Sunday, January 8, 2023

Show-Ya - 叫び (March 7, 1990)

The first week of March 1990 was a big week for Japanese metal singles! This is our third Japanese single in a row, and this time it's an all-ladies band! I wasn't aware of Show-Ya until now, but they have a Wikipedia page, so they weren't nothing. In fact, they were around from 1981 to 1998, and they reformed in the 2000s. They're still around now, with all five original members, which is pretty incredible.

This was the final track of Show-Ya's eighth album, Hard Way, released much later on October 24. The album was produced in Los Angeles by Beau Hill, who did production for several major bands. "叫び" (a.k.a. "Sakebi") was apparently the only single from the album. The band then did a "Hard Way Tour," and that was the last time their singer Keiko Terada would perform with them until the band reformed in 2005. She pursued a solo career for about fifteen years.

Personally, I don't think this track is quite as good as the last two blog entries, and the video's not as interesting either. The singer gets so much focus in the video that the rest of the band is barely seen. But it's not terrible by any means.



Next up is one of the biggest songs of 1990, and a personal favorite!

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Vow Wow - Tell Me (March 7, 1990)

I didn't know there'd be so much Japanese music to talk about here! But I have a real soft spot for Vow Wow (also known as Bow Wow). They were very AOR, but just metal enough to make it on this blog. Their style reminds me of TNT, whom I also love. And this song "Tell Me" is just amazing.

"Tell Me" was the penultimate track from their 1990 album Mountain Top. As far as I can tell, it was the only single from this album. This band goes back to the seventies, and this was at least their seventeenth album. They kept busy for nearly thirty years.

The video is just random studio footage, and videos from driving along Tokyo roads. But it's fun. I enjoy watching these guys doing their thing.

Playback isn't allowed outside YouTube, so here's a link: https://youtu.be/LGsIQsZ3PEg