THE KAZU MATSUI PROJECT Pioneer
(US Mesa Records, 2006)
1) Love Is Gone 2) Sentimental Slow Song 3) Afternoon Delight 4) I Close My Eyes 5) Love Is
Where You Find It 6) See You There 7) Romantic Notions 8) Ariana 9) Castles 10) Overture 11)
Standing On The Outside 12) Standing In The Wings 13) Sail To The Sun 14) Sunset And The Minstrel
15) Farther On 16) The Direction You Take
For me, Kazu Matsui was the epitome of quality “Quiet Storm” soul in the 1980s.
I think that Kazu may disagree slightly with this, as I feel he leans more towards what
he would call a West Coast AOR sound. Whatever the case, Kazu collaborated with L.A.'s finest
vocalists and musicians, such as Marva King, Carl Anderson, Greg Walker, Philip Ingram,
Maxi Anderson, Carlos Rios, Paul Jackson Jr, Derek Nakamoto, Bill Meyers, Santana
amongst many others. This is no mean feat in itself. His 80s output is CLASSIC, and even
the AOR Pop efforts on these albums were to my liking. The pinnacle of Kazu's work has
to be “Romantic Notions”. This is a record that has enchanted me since its release back in
1984. Marva King is responsible for the vocals on this most haunting, beautiful song.
Lyricist Jeff Day crafted this sensual, melancholy in a moment of pure unadulteraded
genius. 23 years later it still has me intoxicated, and it always will.
The song is in my top 10 of all-time, and I never ever see it being replaced by something else.
The great (an all too quiet of recent times) John Barnes arranged this song, and is
assisted by Dan Huff on guitar and Bill Meyers on keys. Sublime.
“I Close My Eyes” is a crackin' slice of mid/late 1980s West Coast AOR / rock in the vein of
Ric Okasec or Starship and features the superb vocals of Darrly Phinesse
and Gary Stockdale. I'm certainly not ashamed to display my appreciation of West Coast
AOR and am glad to see this gem from the Jap-only “See You There” album on here.
I am also pleased to see the lovely “Love Is Gone” and “Sentimental Love Song” on here.
These are gentle affairs but tapestry rich in melodies, instrumentation and soulful jazzy
flavours. Again, a nod to the gorgeous Marva King for vocals and Jeff Day for lyrics.
A vastly underrated singer is Philip Ingram. I loved his work with Switch and
later with Deco, and I long for a solo set from the man. “See You There” allowed
the man to wrap his vocals around the melody like a velvet glove. Beautiful. “Ariana” is
another old favourite of mine. Greg Walker really does the business on this rousing
number which is taken from the “Is That The Way To Your Heart” album. This song is the
epitome of summer, as is the wonderful “Standing On The Outside”. However, this version is
not the version from “Standing On The Outside” but the version of that LP as released on
Polydor in Japan under the name of guitarist Robben Ford. Philip Ingram's vocals are
slightly different and echoey, and some instrumentation are either missing or subdued
in the mix. Still a great song, however!
I heartily recommend this CD for the aforementioned tracks, but for me there are so many
tracks that should have made it onto the CD. Kazu was, for me, the pioneer of 80s “Quiet Storm”.
If only “Let's Pretend”, “The Music Inside You”, “Time Flies” and “Fiesta En Los Andes” were
on here...Volume 2, please, Mesa?
- Barry Towler
