Retro Corner - The Alfee's "Sweat and Tears"

And now for something almost, but not entirely different. The Alfee's "Sweat and Tears" (1986) is another 80's rock song (this time a ballad), but is not sung by a girl or an idol. This would fall under glam rock, if I'm not mistaken. Just look at how pretty the lead singer is! Whatever happened to epic hair like that? I miss it, even though I wasn't even born back then.

Vocally, this song is catchy, yet repetitive (at least the main refrain is partly in English!) The instrumental is awesome, too- it would fit in well on a classic rock station, yet spice the playlist up for a non-Japanese audience, for whom this song is mostly unknown.

I knew this song was repetitive, but seeing this ten minute version on YouTube made me wonder if they crammed in another half dozen refrains. The refrain isn't bad, but there is a point where it seems like the spaceship on Spaceballs that never seems to end. But actually, there's more epic instrumental and more... cheese. One guy is totally working his booty. This performance is actually pretty adorable! (The estrogenic screams in the latter half are there for a reason.)