LOVE PARADE

A culmination of a career created between London and Tokyo. The late Kenji Omura's arrangements return on the wistful medium-tempo 4. On 5, the 'Tears Dancer' made with Motoharu Sano; on 6, the SMAP-shaping CHOKKAKU is also here. Tracks 3 and 7, made with British musicians, set out under a starry sky that evokes 'Morning Rain' and Bruce Hornsby's 'Mandolin Rain,' with shift changes in between. Linda Taylor, the lyricist for Gomes the Hitman, is credited on the back cover. With an ease that scatters nostalgia without concern for today's audio fashions, this album gives a sense of achievement that makes even his later work persuasive.