FOREVER LOVE
December 28, 2008 at 8:13 pm | In ℃-ute | Leave a CommentTags: Airi, C-ute, FOREVER LOVE, H!P, Hello! Project, Maimi, single 2008
- FOREVER LOVE
- Seventeens VOW
- FOREVER LOVE (instrumental)
For a song that completely underwhelmed me when it first released it’s surprising how FOREVER LOVE has become my favourite C-ute release of the year. Vocally it’s dominated (some would say monopolised) by Airi and Maimi but I like their voices well enough so I can’t really complain. FOREVER LOVE is actually pretty high octane and n0ne of it is particularly forgettable, I will say it could have somewhat done without the very typical My darling/I love you lines.
Track Rating; A-
Seventeens VOW is a Hello!Project b-side, which means I’m not very likely to listen to it. It’s sort of catchy and the line distribution is more interesting but I have very little enthusiasm for Seventeens VOW. It’s also a bit too long. Maybe I’ll like it if I see a live performance, like with Darling I love You from the battle concert, but until then this won’t be getting much play.
Track Rating; B-
Single Rating; B+
Days/GREEN
December 17, 2008 at 6:35 pm | In Ayumi Hamasaki | Leave a CommentTags: 2008, Ayumi Hamasaki, Days, GREEN, Hamasaki Ayumi, single
- Days
- GREEN
- LOVE ~Destiny~ 10th Anniversary Version
- TO BE 10th Anniversary Version
- Days (Instrumental)
- GREEN (Instrumental)
- LOVE ~Destiny~ 10th Anniversary Version (Instrumental)
- TO BE 10th Anniversary Version (Instrumental)
Days is a grand return to ballad form for Ayumi. The opening is grand and bittersweet and despite everything her vocals are still as strong as ever. As the song builds towards the chorus the strings get stronger but I just adore the interlude between the chorus and verse that served as the opener. This could possibly be one of my favourite ballads from Ayu, there’s something about it that I can’t help but love and listen to it over and over again.
Track Rating; A*
GREEN I like a little less although when the preview/CM came out I couldn’t get enough of it. The percussion opening is unusual -great though still unusual- but because of the inclusion of it throughout it gets less and less weird. In short GREEN has a pretty epic sound and feels adventurous because of the Chinese vibe. The chorus is pretty powerful but in the end I still like Days better.
Track Rating; B+/A-
LOVE ~Destiny~ is one of those songs that I’ve never heard before so I can’t compare but obviously Ayumi’s voice will have improved significantly since the original was released. Listening to this for the first time, I really like it. It’s soft and simple and there’s a melodic twist in there that I love. It has a sort of Disney-esque feel during the instrumentals and it just continues along at the same level, remaining low octane and beautiful in its simplicity.
Track Rating; A
TO BE is a nostalgia trip because I actually do know this one though I think I like this version better. Ayu’s vocal is very… pretty, I think is how I’d describe it, she’s not trying to hard when she doesn’t need nor is she over-beautifying it. She pushes only when it’s needed and even then it’s not OTT. I really can’t pick a favourite between the two 2nd b-side, they’re both so good.
Track Rating; A
Single Rating; A+
Koi wa Groovy x2
December 17, 2008 at 6:11 pm | In Yuna Ito | Leave a CommentTags: 2008, keystoeverything, Koi wa Groovy x2, single, Yuna Ito
- Koi wa Groovy x2
- Mafuyu no Seiza
- miss you (Hawaiian Breeze Remix)
- Koi wa Groovy x2 (Instrumental)
Koi wa Groovy x2 is the least wintery release you will hear this winter. And I actually really like it. Yuna has a long history of disappointing me with her releases (a.k.a I really did not like either of her albums) but this salsa-y, upbeat and altogether fun song was worth the wait. There are a couple of gripes however – Yuna sounds like she’s straining to be loud quite frequently, the ‘na na’s get a bit annoying and so do the high notes in the chorus, but they can be overlooked by how much fun the track is as a whole.
Track Rating; B+
Mafuyu no Seiza is, rather unsurprisingly, a ballad but I will concede that that is what Yuna does best. I love the opening and the fact that you can immediately feel the cold, crisp snow – yep, this is the winter to Koi wa Groovy x2’s summer. The arrangement is typical yet really nice to hear, the chorus is really love and the fact that Yuna isn’t trying too hard. There aren’t many high notes and the ones that are there aren’t ridiculously gymnasticnor do they come out of the blue at you. Great b-side… in fact, it’s better than the a-side.
Track Rating; A
Gah! A remix. Of Miss you. Which I really liked. But seriously, whose idea was it to make it EIGHT MINUTES LONG!!?? Were they actually insane? It’s incredibly soothing and… Hawaiian, but it’s just so goddamn long and the ‘ooh’s get reeeaallly irritating.
Track Rating; C -for length-
Single Rating; B+
Winter Love Story
December 17, 2008 at 5:42 pm | In Jyongri | Leave a CommentTags: 2008, Jyongri, keystoeverything, single, Winter Love Story
- Winter Love Story
- Tender Touch
- Blue Destiny
- Winter Love Story (Instrumental)
- Tender Touch (Instrumental)
- Blue Destiny (Instrumental)
Winter Love Story isn’t much of a departure from Jyongri’s usual style. In fact her music is starting to get identifiable based on a few features; consistant strong beats, atmospheric backing vocals and liberal use of English lyrics. Apart from the lyrics there’s not much to help you come to the conclusion that this is a winter/Christmas song, other than the bells in the chorus. Admittedly I was really not bowled over by this the first few times I heard this but a bus journey does funny things to your musical tastes. It’s quite catchy in places and I really like the melody, half of the song is in English but I really don’t rate the lyrics – they’re a bit blah and the Japanese fits so much better.
Track Rating; B
Tender Touch is my favourite off the single, although I first I thought it sounded incredibly stereotypical. It’s sweet and soft and Jyongri’s vocals are full and emotional, the English lyrics are a bit obvious really but overall it’s a really nicely packaged song. Even though my bad explanation may convince you otherwise.
Track Rating; A-
Blue Destiny starts with a nice little piano intro before introducing Jyongri and initially something about the song went over really well with me but after a while I lost interest. There’s a build-up into the first chorus that is not explored and this song has ample opportunity for some really heart-wrenching string arrangements which it doesn’t exploit. As it is Blue Destiny is a bit disappointing but it’s still a great song.
Track Rating; B+
Single Rating: B+
COVER YOU
December 14, 2008 at 10:36 pm | In Morning Musume | 2 CommentsTags: 2008, album, COVER YOU, Hello! Project, keystoeverything, Morning Musume, review
- Nagisa no Sinbad
- Dou ni Tomaranai
- Izakaya
- Pepper Keibu (Album Version)
- Shiroi Chou no Samba
- Seishun Jidai
- Ringo Satsujin Jiken
- Romance (Album Version)
- Machi no Akari
- Koi no Dial 6700
- Pin Pon Pan Taisou
- Watashi no Aoi Tori
- Johnnie e no Dengon
- UFO
Nagisa no Sinbad is one of the songs I tend to skip. As an opening it’s catchy enough and definitely has a distinctive sound, but I just don’t like it much. There are moments when the song does touch on possibly being higher on my list, specifically the ‘Sexy, anata wa sexy’ lines, but I have the feeling that this is one of those Morning Musume songs that I have to see performed in a live setting before I really start to like it. Another note is that it’s like the shortest song on the album, so it’s not particularly painful to jump over.
Track Rating; B-
Dou ni Tomaranai. I liked it immediately but after a listen or two it started falling down my mental scale. What got that immediate liking was the way each girl sings their opening line, in a sort of similar but still different way. Going back to it I just care less and less and overall it’s just a little messy.
Track Rating; B-
Izakaya is okay. Worth a decent listen but doesn’t really have a lot of oomph really. I suppose that’s the style and generation of the song. It’s calming and trundles along nicely but is ultimately not my kind of song. Ai sounds really good though and it’s nice to hear her sing in a lower voice without sounding too masculine.
Track Rating; C
Pepper Keibu (Album Version). I never got around to reviewing the single, but I suppose there really was no point considering both song are on the album. Pepper Keibu was not my cup of tea to begin with, it definitely grew on my though. With an even line spread between all the girls, plus a couple of solo lines from Reina, there’s a good mix of voices and you can hear everyone once you listen out for them. Koharu reins in the genki, LinLin sounds typically strong, as does Ai and Risa, but Sayumi still annoys me a little – the ‘Pepper Keibu yo’ is not needed and it kind of spoils it a bit towards the end. And what is the point of that ’extended’ closing?
Track Rating; B+
Shiroi Chou no Samba is one of my favourite songs. Not only is it an upbeat-but-not-too-upbeat, happy song, LinLin and JunJun both get featured strongly throughout the song. They get the verses just about to themselves and I honestly did not recognise JunJun for the first four seconds of her first verse. She’s been getting better and better as time goes by and, while her voice isn’t particularly identifiable like LinLin’s, it’s pleasant and certainly promises more. I still love LinLin’s voice.
Track Rating; A
Seishun Jidai has an almost Angela Aki sounding piano opening before it turns a little AKB48. Honestly, it is a song I could see the idol army do. Seishun Jidai is definitely a song of its time but there’s nothing about it not to like… The more I listen to Seishun Jidai the more I like it but it would be a stretch to put it on a list of songs that I listen to a lot.
Track Rating; B+
Ringo Satsujin Jiken is salsa-y and underwhelming and a bit amusing at the same time. The pace and organisation of the verse is weird and makes me chuckle. I have nothing much to say about it other than no offense to Sayumi fans, but I really don’t like her voice.
Track Rating; B-
Romance (album version) is pure disco-style fun. It took me all of two listens to fall in love with Romance completely. Vocally everything’s strong and I just adore the chorus no matter who’s singing it. It has memorable lines from the opening ‘anata onegai yo’ to the ‘anata ga suki nan desu’. Ai, Gaki and Eri rule the verses and this is still vastly superior to Pepper Keibu in my opinion.
Track Rating; A+
Machi no Akari immediately calls out to you as a sweet ballad with that opening. As a ballad it didn’t automatically strike me – honestly, this is the second time I’m properly listening to it, the first time during a History lesson- Ai and Gaki lead this one and sound great doing it. Really nice song, well performed but I have favourites above and beyond it.
Track Rating; A-
Koi no Dial 6700, this was my immediate favourite song. It’s on the shorter side but it’s so amazingly catchy, who doesn’t get dragged in by what is effectively LinLin repeating her nickname over and over again at the beginning? And Koharu’s genki finally sounds completely co-operative on a Morning Musume song. Basically this song is party time and I can only imagine the live performance XP I absolutely love the chorus and… Gaki… as per usual. I may have to re-do my MoMusu ranking. Oh and by the way LinLin on her last line = <3
Track Rating; A+
Pin Pon Pan Taisou may well have been a Kirarin song. It’s so kiddy and catchy and fun and could only really occur after Koi no Dial 6700. Unsurprisingly Koharu leads this one vocally and with a couple of speaking sections but personally I think she’s the only one this song particularly suits. And it vaguely reminds me of the last song on Shokotan’s debut album. I love this song completely and utterly, but it’s still not my favourite.
Track Rating; A+
Watashi no Aoi Tori is cute and, thank god, not too slow. It’s light, sweet and fluffy – like buttercream icing. I think that’s the best way to describe this song. It’s vocally consistant and simple, requiring no vocal gymnastics and is wonderful to listen to for a nice calm down song, whilst still being suitable for a casual listen when you’re out and about.
Track Rating; A
Johnnie e no Dengon. Finally we get to my favourite song. You know, it wasn’t at first. I like it well enough but I was distracted by a couple of other, more genki tracks. This is practically a Niigaki Risa solo and I really don’t think it could have been given to any of the others. She has a vocal depth and a compassionate sounding tone which makes the sound of the song much richer and when the rest of MoMusu come in the song sounds even fuller and stronger.
Track Rating; A*
UFO is your final track and what a puzzling one it is. Sort of… indescribable and very odd after Johnnie e no Dengon. It has a fun and stylish sound but I can’t find it in myself to care much.
Track Rating; B
Overall… I totally enjoyed COVER YOU. It’s also good that some classic songs will be revealed to a new audience in Japan. There’s certainly a fairer approach in the tracks, everyone gets a good bit of spotlight, but particularly Ai, Risa and Koharu. Seeing LinLin and JunJun get a really good part in the newest Wonderful Hearts concert and the new album hopefully means that we’ll be seeing more of them in singles. I will say that I didn’t notice Aika anywhere at all! But then again I can’t really recognise her voice, but perhaps I just assigned it to someone else? Anyway…
Overall Rating; A-
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