CD Review :: ARASHI - Boku no Miteiru Fukei
Disc 1
1) movin' on
2) Mada Ue wo (Still Above)
3) Refrain
4) Troublemaker
5) T.A.B.O.O (Sakurai Sho's Solo)
6) Circus
7) Gift
8) Everything
9) Come back to me (Matsumoto Jun's Solo)
10) My Girl
11) Magical Song (Aiba Masaki's Solo)
12) let me down
Disc 2
1) Monster
2) Don't stop
3) Shizuka na Yoru ni (The Slient Night) (Ohno Satoshi's Solo)
4) Mukae ni Iku yo (I'll Welcome You)
5) 1992*4##111 (Ninomiya Kazunari Solo)
6) Sora Takaku (Sky High)
7) kagerô
8) Summer Splash !
Boku no Miteiru Fukei is ARASHI's 9th album . It was released on 4th Aug & this comes about 2 years since the release of their last album Dream"A"live .
The group's 31st single To be free is excluded from Boku no Miteiru Fukei . Instead , their singles Everything all the way to Monster are found in the group's latest album offering .
Just like Dream"A"live & Time , Boku no Miteiru Fukei was released in a 2CDs edition & you can find a mixture of album group tracks & solo no.s & in total inclusive of singles , you have a very generous mix of 20 songs .
Except this time round , Boku no Miteiru Fukei is only released in this edition as so . Unlike Dream"A"live & Time (where they were released in a CD only & a 2CDs edition) & the solo songs & group no.s are mixed together which's not the case for their 7th & 8th albums which the 2nd disc holds the solos on its own .
Because of the way Boku no Miteiru Fukei is structured , I have no choice but to review 1 disc at a time as much as I want to review the solo songs separately but if I do that , things will get really messy .
Disc 1Disc 1 kicked things off with movin on' which was 1 of the 3 album tracks that I reviewed a while ago on my blog & it has been selected to be used in the ads of Japan Airline (JAL) .
I'm happy to listen to movin' on once again this time round in a rather high quality version .
It's simple really because it sets the mood/bar on what to expect for the latter part of disc 1 which's basically an angsty driven edgy pop no. that the group delivered with such gusto & abomb .
Mada Ue wo (Still Above) is the 2nd album track & this follows in the same music vein as movin' on .
Except this time round , Mada Ue wo emphasised quite significantly on the synth/autotune factor . I haven't recalled ARASHI using autotune that much in their music til now so this's fine with me as this's something that I like I should add .
The fact that both songs have Sakurap going on with each other , it kind of make the songs stand out much more as each listen goes by .
Refrain was the 2nd album track I reviewed separately a while ago & just like what I said for movin' on , it's great in hearing Refrain in a much better/clearer version .
It's no truth but Refrain is 1 of those angsty driven no.s that should sit well with listeners .
Troublemaker is the group's 29th single & it was used as the theme song for the drama Tokujo Kabachi !! which starred Sakurai Sho .
I had a lot of dislike towards Troublemaker initally because I was really bored with the song on 1st listen .
I know people were saying that it sounds different from their usual singles but at the time I refuse to agree with it as I had some issues with Troublemaker .
But now that I have hear the song in a different light , I suppose so since I haven't heard any of their singles that utilised such a fast paced tune that's quite trumpets/slight orchestra driven .
The 1st solo song in Boku no Miteiru Fukei goes to T.A.B.O.O which's sung/rap by Sakurai & the rap lyrics were written by him (naturally) .
Sakurai's past solos to me were either a hit or a miss but I'm happy to say that T.A.B.O.O falls in the hit category to me .
It's 1 of those songs that have that angsty edgy feeling & with T.A.B.O.O , you don't know what to expect on 1st listen but the trumpets , guitar riffs in the melody gel really well with Sakurai's rapping/singing which works for me .
The album's 4th track Circus takes centrestage soon after T.A.B.O.O & to me this's 1 standout track in Boku no Miteiru Fukei .
Circus is awesome on 1st listen as it has plenty of attitude & a lot of spunk .
I think it's on par if more superior to rival that of CARNIVAL NIGHT part 2 if not Spiral aside from song titles associations but there's no deny that Circus is fantastic & this's something that really impressed me .
Gift is the only album ballad in Boku no Miteiru Fukei & needless to say , it's a keeper .
I did have vibes of Be with you when I 1st heard Gift & it was quite surprising to know that Matsumoto Jun is the one that kicked things off in here despite the fact that to me vocally in the group , he's the weakest but he was able to carry this off nicely at the start without sounding shaky .
Everything is ARASHI's 27th single & it was used for promotion in the ads for au by KDDI .
Even though it has been almost more than a year since Everything was released , this's something that I'm not bored with til now & the fact that Summer is currently around the season plate in Japan , listening to Everything does bring out the Summer atmosphere feeling in you .
The 2nd solo song found in the album is Come back to me which's sung by MatsuJun .
Like what I said for Sakurai , MatsuJun's past solos are also a hit or miss for me & unfortunately most of the time , it's on the miss side .
The only one I enjoyed of him was I Want Somebody but that's not considered a full solo no. but rather , a pick up no. since his vocals were heard a lot more than the other 4 in I Want Somebody .
Thankfully or not , Come back to me is something I don't mind to listen again . It's quite autotune driven which I suspect it's to conceal his weak vocals & as a result , this no. sounds really fun without coming across as silly .
My Girl is the group's 28th single & it was used as the theme song for the drama of the same title , in which it was Aiba Masaki's 1st starring lead drama role .
Because of the fact that I have seen My Girl (the drama) , listening to the song brings back quite a lot of memories surrounding the drama & lyrically , it's something that will stuck a chord or 2 , be it whether you have seen My Girl or not .
Speaking about Aiba , his solo no. Magical Song follows after My Girl & this's the last solo you can find in the 1st disc of Boku no Miteiru Fukei .
Aiba's past solo songs are all perfectly ok for me . Vocally he's not the strongest in the group but he's able to pick/choose songs that either will bring out the best for him or conceal the worst that his vocals might bring out of him .
In the case of Magical Song , it's another fun no. just like Friendship but I was a bit annoyed with him saying/singing the word Discotique over & over again but other than that , it's fine .
let me down is the last track in the 1st disc of Boku no Miteiru Fukei . There's the inclusion of Sakurap which's nice but it took me a while to get let me down sink into as it's not as catchy as what I was hoping for on 1st listen .
After giving the song a few more listens , this's 1 swell album track that's pretty much finger snapping beats driven which's cool .
Disc 2The 1st song to kick off disc 2 is also incidentally the last single included in Boku no Miteiru Fukei .
Monster is the group's 30th single which was used as the theme song for the drama Kaibutsu-kun which starred leader Ohno Satoshi .
When Monster was released , I was really relieved/happy that they were able to deliver this edgy angst driven no. after I was being disappointed with what Troublemaker had to offer .
As such , this's 1 song that I feel's 1 of their more prominent single release in recent times .
Don't Stop is the next album track & this's another song that I enjoy even though like what I said for let me down , both Don't Stop & let me down took a while to sink in before remembering how both tunes go .
But you can't deny the fact that both songs sound much more stronger as each listen goes by .
Ohno's solo no. Shizuka na Yoru ni (The Slient Night) is the 2nd last solo track in the album .
I always have like Ohno's solo songs as he's considered as the best vocalist in the group & in Shizuka na Yoru ni , he did not disappoint in any single bit .
The opening of Shizuka na Yoru ni eerily sounds like Aoyama Thelma Feat SoulJa's Soba ni Iru ne (I'm By Your Side) but rest assured it does not sound like a carbon copy of Aoyama after the introduction gets out of the way .
Instead , Shizuka na Yoru ni takes on a form in which melody wise , it's simplistic & it's sufficient/good enough to bring out on what Ohno does best .
Mukae ni Iku yo (I'll Welcome You) follows after Ohno's solo & this's 1 song that's easy to distinguish from the pack as the opening for Mukae ni Iku yo is driven by a harmonica which I think it's really cool .
1992*4##111 is the final solo song in Boku no Miteiru Fukei & for this one , it's sung by Ninomiya Kazunari .
The song is written & composed by Nino himself while he co-arranged the song with ha-j .
In case you wonder with regards to the unusual song title of Nino , that's because 1992*4##111 means Arigatou (Thank You) when you type 1992*4##111 using your handphone .
if you enter the numbers in AU input keypad 1=a 99=ri 2*=ga 4##=to 111=u which gives you Arigatou .
Anyway back to Nino's solo songs , the same thing applies to him in that his solo songs are also a hit or a miss for me but there's no doubt he's really talented seeing that he had a hand in composing/writing some of his solo songs & that goes for 1992*4##111 .
1992*4##111 in this case , it's a nice no. & I appericate the lyrics that Nino penned which're really touching . The only drawback for his latest solo song is that it's quite long for me to handle .
It is no Niji (Rainbow) & it's something I don't think any of his solo songs will be able to match the greatness of it but 1992*4##111 is more or less on par with Niji & also the simplistic piano driven melody surrounding 1992*4##111 makes his latest solo quite a joy to listen to .
Sora Takaku (Sky High) is the 2nd last track in the 2nd disc & it was used as the theme song for the special drama Saigo no Yakusoku which starred all of the members .
I reviewed Sora Takaku a while back ago & my stand on this is still the same thing in that I feel this's possibly 1 of the group's most boring if not mundane song in their discography .
I actually was hoping that Green was instead of Sora Takaku in Boku no Miteiru Fukei but alas , no luck in seeing that happening . Even though there's Sakurap in Sora Takaku , still this's not able to save the song from boring me quite a great deal .
There're other better album tracks in Boku no Miteiru Fukei & for that , Sora Takaku is something that I don't mind not to listen again for the 2nd time (or not) .
With an unusual song title like kagerô , one would expect what kind of song it's & thankfully this's another standout track in the album .
I don't know if it's just me but I actually had odd/funny vibes of BREAKERZ's LOVE FIGHTER ~Koi no Battle~ when I 1st heard kagerô as both songs have almost the same melody .
But still kagerô is something I feel which belongs strictly to ARASHI as only they themselves is able to carry such a song with plenty of great synergy .
Summer Splash ! is the final song overall (be it in disc 2 or the whole album) & this's also the last track I reviewed separately on its own too .
Being the fact that Summer is currently taking place in Japan , I think it's quite fitting for the guys to conclude/wrap things up with this cheery keyboard synth driven no. & it's a fun song to listen to as well .
2 years since the release of Dream"A"live , ARASHI has gained a significant amount of popularity , smashing records one after another on the Oricon charts & they finally returned back in releasing another original album , Boku no Miteiru Fukei .
Personally to me , Boku no Miteiru Fukei is so much more enjoyable , mature & also stronger as compared to Dream"A"live . I had a lot of dislike towards Dream"A"live as basically everything on there was just wrong .
From the covers to the album tracks & even the solos , most of their last album fall flat to me as it was tough & not easy in trying to carry Dream"A"live with just 2 singles & trying to rely on the album tracks to pull everything up together in 1 place but to no avail .
This time round , I'm happy to see (hear) how much more seriousness if not more input that their composers/writers have helped them in Boku no Miteiru Fukei which's great .
That's not to say the album does not have any flaws . 1st of all , I did not like the way the group & solo songs were mixed together as I rather the group songs were to be put in the 1st disc while the 2nd disc be stuffed with the solo songs , just like what happened for Dream"A"live & Time .
As such , the sound consistency in Boku no Miteiru Fukei is not there & it was quite shaky at times as 1 moment you're listening to a group no. , the next it might be a solo & vice versa .
But after listening to both discs of Boku no Miteiru Fukei , I'm able to understand why this has happened because if you were to listen to all the group album tracks at 1 shot , you will have a tough time telling apart which's which as if you put everything together , all will sound the same to you .
So I suppose by including solos in between group ones , that kind of serve as barriers/stumbling blocks .
With that said , Boku no Miteiru Fukei is 1 album that's worth listening to from the start to the end & judging so far on how much Boku no Miteiru Fukei has been selling in the past few days on the Oricon chart , it will not surprise me if this's going to be 2010's 1st album to cross the magical million mark sooner or later .
If not , then Boku no Miteiru Fukei is already unofficially the group's best selling original studio album .
ARASHI's 32nd single Løve Rainbow will be released on 8th Sept & this will served as the theme song for the drama Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku which stars MatsuJun .
