So this album was released... well technically it was only released on Wednesday (July 6, 2011) but somehow fangirls always manage to get the disk early (unless you happened to be a Canadian - stupid Canada post *shakes indignant fist*). Anyway. So. I didn't buy the album because my parents have some thing against ordering albums from halfway across the world but I downloaded it, been listening to it ... on repeat ... for about a week now (^^;;) and yeah. So here's my review.
First off - I barely listened to any radio rips (Negai, Morning light, a bit of Hung up on and Jyanakute... and I think that was it?) but I was looking forward to this album a lot. If you don't remember when 僕の見ている風景 came out my initial reaction was "did not like" and whaddayaknow - turned into my most favourite album of theirs to date. Beautiful World on the other hand I liked pretty much right of the bat - but first I'll do a song-by-song run down (excluding singles because.... well they were released already - and for another reason I'll talk about later).
1. Rock This: I had vaguely heard about this song and everyone said they loved it. When I heard the opening I did not understand how this song could be counted as "rock" at all and then the actual song started. It's okay. It reminds me of Cry For You from their TIME album. I like rock, admittingly it does sound kind of cool but I never like any boyband doing rock songs. I don't know why. Boybands and "rock" never really meshed well for me. As for performance? I imagien flames. Lots and lots of flames :) And I like fire. So pretty much I don't "like" it but if I'm in the right mood I could find myself going out of my way to listen to this song.
2. まだ見ぬ世界へ: Oh. I forgot I already talked about this song when the PV came out. As I said, love the song - Sho's rap I've gotten used to but sometimes it still bugs me.
4. Always: I really like how they sing this song. As in - my reaction to this song is opposite to Rock you in where I liked the tune but didn't really like how they sang it. Here the tune is kind of... standard but I love how they sing the song. The chorus is also pretty catchy and cool, but my most favourite part is the opening of the song where they all have their solo lines. I imagine them singing one at a time, standing still and then when the chorus hits - *bam* they just start dancing (this is all on the moving stage). And then rinse and repeat as the song goes on. It wouldn't be a very dance heavy song but I can imagine a bit of dancing, especially during the slight interlude when it's just music and then maybe another blast as the chorus repeats one last time and they sing... (this seems to be coming more of a *imagine what the con perf will be like more than a review...)
5. Shake It (Jun's Solo): Take this however you will. The second I hear this song I start laughing. Hard. My next reaction is to just bop my head and kind of go crazy. xD I don't know why. This song just seems to make my brain and body go crazy. This might sound weird... (and maybe I'm biased?) but I feel like these types of songs (and Come Back to Me) really suit Jun. Be it singing and just... they allow him to get creative during concert performances and I am really waiting to see how Jun performes this during concert. I am really excited for this. Notice I'm not actually talking about the song? ^^;; Because to be honest - the logical part of my brain is like "ew you don't like this type of music" but the irrational part of my brain is like "OMFGILUVTHIS" (again - same thing with Come Back to Me). I don't really get why - this isn't bias because honestly, I don't like Yabaix3, Naked or any of Jun's solo that much but ... his last two solos have just... I dunno. There is something weird about them that makes me like them xD
⒍ 虹のカケラ~No Rain, No Rainbow~: I will say this right away - the song I like the least in this whole album. It's boring. Boring, standard, does not stand out. That is not to say that I dislike this song. Again, I really like how this sing this song. As in, I really like their voices in this one. And Jun does a fricken falsetto and it's like bells to my ears. In fact their voices in this song just sound so nice. I really like hearing them go high (I don't know why - they're guys I should be expecting deep and manly... o_O) but I really like how their pitch is a lot higher in this song. It's nice. But yeah - other then that this song is pretty boring honestly. I guess it's a good calm down after Jun's solo
8. Hung Up On (Ohno Solo): I heard the 1min30sec preview of this song and became really excited. Not my most favourite solo of Ohno's and music wise not what I would listen to on a daily basis but just the idea that it could get Ohno dancing makes me so excited. The song itself... I like how there is a touch of Sho in there to make it sound deeper because I think without the Sho in the back the song would actually sound off. Ohno's soft is generally pretty soft and not really good at the "shouting" types of songs (which is also why it's not a favourite) but I think the added Sho gives it a good "manlier" touch if you will. Now - the reason I listen to this song on repeat? Because I can see Ohno dancing to this song when I listen to it. I can see it so clearly. I can see his face when he has to pull this long notes, and I can see him moving like he did in TOP SECRET with that sharpness and precision that is just amazing. I don't see hip rolls to be honest but I can see something very cool (I can't explain it) but I can see a perfect performance in my head and I love what I'm seeing in my head. (Final thought - cannot understand a word of Ohno's English though ^^;;)
9. Joy: This song is interesting because I realize that a lot of it is carried heavily by their voices. By that I mean the actual instrumental of the song.. is pretty repetitive. It's the same few chords repeated over and over (for the most part - except the chorus but even the chorus is kind of simple really) and what really brings this song the melody is their voices. Which I like. I heard it in the training camp video and I liked it. I like it now. It's cool to jam to and kind of bop your head to. ^^
10. どこにでもある唄 (Nino Solo): I think I will surprise a lot of people when I will say right away - this is my least favourite solo of the album. In fact I found myself skipping it a lot. A lot of people say they like it cause it's so 'sweet' and omg! Nino wrote and composed it himself! But forgetting about that... the song is just way to quiet and slow for my tastes. I know it's sweet, but this song puts me to sleep. It's just too soft. Not enough noise to keep my interested. I agree Nino's voice is amazing .... but yeah. Putting me to sleep. ^^;; I really have to be "in the mood" for this song. Although I am interested in how he will perform this. Will he play an instrument? Or will he just stand there and sing? Because this isn't a song that would match any sort of dancing or movement. Either way I can see myself enjoying this solo in a concert.
11. negai: and now we move from my least favourite solo to my most favourite song of this album. Negai. Ever since the radio rip of this song, it's been my favourite and even after hearing the whole album it is still my most favourite. I love this song. I love the tune, I love the lyrics, I love their voices. I love everything about this song. Ugh. I have no words to express just how awesome this song is for me. <3 Sounds so beautiful. And my most favourite part is actually not when they're singing (although the chorus is just so beautiful) but the part when it's just the violin (that is a violin right?) playing. Uggggh.. so beautiful. <3<3 Yeah, can you tell this is my most favourite song? I'm not being too obvious am I? =P
13.「じゃなくて」 (Aiba's Solo): I was surprised when I heard the radio rip of this song but somehow this song really suits Aiba. This kind of jazzy tune. I can imagine him doing what Jun did for Wish in the 5x10 concert. That kind of broadway style thing, except I picture Aiba wearing a top hat and less twirling and spinning and more standing in one place, jumping, hopping... Aiba motions. (I dunno how to explain...). The lyrics of this song are kind of cute and make me laugh in a way. It's sweet. Suits Aiba. ^^ (I don't really know what to say honestly... Aiba's solos are all cute to me but they never stand out too much and this one is no exception to be honest...)
14. Morning Light: Uh. Hello. 2nd favourite song for the album. Will not lie. When the radio rips of this song and negai came out all I did was listen to these two songs on repeat. AT FIRST - I wasn't impressed by this song but then I heard the chorus and I was pretty much hooked. I love the chorus for this song. It's so catchy. I don't flail about it as much as negai (because face it - negai is just an amazingly pretty song). But this song is awesome in it's own, really catchy way. It pretty much is my type of up-beat song. Fast, up-beat, catchy... I dunno - my ideal song to be honest. I could work out to this song.
15. このままもっと (Sho's Solo): And we've hit it. My most favourite solo of the album. This was actually a big surprise for me. Why? Because normally Sho's solos are my least favourite. I'm not to big of a fan of rap so it's no surprise for me but this song... is just.. omgosh. It's so cute and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and it makes me smile and I kind of just wanna hug something and go "d'awwwww". it's so adorable. Ugh. I could quote so many lines of this song to express how adorable this song is. SO CUTTTEEE. SHO!! I LOVE YOU. Ugh. This song is so adorbs. And he still manages to incorporate some rap into it and it actually sounds good. Actually when the song transitions into the rap it reminds me of another Arashi song but I can't think of what song. ANYWAY - I can imagine the performance of this song to be so cute. Ugh. SO CUTE. (how many times have I written that so far?). Again - because I"m not too big on Sho's solos his performances never really catch my notice either (although I really liked his Can't Let You Go performance in the Time con..) But.. omg. I can imagine the performance of this being so cute and adorable and ... *sigh dreamily*... this song is just too cute. Ugh. I've repeated it so many god damn times it's ridiculous. ^^;;
18. 遠くまで: Heard a bit of this song watching the JAL CM's. I like the chorus of this song. But like Niji no Kakera this song is... kind of. It's not boring but it's very generic. I mean it's the typical "up-beat" Arashi song you know? Nothing really stands out about it... actually I think this song might be my least most favourite song of the album. At least Niji no Kakera has their really pretty voices as a plus point but in this song it's just kind of.. generic up-beat, happy happy Arashi. And yeah I like up-beat "Happiness" or "Kitto Daijoubu" type of happy but... eeeh. You know what - this song is like Summer Splash. I'll think it's boring the entire year until I see them sing it in concert and then suddenly I'll grow to love this song. =P Yeah. I can see that happening. It'd be a great encore song.
Final Conclusion:
Okay. So. I'm going to do a bit of comparing with BNMF. With BNMF my initial reaction was "ew no" and I grew to love it. with that album... I don't like each individual song as much as I love the album as a package. A whole. All the songs really seem to fit well together and slide into one another really well and that's why I like BNMF more than this album. With this album, Beautiful World - I LOVE all the songs individually. All of them. (was not the case - and still is not hte case with BNMF - lol). The problem? I hate the singles that are in this album. Hatenai Sora, Dear Snow, To Be Free... Lotus is okay. But yeah. These songs just interrupt the flow of the single for me. Like whenever it hits one of those songs I find it jarring. I actually experimented and took these songs out and the album flowed so much better for me without the stupid singles. They're just so out of place. Maybe it's cause the songs of this album are so high quality but the singles.. were... .... not high quality. So yeah. My main gripe with this album is actually the singles that were inserted into the album - take these out and this album is amazing and I LOVE it. ugh. So good. <3
LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THEY WILL PERFORM (hopefully) ALL THESE SONGS IN THEIR UPCOMING CONCERTS =D=D=D
(and yeah this was long - sorry >.<)
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