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Rating: "Hey Eugene" remains, in my opinion, the most representative masterpiece of Pink Martini, the album I would recommend to anyone unfamiliar with this original and extraordinary project: if you don't like it, then there's something in you that... oops, I meant to say, you can move on to other shores. But if you do like it, the next step I would suggest is precisely this one, an unusual choice, not very canonical, but in my opinion, perfect. First of all, China Forbes, the group's usual voice, is not here; taking her place is the Japanese Saori Yuki, born in 1948, and the decision to collaborate with her is a move in the purest Pink Martini style. Saori Yuki is not an artist at the peak of fame; in fact, her recording career is limited to a few albums in the '60s and a successful single, "Yoake No Scat," after which she preferred to dedicate herself to television and cinema, until being "rediscovered" in 2011 by Pink Martini. Thomas Lauderdale has always been like this, a rediscoverer of artists and sounds from the past, now forgotten by most, and his passion for vintage Japanese pop is certainly no surprise; in every PM album, there's at least one piece from that tradition, starting with the spectacular "Song Of The Black Lizard" in "Sympathique." Therefore, "1969" began under a lucky star, with the best prospects, and the final result even exceeded my most optimistic expectations.
An album of covers, all more or less dated 1969 as easily inferred, and (almost) entirely sung in Japanese: these are the peculiarities, but after all, "1969" remains faithful to almost all the stylistic elements of Pink Martini. Indeed, bossa nova, French chanson, pop-jazz, and '60s easy listening, all styles already widely experimented with in previous releases, are not missing. However, "1969" still remains a separate chapter; other Pink Martini albums, "Hey Eugene" above all, win over the listener with exuberance and eclecticism, dragging the listener into a whirlwind of heterogeneous atmospheres and musicality, this one is more elegant, calm, and uniform. The vocal contribution of Saori Yuki is decisive: a completely different singer from China Forbes, who does not focus on the vivacity and stage impact of the performance, but on a seductive, delicate, and rarely sweet timbre. Bravo Tom Lauderdale for shaping a sound and repertoire around her voice that perfectly enhances it. "Yuuzuki (Evening Moon)" rightly enters among the best performances by Pink Martini, a wonderful song of great evocative power, with a sumptuous and extremely elegant arrangement that overflows with doleful and nocturnal sensuality, reminiscent of those sounds and atmospheres explored by Marc Almond in his "Heart On Snow," even though the roots are different. So, an impeccable beginning, with a magnetic charm that radiates throughout the album; "Blue Light Yokohama" is simply Perfection, both musically and aesthetically in the broader sense, it should be a standard, an iconic masterpiece recognized worldwide. "Yoake No Scat (Melody For A New Dawn)", the song that established Saori Yuki's fortune, has an almost disorienting romance and melancholy with those vocals echoing and expanding, evoking a timid rising sun making its way through the morning mist.
As I already mentioned, there's also bossa nova; Japan and Brazil, two very different realities, cultures, and mentalities that are almost antithetical, yet here they manage to blend perfectly, in total harmony: "Mayonaka No Bossa Nova", sensual and suggestive, then the classic "Mas Que Nada"; a refined reinterpretation, faithful to the original but with a touch of icy freshness added; it perfectly matches Saori's voice, with the rhythmic cadence of Saori's language. How can we not mention "Puff The Magic Dragon", a classic of light music, brought to success by Peter, Paul and Mary: in the skilled hands of Pink Martini, it becomes even more beautiful; a melodic masterpiece, perhaps minor, but we don't care, which dresses in new attire without losing its charming childish innocence. Then there are orchestral ballads, crepuscular and heart-wrenching like "Li Janaino Shiawasu Naraba (It's Okay If I'm Happy)" and "Watashi Mo Anata To Naite Li (Consolation)", the very sweet "Wasureitainoni (I Want To Forget You, But...)", and it's as if a hand emerging from the past, wrapped in a soft silk glove, rests on my shoulder. My spirit relaxes, is soothed, and I can't help but smile.
Opening with the evening spleen of "Yuuzuki," the album closes with the fresh morning warmth of "Kitsesu No Ashioto (Footsteps Of The Season)", acoustic folk, simple and gentle, which ends the show but not the enchantment. That remains and leaves a mark, satisfying the dreamer in me, the aesthete in me. What more could I ask for? Absolutely nothing, I have no points, no minor criticism of "1969"; here are simply Pink Martini at their best, accompanied by a delightful singer and engaged in an interesting and high-profile operation, I can't objectively ask for anything else.
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