Ultra Blue is the fourth Japanese album from this mega star. I think I was among the few who felt Hikki had been struggling with producing songs.Several of her more recent singles felt completedy different. Whether they were for the better or worse then was not known.
At my first listen, I was kinda left thinking whether or not I enjoyed it. The feel of the album is different. The song selections have some real gems, but the over all collection feels like the Distance album. Some tracks shine brightly, while others seem to fill in space. Some songs just didn't feel right being together....namely the tracks Colors, 誰かの願いが叶うころ (Dare Ka No Negai Ga Kanau Koro), and Be My Last seemed out of place with the new sound set by the newer tracks. The flow of the album was not as cohesive as the flow in her First Love and Deep River albums.
Then I started to listen to it more, and the strangest thing happened. I started really enjoying it. (except for 海路 (kairo) this track just doesn't go anywhere) The tracks I find myself repeating are Keep Tryin', This Is Love, Making Love, Wings, and Eclipse.
Many may disagree with me, but Passion (although a great theme for the Kingdom Hearts II game) is not her best song. I appreciate that she likes to experiment, but I thought that the song was lacking musical structure evident in other songs. (my opinion) The drums were the most consistent aspect of the arrangement and composition. Without that constant drum beat, the song would have fallen apart. I still like it, but it doesn't hold together enough for me to make it a favorite.
Over all, the quality of this CD is on the high end. I just wished that the songs flowed into each other more and didn't feel like they were thrown onto this album. The difference between the older songs and the newer ones is terribly evident in how they sound, but never the less it's still a good CD.
1 comment:
Great work.
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