"Sainou no Rakuen" Song Commentary

 Some of his albums include song commentaries for each track, detailing the inspiration on how the song was made. Here, I translated the commentary taken from Sainou no Rakuen by none other than Yamamoto sensei himself.

Zensen Tabitachi! Otazuneman no Uta [前線旅立ち! オタズネマンの歌] - Every two years, the Masayuki Zensen event is held throughout Japan. 2002 was "THE Masayuki Zensen"; 2004 was titled "Tropic of Capricorn edition: The Journey of the Sea, Gourmet and Friendship". Then in 2006, we opened "Escape From Love: Around the Stylish Whereabouts" with this song. The intro and interlude are amazingly played on a real trumpet. We hope those railroad fans will rejoice this. This event is really hard and redundant for a 50-year-old, and I have to arrange the chairs by myself, but it's fun! I'm so absorbed.

Oouso Shinsengumi Kiru! <BUSHI> [大嘘新撰組・斬る! <BUSHI>] - I was aiming for a second "nantoka" for the popular "Oouso Chushingura". Sorry, Shinsengumi enjoyers. I thought that song would be terrible after I made it, but it became more interesting every time I sang it on live concerts, etc. and it has recently grown into a work that can demonstrate my pleasant singing that I decided to include it in this new album. If this would be made into an anime (unlikely), I would love to hear Okita be played by a cute M-kun voice actor.

Ryuuguu-jou Otohime Bishoujo [竜宮城乙姫美少女] - After coming all the way back on Earth with the last original album (Sainou no Honnou, in 2003), I took myself to a reckless place again, but, in case you're wondering, we're still living on Earth. The second chorus (verse) talks about the true story behind the author's roots: A descendant of a shrine carpenter moved to the Minamishitara District; another descendant ran an anko (red bean paste) store; his eldest son worked as a sericulture teacher at a village office; his fifth daughter married the descendant of a hermit in Yamazaki-cho, and gave birth to this author (Yamamoto sensei). Oh, I want to eat sukombu (vinegared kombu or kelp).

Iriomote Yamaneko no Uta [西表ヤマネコの唄] - I visited Iriomote island in 2004. After 40 minutes of basking alone in the beach under the heat of the sun, I was moved when I spotted a white sandy beach with the emerald-colored water. There should be an antennae, communicating within the starry sky, or the intergalactic universe. It would be wonderful if it were a tail of an animal in the primitive ecosystem, stretched out in a pinpoint. I continued working with that creature with its wonderful tail.

Tsukiyo no Usagi [月夜ノ兎] - I wanted to do another shadowy song similar to the existing "Raigyo". On the night of the festival, the children, who were cousins, rolled up a book cover titled Moonlight Rabbit, which was hidden in the old storehouse, and were happily swept into the book. It's interesting to create something based on a true story, and present it in the real (world). I thought about ending it with the bunny becoming a granny, but its dream disappeared, so I immediately regretted and let the bunny dance with the the other bunny.

Mon-chan no Madross Elegy [モンちゃんのマドロスエレジー] - Mon-chan is a stuffed monkey that I found in a fancy shop in New York in the fall of 1999. He was so cute that I couldn't get tired of keeping him to work, so I took him to the Tokyo Omokagebashi Request Show at the end of the year (until 2019) and improvised a song titled Looking for Mon-chan in New York. The audience were astonished that I composed and choreographed an elegy as a coupling song. The phrase Minato minato ni onna wo matase... is a reference to The Masayuki Zensen Tropic of Capricorn edition. I loved this.

If you have a stuffed monkey like Mon-chan, you could try dancing with him to his elegy.
(sidenote: It is unknown where Mon-chan is right now, maybe he disappeared forever...)

Shingata Utakata Syndrome [新型・泡沫シンドローム] - As the title suggests, this is the new version of Utakata Syndrome. The economic bubble setting has been moved from the 90s to the 2000s. I made the interlude with synth brass; the distant brass sound phrase seems to be popping today. However, if you don't know the existence and non-existence of the afterlife through an experiment, the children of the country who won't know or do anything might have to move to the other world. It's embarrassing...

Rehabilitation [リハビリテーション] - This is the title track from the Osaka live concert in July 1990 organized by group of volunteering fans. There was no such thing as NEET (unemployed or uneducated person) at the time, but there were talks on boys with its similar characteristics. I think they were shut-ins. I had an elementary classmate who went like that, then a school nurse cured him. By the time summer vacation arrived, she played dodgeball with the students. I saw them and thought power within power, heart to heart.

FORESTHILLS Monogatari: Lois no Tap Shoes [FORESTHILLS物語 ロイスのタップシューズ] - Around twenty years ago, I lived in Forest Hills, New York in America for a month. This song explains how that place is like a fairy tale. The scenery is filled with autumn leaves with the cluttered fallen leaves. Every time I sang this song, it reminded the happy days I visited there. This is the fifth song under New York Love Stories and the runtime gets longer with each entry. I added the trumpeter to this song as well. It gets cuter once Lois' love starts. Let's eat carrot cake if you go to New York. I also want Lois to audition for the Kane no Ne Hibikite Musicial, even thought she could be Bob Starman's niece. The amazing tap sounds were sampled from actual tap shoes.

Umi, Tegami, Sora [海 手紙 空] - It starts with a comment from the brother of the Masayuki Nagoya Office director in the kitchen, "If you take advantage of the postal privatization and write a song on analog letters, I'm sure it would be a hit." I instinctively knew it would be impossible, but the idea of a song on analog letters sounds interesting. So I set off and started working on the song immediately, thinking of what it should aim for, with a slow tempo, old melody and words that remind you of a normal conversation. I took my time in my room in New York, and the result would shake our hearts with. The only performance were the double Martins. It doesn't have to be a hit, but it really is a song that you can feel it in your heart.

Aphrodite wo Umi ni Nokoshite [アフロディテを海に残して] - This is the title track for my second (original) concert in Tokyo in 1984. A very enthusiastic fan who knew about my works asked me several times, "Have you made Aphrodite yet?". I don't have any intentions. Timing. At the time of release, the song was played slowly and quietly, but now, as time goes by, it is sung powerfully. As your ship gets separated in the waters, aligned its wings, left the earth, and embarked on its wandering heroic journey, the author can now sing powerfully.

Gyakuten Ippatsuman! 3C [逆転イッパツマン! 3C] - This year (2007) marks the 13th (it's actually 12th during that time!) death anniversary of Kei Tomiyama, whom we still respect and admire. In summer 2006, I sang this at the ANIME JAPAN FESTIVAL stage as a tribute. The audience were moved by my thoughts, "In memory of Kei-san and Suzuoki, I added the third verse." I would love to leave this memory for this album. During the interlude, Ippatsuman himself, Kei Tomiyama and the narrator, Hirotaka Suzuoki made their cameos. Kei-san, Hiro-san, I am so proud to be working with you. This here is my world of paradise.

Source: https://media.vgm.io/albums/20/118402/118402-c51fa8247953.jpg