Gentle Words
October 29, 2009 at 4:45 PM | In Kumi Koda | Leave a Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: December 10, 2003
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4/5
1. Gentle Words
2. Without Your Love
3. Saigo no ame
4. Gentle Words (instrumental)
5. Without Your Love (instrumental)
6. Saigo no ame (instrumental)
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Gentle Words is very different regarding style and genre. Since she usually goes for the J-pop and laid back ballads, this new urban arrangement was something interesting. Personally, I’m not really into urban music but at least Kuu’s vocals sounded very presentable.
Without Your Love is another Urban oriented track, this time being R&B. It seems that Kuu is really improving her English now that the lyrics sound very pronunciated and clear. Like I said, Urban is not really my intake in the music department but it made a great B-side to accompany the A-side.
Saigo no ame is your typical laid-back track. In contrast with Gentle Words and Without Your Love, Kuu’s vocals actually “reaches” me. But it’s definitely B-side material.
Personal Rating: 4/5
COME WITH ME
October 28, 2009 at 9:00 PM | In Kumi Koda | Leave a Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: August 23, 2003
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
1. COME WITH ME (Original Mix)
2. real Emotion (English Version)
3. 1000 Words (English Version)
4. real Emotion (DJ MSK Remix)
5. 1000 Words (DJ 19 Remix)
6. COME WITH ME (Instrumental)
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Sometimes, I think that Kumi Koda wears that wackiest and exposing clothes…but that’s called “marketing,” right?
COME WITH ME (Original Mix) just happens to be the only original song on the single since the B-sides are Kuu’s versions of Real Emotion and 1000 Words. This time, Kuu does enter into the song with stronger vocals (which is a huge plus) and the tropical (or something like that) really pumps up the awesomeness of the song.
The real Emotion (English Version) and the 1000 Words (English Version) were actually Kuu’s English versions. Too bad it wasn’t featured in the America release of Final Fantasy X-2 since her English was actually okay here. (I thought that JADE from sweetbox did a good job with Real Emotion but her voice sounded awkward in 1000 Words)
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
m・a・z・e
October 26, 2009 at 10:36 PM | In Kumi Koda | Leave a Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: December 11, 2002
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
1. m・a・z・e
2. one feat. LISA
3. m・a・z・e (L12 Remix)
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Finally, a cover art that actually matches the theme of the A-side: outer space!
In m・a・z・e I have to admit that the first few seconds of the song sounded really weird but at least we know that it’s an R&B track early in the song. Kuu still has okay vocals but another problem remains: she literally screams at the recorder during the chorus. At least the instrumenals still reigns superior.
I think LISA is the singer that sang for one of the Gundam Seed Destiny songs (Tears). Correct me if I’m wrong though. Anyways, one feat. LISA sing in a pretty aggressive arrangement and both of their vocals could really synch with each other but for some reason, I prefer LISA’s vocals over Kuu.
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
affection
October 18, 2009 at 11:28 AM | In Kumi Koda | 2 Comments
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: March 27, 2002
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
1. atomic energy
2. Trust Your Love
3. Go Together
4. Your Song
5. feel me
6. COLOR OF SOUL
7. Best Friend Of Mine
8. My Dream
9. So Into You
10. Till’ Morning Comes feat VERBAL
11. come back
12. TAKE BACK
13. Can’t Lose
14. walk
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The first thing that comes to mind upon uploading the album cover for affection was oooooh! Shiny!
TAKE BACK, Your Song, Trust Your Love, COLOR OF SOUL and So Into You were all (and I mean ALL) give extremely low ratings…can’t stress that enough.
atomic energy, feel me, and My Dream were just like the pre-released songs: awkward instrumentals, random sound effects and weak vocals. But I’m proud to say that Kuu actually kept the poor quality songs to a minimal; there’s actually a ton of awesome music in the majority of the album!
Go Together, Till’ Morning Comes feat VERBAL, and Can’t Lose were mid-paced songs that were getting there, but just didn’t reach me. At least all three songs had feelings of R&B and great rhythm, Just to keep in mind that VERBAL is in the popular m-flo remixing group.
OMG! Best Friend Of Mine, come back and walk were like Kuu’s first BEST songs she’s ever sang! With Best Friend Of Mine being an awesome interlude track loaded with Acappella ad-libs, come back and walk were extremely powerful ballads that may have even bested the ballads in her later releases! I just love the tension during both ballads’ development into the chorus!
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
love across the ocean
September 19, 2009 at 9:08 PM | In Kumi Koda | Leave a Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: July 22, 2004
Lavel: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 4/5
1. love across the ocean
2. the meaning of peace
3. So Into You (Dub’s Electro Remix)
4. love across the ocean (Instrumental)
5. the meaning of peace (Instrumental)
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I thought that the slow pace in love across the ocean didn’t really suit the R&B oriented mood but her vocal and style are presentable here. It’s until a little later when her pace starts to pick up and match the beats. At least there’s some feeling weaved into the song. I would probably consider this track a “fresh start” since her singles from her past era were a bit out of color.
Compared to he duet version with BoA, the meaning of peace is all Kuu singing. It’s pretty cool since the original version had mostly BoA singing in it. Kuu’s vocals still strains to meet the pitch during parts of the song but it’s still fun to listen to because the arrangement and chorus is just way to catchy. Kuu’s B-sides really took a big step since her last single!
Personal Rating: 4/5
So Into You
September 7, 2009 at 10:46 AM | In Kumi Koda | 1 Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: March 13, 2002
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 2/5
1. So Into You
2. COLOR OF SOUL (Dub’s Guitar of Soul remix)
3. TAKE BACK (BLACKWATCH Remix)
4. So Into You (Instrumental)
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And so this time, Kuu’s single doesn’t come with a second track or a B-side. …The cover is pretty crappy too.
So Into You was least expected, but not in a good way. The instrumentation pretty much owned the whole song and Kuu’s vocals went off somewhere. Although the chorus does do a bit of improvement with Kuu’s vocals, her voice is now a void of emotion. It doesn’t sound like she’s bored but she does sound emotionless. Let’s hope that she’s better than the instrumentation on the next release…
Ouch! Probably the lowest rating that I’d given so far…At least we know about your latest awe-so-matic music up to date!
Personal Rating: 2/5
COLOR OF SOUL
September 7, 2009 at 10:32 AM | In Kumi Koda | Leave a Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: October 3, 2001
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
1. COLOR OF SOUL
2. It’s too late
3. Trust Your Love (Hex Hector Japanese Radio Mix)
4. Trust Your Love (BLACKWATCH Remix)
5. COLOR OF SOUL (Instrumental)
6. It’s too late (Instrumental)
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COLOR OF SOUL sounds like a pretty sexy pop song; which is new for the most part, but her strainy voice still stays. At least they changed the pitch of her voice throughout the song. Like having a lower pitch during the verses and then a (tweak) of a higher pitch during the chorus. Something new for her, but still needs a little practice with vocals.
Awww, man. I really hoped that Kuu also tried something new for the B-side but It’s too late ends up to be a little *cough* random. After an intro promising a pop oriented song, it suddenly switched to a more laid back ballad. Despite the *cough* random instrumentation, it doesn’t change the fact that Kuu still doesn’t notice the potential of her voice. I don’t know what to say about this song…
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Trust Your Love
September 4, 2009 at 10:02 PM | In Kumi Koda | 1 Comment
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: May 9, 2001
Label: Avex Trax
Personal Rating: 3/5
1. Trust Your Love (Original mix)
2. STILL IN LOVE (Original mix)
3. Trust Your Love (Sean “Sepp” Hall Remix)
4. Trust Your Love (Razor’s Radio Mix)
5. Trust Your Love (Thunderpuss Radio Mix)
6. Trust Your Love (Instrumental)
7. STILL IN LOVE (Instrumental)
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Trust Your Love (Original mix) begins with a really awkward and random sounding noise followed by heavy beats. I thought that the overall song (and sound) sounded a bit “meh,” but at least the chorus stands out. Gotta admit that her vocals weren’t as impressive back then.
STILL IN LOVE (Original mix) also has a weird beginning but the following instrumentation draws me into the song. Kuu’s vocals finally stepped up a little bit since there’s more “omph” into it. I liked the B-side better than the A-side since it’s more Kuu but still sounds a bit average.
Personal Rating: 3/5
Koi no Tsubomi
August 22, 2009 at 2:46 PM | In Kumi Koda | 1 CommentTags: J-pop, Kumi Koda, Reviews: J-pop
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: May 24, 2006
Label: EMI Music Japan
Personal Rating: 4/5
1. Koi no Tsubomi
2. Koi no Tsubomi (A Cup Of Milk Tea Bossa Nova Version)
3. Koi no Tsubomi (Instrumental)
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Koi no Tsubomi sounded like the kind of bubblegum pop that actually fits the style of singer. Just like most Kumi Koda songs, the chorus never fails to be the best part of the song since it’s memorable and leaves this rhtymic feeling on the listener.
Anyways, Koi no Tsubomi (A Cup Of Milk Tea Bossa Nova Version) didn’t leave off the same feeling that the original version did but at least it’s the kind of remix that doesn’t leave a bad after taste. (It’s not just the same song with beats.)
Personal Rating: 4/5
Best ~Second Session~
June 1, 2009 at 4:54 PM | In Kumi Koda | 2 CommentsTags: Kumi Koda
Artist: Kumi Koda
Release Date: March 8, 2006
Label: Rhythm Zone
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
1. Introduction to the second session
2. D.D.D featuring SOULHEAD
3. You
4. Candy featuring Mr. Blistah
5. Shake It Up
6. Feel
7. WIND
8. Love goes like…
9. No Regret
10. Birthday Eve
11. Lies
12. Ima sugu hoshii
13. KAMEN
14. Someday
15. A Whole New World (Koda Kumi & Peabo Bryson)
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Now that I have just finished Kumi’s large 12 singles project, I think that it’s about time to recap all of the single reviews with this compilation album!
Although Kumi Koda sings English during the Introduction to the second session, it’s pretty hard to understand but at least it contains a few good factors for the background music.
Runner up is D.D.D with R&B elements and a feature of “Soulhead.” (Which from what I heard, was a rap duo.) Anyways, the very captivating mood and tone of the song totally prevents listeners from skipping this track. Not to mention that Kumi’s English is actually very good. The whole song is mostly sung like a duet but during the bridge, there’s a “rap” part when one of the Soulhead girls sing. It’s a pretty darn cool song so you might want to give this a listen.
You turns out to be one of the most spectacular ballads of all times! With a great combination of strings, Kumi shows off her new improved vocals with this addicting ballad!
Kumi Koda is once again back to her R&B genre for this project. Candy featuring Mr. Blistah is right off the bat, an R&B track but it is much better than “Lies.” Although it kind of repeats the chorus over and over throughout the whole song, I thought that the rapping was the most annoying.
Another great song during this twelve week project is Shake It Up which gives me many ways to describe this amazing song. First of all, the single cover is focused on Brazilian clothing so it’s pretty reasonable why there’s this nice breeze of festival sound effects throughout the whole song. Another factor that keeps me addicted to this song is that very catchy chorus. The chorus itself is the one reason why I countlessly repeat this song over and over again! If anyone is not a fan of Kumi Koda yet, this is definitely the right single to start with!
Feel is more of a laid back pop song although some people would actually define it as a mid tempo ballad. Either way, it’s not so energetic. The lyrics of the song is a love story about how her relationship with her boyfriend isn’t really that stable and how she wants him to “feel her heart” just so that they could see each other in the same perspective. (The only reason why I was able to understand the song, is because there are times when she sings in English and some times when she sings in Japanese. Anyways, I thought that it was a decent song even though it wasn’t her best.
WIND is probably one of the strongest singles in this collection since the first release, “You.” The track starts with some pretty nice elements; a strong chorus with beats. Not only that, the whole song is pretty upbeat and keeps up that happy mood throughout the whole song.
Love Goes Like… was the only track in this compilation album that hasn’t been released on a single. Anyways, I thought that this song sounded pretty decent since it’s like a laid back pop song with lots and lots of synchs. A great addition to this amazing album!
No Regret uses a genre that Kumi hasn’t done in a while and it totally suits her style! (But then there’s also pop and ballads.) This very energetic dance track is pretty old fashion but the feel of the song makes is sound as if you’re in a clubhouse or something. Great listen! But its just like listening to Ayu’s “Non-stop Mega Mix III;” listen to the songs too much and it would probably hurt your ears…or something like that. “No Regret” is probably one of the best songs in the collection.
Next up of this very fast era is Birthday Eve which I’m going to assume that it’s another fun release since the cover pretty much suits the mood of “joy.” Anyways, “Birthday Eve” turns out to be a really uplifting and very energetic pop song. Despite the very catchy chorus, I thought that Kumi did a really good job with this single…but I know that she could to better.
Lies turns out to be a R&B track with some of the same elements that “D.D.D.” had. (Except that “Lies” has more of that R&B feel.) Anyways, the song itself isn’t really all that impressive. Despite the fact that Kumi Koda doesn’t really sing well in English, the beats and the rhythm in the background wasn’t even that original. The chorus is probably the only thing that I liked about this song. So far, this is my least favorite but I can’t really say that it’s the worst of all of the 12 singles…yet.
I thought that the cover for the ninth addition to the collection was pretty cute….but not the song! Ima sugu hoshii is probably one of the most mature song ever created in J-pop history! (Okay, I’m probably over exaggerating a little bit.) I don’t know what those producers were thinking but I’m pretty sure that Kumi didn’t write those lyrics! Lyrics aside, I thought that the rest of the song was a bit plain but her voice was pretty nice but it’s so hard to get through the whole song with those lyrics…my goodness.
Looks like Single #10 makes its appearance as another collaboration single! After the HUGE disappointment with the last release “Ima Sugu Hoshii,” Kumi Koda brings back her normal self with KAMEN! Although Kumi’s vocals don’t sound really strong with this track, there’s also the fact that Ishii Tatsuya’s vocals doesn’t really support her’s either. I thought it was pretty standard and didn’t really exceed my expectations as a fan…but it makes me happy to see that Kumi went back to her old laid-back style.
So Someday starts this finale with a pretty groovy-like feel along with some strings playing in the background. (An odd combination of background music but whatever, I thought that the opening of the song was pretty strong, too.) But as for the rest of the song, I thought that it was pretty average….not really something to be crazy about. (But I just can’t shrug off the feeling that it sounds a little bit like an Ayumi Hamasaki song…Maybe that’s just me.)
A Whole New World (Koda Kumi & Peabo Bryson) is the cover song of the “Whole new World” which was featured in the Disney Classic, Aladdin. I thought that Kumi’s English vocals weren’t really impressive during this song so I guess I wouldn’t call this the best cover song….
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
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