Ongaku Cafe (The ’80s): Ohtaki Eiichi – A Long Vacation – 30th Anniversary Edition (March 1981/30th anniversary – March 2011)

---

Disc: 1
1. 君は天然色
2. Velvet Motel
3. カナリア諸島にて
4. Pap-Pi-Doo-Bi-Doo-Ba物語
5. 我が心のピンボール
6. 雨のウェンズデイ
7. スピーチ・バルーン
8. 恋するカレン
9. FUN×4
10. さらばシベリア鉄道

Disc: 2 (Instrumental Tracks)
1. 君は天然色
2. Velvet Motel
3. カナリア諸島にて
4. Pap-Pi-Doo-Bi-Doo-Ba物語
5. 我が心のピンボール
6. 雨のウェンズデイ
7. スピーチ・バルーン
8. 恋するカレン
9. FUN×4
10. さらばシベリア鉄道
11. 君は天然色 (Original Basic Track)

---

When it comes to well-respected people in the music industry, Ohtaki Eiichi is one of those people.

A singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, music producer, record label owner, radio DJ, recording engineer, mastering engineer, writer and the former director of Oo Records, suffice to say, Ohtaki is one heck of a talented person!

Back in 1970, Ohtaki was part of the band “Valentine Blue” which he formed with drummer Matsumoto Takashi and Hosono Haruomi, the group would change their name to HAPPY END.  While the band only released one album, each of the individuals went on to greater things.  Hosono and Sakamoto Ryuichi would form Yellow Magic Orchestra, while Matsumoto would collaborate with many artists but also worked with Yamashita Tatsuro for many songs including many of KinKi Kids #1 songs and many more artists.

But Ohtaki would create his own private music label, “Niagara” which he would release own solo album and “NIAGARA MOON”, have his own radio program which he was a DJ titled “Go Go Niagara”, which he worked with another talented singer/songwriter/musician, Yamashita Tatsuro.

While Ohtaki would work for CBS Sony, he worked on an album which was released in 1981 titled “A LONG VACATION”.  While sales weren’t good at first, sales would eventually rise and he would reach #2 on the Oricon Charts and would earn over a million in sales.  And dispelling a saying that an artist who has not sold an album in five years, will never be successful.  Ohtaki’s “A LONG VACATION” was successful.

Ohtaki reunited and worked with his fellow HAPPY END bandmate Matsumoto Takashi, who wrote all of the lyrics except “Pap-Pi-doo-Bi-Doo-Ba Monogatari” which was written by Ohtaki.

With the 2011 release of “A Long Vacation”, is the 30th anniversary edition which comes with the original 10 track album but also comes with a second disc with the instrumental (vocal-less) version of each song and an 11th track of the original unreleased track instrumental version of ” “Kimi wa Tennenshoku”.

But what Ohtaki wanted to accomplish with the 30th anniversary was to go beyond what he did with the 20th anniversary.  And they happen to find a long passage, single box master and was in very good condition since it was almost unplayed (played only once). And the second disc is from the genuine original sound source.

The first track on the album “Kimi wa Tennenshoku” (You are natural) was originally composed for the Happy End and Niagra Period. And the concept of the album was to make it similar to the concert style of the Beatles album “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

And the album was re-issued in 2001 for its 20th anniversary and sold 1.7 million more copies and re-released in 2011 for its 30th anniversary.

Record Collectors selected “A Long Vacation” as #1 in “Japan’s Best Rock Album Best 100 (1980s Edition)” in 2010 and it goes to show this album has entertained music fans from generation to generation.

The album kicks off with “Kimi wa Tennen Shoku” (You are Natural) and is the most popular song on the album and was used as the ending theme for “Ganbare! Tabuchi-kun!!” and was used as a CM song for Rohto Parmaceutical in 1982, Kirin in 2004 and Asahi Beer in 2010.

The second track “Velvet Motel” was actually made for Ann Lewis, while “Kanarishoto nite” (In the Canary Islands) and was the c/w song to “Kimi wa Tennen Shoku”.  An interesting fact for this dreamy song is that Matsumoto never been to the Canary Islands and wrote what he imagined the island to be, until finally visiting the island in 1999.  The song was also used as a CM song in 1981 for Rohto and in 2015 for Subaru.

The fourth track “Pap-Pi-doo-Bi-Doo-Ba Monogatari” was created for commercials in mind but when Chanel used a song with a similar phrase and was synth-based, so he redid the song to utilized a high-pitch guitar ala Honeycombs and a Bo Didley style.

The fifth track, a rock song titled “Waga Kokoro no Pinball” (Pinball of My Heart) and is a song that showcases pinball terms such as tilting and such to describe love.

By the sixth track, we get a mellow track titled “Ame no Wednesday” (Rainy Wednesday) and was the c/w track for the single “Koisuru Karen”. But when it was released for the first press, the songs were reversed, so people thought “Ame no Wednesday” was the main track.

The seventh track is “Speech Balloon” and was the title of Ohtaki’s radio program and was a song that each time it was performed and recorded, it would sound different each and every time.  The song would be used nearly two decades later for Sony’s Digital Handycam in 2004.

The eighth track is the single “Koisuru Karen” and is an adaptation of “Seaside Juliet” which was provided to Slapstick in 1979 but added a different melody and raised the volume of the intro by 2.5 dB for the single cut.  While it was meant to be the A-sided single, the first edition release featured the song as a c/w song.

The ninth track is “FUN x 4” and a catchy song that would be used for a CM for Key Coffee in 1987 and would be used by Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport’s CM in 2016.

The final track is “Saraba Siberia Tetsudo” (Farewell Siberian Railway) and the song was provided to Ohta Hiromi and she released it as a single in November 1980.  And the song will be remembered for its awesome guitar riff.

And as mentioned, you get a second disc with the instrumental tracks, two versions of “Kimi wa Tennenshoku”, one with the tuning count cut (first track) and the 11th track containing the count.

Overall, I believe that one should own a copy of “A Long Vacation”, it’s a classic and beloved album in Japan, others call it a representative of “City Pop” but for the most part, it’s simply a well-produced album and as we approach the 40th year anniversary of “A Long Vacation”, one can only wonder what Ohtaki has planned for the next release.

Nevertheless, “A Long Vacation – 30th Anniversary Edition” is highly recommended!

---