:+: No Music No Life :+:

Monday, June 23, 2008

CD Review :: ayaka - First Message

Tracklist :

1) Start to 0 (Love)
2) Real voice
3) Sha la la
4) Blue Days
5) I believe
6) Stay with me
7) melody
8) Kimi no Power to Otona no Furi (Your Power and an Adult's Inseparability)
9) Eien no Monogatari (Eternal Story)
10) Toki wo Modoshite (Turning Back Time)
11) 1・2・3・4
12) Story
13) Rairarai
14) Mikazuki (Crescent Moon)
15) message

First Message is the debut album released by singer/songwriter/composer/producer ayaka . The album was released 2 years ago on 1st Nov .

First Message became the 13th most sold album 2 years ago in Japan while the 22nd most sold album last year .

Prior to the release of the album , 4 singles & a B side were released that're highlighted in bold .

I actually have been following this girl's music career ever since she debuted on the scene 2 years with I believe but it wasn't until recently I decided to give her debut album a listen & not to mention her brand new album Sing to the Sky is scheduled to be released this coming Wed in Japan so I thought what better way than to review First Message before Sking to the Sky ?

First Message starts things off with Start to 0 (Love) which's a very breezy & cheery song . I think it's a neat way to start the album with such a cool & catchy no .

Real voice is ayaka's 3rd single & compared to the 4 singles that're available on the album , Real voice is somewhat overshadowed by the other 3 songs when you put all 4 side by side together but I still enjoy this track .

Track 3 is Sha la la . A live version of Sha la la is available in the melody single . The album version of Sha la la's music is just really good & I like it that the song opened with some old fashioned piano/organ .

Track 4 is the B side of melody which's Blue Days . I remembered when I 1st heard the full content of the melody single , I somewhat find Blue Days unmemorable because of the fact that I adore the live recordings of Sha la la & melody a bit too much but it's good to see Blue Days included in First Message .

Track 5 is of course the song that started it all for me & ayaka as well . Whenever I hear I believe I never fail to be amazed by how good the song's . The song's great & I like the fact that ayaka delivered the song without going over the top .

In fact an Eng version of I believe serves as a bonus track in Sing to the Sky alongside with WINDING ROAD which she did with Kobukuro .

The next 3 tracks are all upbeat no.s . I start with Stay with me . It's a pretty good song & the transition is there after ayaka finished Stay with me with her 2nd single melody which's 1 of the more poppy songs on the album . Then again I took an instant liking when I 1st heard melody .

Track 8 is 1 of my fave non singles on First Message . Kimi no Power to Otona no Furi (Your Power and an Adult's Inseparability) is such a great catchy upbeat song that I took to liking at 1st instant , you can' help but to hum along to the melodies of the song when you played it .

ayaka decided to slow things down now with Eien no Monogatari (Eternal Story) . Alongside with I believe & Mikazuki , Eien no Monogatari is the only other slow no. on the album .

The song's nice but the grouse's that it's too short seeing that it clocks in at 2:13 mins which I can't help but wonder on the fact that Eien no Monogatari (Eternal Story) sounds like a 1/2 finished track but still good effort on ayaka's part .

Track 10 is an unusual song on the album . Called Toki wo Modoshite (Turning Back Time) , as compared to the rest of the upbeat no.s that ayaka has on First Message , Toki wo Modoshite (Turning Back Time) presented a more darker & sombre tone to it which's a refreshing concept since too much of a good thing can transit to something bad .

Track 11 is another fave song of mine alongside with Kimi no Power to Otona no Furi (Your Power and an Adult's Inseparability) . 1・2・3・4 is another great catchy song coming from ayaka although it seems to be slightly overshadowed by the sheer brillanance of Kimi no Power to Otona no Furi but I still enjoy 1・2・3・4 .

The next 2 tracks are somehow the weak links on First Message . While I enjoyed the melody that's found in Story & Rairarai , it took me a few listens before both songs register in my head .

For Rairarai's case , the only thing I can remember's the chorus of the song .

I think it's a perfect way to close the album with Mikazuki (Crescent Moon) . Originally the song was not planned to be included in ayaka's debut album but luckily she decided to include the song in because I figure without the inclusion of Mikazuki , First Message would not have done so well sales wise since it has the highest 1st week sales for a debut album by a solo female artist since Mika Nakashima released her debut album TRUE 6 years ago .

Not to mention Mikazuki (Crescent Moon) is ayaka's 1st no.1 single on the Oricon singles chart so all the more it's great for her to close the album with such a sweeping tender ballad .

Even though First Message by right has 15 songs , I consider the album to have 14 songs instead because the last track on the album titled message features no music but a short verse of ayaka singing acapella which I don't include in my mp3 player .

First Message overall is a pretty neat solid album coming from this extremely talented young lady . Although some of the songs tend to sound the same , but other than that , you can assure top notch quality pop/rock no.s coming from ayaka anytime .

The only grouse on the album is that she should have included the B side of Real voice which's Peace loving people since it seems to me that the song has become a concert staple for ayaka to perform each time without fail .

But in general , I'm pleased with the way First Message turns out to be & I look forward to more great music coming from ayaka which I know is probably evident when she's going to release her brand new album Sing to the Sky this coming Wed in Japan .