Tomoko Soryo - Tomoko Soryo RCA Years (2017)

Tomoko Soryo's RCA Albums - Finally released on CD via Sony Music Shop's Custom Made Factory label. The first Japanese-themed compilation, "Light Mellow ~ City Breeze from East", was curated and selected by Kanazawa himself, and the BMG Funhouse release included the title track of her second album, "City Lights By The Moonlight", which was also released as a single.

Tomoko Soryo is a singer-songwriter with the band Brown Rice, founded by former Sing Out member Yasunori Soryo, who also performed in the United States. The band is known for having songs written for them by Paul McCartney. However, the band did not last long. After the breakup, she returned to Japan and got married (now divorced). While performing in Yasunori's project, the Jim Rock Singers, she made her solo debut in 1976. She released three albums for RCA: two original albums, Love Me Tenderly (1976) and CITY LIGHTS BY THE MOONLIGHT (1977), and a best-of compilation, TOMOKO NOW AND THEN, featuring singles and new songs. This compilation, RCA YEARS, collects all of her recordings for RCA. She later formed the duo TINNA with Mariko Takahashi (not to be confused with Mariko) of Brown Rice and released several albums, including commercials and soundtracks.

Of course, her then-husband, Yasunori Soryo, handled the arrangements and sound production. The second album, featuring jazz session musicians such as Yasushi Ichihara (drums), Shogo Kindaichi (bass) and Yasuhiko Tsumura (guitar), also featured Tsunehide Matsuki (guitar), Akira Inoue (kido) and Jake H. Conception (saxophone). Perhaps proportionally, compared to the folky, traditional and cheerful mood of the first album, the second album is definitely more sophisticated. The title track, imbued with city dreams, "City Lights By The Moonlight", is a prime example.

Then in 1981, after TINNA's breakup, she released "IT'S ABOUT TIME". After a short break, partly due to her participation in the recording of an album while pregnant, she released "Momentary" in 1989. In her final years, she lived in Okinawa, working as a spiritual mentor. However, according to the liner notes on the re-released CD, she is working on a new album with former members of Brown Rice. That's awesome!