Sunshower

Somewhere between slick J-Pop, smooth jazz and euphoric disco, 1977’s Sunshower was the second solo album for Japanese vocalist and songwriter Taeko Onuki and a classic in the City Pop genre. Sunshower is made of perfectly crafted songs, superbly played, pristinely produced, and packed full of melodic and musical ideas: “Kusuri o Takusan” is breezy, jazz funk-pop, made of a cowbell breakbeat, lilting jazz flutes, chicken-scratch guitars and seemingly composed only of hooks, and it also comes with a ridiculously in-the-pocket Rhodes/guitar vamp at the end recalling the jazz funk of Patrice Rushen. “Nani mo Iranai” blends the silkiest strings and creamiest Rhodes electric piano licks with Chic-ish guitars, soul organ and a slippery bass line into 4 minutes of uptown, opulent pop joy, while the most well-known track, the smooth-disco-soul “Tokai,” pairs a rock-solid R’n’B rhythm section with a meandering melody playing out over jazzy chord changes. One of the best of its ilk, all of Sunshower is just expertly executed.