Aesthetic Rhapsody

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: August 6, 1997
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4/5

1. Deatta koro no you ni
2. Deatta koro no you ni (Summer Night Mix)
3. Deatta koro no you ni (Instrumental)
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This time, Deatta koro no you ni begins with the vocals first instead of their usual instrumental introduction. The track now sounds like their current style, soft during the opening and a bit more powerful with instrumentals in the end. Since the last release, the band has been adding lengthy bridge solos during the middle of the song. Another unique factor is that the song didn’t sound all that funky and uplifting. Instead, its a catchy light-pop song. (Kind of like a ballad.) Now this sounds like one of Ayumi Hamasaki’s older tracks. I liked how the lyrics and the feel of the song corresponds to the title of the track.

Personal Rating: 4/5

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: June 4, 1997
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4.5/5

1. For the moment
2. For the moment (Remix 7.00)
3. For the moment (Instrumental)
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The track of this exciting fourth release begins with a long stream of electric guitars and an uplifting melody. Just like all of their other songs, For the Moment happens to sound very appealing to listen to. I really love how they always compose songs when the vocalist’s entrance into the song sounds very fluid. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the composer has composed a song for many J-pop singers on the same label. The one thing that makes this song exceptionally different than the past releases is that there’s now a much longer bridge filled with drums and guitars. (Which finally adds onto their normal 3 minute length.) Every Little Thing is seriously a band to remember!

Personal Rating: 4.5/5

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: October 23, 1996
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4/5

1. Future World
2. Season
3. Future World (Instrumental)
4. Season (Instrumental)
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Now Future World did sound like a futuristic track. (For some reason, it contains the elements that “Dream” would have in their songs.) The beginning starts with a combination of bells followed by upbeat elements such as the drums. The one thing that impressed me with a song from an old time period was that there’s still bits and bits of euro beats. (Which wasn’t really mainstream until late 1999.) Just like Every Little Thing is very popular for, there’s a very memorable chorus along with their verses. I really love how Every Little Thing maintains the power to captivate their audience with every song that they’re released.

Season is another great fast tempoed track from Every Little Thing. Although I prefer the A-side, I thought that the addicting chorus also meets my expectations. There’s nothing else to write about since there’s not really a new element that hasn’t been played in “Future World.”

Personal Rating: 4/5

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: January 22, 1997
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 5/5

1. Dear My Friend
2. Dear My Friend (U.K Mix)
3. Dear My Friend (Instrumental)
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I’m actually beginning to notice that the old Japanese and J-pop releases around the 1990’s have a rectangular CD cover. (With Ayumi Hamasaki’s and Ami Suzuki’s older covers too.) Oh well, just an observation.

Dear My Friend was more of a Pop song than a ballad. Just like their current style, the whole song is pretty uplifting and catchy. (A little bit like Two-mix’s style.) I really love how the vocalist sings without any trouble. The way she sang the fast paced lyrics made me sound at rest. Most of all, I love how the verses greatly support the chorus with ease. Totally a great song for 1997. (I think that this is one of the oldest J-pop bands that I’ve ever listened to.) Near the end, I’ve noticed that her vocals sound much more powerful than the beginning just by hearing the way she sang the chorus throughout the song. This single is definitely old fashioned J-pop paradise but sadly, it’s only about 3 minutes long. (The short length made me want to put this song on repeat to get a full dose of the song.)

Personal Rating: 5/5

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: August 7, 1996
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4/5

1. Feel My Heart
2. Feel My Heart (DAVERODGERS EURO MIX)
3. Feel My Heart (CLUB MIX)
4. Feel My Heart (INSTRUMENTAL)
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Who would have ever thought that the “Every Little Thing” that we knew would have released singles that have dated all the way back in 1996? I don’t know but that’s totally news for me!

Anyways, just like Ayumi Hamasaki’s debut single with Avex, “Poker Face” (which was released years after this single!) Feel my Heart has a pretty old-aged opening with all of the disco elements playing as the introduction. I thought that the first verse of the song sounded pretty catchy while the lead vocalist’s voice didn’t really sound that different than the ones that was sung for their later releases. I liked how the chorus of the song still stuck with the original melody that was played at the beginning of the song.

Although this was only a debut, I think that they stepped off the right foot! I guess that they were already on their way to success with this release!

Personal Rating: 4/5

Artist: Every Little Thing
Release Date: March 12, 2003
Label: Avex Trax
Genre: J-pop
Number of Songs: 4
Personal Rating: 4/5

1. Grip!
2. Yura Yura
3. Grip! (Instrumental)
4. Yura Yura (Instrumental)
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As everybody would probably know, Grip! is the most beloved beginning theme from Inuyasha. Seriously, every thinks the song totally suited the “Band of Seven” arc. But for me, the song got pretty old quick and before I knew it, I really wasn’t crazy about it. The track starts with a very cute interlude followed by Kaori Mochida’s adorable vocals. And then there’s that flowy chorus that totally caught my attention.  I thought the song was too cute so it was pretty obvious that it was so loved by Inuyasha fans…but I wasn’t that impressed with it.

However, I would say that I perfer Yura Yura over Grip. The chorus was more uplifting and the beginning interlude got me into the song. Maybe it’s just me but I really think that this song was much more interesting and used more of Kaori’s vocals.  (This was also the ending for Inuyasha Movie 2: Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.)

Personal Rating: 4/5