest albums! I must admit a bit of a sentimental attachment towards her 90's work, from album LOVE WARS through to WAVE OF THE ZUVUYA, because these are the ones that came out during and around my "golden age" of J-pop discovery, but truth be told, I love 'em ALL!
Over the years I've managed to get much of Yumi's back catalog, from her very Carole-King-ish beginnings as Yumi Arai down through to her very latest albums! I must admit a bit of a sentimental attachment towards her 90's work, from album LOVE WARS through to WAVE OF THE ZUVUYA, because these are the ones that came out during and around my "golden age" of J-pop discovery, but truth be told, I love 'em ALL!
The following is what I've got in MY Yuming collection!
Yumi Matsutoya Albums
Hikoki-Gumo
MISSLIM
COBALT HOUR
Yuming BRAND
Benisuzume
OLIVE
Kanashi Hodotenki
Toki no nai HOTEL
Sakuban Oaishimasho
PEARL PIERCE
REINCARNATION
VOYAGER
NO SIDE
DA・DI・DA
VISUALIVE DA・DI・DA
ALARM à la mode
ALARM à la mode
Diamond Dust
Delight Slight Light KISS
LOVE WARS
The Gates Of Heaven
DAWN PURPLE
Tears And Reasons
THE DANCING SUN
U-miz
KATHMANDU
Cowgirl Dreamin’
Wave of the Zuvuya
Frozen Roses
Acacia
Wings of Winter, Shades of Summer
VIVA!6X7
A GIRL IN SUMMER
And I Will Dream Again
Road Show
Seasons Colours
FACES
Yumi Matsutoya Singles:
Ningyohime no Yume
Hello My Friend
Haru Yo Koi
Manatsu No Yo No Yume
Rondo
Sunny Day Holiday
Yumi Matsutoya Concerts:
Wings Of Light: Gates Of Heaven Tour
Surf and Snow in Zushi Marina 2002 Tour
The Lat Wednesday 2006 Tour~ Here Comes The Big Wave
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
FACES
Yumi Matsutoya Singles:
Ningyohime no Yume
Hello My Friend
Haru Yo Koi
Manatsu No Yo No Yume
Rondo
Sunny Day Holiday
Yumi Matsutoya Concerts:
Wings Of Light: Gates Of Heaven Tour
Surf and Snow in Zushi Marina 2002 Tour
The Lat Wednesday 2006 Tour~ Here Comes The Big Wave
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com