Atari Kousuke – Kizuna Uta DVD
Kousuke is known for doing many concerts, some of which are free admittance (I wonder how those are paid for; he’s hardly a high selling artist…) but they are of course very appreciated. The one included in the Kizuna Uta DVD package is from his “Tane wo Maku Hibi” Acoustic 2008 Live Tour.
Atari Kousuke – Kizuna Uta
Hope I romanized those correctly.
A lot of you may not know Atari Kousuke. I discovered him from one of the recommendations made by UBlog a few years back, and I’ve enjoyed him very much since. A little history, since I’m sure he’s foreign to you. Firstly, he’s not a singer-songwriter (boo!), and I don’t think he even writes his own lyrics (more boo!). What’s so captivating about him though is his accent. I’m told he sounds Okinawan (but apparently he’s not). He’s got old, raw, traditional vocals I guess, and to me they’re quite unique in this era. He does a lot of ballads, and those of course are my favourite songs. I’m not sure if he’s you cup of tea, but if you like the other stuff I review, I figure you might enjoy him.
Kousuke did a lot of work under an indie label, so I’m not familiar with it. What I do know is his first major album, Yurai Bana, and this (which would be his second major album). He also sings a bit in Chinese or something.
drammatica: The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura
I wanted this album only for the Kingdom Hearts stuff. Since that’s the only game I played from this entire compilation album. I was never a MANA player, and I had never even heard of LIVE A LIVE. Although the FFXIII bonus was nice. I might be a tad biased…just a tad. But anyways, I figured if Shimomura’s compositions for KH was good, the others would be too. And it was an arranged album, so how could I not pass up?
POTION2 : Relaxin’ with FINAL FANTASY
1. Unrequited Love (Piano Collections FFIX)
2. Memory of Distant Days (Love Will Grow)
3. GAIA (Love Will Grow)
4. Once You Meet Her (Pray)
5. Nao Chora Menina (Pray)
6. Home, Sweet Home (Dear Friends)
7. Theme of Love (Celtic Moon)
8. Legend of the Great Forest (Dear Friends)
9. Into the Darkness (Celtic Moon)
10. Celes’ Theme (Piano Collections FFVI)
11. Fisherman’s Horizon (Piano Collections FFVIII)
12. Melodies of Life (Piano Collections FFIX)
13. Love Will Grow (Love Will Grow)
14. Eyes on Me (Acoustic Guitar Version) (New Track)
Let me just say that I’ve only ever played FFVII-X-2 and IV and VI on GBA, so for many songs I cannot compare to the originals.
POTION2 is a compilation album from various FINAL FANTASY arranged albums, and it is the second in the series (and the only one I have). I had never heard any other arranged albums other than the piano collections, so this was definitely a spin for me. And it was cheap at the particular store I got it at, so I figured I’d just get it.
Piano Collections – Final Fantasy VIII
FFVIII>FFVII ftw.
Just saying.
(I own the sheet music as well).
Let me start off properly by saying that compared to other Piano Collection albums, this one has relatively easy arrangements. I think during the mastering, they also lowered the volume, making dynamic changes a little less spectacular, and making the songs sound a bit softer too (which I don’t entirely like). But nonetheless, it’s a very enjoyable album with a great selection of tracks.
Piano Collections – Kingdom Hearts Field & Battle
1. Scherzo Caprice on a Theme of Never Land
2. Sinister Sundown
3. Wonderland’s Surprises
4. Lazy Afternoons
5. Night of Fate
6. A Very Small Wish – Monstrous Monstro
7. Hollow Bastion
8. Medley of Conflict
9. Musique pour la tristesse de Xion
The second Piano Collections album for Kingdom Hearts was released not even a year later, and understandably had fewer tracks (and a lower price tag to go with that). Focusing more on world themes rather than character themes, Field and Battle is able to do a bit of meshing together to create more interesting and less repetitive tracks (in comparison to the previous collection). Which is definitely a good thing.
Piano Collections- Kingdom Hearts
Being a piano player and a video game enjoyer, I had to get this. I’ve heard the Final Fantasy Piano collections as well, and I figured this would be as good.
Well, I figured it would be.
(Aas I own the sheet music, I can talk a bit about that too. Not that I learned (or can learn) every song, but whatever.)
BoA – BoA The First Album
This will probably be the only review I ever do for BoA (and the album, save for whatever I put in” iTunes Presents”. I’m not a big fan of her Japanese stuff at all, but I had to support her English attempt, so I bought this album. And really, I don’t mind it that much, but it certainly isn’t amazing. I mean really, not even one ballad? It shows how manufactured she’s become.
Utada Hikaru – HEART STATION
HEART STATION is Utada’s 5th studio Japanese album, and further utilizes the ethereal instruments that she mastered during the ULTRA BLUE era. It’s definitely another great addition to the Utada collection, and it has the same massive collection of different sounds that made ULTRA BLUE so much fun.
Utada Hikaru – ULTRA BLUE
ULTRA BLUE is Utada Hikaru’s 4th Japanese studio album, and it was the first physical CD I had for a J-Pop artist. Which of coursed sparked me to buy other physical CD’s. The album itself shows a definitive growth for Utada in music, featuring basically no R&B, and much more of that Ethereal experimental Pop (explored in DEEP RIVER and Exodus). And it’s quite good, being much more refined than the last two albums.
The Marion(ette) 