Keys to Everything

Home was Angela Aki’s first major-label release. It came out June 14th 2006 and reached number 2 on the Oricon charts, selling in excess of 121,000 copies in its first week.

1. Kiss Me Good-Bye
2. Love Is Over Now
3. Kokoro no Senshi
4. Music
5. This Love
6. Onegai
7. Uchuu
8. Rain
9. Kiseki
10. Oogesa ni “Aishiteru”
11. Hallelujah
12. Home
13. Your Love Song

Kiss Me Good-Bye is the first song I ever heard by Angela Aki and I was so impressed by her vocal depth. I downloaded both the English version and the shortened Japanese version, and I have never been able to decide which I like better! The strength of the song is definitely in Aki’s beautiful soulful delivery.

Track Rating; A*

Love Is Over Now is a charming, understated gem of a song. The ‘iie’s is what I particularly love about it, also the mellifluous (dictionary.com it ) chorus which follows on from the verse rather than becoming the focus of the song.

Track Rating; A+

Kokoro no Senshi has an absolutely wonderful introduction. The power of Aki’s voice and the strength of the opening chords before the strings kick in really grabs your attention. Unfortunately, I feel that that attention wanes a little when the verse enters, but when the chorus comes back in you’re drawn back in completely.

Track Rating; A

Music has a sort of disco-y, HelloGoodbye feel to its introduction and then Angela Aki starts singing putting wonderful inflection into her notes and it drops that pretense. The jumping of the notes in the chorus just makes it sound wonderful.

Track Rating; A

This Love is a song with which it’s difficult to determine why you like it. I adore the lyrics and the pace of them and the sheer power of the entry into the chorus. This song is the embodiment of everything I like about Aki’s music; wonderful lyrics, great music and gorgeous vocals. One of my all time favourite songs (I even sung it to my French teacher! )

Track Rating; A*

Onegai is a song that I personally love. Some people think it too slow and repetative and I acknowledge that it is slow and  repetative, but I think that it just works to the right degree. I especially like the ‘Kanarazu kaesu kara, konya dake kashite’ sections.

Track Rating; A-

Uchuu is probably my favourite song on Home. The strong chords compliment the subject matter so well, it could be a terribly complacent song in that regard but it choses to be strong and forward. When the chorus comes in you slow and go with it; it’s another great Aki performance. I love the bridge because even though the overall tone of the song is quite dark, the bridge turns that around and makes it almost hopeful.

Track Rating; A+/A*

Rain. After a song like Uchuu you needs something a bit uplifting and that’s where Rain comes in. It starts simple and remains simple. I love the tune and lyrics, there’s just no fault with them. The ‘Rain, rain, rain’s of the chorus provide a brilliant grounding for the chorus and the high note on the third set is a favourite moment of mine.

Track Rating; A

Kiseki is a Ben Folds inspired, bubbly song with great bouncing verses. It has a great happy feel and I love listening to it. One of the best parts is when the chorus starts building before stopping for ‘waiting for a miracle’. This is an absolutely brilliant song.

Track Rating; A

Oogesa ni “Aishiteru” is probably my least favourite song on Home, but only because I feel it slows the entire process. On its own Oogesa ni “Aishiteru” is a wonderful slow ballad with gorgeous lyrics and complex melodies, but within Home it just slows it down too much.

Track Rating; B+

Hallelujah starts off with a great piano introduction, which then brings in the band in just the right measures. The melody is brilliant especially when it comes to the ‘hallelujah’s in the chorus.

Track Rating; A

Home has a warm sound. Aki’s vocal are strong and deep and inflect the right amount of emotion into the lyrics. The very short pre-chorus of ‘home is calling’ is so simple yet is kind of the heart of the song. I just love this song and it’s one of my favourite Angela Aki tracks.

Trak Rating; A+

Your Love Song is the only song entirely in English and I just find it beautiful. The lyrics are so well thought out and the soft quality of the vocal makes it a bittersweet song. It has so much to offer to a listener, it tells a wonderful (but a bit sad in places) story and even if you don’t like ballads it’s worth a listen just for the sheer musical brilliance.

Track Rating; A+/A*

In conclusion Home is a awesome CD and it shows what Angela Aki can really do. Only one song fell beyond the A mark and then only because it didn’t really work with it’s surroundings.

Overall Rating; A+/A*