1) Ichibyou (One Second) KISS 2) Akai-shinkirou (Red Mirage) 3) Puzzle 4) Kawaita Hana (Dry Flower) 5) Gori-gori (Scraping) 6) It's My Soul (KJ3 MIX) 7) Rolling Coaster 8) My Last Train 9) Musekinin (Irresponsible) Hero 10) Brulee 11) Saite Ikyo (Bloom And Live) 12) Giga-majime Waga Faito (Our Giga-Serious Fight) 13) Jounetsu (Passion) Party 14) Wahaha 15) Donna ni Hanaretetatte Soba ni Iru kara (Because However Much We Are Separated , I Am By Your Side)
PUZZLE is Kanjani∞'s 3rd album . It was released on 15th April & 3 singles made the cut in the band's brand new studio offering .
The album was released in 2 editions , a 2 CDs only edition in which you can find a new batch of 7 solo songs in the 2nd disc while the next edition's in CD + DVD format where the DVD contains 3 unit songs which have music videos to accompany the tunes :
1) Glorious (Subaru Shibutani , Ryo Nishikido & Okura Tadayoshi) 2) Kicyu (Yokoyama You & Shota Yasuda) 3) YOU CAN SEE (Murakami Shingo & Maruyama Ryuhei)
You also can find making of & behind the scenes footages in the DVD too .
Ichibyou (One Second) KISS is the 1st album track to start things off & compared to KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou's Big Sky Blues , I like Ichibyou KISS more as it's stronger & catchier .
I think it's a cool , energetic & fun way to start PUZZLE with Ichibyou KISS .
Akai-shinkirou (Red Mirage) took a while for me to remember because I frankly find the song average/un-memorable on 1st listen but after listening to it a few more times , I have no problems with this yet another upbeat tune .
Puzzle is titled the same as the album & this's 1 of my fave album tracks simply because I love the melody & the lyrics . It's the 1st album ballad & it's a great one .
I adore the way that the guys harmonised real well together & the fact that Ryo Nishikido opened & closed the song , he did it pretty nicely . It's tracks like this that allowed Kanjani∞ to shine a great deal .
Kawaita Hana (Dry Flower) is another smooth album track & I just love how carefree/finger snapping/catchy the song goes . It somehow reminded me of Carnival to a certain extent as I realised both songs displayed similar music traits but it's ok as both tunes are equally good .
Gori-gori (Scraping) was 1 of the 4 album tracks that I 1st heard on Yokoyama You & Murakami Shingo's radio show Kanjani Eight Yokoyama You – Murakami Shingo no Recomen ! & as a result I had no problems remembering this tune when I finally heard Gori-gori in high quality .
It does sound like Goujou ni GO ! to me except Gori-gori's more stronger due to the strong electric guitar backing . That & it's also less crazy too .
After 5 albums tracks , in comes the KJ3 MIX of the guys's 7th single It's My Soul . Compared with the single version , the album version of It's My Soul has a more stronger music & vocal arrangements which can be considered minor adjustments to a certain extent .
Way before Musekinin Hero came along , I considered It's My Soul as my jam because the song just puts you in a really good mood within moments of hearing it . That & also the video is amusing & entertaining to watch .
There's no way you can keep a straight face while watching It's My Soul if you ask me . It's basically a pop song with shades of saxophone going on & it's just written fun & energetic all over the place .
Rolling Coaster's the 2nd song that I have heard on Yokoyama & Murakami's radio show prior to the release of PUZZLE .
With a title like Rolling Coaster , I was actually expecting another crazy whack tune of the guys but they surprised me in the fact that's not the case .
Instead , Rolling Coaster is a relatively catchy pop/rock tune & they even thrown in a bit of synth for good measure to make Rolling Coaster stand out to a certain extent which definitely works .
My Last Train is the 2nd ballad album track on PUZZLE after Puzzle & as expected this's yet another top notch ballad that the guys have delivered .
It's tough for me to say which ballad I prefer more on PUZZLE as both are equally good in their own right even though nothing still beats Eden at this point in time .
Musekinin (Irresponsible) Hero is Kanjani∞'s 9th single & the 1st week sales of Musekinin Hero outsold the whole total of their previous then best selling single which was their 5th single Kanfuu Fighting .
This's the single that changed my whole perception on Kanjani∞ seeing that before that , I had a very negative impression of them .
It was only until I listened to 1 of 2008's best / most insane over the top / catchiest tunes that really changed my mind musically over the guys & convinced me to give their discography a shot & as they say , the rest's history .
Also there's no way you can avoid the 'jajaja' effect going on in Musekinin Hero . Now how about that ?
Brulee is 1 of the more unique songs on PUZZLE as it has shades of somewhat folk guitar strumming going on at the beginning of the song & pop/rock are also thrown in the mix .
I somehow had deja vu vibes of Kemuri when I 1st heard Brulee as I can't help but find both of them similar . Not that it's bad thing seeing that I like both tunes .
Saite Ikyo (Bloom And Live) was the 1st very song that I heard on Yokoyama & Murakami's radio show & naturally I was no doubt thrilled that Saite Ikyo made the cut on their 3rd album .
As I reviewed about Saite Ikyo a while back ago , I described it as that it reminded me of a distant cousin of their 6th single Zukkoke Otokomichi in that melody & style wise , they tend to sound almost identical but thankfully each song has an unique niche .
Giga-majime Waga Faito (Our Giga-Serious Fight) is the last tune that I have heard on Yokoyama & Murakami's radio show & I only find this no. OK in that it's a typical pop song that Kanjani∞ released .
I wouldn't really consider Giga-majime Waga Faito to be my fave album track but it's still worth a listen .
Jounetsu (Passion) Party just screams out fun fun fun all over the place & as the title suggest , it's a great tune that you can spin if you're planning to throw a party .
It somehow & oddly sounded like NEWS's STARDUST in certain parts of the song except I find Jounetsu Party to be more stronger & memorable unlike STARDUST .
Wahaha is the final / 8th single found on KJ3 PUZZLE . This's actually the 1st song that I heard of Kanjani∞ & as expected I didn't like it in any bit at all .
I actually considered it as a joke & the song title's ain't helping matters either .
Thankfully in due time when I decided to listen to the rest of the guys's material , be it album or singles , I began to lose my dislike towards Wahaha even though I will not consider this as my fave single of Kanjani∞ .
Donna ni Hanaretetatte Soba ni Iru kara (Because However Much We Are Separated , I Am By Your Side) is the last track on disc 1 & this's also another fave album song of mine .
I love it on how great the song sounds as it's a such a nice catchy laidback piano & somewhat folk driven tune . The music appearance of a harmonica adds a nice touch to Donna ni Hanaretetatte Soba ni Iru kara & I think it's quite a fitting way to end things off nicely in the 1st disc of KJ3 PUZZLE .
I have already reviewed disc 1 of PUZZLE & now it's time to review the 2nd disc which contains brand new solo works of the guys .
This disc can only be found if you purchase the normal 2CDs edition of the album . You will not get it if you choose to buy the CD + DVD edition of KJ3 PUZZLE .
1) words (Subaru Shibutani's Solo) - I was surprised when I 1st heard words . I thought it might be another solo that probably will sound something dramatic & great coming from the lead singer of Kanjani∞ & turns out I was right to a certain extent .
Compared to Ryuu Ware , words just makes use of Subaru's great voice & a tinkling of a big bang piano & some finger snapping beats .
I can say that this's either a solo that you will like or wouldn't but thankfully I belong to the 1st category & kudos to Subaru for writing the song too .
2) no-no-no (Okura Tadayoshi's Solo) - Ah I was expecting yet another great ballad from Okura but he surprised me with this hip hop influenced no. .
It's definitely a sharp contrast to the ballad Mamoritai that he sang in KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou & it's nice to know that Okura's able to tackle both different music genres at ease .
The only grouse about no-no-no was the un-necessary panting sounds that I heard on the song but other than that , it's another catchy piece of solo delivered by Okura & the fact that he wrote this's commendable too .
3) Airairo (Shota Yasuda's Solo) - written & composed by Shota , the style that was showcased in his brand new solo Airairo is the same as Watashi Kagami in that both songs laid in the guitar pop/rock route .
I like both songs equally even though the only thing that I don't like about Airairo was that it kinda ended abruptly in which I thought Shota should have extended the song by a few seconds or so .
But other than this minor hiccup , this's still a nice one that Shota has sang .
4) One's shadow (Murakami Shingo's Solo) - Compared with Forward , One's shadow is quite surprising in the fact that it's quite a laidback & chilled out tune .
I honestly find One's shadow slightly less catchy than the finger snapping Forward & it took me quite a while for me to remember how One's shadow sounds like .
But after that's of the way , I have no issues with One's shadow already . This's worth a listen that Murakami delivered .
5) Wan-shan-ron-pin (Maruyama Ryuhei's Solo) - this's probably the most random solo on PUZZLE because the introduction sounded like some tribe chanting was going on & then Maruyama just starts to sing in this somewhat unusual solo .
Wan-shan-ron-pin is quite random sounding like MAGIC WORD ~Boku Nari no ...~ & let's just say that both solos that Maruyama are on the fun side & both of them should be listened to on days when you don't take yourself seriously .
6) 413man (Yokoyama You's Solo) - written by Yokoyama , it's the oddly titled 413man .
This's also another solo that took me by surprise as I thought it might sound like another rap / sing solo that he sang in KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou ala WONDER BOY but it's actually a relatively strong pop/rock no.
7) Half Down (Ryo Nishikido's Solo) - co written with HIKARI & composed by Ryo , this's also another solo that surprised me .
Compared with Ryo's other solos which're more on the upbeat pop/rock route in the form of stereo & code , Half Down is actually a very nice mid tempo ballad & it's also the only ballad found in the 2nd disc of PUZZLE .
Ryo frankly should sing more of such tunes in due time as I believe he sounds really good & at ease & no surprises I was immediately drawn into Half Down as the lyrics & the melody are beautiful to boot & both of them go in synch with each other very nicely .
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Thoughts on
Disc 1 - Frankly I can say that the album tracks on the 1st disc of PUZZLE are more stronger & defined as compared to disc 1 of KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou .
I didn't like some of the album tracks in KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou as I found them to be either weak/un-memorable & slower sounding than usual & it doesn't help that some of the songs took me even longer than expected to remember but I'm glad to say for PUZZLE , that's not the case .
Some of the album tracks are really fantastic while for the rest that doesn't sound memorable on 1st listen , they get better as each listen goes by & it helps that the 3 singles that made the cut on the guys's brand new album , despite how crazy & whack all 3 sound , there's no doubt it will put a smile on your face when you listen to them , especially for It's My Soul & Musekinin Hero .
Disc 2 - as always the guys manage to deliver an unstoppable mix of brand new solo material .
There were some nice unexpected surprises here & there as I thought they might deliver the same type of style pertaining to what happened in KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou but they have proven me really wrong once again .
They really know what works for them & what doesn't vocal wise which shows to me that when comes to album tracks & let alone for their solos , they know how to nail them & balance things out with their crazy whack singles which should be the way as too much of something good can be a bad thing in due time .
PUZZLE is a very nice package that Kanjani∞ has put together & it's a step up musically & then some after KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou .
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
