MADE IN HEAVEN

Without fear of misunderstanding, Masamichi Sugi is forever a one-pattern artist. From the Beatles' Merseybeat to the good old American pop of his younger days, he has continued to express his own roots directly and lovingly. From debut to the present, from BOX to Piccadilly Circus, from Brill Building to the present day, changes in his sound and variation in concepts have been great, yet his conviction has never changed.

Made when his veteran air began to show after ten years, this album takes a leisurely resort image as its theme. Senior musicians Shigeru Suzuki and Yoshitaka Minami join in fresh ensemble sounds. Besides Masahiro Andoh's acoustic guitar, the band uses programmed piano, strings and percussion in a mellow arrangement. Track 1's bossa, relaxed Hawaiian pop on 2 quoting the melody of the musical classic 'Bali Ha'i,' the pleasure of the Amazons' chorus and Yoshiaki Shirai's guitar on 3, and a Beat Box rhythm with Yoshiyuki Sahashi's clipped guitar on 4 open the door to summer in quick succession. These are Sugi's best pop pieces. One can listen to them in any season, and what remains afterward is an impression of their fine melodies. He continues to make quality pop without changing a thing.