:+: No Music No Life :+:

Friday, June 13, 2008

CD Review :: KAT-TUN - KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES-

CD Only Cover :

CD + DVD Cover :

Tracklist :

1) T∀BOO
2) Keep the faith
3) AFFECTION ~Mou Modorenai~ (～We can not go back～)
4) HELL , NO
5) DISTANCE
6) MOTHER / FATHER
7) LIPS
8) Yorokobi no Uta (Song of Joy)
9)「un-」
10) OUR STORY ~Prologue~
11) Nannen Tattemo (Even after many years)
12) SHOT ! (CD + DVD Track)
13) 12 o'clock (CD + DVD Track)
14) Ai no (Love) Command (CD + DVD Track)
15) SIX SENSES (CD + DVD Track)

KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- is KAT-TUN's 3rd album & their overall 2nd original album . It was released last Wed in Japan & this's the 1st full length album that I have listened to , Johnny's wise .

This's the guys's 1st album to be released in a CD + DVD format other than a CD only edition , something that their 1st 2 albums weren't released as such .

3 singles are included in the album which're highlighted in bold & if you get the CD + DVD edition it comes with a DVD containing an 8-minute short movie-style music video of their 7th single DON'T U EVER STOP -Limited Edition- & making-of footage .

The CD + DVD edition of KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- also comes with 4 bonus tracks so which means to say if you bought the CD + DVD edition , you have a very generous mix of 12 new songs as compared to the CD only edition where you only have 8 new songs but regardless of which versions you get , you can definitely tell the new songs outnumber the singles .

I recently became a fan of this sextet's music because when I read up about them on that they have smashed numerous records since they made their official debut 2 years ago , it makes me wonder what's so good about them . It was only after I gave their music a shot which make me realise wow they're pretty something !

& unlike their Johnny's counterparts , the style of the band's music lies between Rock and R&B . + another niche of KAT-TUN is that they have 2 guys taking over the lead vocals , 1 rapper & 1 beatboxer .

KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- starts off the album with T∀BOO , 1 of the best opening songs that I have came across for the year . I think T∀BOO starts things off with a nice touch as it definitely does fit the theme of the album !

Plus I can see the music of T∀BOO being used as the opening of Koda Kumi's Kingdom too . It's just unfortunate that the introduction to kingdom was unusually mellow .

Keep the faith's KAT-TUN's 5th single & it was the 1st song that I heard from the guys & it's an extremely upbeat & rock no which I took to liking immediately as I like upbeat rock no.s & the song was used to promote the drama Yukan Club which starred Akanishi Jin & Taguchi Junnosuke .

AFFECTION ~Mou Modorenai~ (~We can not go back~) is track 3 & it's a slow jam no. . The opening of the song sounded a bit like Utada Hikaru's Nijiro Bus but it's nothing like Utada's music as AFFECTION ~Mou Modorenai~ is a nice midtempo smooth no. .

The next 2 tracks are upbeat rock no.s . I like the music of HELL , NO & so does DISTANCE although compared between both songs , HELL , NO is slightly stronger than DISTANCE as I think DISTANCE was a bit unmemorable for my liking .

MOTHER / FATHER is up next & it's 1 of my fave songs on the album . Because of the fact that the album only contains about 3 slow no.s , MOTHER / FATHER is a keeper . I think it's enough to rival the band's 3rd single Bokura no Machi de (In our city) which's so far the only ballad that KAT-TUN has released .

The next 2 tracks are songs that KAT-TUN has released prior to the release of this album .

LIPS's KAT-TUN's 6th single . 1 of the group's most hardest rock songs to date , LIPS was used to promote de facto leader Kamenashi Kazuya's drama One Pound Gospel & it's such a great explosive rock no. & for Yorokobi no Uta (Song of Joy) it's a great upbeat rock influenced tune .

It's funny that initally I didn't liked Yorokobi no Uta as I was so used to their upbeat edgy rock no.s but in recent times I gained a new apperication for the song & not to mention I find that the rap lyrics are very clever , kudos to Tanaka on that !

Personally to me the 3 singles that're included in the album are strong . It's just a bit weird that DON'T U EVER STOP is absent on the album while the movie-style music video of the song is included in the DVD tracklisting . Weird marketing move on J-One records's part if you ask me .

Track 9's a weird song title called 「un-」 . I think it's the french word of 'one' & it's a pretty catchy song although it somewhat borderline on the filler factor .

OUR STORY ~Prologue~ is the other slow jam on the album & just like AFFECTION ~Mou Modorenai~ & MOTHER / FATHER , I enjoyed OUR STORY ~Prologue~ a lot as it's almost in the same vein as the previous 2 slow no.s .

Track 11's Nannen Tattemo (Even after many years) & this's 1 groovy funky no. ! I enjoyed the melody of the song the moment I 1st heard Nannen Tattemo (Even after many years) & of course if you got the regular edition of the album , this's the last track that you will find in the tracklist of the album .

The next 4 tracks are songs that're available only in the CD + DVD edition of KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- .

I love the opening of SHOT ! with the trumpets & saxophone blaring out at the start of the song & it's quite a dancey catchy finger snapping song .

Out of the 4 CD + DVD edition tracks , 12 o'clock is the 1 that did not sit well with me initially & even up to now . The reason is because the opening of the song is quite cheesy with weird full Eng talking going on no thanks to Akanishi but luckily the song pick up the pace after the somewhat weird introduction gets outta the way .

Ai no (Love) Command is 1 kickass upbeat rock no. & just like the singles that KAT-TUN has put out so far in their career , I feel Ai no Command got enough potential & kick to be marketed as a single . The song's quite in your face & probably wants to make you get on a rather high mode .

Last but definitely not least , SIX SENSES closes the album with a very nice note as this's my fave CD + DVD edition track outta the lot . It's very catchy & I like the finger snapping that's going on in the song .

SIX SENSES is possibly the oldest song on the album because it was written by Tanaka 2 years ago , be it rap & non rap lyrics wise which's great & for it to finally see the day/light in here it's worth the wait .

I should add that for all the rap lyrics Tanaka wrote it himself in the record . The only exception is SIX SENSES where he takes care of both the rap & non rap lyrics .

KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- easily gets my vote for most surprising album of the year + most grand opening song of the year . Because of the fact that I did not listen to their 1st 2 albums , I didn't know what to expect when I download & give KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- a shot in that I just went with an open mind but the album exceeded my expectations .

It's not often that you get a generous mix of 8/12 new songs on an album with almost each of them are able to rival that of the singles counterparts .

KAT-TUN managed to combine so many different music genres in KAT-TUN Ⅲ -QUEEN OF PIRATES- such as rock , R&B , rap , hip hop , soul , funk & jazz into this album & as a result , you get an album that's extremely versatile & it takes you on a wonderful music journey from the start to the end .

Here's to more great music coming from this extremely talented sextet !