Her-Day
KICS-744 ¤ 1999.08.27 ¤ 3,059 yen
Review written by Teresa Ko.
Overall : Considered by many to be Makkun's best album (so far, at least), this CD has an impressive 16(!!) tracks and some really great songs (Naritai, HOT SPICE, Toki ni Ai wa, IN THIS ARM, etc.). The lyrics booklet is beautiful, with nice pictures of Italy(?) and good color schemes throughout (even an impressive pagelet that's green and has the lyrics to "CHAOS" overlayed in white). And, for some reason, this CD comes with an interesting slip-on protective cover (with the picture above). I got this CD on eBay (don't worry; it was a legal copy), and I'm very happy I was able to win it.
01. Makoon ~2000~
mus & arr: OOHIRA Tsutomu
More mysterious sounding instrumentals. I wonder why there weren't other Makoons on other CDs, I like them. They get me into the mood to hear Makkun's super-powered songs. ^_^
02. labyrinth [star ver.]
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
An Akihabara song, which means, of course, that it's very good. The star ver. has a slower and more dramatic intro build-up, but other than having lost the cute sparkly sound effect (for lack of better description O_o) played during the stanzas of the original version (they kinda remind me of something I'd hear in a video game), there's not much difference between the two mixes. The instrumental/break-down 3/4th of the way into the song retains the awesome, atmospheric piano work as in the original. Very nice song.
03. KETSUMATSU
lyr & mus: OKUI Masami, arr: YABUKI Toshirou & HIDEKI Satoshi
Interesting punk-rockish song, definitely not Yabuki-san's usual, but then again, Hideki Satoshi contributing to a Makkun song is pretty unusual, too. The chorus grows on you after a while. Makkun's strong and clear vocals definitely help in pulling off this song successfully, and has a rather nice, satisfying ending.
04. Naritai
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
Have I mentioned the trend in Track 4 for Makkun albums? "Naritai" certainly doesn't disappoint. The beginning instrumentals immediately grabs your attention and makes at least me wanna sing along whenever I hear it. Very addictive melody, and some good lyrics, too. This is definitely one of my personal favorites.
05. Rururu
lyr & mus: OKUI Masami, arr: YABUKI Toshirou
A slow-paced song with a sweet, gentle melody. Very relaxing, though I kinda have a beef with such a calming song being placed right after the energy-inspiring "Naritai". Still, nice tune.
06. Key
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
From the "Ne, mitsuke ni ikou" (Hey, let's go out and find it!) whispered in the first few seconds to the very last beat, this song always just makes me want to jump up, shake off all my daily routines, and try doing something new. This song really has a potent message, especially in Japan and where I live (in the Silicon Valley), and everywhere else that has a lot of office workaholics. So if you're a workaholic (like I am, sometimes), give this song a listen!
07. Makafushigi na Nanafushigi
lyr:OKUI Masami, mus: OKUI Masami & YABUKI Toshirou, arr: YABUKI Toshirou
I love how the title sounds. ^^; Anyway, I love this song. The beginning instrumentals are great, and although the melody isn't overly complex or varied, the rhythm is quite interesting. The lyrics are clever and fit the erratic beat of the song well. Good song.
08. Te no Hira no Kakera
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
Beautiful ballad with a heavy driving beat... I think this song would play perfectly in a movie when two lovers have to part from one another. It's very angst-y; contemplative and bittersweet.
09. Last Scene [M.original mix]
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
This track just makes me want to cry whenever I hear it. The original mix was played in the "Cyber Team in Akihabara" movie; and I can only imagine what sad events were occurring as this song was being played. Incredibly beautiful melody sung flawlessly by Makkun; simply perfect.
10. Tenshi no Kyuusoku [type R mix]
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
A happy song is definitely in order after the previous track, and this wonderfully light and cheerful melody easily fits the bill. Fun lyrics and a warm message about friendship; the back-up singing is really cute and catchy, too.
11. Love Sick
lyr & mus: OKUI Masami, arr: YABUKI Toshirou & HIDEKI Satoshi
Hm... this track sounds too much like standard J-Pop material that I can't really warm up to it much. It's not horrible, though, but unfortunately I can't say it's very memorable, either.
12. HOT SPICE [M.original mix]
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
Here we go! This is very upbeat, danceable stuff; Makkun material at its best. I've heard the Hatopyon version before, too, sung by one of the seiyuu from 'Akihabara', but I think Makkun's strong vocals really fit this song better. This arrangement has some great instrumentals and sounds very clear and airy, almost as if it were being sung in a open-air concert hall or something. Great song.
13. Toki ni Ai wa [H-D mix]
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
Thankfully, this mix doesn't mess with the beautiful arrangement of the original song, but instead enhances it with an interesting music-box instrumental intro that replaces the piano. Excellent song, as everyone knows, definitely a strong offering in Her-Day.
14. IN THIS ARM
lyr & mus: OKUI Masami, arr: YABUKI Toshirou
It's a shame this song was never used as an insert or opening/ending theme song, because for that reason this wonderful song remains relatively unknown. This is also the last song on the first disc of the Slayers best of TV & radio 2-cd album collection, and there it certainly earns its place (and then some) as the last track on an excellent CD. In Her-Day, this track doesn't have such a prominent placing, but it succeeds the keeping the bar raised up high after "Toki ni Ai wa". Terrific song with beautiful lyrics.
15. Never die
lyr: OKUI Masami, mus & arr: YABUKI Toshirou
Another Slayers song; this one is the ED for Slayers Excellent. There aren't very many Slayers songs that I don't like, and this is definitely not one of them (How's that for confusing double-negatives? =P ). Typical (read: terrific) Slayers stuff, and the chorus back-up singing is a fun complement to the main vocals (are they really singing, "What's up... Never give up"? O_o). A little bit of truly useless trivia : The gifted Toshiro Yabuki is listed as part of the back-up chorus (although, I don't hear a male voice in there, so maybe he only did the programming for the chorus parts. *shrug*).
16. Maria
lyr & mus: OKUI Masami, arr: OOHIRA Tsutomu
I'm almost done! Having a whopping 16 full-length tracks on one CD isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly makes a CD reviewer's work that much more time-consuming. I'm not complaining though, of course.
Not much, anyway.
Ahem -- back to the review. Well, nothing will ever beat "Dareka ga Dareka wo" in my mind, but this song easily holds it own. The first few times I heard this song, I found the sound overlays (near the end of the song) kind of jarring and strange, but now I just get images in my mind of sitting in the family room with my family watching TV and just hanging out together, and it's a nice feeling.
