PINK LADY: THE B-SIDES
by Trooper Tru McCray
Ladies and Gentlemen. Pink Lady fans of all ages. welcome back to the Trooper's Review! Today, this Trooper shall give you good folks an in-depth review of the B-Sides of all Pink Lady's greatest hits.
Your Toast Girl (Kanpai Ojōsan; B-Side of Sergeant Pepper [Pepper Keibu]): This song started off with an intro that would build up quite a bit of excitement. Imagine with me if you will: the intro starts up. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome MIE & KEI: Pink Lady! Then our leading ladies appear on the stage and give us a performance that was just as exciting as the intro, if not more. All in all, this song gave us a general idea about the greatnes that we would expect from Pink Lady.
Pink Apple (Pinku No Ringo; B-Side of SOS): This was a rather cute song - especially during the chorus. I was instantly tickled pink (no pun intended) when the chorus was sang.
Mystery Man With A Pipe (Pipe No Kaijin; B-Side of Carmen '77): This song was a bit on the fast-paced side with a rather mysterious intro (hence the title of this song).
Papaya Corps (Papaya Gundam; B-Side of Wanted): Funky disco intro, subtle breakdown, change in rhythm patterns. all were a basic breakdown of a great Pink Lady song.
Run Away Lady (Nigero Ojousan; B-Side of Wanted [Shimei Tehai]): Fast-paced, upbeat intro. The fresh and unique vocals of Pink Lady were soon to follow.
Lady-X (B-Side of UFO): This song started with an intro that built up when other instruments joined in (The song started with a guitar riff with percussion playing along, then the bass, then the horns). then the mysterious horn interlude! This song made me imagine a common criminal who was on the run - not just from the local police, but from Lady-X herself! During the final riffs of the song, the criminal knew he was in trouble; he would finally be caught by Lady-X at the final note. The end, jackass; you're going to jail!
Accessory (B-Side of Southpaw): This rather cute song had a bit of a swing to it. In fact, this song reminded me of something out of a 1970s-era romantic comedy.
Catch Lip (B-Side of Monster): Another song that reminded me of a classic movie. This song took me back to movies such as "9 to 5" and "Tootsie".
Super Monkey Son Goku (B-Side of Tomei Ningen [Invisible Man]): This song had another rather fast-paced intro. Altogether, it was a cute song. This almost sounds like something out of a 1970s/1980s-era cartoon. NOTE: The "Son Goku" part of the song's title would later be the main character of the "Dragon Ball" anime franchise.
Dragon (B-Side of Chameleon Army): Holy dramatic intro, Batman! This song would definitely pit MIE & KEI as the main action heroines in a rather exciting TV action series a la "Double Dragon"!
The Bell Rings If Something Happens (Jiken Ga Okitara Bell Ga Naru; B-Side of Zipangu): This song had a rather mysterious intro - almost something out of a Sherlock Holmes episode. Then as the music picked up, th guitars gave a funky feel. Then the breaks brought the mystery back. as if to give MIE & KEI a clue as to where the missing item could be found. Then as the chorus proceeded, MIE & KEI found their first missing item. Then we hear the same mysterious intro - thus prompting MIE & KEI to find the next item. Then when the final chorus goes into the final riffs, MIE & KEI return to their car to celebrate with a fancy wine. Alfred, please take us home; our work is done for today.
Hello Mister Monkey (B-Side of Pink Typhoon): This song was performed live. The intro was fast-paced, and it reminded me of another 1970s-era cartoon (to be exact, it almost reminded me of "Banana Splits"). I'm a little curious though; were they singing this song in English? All in all, this was a very fun and energetic song. Thumbs up.
Nami Nori Pirates: This B-side version of this song was performed with some help from The Beach Boys. The extra vocalization from the legendary band really gave it a beach feel. This version can also be found on the "Magical Music Tour" CD.
Walk Away Renee (B-Side of Kiss in the Dark): This remake of a Left Banke classic (in my opinion) sounds a lot better from MIE & KEI themselves. It was a rather slow-paced disco song that was very well done.
Adam & Eve Super Love (B-Side of Monday Mona Lisa Club): MIE & KEI continue to rock the house disco style with this song. This song would take me to the scenery of "Saturday Night Fever". only instead of John Travolta; MIE & KEI rock the house with their elegant dance moves and even more dazzling vocals!
Dearly (Itoshi No New Orleans; B-Side of Do Your Best): A soft and beautiful ballad. well it starts out as one anyway. First MIE sings a verse in ballad mode, then the tempo changes to soft disco. Then the tempo changes again for KEI to sing a verse, then back to disco mode! All in all, this song was pretty cool.
Secret Paradise (Himitsu No Paradise; B-Side of Aigiri Giri): This song starts out on the mystic side - then the tempo picks up, thus bringing the song to disco mode.
The Chushingura '80 (B-Side of World Hero History [Sekai Eiyushi]): Another fast-paced disco song.
By Myself (B-Side of Strangers When We Kiss [Utakata]): This song has a soft-rock/pops feel. It reminds me of something that either Mary Tyler Moore or Marlo Thomas could use as intros for their shows ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "That Girl", respectively).
A Corsage of Cattleyas (Cattleya No Corsage; B-Side of Fame): Now we go into another ballad. It starts out a bit on the sad side; then the percussion picks up, thus making it sound a little happier all the way to the end.
Anemic (B-Side of Last Pretender): Was just fast paced. It sounded like a fusion of 1960-style rock and 1980-style electronica. For this song, I visualized MIE & KEI performing on an outdoor beach stage - just mere yards away from the water - audience all around them. surfers and swimmers behind them, lifeguards and spectators in front of them - all going crazy! This scene may sound like a setup for "Sindbad at the Beach". but in my opinion, the music sets its own scene. While it is unknown if this song was performed live or if it got any airplay, I think it would make for a kick-ass music video.
Fascination is Most Beautiful (Muchuu Gaichiban Utsukushii; B-Side of OH!): This is a very beautiful song; it almost had the exact same emotional feel as it's A-Side counterpart "OH!" It even had a very beautiful ending. In fact, I have this song at the top of a Pink Lady Ballads playlist on my iPod.
Well folks, that does it for another edition of the Trooper's Review. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed hearing these songs. Once again, I thank my fellow Chicagoan Joshua Parris for bringing Pink Lady back to my attention back in 2009, I thank Jeffrey Branch for creating the "Pink Lady America" website, and I thank Mitsuyo Nemoto & Keiko Masuda for bringing Pink Lady to this world. And most of all, I thank all of you for loving Pink Lady as much as I do. See ya next time, Think Pink, and God Bless. Sayonara!