A Yamaguchi Momoe Gift To Myself

 As a modern fan of Momoe Yamaguchi, my catalog of Momoe albums exists totally in Boxed CD Collections like Momoe Premium, Momoe Premium Live and the Momoe Update collection. Though I can boast that I have all of her released albums and singles on CD, the artistic side of me has always lamented not owning any “real” Momoe records: i.e.: Vinyl Albums and Vinyl 45” Singles.

 Though it would be crazy to try and get ALL of her back albums in vinyl (especially since I already have them in CD), I’ve always wanted to get at least my favorite albums from her... Sometimes I’d see favorite Momoe albums or single go up for auction online, and feel a tug of longing on my heart…"someday, someday...."

When Sony Music originally released MOMOE PREMIUM, they’d left out her singles and b-sides, an oversight corrected with the MOMOE PREMIUM UPDATE. Having been listening to the first box set’s albums incessantly for quite awhile before I could get my hands on the Premium Update, by the time I got it, these singles, B-sides and unreleased tracks were like manna from Heaven for a starving Momoe fan like me!

  Like most J-pop releases, the b-sides (or, as they call them, coupling tracks) are true collectable gems as they are songs that are not only not on any album, but are usually just as good as the lead single and sometimes even better! So many of these songs have become HUGE faves of mine, tunes like INTRODUCTION: HARU, CYNICAL and probably my all-time fave B-Side of hers, the pop masterpiece “Shinsenjou No ARIA”, the flipside of her equally stunning “Otomezakyu”. This was ONE single I just HAD to have!

Going on ebay recently, I was excited when I found a Japan dealer who not only had Otomezakyu, but a handful of her OTHER singles as well, among them the stellar CARNIVAL, (with its the aforementioned b-side Introduction Haru) Zettai Zetsume, Imitation Gold, Be Silent, and my favorite A-Side of hers, “Yumesaki Annainin”! 

They even had Momoe’s “Rock N Roll Widow”, which, though the B-side “Apocalypse Love” WAS on an album, (the excellent MOEBIUS GAME) was such an iconic 45 that I HAD to have it anyway! Needless to say, I bought them ALL up and HALLELUJAH, just today, my package came in, and as you can see, THEY’RE FREAKING BEAUTIFUL!

An OBVIOUS plus about having these singles is how cool the sleeves are! Picture sleeves as a rule are nice to look at (seeing as they’re there to promote purchasing), but Momoe’s are a step up because she is so freaking pretty on them, I mean my GOSH, look at how she looks on the cover of Yumesaki Annainin, she is so, so, damn BEAUTIFUL! I could just eat her up.

Another thing that’s so interesting is how DIFFERENT she looks in each of these 45’s. Like the Beatles(yes, I’m going there), Momoe was active for only about 7 years (Beatles 1962-70, Momoe 1972-80), but just like them, managed to musically advance from album to album in giant strides, so much that her early sunshiney, bubble-gummy output barely resembles her later work which was more serious, melancholy and hard-rock edged… and this is evident just by how she LOOKS on the sleeves! From bright wide eyed cutie to dark, smouldering siren , Momoe is the TOTAL package!

Sure, for a person like me whose phonograph has long ceased to function in any proper sense, you could say that these 7” platters are a fairly useless commodity, but as a COLLECTOR, these seven inch gems are a priceless addition to my Momoe Yamaguchi collection! I don’t know, maybe only someone who grew up in the 70’s can know the real thrill of getting a new 45 inch single of a song you’ve just fell in love with off the radio, holding the sleeve in your hands and poring over the credits as you spun the disc over and over and OVER again on the phonograph…that’s how I felt unpacking these treasures this morning!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Yamaguchi Momoe Photobook "Momoe" Reminds Me: Shinoyama Kishin Is My Hero!

Smouldering Momoe bu Kishin Shinoyama

As a huge fan of Momoe Yamaguchi, I’m always on the lookout for nice pics of her, and in this regard, the internet has been a real godsend- soooo many pretty pics of the eternal idol herself and in such high quality, too! Through my collecting, besides the usual bright idol stuff, occasionally I’d come across pics of Momoe showing a decidedly more risqué tone- shots of her in very sexy and sultry poses (and in equally provocative outfits), far removed from the freshly scrubbed innocent face of her early “schoolgirl” years.

    As I collected more and more of these interesting pictures, I noticed that among these tantalizing shots were off-shots of what I identified as past Momoe Album covers, and it was here, checking the album credentials, that I discovered that the photographer who’d taken all of these sexy Momoe pics was none other than Legendary Photographer extraordinaire Kishin Shinoyama. KISHIN SHINOYAMA!

   Like most people out there, I first heard the name of Kishin Shinoyama as the photographer for that classic and highly controversial Celebrity Photobook “Santa Fe”, Miyazawa Rie’s infamous nude “Shashinshuu”, but I really began loving his work when when I began getting into Japanese dramas: Shinoyama shot the photobooks of two pretty actresses I loved, Riona Hazuki and Saki Takaoka, and I mean to tell you, those bawdy photobooks blew me AWAY! This guy is a MASTER of the sexy and seductive stuff, I tell you! Eventually getting ALL THREE books, I would look at them impressively and tell my friends “Kishin Shinoyama is my HEROOOOOO!”

My Other Shinoyama Books: Miyazawa Rie, Hazuki Riona & Takaoka Saki

 So yeah, it was pretty cool to realize that this gentleman, who had shot three of my favorite Photobooks was ALSO the guy who shot all of Momoe Yamaguchi’s iconic covers- as well as those sexy photos I’d found online…but where did these pics COME FROM?    
  Come to find out that these awesome pics came from a limited Momoe Yamaguchi Photobook Kishin Shinoyama shot called MOMOE:

 WHAT! A Momoe Photobok shot by Kishin Shinoyama!? When I found out THAT, I REALLY wanted to get my hands on it, but the funny thing about collectibles- it's their scarcity that MAKES them collectible, so I didn't get much chance to buy one. But only a month ago I'm browsing around online and...JACKPOT! Now, through the magic of that wonder called Ebay, after all these YEARS of desire, I can happily say that I'VE FINALLY GOT A COPY!!

Damn, this Photobook is SOO damn beautiful, roughly the same dimensions as a regular 12” Album with the thickness of about an inch, this glossy hardcover book is like a collectible COFFEE TABLE BOOK, such high quality glossy paper pages and BOY is it heavy! Such awesome details to quality, no wonder the Japanese love their collectible goods, this book is really a beauty!

And the PHOTOGRAPHS inside, Oh My GOSH, these were as SEXY as ANY that I’d seen before, turning the pages, I was constantly BLOWN AWAY by how RISQUE is was- Momoe is shot in the most seductive of poses in bikinis, lacy gowns, and even (clutches heart) see-through blouses, sooo smoky and sultry, this is Momoe at her most entrancing, the moment when idol becomes GODDESS, and we have it all on print!

Gazing longingly at these shots, I once again loudly proclaimed, O YEAH, after all these years, KISHIN SHINOYAMA is STILL my HEROOO!” Man, one cannot ignore the awesome strides he made during the “golden” age of J-actresses and Idols!! My Hat’s off to this guy.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

PS: Shinoyama is married to Saori “Seventeen” Minami? RESPECT!

PPS: Kishin Shinoyama shot the cover to John Lennon’s Double Fantasy Album? Holy Crap! Respect keeps going up and UP!!!

Yamaguchi Momoe Premium LIVE Box Set

Momoe Premium Live Box Set

As documented here on the zdorama blogsite, I was a relatively late-comer to the awesomeness that is the eternal idol Momoe Yamaguchi, and though I had a few of her singles from various Hit Record Collections, it wasn’t until the arrival of Youtube that I realized what a cool, charismatic singer and performer this girl was! impressed by what I was seeing and hearing, I ran out and purchased a double CD Collection of hers, and was then so blown away by what I heard, I made it a point to try and get all of her regular releases!

Momoe Premium Box Set

The most sensible way for me to get those albums was, of course, to purchase her epic PREMIUM BOX set which contained all of Momoe’s albums as well as bonus disc of Karaoke and unreleased tracks, but unfortunately for me, by the time I came around to it, the Box Set was long out of print, and I had to do some SERIOUS wheeling and dealing (and shelling out quite a bit of the green, truth be told) to get that Box Set sent to me from Japan! Even more riling was when I had to go through the business all over again when I realized there was an equally out-of-print Two-Disc Premium Box Set ADDENDUM (featuring all of Momoe’s non-album tracks and Singles), that came separately!

Momoe Premium "Update"

Anyway, throughout all of those shenanigans, the one set that kept coming up in my searches and queries was ANOTHER box set in the “Momoe Premium” Catalog, and that was the Momoe Premium LIVE Box Set, containing all of Momoe’s Live Concert Album Releases. Live Concerts? At the time that I was still trying to get all of Momoe’s albums and singles proper, that last thing in the world I needed was her live stuff! Or so I thought…

Well, after getting the aforementioned Momoe Box Set and the Momoe Premium Extra set, I hunkered down and began immersing myself in the glory of all that is Momoe, and over time, she slowly but surely became one of my very, very favorite J-pop performers of all time! As time went on and EACH and EVERY Momoe Album became beloved and precious to me, and one night as I was out blasting Momoe’s awesome “MOEBIUS’ GAME Album and just LOVING every single track on it, that I realized: You know what? All these songs you love so much on Momoe’s albums are all performed LIVE on those Live Concert Albums! I realized the truth: I NEEDED TO GET THAT LIVE CONCERT BOX SET!

Momoe Premium Live Box Set

As with all of Momoe’s Box Sets, the Momoe Premium Live Box Set was out-of-print, (shimatta!) and I prepared myself for another stressful and confusing time trying to coordinate a purchase via Yahoo Japan or the like. More daunting was the fact that this Live Concert Box Set was selling upwards of $700 on the Amazon Used Dealer listings! GADS!!!! At that point I thought it might be easier to try and get the individual Live CDs myself, but not only was that even MORE scarce, the set offered a bonus DVD, remastering and BEAUTIFUL and collectible packaging. I just HAD to get the Box!

The searching went on for months before I finally hooked up with a dealer from Japan who was not only willing and able to sell and ship to America, but had it listed for a  (while still expensive) price range that I was a LOT more comfortable with! So when my tax return came, I pledged a chunk of it to that Dealer in Japan, and in DAYS, my beautiful, beautiful MOMOE PREMIUM LIVE BOX SET arrived! YATTA!

Momoe Premium Live Box Set Contents

Japan has ALWAYS set the bar for beautiful packaging, and the Momoe Premium Live Box was NO EXCEPTION! So much detail and CARE went into this thing- not one single thing was missed in its recreation of the original albums; CD Booklets and picture inserts had all been faithfully re-created, as well as the breathtaking double and even TRIPLE gatefold jackets themselves! 

Momoe On Stage Gatefold and Picture Booklets

Budokan At Last Triple Gatefold, Booklets and discs.

And Man, if that weren’t enough, they’ve even recreated the sleeves of each album’s corresponding “single” release with two selected karaoke tracks on eight 3” discs! What a gorgeous package!!!

3" discs featuring Karaoke Tracks

Momoe’s Live Concert Album output consisted of six double albums (!) and as the bonus for this set, they also included the heralded “Final performance” Concert at Budokan on DVD, making for a total of 13 discs!(heck, 21 if you count the 8 mini karaoke discs!)

Momoe Premium Live Digipak CDs, front

Momoe Premium Live Digipak CDs, back

Momoe Live Premium Box Set Contents:

MOMOE LIVE- MOMOE CHAN MATSURI YORI (10.01.75)

MOMOE ON STAGE (10.21.76)

MOMOE IN KOMA (11.01.77)

MOMOE-CHAN MATSURI ’78 (11.21.78)

RECITAL- AI GA UTA NI KAWARU TOKI (11.21.79)

DENSETSU KARA SHINWA O- BUDOKAN…AT LAST (11.19.80)

Momoe released a live concert album about every three records or so, so her entire body of work is covered nicely. Since each Live Album focused on the Momoe albums that were at the time current, you got to hear a lot of the more obscure tracks from the albums that were played only for those tours (and never again, or only in medley form) and it’s nice to listen and hear Momoe growing as an artist as well- from the first live album where she sounds very much like her Star Tanjo idol days, through her big theatrical events and onto her final at Budokan where she’d matured into this smoky chanteuse before giving her thanks to the audience and leaving the stage forever…

I’ve already got the first concert disc all set up in my car’s CD deck, and we’re off to give ‘er a spin! I plan on making these Momoe discs the main event this coming weekend, and one thing’s for sure- It’s gonna be one HECK of a ride discovering these NEW TREASURES for the first time!

Happy Momoe Day!

I’d just dug out my Momoe Yamaguchi Yoru No Hit Studio DVDs and had spent the entire evening being blown away once again by her total AWESOMENESS, and when I went online to look for live clips of some of the songs, it came to my attention that today is Momoe’s BIRTHDAY!!! What a happy coincidence!

Ah man, since discovering her late in my j-pop life, Momoe and her music has gone on to become one of my very, very favorite performers, and watching these discs again its like I'm seeing her anew all over!

Every performance on this set rocks, but special attention must be given to the fourth and fifth discs covering her 1980 period with tracks like “Aizenbashi” and “Rock n Roll Widow”, the bittersweet ballads “This Is My Trial” and “Sayonara No Muko Gawa”, and my personal favorites, performances of “Shanikusai~Carnival” , "Phoenix Densetsu", and the awesome “Ichie”, such INTENSE perfs!

 I wasn’t able to rip the discs to a format I could work with, however I DID discover clips some kind soul had uploaded on youtube, so I'm able to upload em here! Such an aweome performer, SUCH a talent! I LOVE, LOVE you, Momoe-san! Happy Birthday, and many more to come!

More Momoe Viewing...

Watching Yamaguchi Momoe's Final Concert at Budokan DVD, MAN, was there ANYONE cooler than her at this stage of the game? So Gorgeous, Sexy and Sultry... she was just KNOCKING ME OUT! Out of all her looks, this is the one I love most- beautiful LONG hair and a demure ladylike demeanor...hard to believe she transformed from that bright eyed young gal in '73 to this Sophisticated Woman in such a short time!

And then there's her showcase of absolutely KILLIN' songs! Set up with a Kick-Ass orchestra that backed up her ballads with lush harmonies and a rock powerhouse that backed up her Rock and Roll hits, they kept my speakers on high throughout the whole concert! Her earlier, poppy singles were regaled to "Medley" status to clear way for her later masterpieces like "Ichie", "This Is My Trial" and one of my favorite songs "Phoenix Densetsu" before building up to her emotional closer "Sayonara No Muko Gawa"...WHAT A SET TO END ALL SETS!

Ahh, this is one I'll be watching again and again!

I Love, Love, LOVE Momoe!!!!!!!

The (Momoe) Circle Is Now Complete

MOMOE PREMIUM UPDATE

With all the amazing new MOMOE DVD discs I’ve acquired recently, I’ve been getting back into Momoe in a BIG way, spending all my days watching her videos and all my nights driving around listening to her music. With this huge resurgence of Momoe-love taking over my life also came the painful reminder that though I had essentially all of Momoe’s ALBUMS, I was STILL missing those non-album tracks which had somehow been left off the initial MOMOE PREMIUM Box Set.

I loved Momoe’s PLAYBACK Part 2 single (and who wasn’t) and had wondered if a “Part One” existed, seeing as part one and part two usually meant a long song broken into two parts, or a vocal track version of a song and a instrumental track. Well, I was to learn (while watching Momoe’s EPIC Final Concert) that a Part 1 of Playback did INDEED exist, and it was not only neither a long song cut short OR an instrumental track, but an amazing, kick-ass song on its own accord! Which brings us back to the Box Set…

Weeks after I’d gotten the Momoe Premium Box Set and had been listening to the songs for about a month or so, it suddenly occurred to me that though I’d listened to the entire Box Set, I hadn’t heard Playback Part One! Eh? Did I skip over it? Going back and looking over the entire song list, I was faced with a hard fact: It wasn’t on the set!! Huh, I thought that this Box Set was COMPLETE?

Going online I was to find that PLAYBACK PT.1 wasn’t the only song missing. There had been a FEW non-album tracks that hadn’t been put on the PREMIUM box set, and Sony Music had remedied this by later releasing an addendum of sorts to the Momoe Premium set, called, simply enough, the MOMOE PREMIUM UPDATE set! Here were all those rare elusive tracks and non-narration versions of songs as well,  all put together on a compact 2 CD Collection!

Sigh. Now, how to GET it?

After years of searching the Amazon Japan sites as well as the Yahoo Auction sites with no luck, I found the Momoe Update CD set in the most obvious place, from Sony Music Japan themselves! I had NO IDEA that the Update was still in print, but there it was on their online store for all to see! Was this THE Update i was looking for? Sure enough, clicking on the track listing I saw right in front of me:

12. プレイバック part 1

KYAAAAAAHHHHHH! I HAD to have it and went through the usual wheeling and dealing to get that prized CD set to my doorstep, and kust a few weeks later, I got a note from the postman saying a package from Japan was ready for pickup! YATTAAAAAA

When I gave the lady my notice at the Post Office, I was taken aback by how BIG the box she brought out was! I’d expected it to be a double CD box no larger than, say, a DVD case. This box was big enough to hold a laserdisc set! Taking it home, I smiled at the Sony Labels on it which said: “Sony Music Japan: Fun Inside, Enjoy!!” LOL.

Upon opening the box, I was hit with this absolutely BEAUTIFUL Image of Momoe on the cover of what looked like…a gatefold 12 Inch Vinyl Album!! No wonder the box was so big! But…a vinyl album? OH NO! My first thought was, had I ordered a RECORD instead of a CD? I needn’t have worried though. It wasn’t an album but rather another AWESOMELY Designed Limited Edition Japanese Product! Did I ever mention how GREAT Japan is regarding packaging? SUGOI!

So yeah, the Momoe Set was a pretty, glossy 12-inch album sleeve, but INSIDE the album, instead of a vinyl record, it was a cardboard sleeve with the two CDs encased in it! How AWESOME is THAT?! And if that weren’t enough, this set also came with a beautiful glossy 12inch book featuring more rare pics of Momoe as well as a detailed, illustrated discography of every CD, Album, Single , VHS Video and Music DVD she ever released! Simply incredible!

Right Now, I’m savoring my next two days off because they are going to be FILLED with cruising time listening to these two wonderful discs! And I’ll try hard not to rush ahead and skip to Playback Part One, if I can! HAHAHAHAHA! Live albums and tracks notwithstanding, (Gads, there’s a separate MOMOE PREMIUM LIVE box set for THAT, too!) I can finally quote Darth Vader and say “The Circle Is Complete” for I now have all the wonderful Momoe tracks I’ve been yearning for!

"Album" Back

The Complete MOMOE PREMIUM UPDATE Tracklisting:

[DISC:1]

1. あなたへの子守唄

2. 古都 主題歌「子守唄 (Lullaby)」

3. 一恵

4. ロックンロール・ウィドウ (Single Version)

5. アポカリプス・ラブ (Single Version)

6. 謝肉祭

7. イントロダクション・春

8. シニカル

9. SCANDAL (愛の日々)

10. 落葉の里

11. 賭け

12. プレイバック part 1

13. たそがれ祭り

14. 乙女座 宮 (Single Version)

15. 視線上のアリア

16. 赤い絆 (Red Sensation)

17. 口約束

[DISC:2]

1. Imitation Gold

2. 夢先案内人

3. 春に吹かれて

4. 初恋草紙

5. 初恋時代

6. ちっぽけな感傷 (Single Version)

7. おかしな恋人

8. ひと夏の経験 (Narration Cut)

9. ちっぽけな感傷 (Narration Cut)

10. 名前のない時間 (Narration Cut)

11. 慕情 (Narration Cut)

12. 伊豆の踊子 (Narration Cut)

13. 野菊の墓 (Narration Cut)

14. たけくらべ (Narration Cut)

15. 誰も愛せない (Narration Cut)

16. 少年の海 -出逢い- (Narration Cut)

17. 炎の前で (Narration Cut)

18. 美え貝 (Narration Cut)

19. お菓子職人 (Ending Fade Out)

20. 飛騨の吊り橋 (Intro Fade In)

21. ドライフラワー (Ending SE･Cut)

22. E=MC2 (Intro*Close Cut)

A Happy Momoe Day!

First, a story: I once knew a classmate who was teaching his dog to “stay”. He would put the dog in a sitting position and command “STAY!”, and test it's resolve by placing a potato chip a few feet off to it’s right. Though the dog understood the meaning of the phrase “Stay”, and would actually sit still for a while,  he just couldn’t ignore that mouth-watering potato chip in corner of his eye, and, with a downcast face, would s-l-o-w-l-y start leaning towards the snack before giving up and gobbling up the chip. My classmate would start cracking up and try again, but it always ended up with the same result…

Which brings us to a similar situation I had recently…

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’d recently plunked down almost half a grand in J-pop DVDs and BluRay Discs, so I knew I would have to tighten my belt and refrain from any new purchases for awhile. In the post about my MOMOE in YORU NO HIT STUDIO DVDs, I lamented that there was another Momoe DVD set I wanted, which was a show called MOMOE on THE BEST TEN, but as that one cost almost $300, it would be a WHILE til I could get it!

Then a few days after I blogged about it, my friend dropped me a line to let me know that Amazon.com Japan was selling it for an incredible $185.00! CRAP, that was almost HALF OFF! Still, I knew my bankbook couldn’t afford such a purchase, and said that even at half price, it would have to wait.

Then I began to behave like my classmate’s dog. It’s one thing to be patiently trying to be frugal, but it’s another thing ENTIRELY when the DVD is up for grabs before your eyes at such a price! I found myself nervously checking the link every night to see if it was still available, and in the end, I finally surrendered, got out my trusty CREDIT CARD and BOUGHT THAT DVD! Hey, Credit Cards were MADE for emergencies, y’know?

Unbelievably, only a few days LATER, my Momoe DVD Box Set arrived on my doorstep! Amidst the thunder and rain, this morning was interrupted by a DHL Delivery Man with my J-pop Purchase!!!! YATTA! It was MOMOE time!

Momoe THE BEST TEN DVD Box Set

As expected, the MOMOE YAMAGUCHI BEST TEN DVD Box Set is beautifully made: a velvety covered slipcase housing a book holding  five DVD s and a detailed 56 page booklet featuring thumbnails, lyrics and pictures of Momoe’s appearances. So Nice! Now, onto the CONTENTS...

Since Momoe was invited to perform every time one of her singles appeared in the Top Ten chart, she appeared quite frequently and subsequently there are LOT of different performances of her singles! Seems a bit monotonous, but watching to see which beautiful new outfit she’ll come out in next is such a thrill, and they have a care to make an interesting backdrop for each song…and then of course, the awesome LIVE band backing her makes for an exciting, original performance each time!

Along with these stellar clips are of course the interviews and sit-downs Momoe had with the hosts of the show during her appearances, as well as commentary from some of the folks who were there at the time, making for a wonderful MOMOE experience! One only wishes that this show had been around longer so we could have had some of her earlier singles covered as well!

With this DVD Box Set as well as the YORU NO HIT STUDIO set, one wonders if these kind of Collections are a continuing thing of the future. If it’s the sign of things to come, I for one am all for it- I mean, who wouldn’t want a DVD Box Set of, say, all Princess Princess’ performances on MUSIC STATION?

Yoru No HIT STUDIO Sightings!

Besides the beautiful and sultry stylings of lovely Momoe Yamaguchi, some of the other sights one can see while watching the amazing 70’s music show YORU NO HIT STUDIO are such things as:

A Stoic, Legendary Singer back when she was Cute and Adorable…

An Effin CRIP Enka Crooner…

The Chairman Of The Board in his prime….

Kikaida 0-1 in his Human Form…

…And my vote for the most GORGEOUS and PERFECT Japanese woman of all time!

Yep, Yoru No Hit Studio was really the Cat's Meow of its Day!

The Yamaguchi Momoe in YORU NO HIT STUDIO DVD Collection!

Yamaguchi Momoe Live at Hit Studio DVD Collection

After an anxious two week wait, I received an awesome gift to myself: the Yamaguchi Momoe DVD collection called YAMAGUCHI MOMOE LIVE in YORU NO HIT STUDIO, and, as the title suggests, is a set featuring of all her TV appearances on said TV program through the years! MAN, those Japanese know how to PACKAGE  their items- this Box Set is fricking GORGEOUS!!!! Though I paid a pretty hefty price for the discs (Two bills plus!!), this was money well spent because this collection is truly a Momoe Yamaguchi fan’s DREAM!

The Goods!

Contents include 6 DVD Discs housed in a deluxe gatefold box with intricate hinged DVD holders and a beautiful  44 page retrospective booklet, and featuring all 54 performance she did on the Yoru No Hit Studio Television show, from her single Natsu Hiraku Seishun in June of 1975 all the way through to Sayonara no Muko Gawa in October of 1980, great live performances backed by sensational LIVE musicians, and including all the interviews and MC pre-song patter, and all in crystal clear clarity!

Thumbnails of the Chaptered Performances:

 CRAP! Willya LOOK at alla those PERFORMANCES!!!

Also included are treats such as four hilarious SKITS (or rather, mini-dramas) Momoe participated in, and it’s thrilling to see her having fun with other artists like Megumi Asaoka, Yashida Aki, Amachi Mari and of course her two counterparts, Mori Masako and Sakurada Junko! Additionally, they included every introduction she did for the other guests as well, so you see her handing off the microphone to artists like Four Leaves, Mori Shinichi, Minami Saori, and all the other luminaries of the time…an incredible slice of the 70’s!

Another thing I really love about this set is that it's arranged in chronological order, so as you watch the performances, you see Momoe grow from a shy and wide-eyed beginner to savvy and genki act, and finally transform to her smoldering, sultry look as a seasoned pro towards the end of the 70’s! So damn pretty, I don’t have to tell you, I was falling so SO MUCH in LOVE with her, all OVER AGAIN!!!

Beautiful Momoe

As anyone who’s spent any time watching her many, many musical performances uploaded onto Youtube and the like knows, Momoe is one helluva performer and there’s always something extra in every song she sings, so these TV appearances are soooo incredible to have! Such an awesome collection, and there’s even ANOTHER DVD Box Set for the Television Show THE TEN BEST that I’m hoping to get, however, that one will have to wait til I can afford it- TEN BEST DVD costs a crippling 3 BILLS!!! Ahh, but if it’s as good as this Yoru No Hit Studio set is, I MUST HAVE IT!!!