"AND, FROM HERE ON..."
To celebrate her 40th anniversary as a solo recording artist, Kei-san released “And, From Now On…”, a fabulously eclectic collection of new songs, remakes of older songs (including a few Pink Lady classics) and live action tunes, a 28 track, near two hour assemblage of sheer awesomeness. We begin with “Del Sole”, a hit track that’s a jazzy, Latin themed, foot tapping tune that caught and held my attention from the first note. A link of the video of Kei performing the song is below. “Et J’aime la Vie” (I Love Life) is a slow, feathery ballad with an inherent sweetness while “Himawari wa Utsumukanai” (Sunflowers Wilt No More) was a smoky, sultry song like you’d hear in a nightclub; “Kanransha” (Ferris Wheel) was smooth, classy and elegant; “Komorebi no Isu” (Sunlight Shining Through The Trees) was soulful, stirring and ethereal thanks to Kei’s vocals and “Kiseki no Hana” (Marvelous Flower) is highlighted by stylish piano and guitar riffs. Next is a fabulous and sultry new version of “Avec le Feu” (Play With Fire) from Kei’s 1991 album, “Voice Cologne”, and yes, she sang it in French, just like she had three decades ago, followed by a new version of “Suzume” (Sparrow), Kei’s very first solo release, but on this version, it’s just her, a piano, a cello and Kei overdubbing vocals so she actually was her own background singer.
“Saigo no Koi” (Last Love) is a lively and sunny tune, despite its somber sounding title; “Shiroi Kobato” (Love Is Blind) is an uptempo, sassy and bluesy sounding song that makes you want to get up and dance; “Aishoka” (Mourning Poetry) is a nice and charming piece while “California Blue” (from Pink Lady’s Silver Album) was remade and, in my humble opinion, sounds better than the original which, by the way was included on this collection. The next four songs were new versions of Pink Lady classics: “UFO”, “Nagisa no Sindbad”, “Chameleon Army” and “OH!”, but were considerably pared down, as in none of the orchestrations like in the original versions, kinda like they were unplugged, but, like with the new version of “Suzume”, Kei put in more overdubbing, making it sound like two people (like her and Mie) were singing those old standards, and they sounded remarkable. After “Moichido Asobimasho”, a punchy, upbeat soft rocker and the original versions of “Inspiration” (from PL’s debut album) and “California Blue”, the collection ended with eight live action solo songs from PL’s salad days, they being: “Inspiration”, Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Things”, her haunting version of The Eagles’ “Hotel California”, “Yesterday When I Was Young”, “Gentle On My Mind” and, thankfully, Kei’s kick ass versions of “House of the Rising Sun” from the Las Vegas show and “Chained To Your Love” from ‘78 Jumping Summer Carnival.
This album featured a little of everything, spanning Kei’s solo career and her time as part of Pink Lady, and it was an absolute treat to listen to, and not just for this review either. As I mentioned on the 2022 Headlines page, “And, From Now On…” is available for download via Apple Music and Spotify, along with the old fashioned way, on shiny little discs via CDJapan. By all means, pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.
(Author’s note: The translations to the Japanese song titles I found via Google. If I messed up on any of them and they aren’t correct, by all means, please let me know!)
