1) She is ! 2) KISS OF LIFE 3) L'Amant (The Lover) 4) Miracles 5) TUG OF WAR 6) Merry-Go-Round Highway 7) TABOO 8) Sweet Pillow 9) LOVE OR LUST 10) World's End 11) even if 12) Gaining Through Losing
gaining through losing is Ken Hirai's 4th album . The album was released way back in 4th July '01 . Its peak position was no.2 on the Oricon album chart & it sold 1,067,780 copies in 2001 , making it the 21st most sold album of the year .
4 singles & 2 B sides are included in the album prior to the release of gaining through losing .
The album starts things off with a groovy no. She is ! I like the way trumpets & the likes kicks things off nicely with quite a big bang of sorts .
Track 2's Ken's 13th single KISS OF LIFE which I like immediately on 1st listen . Can tell that it's a fan fave especially when he does this song during his Ken's Bar & live concerts where there're a lot of cheers coming from the crowd whenever he does this song live .
After KISS OF LIFE , it's followed by a non released song called L'Amant (The Lover) . I think the song title's french but in anycase , I only find this song a-ok . It's a nice uptempo no. & I remember he did this live at his gaining through losing live tour '01 at the budokan & that version sounds much much better than what you hear on the album !
Next in line's Miracles , which's Ken's 12th single . It's a ballad . When I 1st hear it in his Utabaka best album , I did not really like it . It was only until I hear a snippet or 2 when it was played at the CNN talkasia interview then I was like oh this song's good & turns out it's !
Track 5's the B side of Miracles , titled TUG OF WAR . I find this to be a weak B side & it's quite a filler track on the album . Not to mention , I can't find the words TUG OF WAR in the song :S . I think I have to give this song a few more listens before it registers in my head .
Up next it's the 1/2 way mark in the album with a strange song title Merry-Go-Round Highway . When I 1st saw this song's title , I was like huh , what's that ? but it turns to be 1 of my fave songs on the album .
I really like the music melody going on in Merry-Go-Round Highway & it's pretty catchy & it's not as cheesy as I thought it will be .
The next track's the B side of Ken's 10th single LOVE OR LUST called TABOO . The lyrics of TABOO are pretty interesting to say the least . But other than that , I'm feeling TABOO more than TUG OF WAR .
Track 8's Sweet Pillow . Yet another strange song title but I really like this well sweet no. . I would classify Sweet Pillow as a midtempo ballad of sorts . The lyrics are a bit cheesy though .
After Sweet Pillow , it's LOVE OR LUST . The song features vocals from DOUBLE & you can hear her vocals in the background quite clearly . While this's 1 of my fave A sides from Ken , I can't say the same for the PV .
I heard that it was filmed in Mexico & it's quite random & which idiot would wear a suit in the blazing heat in the desert ?? Not to mention it ain't helping matters that Ken fainted purposely or accidentally at the end of the PV . For that I have no idea .
Anyway , to pick up the pace , track 10 World's End is up next . Just like TUG OF WAR , I feel that World's End borderlines on the filler factor & I have to admit it does take sometime for me to familiarise with both songs . I'm sure in due time , I will remember how both songs sound like but you should hear the falsetto on World's End coming from Ken , it will make your hair stand literally .
Track 11 is even if which's Ken's 11th single . Now I have to confess , I hated the song when I 1st heard it on his Utabaka best album . I don't know why that's the case cos I personally think the song was quite boring & un-memorable but after watching live performances of even if from his Ken's Bar & live concerts , I adore this more than before .
Seems to me that even if is his preferred song for an encore . Ken did a piano encore of even if at his Ken's Bar '07 Winter & also at his live tour '01 gaining through losing at the budokan 7 years ago .
In fact 1 of the most memorable performances of even if that he did was his budokan concert & it was quite a touching live performance when I saw it on youtube & later on in his concert DVD .
Why ? because the poor dude was crying when he was singing the song ! in fact I never seen a guy who has cried so much in my life at all . The reason why that happened was because that was the last performance of the tour .
The guitar player was crying at the side of the stage . Ken saw that and all the memories of working with the band members came up and he realised that after that night , they had to say goodbye til the next tour . So he couldn't help but cried . It's quite heartbreaking .
He choked up 1/2 way throughout his performance but it was great to see the crowd cheering & clapping to spur him on to finish the song .
I think it's a great way to close the album with Gaining Through Losing . This's my fave song on the album . Even though it's the longest track in the disc clocking in at 6:15 mins but I adore this big time .
In case you're wondering why the melody sounds unusually familiar , because the melody's the same one as what you will hear on F4's debut single Meteor Rain . Basically both songs uses the same melody & I have a feeling that Ken was approached & asked whether can the melody be used for Meteor Rain .
Anyway I don't know the story behind Meteor Rain but that's just my assumption but the reason why I like Gaining Through Losing is because it's such a soaring uplifting no. & not to mention it's quite gospel influenced & the closing chorus of the song is just plain brillant .
Initially I was skeptical to give this album a listen because it was released 7 years ago & I thought the non released songs will sound outdated & all but my fears were squashed when I gave gaining through losing a shot .
The album's worth a listen & with fantastic A sides & non released songs such as Gaining Through Losing & Merry-Go-Round Highway , you know you can't go wrong in here .
Blog Personnel
Karen Pang
# 10th Jan
# #1 BREAKERZ fan in Singapore since 2008 debut single ♥
# My music blog consists of JPop/Rock singles & albums reviews that I put my heart , efforts & soul into writing them as I'm disgusted with the way that JPop/Rock music is being treated/written/reviewed in Singapore so to the local media (yes you TEENS , Teenage Magazine & The Strait Times) , screw you all . I basically can write better JPop/Rock reviews , period
