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Sakura Maichiru ano Oka de 桜舞い散るあの丘で (PSTA-0024) Release Date : 2002/10/04 |
Track #01 - sakura maichiru ano oka de
A new recording of this song and also evidently enough to my trained ears, rearranged. Instead of the brass band-ish drums intro to the song, it starts off straight with the familiar guitar riffs by Akiya and in the more noiseless background Shin's. Isshi's vox on this track remains the same, there is no extreme improvement of any sort as he was already almost perfect on the track previously released in [Hold Your Key 2000] back in their CROW days. My only regret is the tune down of the echo effect on Isshi's vocals that added much more enigma to the song. The erasure of said brass band-ish drums in the former song is also a loss to my thinking as it definitely created a more traditional and mysterious atmosphere in the whole track. But then this is my favorite Kagrra LIVE song and I heard it for the first time at my very first Kagrra One Man...although it lacks the old feel to the song, which is actually really a minor point, [sakura maichiru~] will forever be good to me. Paaaaaaaa---fekkuto!
Track #02 - sakura maichiru ano oka de (remix)
This track is excellent. Remember my fascination over [gion] and [irohanihoeto] for their japanesque extremities? Well, I love this version of [sakura maichiru~] for the superb intro and clever arrangements of a possible assortment of instruments. The traditional feel to this song is the main score point. Some may not like it for the slow tempo and some may feel like the new tune is too draggy but I love it. The lazy guitar sounds help feign out the modern feel of the song. And most importantly, the chorus of fans singing with Isshi is something every fan who has been to a Kagrra Live will cherish. This track is actually a favorite encore song for Kagrra's Lives and it always ends with Isshi repeating the chorus over and over again with sakura petals falling down into the fan-pit. Fans will join in the chorus and Isshi will then let them sing without him on lead...the music will slowly fade out and all you can hear are the voices of the fans singing ever so beautifully and painfully rather sad as everyone by then know that the show is about to come to a finale. Being among the fans at that time was an experience I cannot get out of my mind. It was spectacular. Every time I watch the Kagrra Live video, the memories of that time will be revived (it also helps by knowing that I am actually in that clip..somewhere, heh). And now we have this beautiful moment captured on CD, to think that this memory is now mobile.
Track #03 - (not just the chorus of) sakura maichiru ano oka de
This one starts of with the snare and then straight into the chorus. It also has a slower tempo and more softer in tune in the sense that it is done acoustically. Listening to this track makes me want to cry knowing that I won't be at their Free Acoustic Live!!! Gah~ On the other hand another realization hits. This single would be even better if they had thrown in an acoustic instrumental of [sakura maichiru~] to make up for the absence of anything absolutely new. Yup.
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Kotodama 恋綴魂 (PSTA-0025) Release Date : 2002/10/04 |
Track #01 - kotodama
Compared to the *blegh* demo tape released in June 2000, this newly recorded version tops with no compare. A new fresh arrangement to the track complements this classic Kagrra song.
Track #02 - kotodama (remix)
It starts of with the drip-drip sound of water as visually seen on the cover of this single and now audible in the intro of this re-mixed track. It seems like both the remixes for the singles aimed for a more traditional sound but unlike [sakura maichiru~] which leans toward a full traditional feel [kotodama]'s remix reek of a bit of everything including sugizo's [Lucifer] >.< It is interesting how this remix is not something very Kagrra at all as it contains techno elements as well as disco as it shifts from different beats and tunes in less than 3 minutes. I find it creative and rather refreshing but I am not sure I will like [gozen] if this is what they mean by their new conceptual-ness.
Track #03 - kotodama (acoustic)
Very nice acoustic guitar work by, I am assuming Akiya (read interviews on this site), the recording is clean and I actually think the acoustic guitar on this track is better than those on a certain major band's certain acoustic songs. But that is a matter of self preference and should not find place in this Kagrra related post. Ok, back to the track, the acoustic guitar tunes doesn't sound all that complicated but it is very clean and sharp and that is very important. For an indie band who doesn't have too much dosh to indulge in high tech fault-proof recording devices and consoles, this track was well done.
Both the singles are worth the buy even for the lack of a new song. Both songs were not recently released before the double singles which is enough to say that this is not another money scam on the part of Kagrra's record label. [Sakura maichiru~] was in fact first released under a different record label back when Kagrra were still known as CROW on a compilation CD and it is highly unlikely that many fans (especially those overseas) have copies of the [Hold Your Key] CD. Therefore the release of three new versions of this excellent song can be considered as rewarding to Kagrra fans. The same goes for the [Kotodama] single as this song which was originally released way back in mid-2000 is now on a better platform as opposed to an audio tape. There is definitely no argument in saying that the quality of the tracks on the new CD is far better than it was on the demo tape.
And now for the NOT FOR SALE MEMBER'S SELECT SPECIAL VIDEO
I was cheated by the label on the video thinking that it would contain the PVs of [kotodama] and [sakura maichiru~]. Unfortunately that would be too gracious to be true. The video which is only available from Brand X if you purchase both the singles simultaneously contained selected clips from their Lives this year which features them playing previously mentioned songs. Although there was no real PV included, a short clip of the making of [Kotodama]'s PV in black & white can be savored. Bad video editing aside, we actually get to see the rest of the band members speak instead of only their front man, Isshi. The video is only approximately 10 minutes long but is a very thoughtful gift from the boys.
Review by,
webmaster
02/11/10