Wednesday, November 30, 2011
KAT-TUN - BIRTH
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
BIRTH is KAT-TUN's 17th single & it's released officially today on 30th Nov .
The group's new single comes in about 3 months + since the release of their previous single RUN FOR YOU & BIRTH is currently used to promote the drama Yokai Ningen Bem , starring Kamenashi Kazuya .
The song has been described as a positive support no. that intends to provide encouragement for those who feel uneasy about the unpredictable nature of the world today .
In general , I adore KAT-TUN's singles & this's once again no exception . BIRTH is pretty much a standard straight up classic fare that the guys deliver but something about it makes things really enjoyable for me to listen to & I guess in here , that's where BIRTH comes into the picture .
There're a total of 3 B-sides in the single . The 1st one is something titled STAR RIDER .
STAR RIDER also gets a music video , making this the 2nd B-side in having 1 after Love yourself ~Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki~'s THE D-MOTION .
This song is currently used in the ads of Suzuki SOLIO featuring the guys themselves & the inclusion of JOKER rap lyrics can be felt here .
Boy oh boy , STAR RIDER definitely for sure deserves to get a music video , with it being just downright mean , gritty & in your face . There's quite a lot of autotune going on , just like a couple of their B-sides & also album tracks .
But still , this's something I don't mind & STAR RIDER had so much potential to be a worthy A-side but I suppose for the song to get a music video , this can be considered as a form of consolation .
The next 2 songs are only found in the CD pressing of the single .
ACT ON EMOTION is such a lush chilled out no. & just like STAR RIDER , the presence of autotune can be felt in here as well .
Not that I mind because ACT ON EMOTION is very relaxing sounding .
BABY B MINE is the last B-side track & for this , the lyrics are written by singer/songwriter miwa .
I think out of the 3 B-sides , BABY B MINE seems like the odd one because unlike the 1st 2 B-sides , BABY B MINE has a more harder rock sound but there're still traces of autotune being presented here .
But still , BABY B MINE is something I enjoy , since KAT-TUN's known for their harder sounding no.s .
KAT-TUN concludes 2011 with 4 awesome sounding singles , with BIRTH being their latest single offering .
This's 1 Johnny's group that has been going from strength to strength musically ever since the departure of their 2nd co-lead vocalist Akanishi Jin which happened last year but the reminding members came out stronger in full force , after releasing CHANGE UR WORLD all the way to currently BIRTH .
I consider KAT-TUN as my most fave Johnny's group & as a fan , I'm really proud to see them rising from the ashes & just kicking butt with so much gusto as each release of theirs goes by .
I'm pretty sure 2012 will see them releasing their 6th album since they will begin their KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN in Feb 2012 & it wouldn't surprise me if their next record will be titled CHAIN .
But for now , 2011 has been a musically enriching experience for KAT-TUN & I hope this journey will never stop for them .
Monday, November 28, 2011
Anna Tsuchiya - Switch On !
CD
CD + DVD
1) Switch On !
2) Switch On ! Rock'n Roll States edit. (inst)
3) Switch On ! Space Techno States edit. (inst)
4) Switch On ! instrumental
Switch On ! is Anna Tsuchiya's 14th single & it was released last week on 23rd Nov . The original release date for the single was supposed to be 26th Oct .
Anna's new single is released 2 months + after her 1st triple A-side single UNCHAINED GIRL .
Switch On ! has been selected to be used as the opening no. for the Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Fourze in celebration of its 40th anniversary of the Kamen Rider franchise .
Anna cites her children's love of Kamen Rider as a strong reason for participating with the series .
Regarding the theme song , she showed her confidence in its appeal by saying , “It’s a cheerful song that will linger in your ears . It also has a good beat , so I think the children will love it . In order for the children to get into the song , I changed the direction of my singing just a little .”
I wasn't sure what to expect before hearing Switch On ! but it's a fun song & a bit different from Anna's usual stuff . At least in here , she gets to lighten up her mood which's nice & this's something I haven't seen of her since LUCY .
I'm not sure if this's a song that will catch on people but it's something that's suitable for the whole family to listen to .
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
GLAY - My Private "Jealousy"
Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's
1) My Private "Jealousy"
2) Snow Flake
3) Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (Thesis Of Cruel Angel) (We ♡ Happy Swing Live ver.)
My Private "Jealousy" is GLAY's 44th single & it was released last week on Nov 16th .
This single is the 2nd of 3 singles will be released back to back in Oct - Dec & it comes in less than 1 month since the release of the band's previous single G4・II -THE RED MOON- .
My Private "Jealousy" is written by guitarist/keyboardist TAKURO & is described to be 'fresh with an edgy & flowing riff' .
GLAY always has a tendency to be quite experimental with their material & My Private "Jealously" is no exception .
The main A-side might come across as a standard rock fare but the quartet was able to transform/do something pretty refreshing in here , courtesy of TAKURO .
There're 2 B-sides in the single , with the 1st B-side being titled as Snow Flake .
Snow Flake has been described as a pop-like track with a beautiful melody that’s like a basic winter song .
There's not a lot of winter influences in Snow Flake but still I wouldn't deny it compliments the A-side very well & it's so pretty I must add .
The live version of Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (Thesis Of Cruel Angel) is the 2nd B-side & this's something that I really enjoy a great deal .
Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis is full of a lot of emotions & it's quite evident on the way lead singer TERU belts out this uplifting soaring no. live with plenty of gusto & spunk .
GLAY is ending 2011 with a 50-show nationwide concert tour & 3 singles releases over three consecutive months . Unlike G4・II -THE RED MOON- , which was only available on the band's online store, the series' 2nd single My Private “Jealousy” is being made available everywhere .
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
girl next door - Boogie Night
CD
CD + DVD A ; DVD footages contains the music video of Boogie-Woogie Night
CD + DVD B ; DVD footages contains live footages of Guuzen no Kakuritsu & Arigatou
1) Boogie-Woogie Night
2) Happy Birthday !
3) Hoshizora Keikaku (Planning Stars) (FROM LIVE Destination) (CD Only Track)
4) Boogie Night (Instrumental)
5) Happy Birthday ! (Instrumental)
Boogie-Woogie Night is girl next door's 14th single & it was released last week on 16th Nov .
This single was released less than a month after ROCK YOUR BODY & it's the last single in 3 back to back monthly single releases .
The A-side has been described of having the concept of a disco theme & it serves as the theme song to TV Asahi’s drama Watashi no Host-chan ~Shichinin no Host~ .
Boogie-Woogie Night was also released on the same day as lead vocalist Chisa's 26th birthday .
The CD only pressing of the single contains the live version of Hoshizora Keikaku (Planning Stars) which's the 2nd A-side of the group's 10th Single Unmei no Shizuku ~Destiny's star~ / Hoshizora Keikaku & this track will not be reviewed .
Honestly with a title like Boogie-Woogie Night , I frankly was expecting another upbeat no. just like ROCK YOUR BODY & Dara Para !! but I was surprised when I 1st heard it .
I think out of the 3 singles , Boogie-Woogie Night is probably my least fave if not the weakest sounding . Maybe because I quite like the 1st 2 singles a lot , that's why I was expecting a bit more from Boogie-Woogie Night as this song sounds unusually pretty mellow for me .
I'm sure Boogie-Woogie Night will grow on me in due time but I don't think I will consider this as 1 of my fave singles coming from the trio .
Happy Birthday ! serves as the B-side of the single & I think this's such a fitting title for a B-side track , seeing that Boogie-Woogie Night was released last week on the same day as lead singer Chisa's birthday .
I don't really have any complaints about Happy Birthday ! as it's not often a release falls on the same day as an artiste's birthday .
girl next door completes their trilogy of bright , upbeat singles with Boogie-Woogie Night . After offering their own take on eurobeat & rave music , Boogie-Woogie Night sees the avex pop trio doing the time warp to the 70s with their spin on disco dance music .
The trio's 4th album Agaruneku ! will be released on 28th Dec , with Boogie-Woogie Night being included as track #4 in the CD tracklist .
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Tackey & Tsubasa - Heartful Voice
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
Heartful Voice is Tackey & Tsubasa's 13th single & it will be released this coming week on 23rd Nov .
The duo's new single will get released 3 months + after their previous single Journey Journey ~Bokura no Mirai~ (The Future Of Us) .
Heartful Voice has been described to be a winter love song which expresses a man's loyal feelings & it has been selected to be used as the tie-up song for Akasaka Sacas' winter campaign White Sacas .
I couldn't help but feel winter is about to dawn upon Japan after hearing Heartful Voice & the tune is such a sweet winter love song that I'm pretty sure will warm the hearts of their female fans .
The following songs serve as B-sides of the single :
- Our Songs
- Smile (CD Only Track)
Both songs will not be reviewed .
Tackey & Tsubasa are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2012 & they're kicking off the celebrating with the single Heartful Voice .
Sunday, November 13, 2011
CD Review :: BENI - Fortune
CD
CD + DVD
1) Fortune Intro
2) Darlin'
3) Suki Dakara. (I Like.)
4) LAST SONG
5) MEMORY
6) My World
7) crazy girl
8) One In A Million
9) Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice)
10) secret
11) YES or NO ?
12) Oh Yeah !
13) Unmei no Hito (Man's Destiny)
14) ONLY ONE (Bonus track)
Fortune is BENI's 4th album & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .
BENI's latest new album was released less than a year since her previous album Jewel . In Fortune , it contains 3 singles & a B-side track .
All lyrics in Fortune are written by BENI herself . In addition , she has a hand in co-composing 3 songs in the album too .
After a charming Fortune Intro , the album dive straight into 2 songs that were already released as singles prior to being included in Fortune .
Darlin' is BENI's 13th single & this's her most single release since this was only released about a month ago or so before Fortune . Despite this , Darlin' is still a very refreshing cheery sounding no. which's nice .
Suki Dakara. (I Like.) is BENI's 11th single & I feel in recent times , this's 1 of BENI's best single that she has put out , simply because both lyrically & musically , it's gorgeous .
Out of the singles included in Fortune , Suki Dakara. is still a standout track even up to now & I think it's great BENI had a hand in co-composing the song .
The next 3 songs are album tracks . The 1st one is something titled LAST SONG which's a R&B mid tempo sad no. while the next track MEMORY is another pretty prominent album track worth checking out .
It's also nice to know that BENI had a hand in co-composing MEMORY as well .
With that said , the next track My World is 1 of my fave tracks in Fortune , with it being really upbeat & I love it that musically , it's really memorable & very catchy .
And speaking of catchy , crazy girl is the 2nd A-side of BENI's 12th single Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl .
I remembered when Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl was released 2 months ago , I was so very impressed with the single but in this case , crazy girl is the standout track as compared to Koe wo Kikasete .
Even up to now , crazy girl never fails to blow me away & credits has to go to lil' showy for composing such a killer melody .
One In A Million is the B-side of BENI's 11th single Suki Dakara. .
Just like the A-side , I adore One In A Million a great deal & I was no doubt thrilled/happy to see this being included in Fortune as this's 1 song that I really like , so with that said , I have no complaints about this .
Koe wo Kikasete (Let Your Voice) is the 1st A-side of BENI's 12th single Koe wo Kikasete / crazy girl & this song is the last single included in Fortune .
While crazy girl is a straight up infectious party tune , Koe wo Kikasete takes on a sad ballad music route , with a rather unusual music box tune that complimented the lyrics .
Koe wo Kikasete is quite unusual for a ballad but the amount of emotions that can be felt from BENI is pretty strong .
secret is a very chilled lushed mid tempo treat which I really enjoy . It's of the more slower sounding tracks in Fortune but this doesn't stop me from liking secret a lot .
The next 2 tracks YES or NO ? & Oh Yeah ! are also standout tracks in Fortune & just like crazy girl , lil' showy had a hand in composing both songs .
I'm not sure if lil' showy composed for BENI before but if not , both of them definitely should work more often in future because I realised lil' showy's compositions for Fortune is really good .
Also , it just so happened that the more memorable prominent songs were composed by the same person too .
The 2nd last track of Fortune , Unmei no Hito (Man's Destiny) is a ballad & it's 1 of the more slower tunes just like secret .
Unmei no Hito is pretty & pleasant although I can't help but feel the song sounds a bit like Dakishimete (Hold Me) , not that I'm complaining though .
Included as a bonus track in Fortune , it's the last song which's titled ONLY YOU .
The live version of ONLY YOU was originally found in the CD of Lovebox Live Tour DVD & it was used to promote the movie Runway☆Beat .
I know about the existence of ONLY YOU for quite a while & I was wondering when's it possible to hear a studio version of it which I'm glad this has finally materialised .
On 1st listen , ONLY YOU sounds a bit like Anything Goes !! to me , with it being an all out upbeat R&B fast paced no. , which I think it's a good song to conclude things in Fortune .
BENI's latest 4th album Fortune gets released barely less than a year since her previous album Jewel but personally to me , I feel that Fortune is much more solid than Jewel .
I wasn't feeling so much love for Jewel & let alone her 2nd album Lovebox but this time round , the singles included in Fortune are some of BENI's best if not strongest to date & also , it's great that there're quite a few memorable solid album tracks that I enjoy in her new album .
1 of the biggest challenges I noticed when comes to R&B artistes is that their material can have a tendency to sound mundane/the same & it can get quite hard to remove this stigma .
BENI was caught in this music rut a while back ago but I'm glad to see that this time round for Fortune , it's a music step up for her .
Nothing still beats her debut album Bitter & Sweet at this point in time but Fortune could possibly be a good successor from where Bitter & Sweet left behind .
Acid Black Cherry - Chou (Butterfly)
CD
CD + DVD
Chou (Butterfly) is Acid Black Cherry's 13th single & it will be released this coming Wed on 16th Nov .
This new single will get released less than a month after the previous single Shangrila & it's the 3rd single from a 5-consecutive-monthly singles plan (one single per month for five months) .
Chou has been described as a jazzy , rock no. & the song fuses a slight swing melody with driving guitars .
There's no question/doubt that I immediately love Chou the very moment I heard it , especially since this sounds as though where Acid Black Cherry's 2nd single Black Cherry left behind .
Except in this case , the jazz influences in Chou are somehow more prominent/stronger & it doesn't take me long enough to adore it a lot which's great .
Kubou Ruriko's Otoko (Man) which was released in 1993 serves as the B-side in the single & this track will not be reviewed .
Acid Black Cherry's 14th single CRISIS will be released next month on 21st Dec .
Saturday, November 12, 2011
ON/OFF - Akatsuki (Dawn)
1) Akatsuki (Dawn)
2) Tsukisasa re ! (Pierced) Darts
3) I loving ... -Boku no Ai- (My Love)
4) Akatsuki (Dawn) (Instrumental)
Akatsuki (Dawn) is ON/OFF's 7th single & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .
The twin brothers's new single comes in about 7 months since the release of their previous single Hajimaru no Wa , Sayonara (Beginning Of Goodbye) .
I really like Akatsuki on 1st listen . I thought this was going to be a ballad but I was surprised to find out that it's actually an upbeat mid tempo track . It's definitely catchy & both Naoya & Kazuya sounded at ease/calm in here which's really nice .
There're 2 B-sides in the single . The 1st 1 is something that's titled Tsukisasa re ! (Pierced) Darts .
Tsukisasa re ! Darts really does compliment Akatsuki extremely well , with the former being such a gritty angsty B-side . It's not as angsty as Butterfly but still , Tsukisasa re ! Darts packs quite a lot of punch & attitude .
I loving ... -Boku no Ai- (My Love) is the 2nd B-side . It's a pretty piano mid tempo driven no. but I feel this's 1 of the duo's weaker B-sides because unlike their previous B-sides , it took me quite sometime to recall how I loving ... -Boku no Ai- sounds like .
But with that said , I loving ... -Boku no Ai- is an earnest sincere no. & it's quite evident at the way both brothers delivered this tune .
Fast approaching the 5th anniversary of their music debut , ON/OFF pulls off their 2nd single release for the year , in the form of Akatsuki .
The twin brothers's 2nd album Legend Of Twins II -Zoku Futago Densetsu- will be released next month on 7th Dec with Akatsuki included as track #11 & let alone it getting an album version .
While I loving ... -Boku no Ai- will be included in the album as track #5 .
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Saito Kazuyoshi - Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently)
1) Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently)
2) Aisaretai Yatsura no Hitorigoto (Each One Of The Guys Want To Be Loved)
3) Usagi to Kame (Rabbit & Tortoise) (USTREAM Live at studio JIVE 2011.8.31) Yasashiku Naritai (I Want Gently) is Saito Kazuyoshi's 39th single & it was released last week on 2nd Nov .
Saito's new single was released less than a month after he released his 15th album 45 STONES .
The A-side used as the theme song for the TV series Kaseifu no Mita starring Nanako Matsushima .
I was honestly surprised a new single would follow so soon after 45 STONES but with that said , Yasashiku Naritai is frankly classic Saito with the song being very catchy & memorable .
It's hard not to like Yasashiku Naritai as it has such an infectious melody & catchy hooks , something that Saito has a knack of when comes to writing/composing his material .
Both B-sides in Yasashiku Naritai will not be reviewed .
Sunday, November 06, 2011
CD Review :: YUI - HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE
CD
CD + DVD
1) HELLO
2) Separation
3) Get Back Home
4) Lock On
5) U-niform
6) Cooking
7) Rain
8) Good night
9) YOU
10) It's My Life
11) no Reason
12) Nobody Knows
13) Green a.live
HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE is YUI's 5th album & it was released a few days ago on 2nd Nov .
YUI's new album includes 4 singles & a B-side . HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE comes in about a year & four months since YUI released her last album HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN back in July 2010 .
HELLO is YUI's 19th single & it was used as the main theme song for the movie Paradise Kiss .
When the single was released , it was titled as HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ in line with the promotion for Paradise Kiss the movie . I'm not sure why it has been shortened here but anyway , HELLO is still a fun cheery sounding no. which's a good song to kick start the album .
The album 1st track is something titled Separation . YUI commented that "Separation has a funky rhythm , something I’ve never tried before . I made it while imagining bits & pieces of rhythm quickly being added into the song .
Although I was told , “That’s not a funk rhythm“ , I feel I was able to bring out a groovy effect . Then , I thought it would be fun to add painful lyrics & started writing" .
Get Back Home is the next album track & for this , it's quite a mellow no. . This song kind of reminds me of HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN's Please Stay With Me & also a little bit of again's Sea too .
Lock On is the only album track that gets a music video & for this , it was chosen as the theme song for the drama Kaito Royale which Matsuzaka Tori stars in .
Kaito Royale is originally a popular mobile game & it has been described as a exciting suspense story . Other than Matsuzaka , Oomasa Aya , Fukushi Seiji & 2PM's Chansung serves as the main cast members for the drama .
YUI commented that "I made the song with the theme of ‘thrill’ . Since the drama is set in a world of treasure stealing , I wanted it to have a kind yet fun outlook on the world . To make it even more thrilling , I changed the key during the middle , but it was difficult .
When I first received the offer to write the theme song , there was no script , so I read the draft . I knew a little about Kaito Royale through games & ads , which helped me to create an image of the drama" .
U-niform is track #5 & for this , I only find it ok & it's quite a typical standard track YUI is known for .
This's not really something I might listen to on a frequent basis but at least U-niform is a pleasant sounding no. .
Cooking follows after U-niform & I guess you can say Cooking is the 1st title that caught my attention when I saw the album tracklist as I was curious to know how this will sound like .
YUI challenged herself to simple triple (three beats in each measure) in Cooking . She commented that "Ever since my debut , I always wanted to make a song with simple triple . But back then, I couldn’t operate a computer that well & I wasn’t able to step record .
Now , I’ve become accustomed to a computer so I typed in the drums myself , then created the melody . It was by feel , but I had fun . The song had a warm feel to it , so I think the kind lyrics accompanies the song’s outlook .
I felt that every girl has the feeling of wanting to make food for the person they love , so I sang the song while imagining I was near that person ."
Rain is YUI's 17th single & this was used as the theme song for the drama Perfect Report which was aired last October .
The producer of Fuji TV stated that YUI's song was chosen due to the fact that she puts in lots of energy into her songs .
Even though Rain is the oldest single included in the album , it's something that I'm still not bored with even up to now .
Goodnight is the shortest track included in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE & the last time YUI included an interlude in her album was I LOVED YESTERDAY's No way .
YUI said that "The song I wrote while wanting to change the scene is Goodnight . At first , it was a song you could hum to but as I was making it , I became greedy . In the end , I recorded it properly & added a chorus to it" .
YOU is the B-side of YUI's 19th single HELLO ~Paradise Kiss~ . While the A-side was used as the movie's opening no. , for YOU , it was used as the movie's ending theme song instead .
This's the 1st time YUI has included a B-side track in her album & frankly , I'm really happy she did that because I really like YOU a lot so needless to say , I'm thrilled she decided to do this & I can understand why , with HELLO being the main opening no. for HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE , it kind of make sense to include YOU in the tracklist as well .
It's My Life is the 1st A-side of YUI's 18th single It's My Life / Your Heaven . It's My Life was used as U-CAN's 2011 commercial song & just like her previous double A-side singles , the 2nd A-side Your Heaven is not included in the album .
I still remember the surprise I had when It's My Life was released alongside with Your Heaven . While Your Heaven is a ballad , It's My Life is something YUI really experimented & went all out .
It's My Life has that very ska reggae influence which might or might not sit well with longtime fans of YUI but for me , I feel that it's a music risk that paid off nicely for YUI .
The last 2 songs are album tracks , the 1st one that's titled no Reason .
no Reason is frankly 1 of my fave album tracks , simply because it sounds almost like LIFE , which's also incidentally 1 of my fave YUI singles . I just like no Reason for being really memorable & catchy on 1st listen .
Definitely 1 of the standout tracks in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE for sure .
Likewise , the same thing goes for Nobody Knows as well . It has a much more edgier sound . It's not as heavily angsty driven as some of YUI's previous songs but Nobody Knows is still something worth listening & checking out .
Green a.live is YUI's 20th single & this's the last song included in HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE & let alone the most recent single she released prior to the release of the album .
This song is dedicated to the victims of the March 11th earthquake/tsunami . YUI mentioned that "it's a song with many factors . It was hard to put them into words because I wanted to make it carefully .
Also, when I finished the song , I was able to think , “This is me right now” . There are a lot of emotions within me that I haven’t unraveled yet . So I realised that I have to face it , instead of putting an end to it ."
Since making her debut presence felt some 6 years ago , YUI has certainly matured & have come a long way in the music scene & it's evident/proof in her latest album release HOW CRAZY YOUR LOVE .
In relation to YUI's thoughts about her new album , she sums up by saying "It holds the meaning of ‘how much is your affection’ . I used the word ‘LOVE’ in the title , but I wanted it to mean a big ‘emotion’ .
Like support or a guideline for life … in a broad sense , I think it turned out to be an album that asks , ‘What are your emotions?‘ By using ‘LOVE’ , I felt that it was the best way to deliver these feelings in simplest form" .
ARASHI - Meikyuu (Labyrinth) Love Song
CD
CD + DVD
Meikyuu (Labyrinth) Love Song is ARASHI's 36th single & it was released a few days ago on 2nd Nov .
This new single comes about 4 months + after the release of the group's 10th album Beautiful World .
Meikyuu Love Song is currently used to promote the drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de , starring Sakurai Sho & it has been described as a positive tune about the bond of family , friends & lovers .
Honestly on 1st listen , I find Meikyuu Love Song really boring if not stale as this sounds like any typical of their previous mid tempo tracks which they released before , such as Hatenai Sora (Endless Sky) & My Girl .
But I suppose after I saw the video for Meikyuu Love Song , my perception towards the song has changed since then but still , I wouldn't consider this as my fave single that ARASHI has released . It's a pleasant song but not something I will go wow over .
There're a total of 4 B-sides included in the single , with the 1st 3 found in the CD only pressing of the single .
The 1st B-side is something titled together , forever . I honestly thought this might be a ballad but I was surprised when I found out that's not the case .
Instead , together , forever is quite an upbeat track which plays a really good contrast against the A-side . I also thought it's quite interesting to have a little bit of saxophone inspired beats thrown in for good measure .
In the case of Utakata (The Way You Sing) , it's also another uptempo no. but this's the only B-side that Sakurap is present & I kind of like this with Utakata having such an edgy pop melody .
My only grouse for Utakata is that despite the fact that Sakurap is present , it's pretty brief . It would have been awesome if it was longer , seeing that most of the time , songs that have the inclusion of Sakurap tends to sound much better than those without it .
wanna be ... is the 3rd B-side & for this , it's quite interesting as it takes on a more guitar driven melody .
This's the type of sound that I prefer to see ARASHI do as it keeps things fresh & exciting , instead of the usual standard pop songs which they have been known for in recent times .
Kienu Omoi (Unforgettable Feelings) is found exclusively in the CD + DVD pressing of Meikyuu Love Song .
Unlike the 1st 3 B-sides , for this Kienu Omoi is a ballad & I couldn't help but feel this song is something that their seniors KinKi Kids might do .
I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing but at least Kienu Omoi is not the typical standard type of ballad Johnny's have been known to include in their discography .
This year is the 12th year since ARASHI debuted in the scene & they have wrapped up a rather fruitful year of releases with their latest single Meikyuu Love Song .
Just like their previous singles , I must admit it's starting to become a common sight where I enjoy their B-sides much more than the A-side & it's evident in their previous singles that follow this route , such as Hatenai Sora & My Girl .
I frankly wish to see them do something different in their next single release , something unexpected but great will do nicely . Another dark no. such as truth will be something that I most certainly welcome .
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Shota Shimizu - Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet)
Cover For Both CD & CD + DVD's
1) Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet)
2) Dream of love
3) YOU & I ~Acoustic Piano Version~
4) Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet) -instrumental-
Mada Owaranai (It's Not Over Yet) is Shota Shimizu's 10th single & it was released last week on 26th Oct .
Shota's new single is released 3 months + after his 3rd collaboration duet with Miliyah Kato , BELIEVE .
The A-side is described as a song to encourage people working toward their careers , dreams , love & any part of life .
I can't help but feel that Mada Owaranai is such a bright , but laid-back song which's definitely refreshing to know so , especially since it's such a big difference comparing to this no. & let alone love .
It's also cool that Mada Owaranai features a new jack swing style coupled with a fresh melody twist as well .
The B-side is something titled Dream of love & I was pretty surprised when I 1st heard this no. .
Shota's material is generally not autotune driven but there's definitely a 1st for everything , especially since Shota has never venture in incorporating autotune in his music .. until now in Dream of love .
The Acoustic Piano Version of Shota's 8th single YOU & I serves as the 2nd / last B-side .
YOU & I is already piano driven but in here , YOU & I ~Acoustic Piano Version~ takes on a much more stripped down & emotional music route , which is able to let Shota's vocals do most of the work with the finished product being something worth enjoying .
Before his COLOURS TOUR 2011 DVD gets released on 30th Nov , R&B singer Shota Shimizu releases his latest single Mada Owaranai . The light dance song intends to put fans in a good mood & help them have a positive outlook on life .
Shota's 11th single title tbc will be released next month on 21st Dec .
