TIMELY!!
Anri
genre: pop/ city pop • release date: 1983
8.2
it’s safe to say that Anri’s TIMELY!! is a long revered and well loved city pop album. even just this year she’s been touring again, most likely in response to a massive uptick in her popularity. all that current popularity stems from one root, which we will be looking at here a bit closer. TIMELY!! is both fondly remembered and creates an air of bespoke nostalgia for those just now finding her today, ranking up there with a small handful of the greats from the city pop era. of this small handful, TIMELY!! most appropriately captures the scene of a summer day by the ocean. from album cover down right down to the final track “Remember Summer Days”, Anri’s upbeat pop is infectious. TIMELY!! also makes a compelling argument in favor of one of my favorite longtime disputes in music, “is pop REAL music?”
i wonder if Anri herself ever expected so much adoration in the way it has ballooned into today. it must be quite the vindication to come back to your work over three decades later to find such an intense and loving community around the album, specifically in America. the fervor around this 80’s album is an important part of the its legacy. a legacy i wanted to briefly acknowledge as i think it ties well into its modern perception. this modern fandom is part of the reason this album is worth reviewing today. and like many many others, i also owe a degree of gratitude to this album for introducing me to a cherished genre of music, city pop. it really just goes to show how passionate and maturing the fandom has become. TIMELY!! is a notable pillar upholding this new culture.
it’s difficult to precisely separate my history and feelings around this album, from the review process itself. many years and a hand full of crucial memories associated with the album make the review a messy job. to simply take it on its own merits. however looking at how this review is already going, i think we can bend the rule a bit.
for myself, “WINDY SUMMER” and especially “SHYNESS BOY” are the best pieces of this album. “SHYNESS BOY” really encapsulates the summertime feeling spent with one’s friends or lover barefoot on the beach under the boardwalk. a strange phenomenon can materialize around this song. one where you might develop happy memories of some time ago, without ever having really been there yourself. someone should do a study on that. i have a curious feeling i’m not the only one. the song is just so fun. bubbly, poppy, cheery. but not just a cheap veneer, these songs have substance. “WINDY SUMMER” embraces nostalgia through a playful composition. trumpets exalting, funky jam guitar and the backup ensemble almost too cheesy in their interjections. all of it sealed tight by a smarmy saxophone riff before the songs echoes off into distant memory.
not all is through rose tinted glasses. there’s still a bit of grit in the glossy experience. i find some songs like “CAT’S EYE” and “A HOPE FROM SAD STREET”, good attempts but don’t quite reach the experience the rest of the album delivers. i enjoy when a pop album dips into the subdued and dramatic ballads, however even “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” feels a bit forced. the song inevitably to be left in the shadow of its better attempt “GOOD-NIGHT FOR YOU”.
some songs may not highlight the album’s trim, but still make it worth the visit. “A HOPE FROM SAD STREET” feels like a necessary breather before then next set of songs. not one i go out of my way for, but a song that properly sets the album’s vibe. “I CAN’T STOP THE LONELINESS” is both a mid-range song and yet, somehow, transcends the album itself. a classic city-pop song guaranteed to be on every playlist you find. even these songs are pivotal to upholding TIMELY!! as a pure experience.
“GOOD-NIGHT FOR YOU” is one of the album’s sleeper hits. over time it has risen above even “SHYNESS BOY” as one of my favorite tracks of this era. it effectively expresses raw emotions of longing and love and heartache, wrapped up in the song’s final minute. the summer night and twinkling stars fade away as Anri lays herself bare.
across the album are wonderful themes of youth, fun, and emotional complexities surrounding love, all wrapped up in a carefree abandon. it’s no wonder so many find a magnetic pull towards the album. TIMELY!! encapsulates a long lost time we once knew. it appreciates the youth we once had, the experience of a love we once felt, the joy of a day truly unburdened. TIMELY!! fastens these insubstantial notions of a time we once knew… or never knew. here lies the magic of the album. taking it beyond just “pop” and into something much more layered. no wonder it has a cult following today. it’s a pop album as fresh and powerful and fun as any then and now. Anri validates a genre of music in the process of merely trying to give us something worth remembering.
congratulations to Anri and TIMELY!!! The Sagasu Review celebrates your work!
written by
Marcus Landeros
- highlights -
WINDY SUMMER
STAY BY ME
Kanashimi ga Tomaranai (悲しみがとまらない) - I Can't Stop the Loneliness
SHYNESS BOY
DRIVING MY LOVE
GOOD-NIGHT FOR YOU
Remember Summer Days
track list:
CAT'S EYE (New Take)
WINDY SUMMER
STAY BY ME
A Hope From Sad Street
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Kanashimi ga Tomaranai (悲しみがとまらない) — I Can't Stop the Loneliness
SHYNESS BOY
LOST LOVE IN THE RAIN
DRIVING MY LOVE
GOOD-NIGHT FOR YOU
Remember Summer Days
