Arashi - Beautiful World CD review
First of all, congrats to the album selling 631k in its first week on this album! Appropriate time to throw a review out here.
Album! Plus Nippon no Arashi (sales are donated to 3/11 victims).
BW Tour bag thanks to kyraensui xD! *hugs*
10th album. 2011/7/6. Overall impression: 4.5/5
Only album tracks will be reviewed.
There's rich variety ranging from mellow pop to upbeat/danceable pop, to the fresh sound of techno influences, a bit of rock and also jazzy flare, strong and heartfelt ballads, a touch of world-music exotic flavor. Most importantly, I think all the album tracks are strong pieces and memorable, almost even more than the singles. Everything is nicely shuffled for a great play-through. I also love how they all ventured to try something different for their solos. This time Jun's with the fun song, Ohno with the wild song, Nino with the touching ballad, Aiba with the cool song, Sho with the love song. Somehow they seem to really reflect the current them xD
The boys named the album as a response to 3/11. I don't know how much of the album was conceptualized after the earthquake, but the message in the album can't be more appropriate for the context - the pray and desire to move forward together, to embrace this world. Even though it's hard not to draw comparisons to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei (my review), I can safely say that I definitely think that Beautiful World is a huge step-up from it. As an album, it's more unified and overall the sound is much more mature and sophisticated. For BnMF, there are tracks that took me a while to warm up to, or otherwise not as memorable. This time I actually love all the tracks with equal weight and won't want to skip over any songs, including the solos.
Probably the closest to "con" point would be the packaging for the First Press. I LOVE the simplicity of the cover, and how the circle cut-out opens to a picture of them, and eventually opens to a beautiful "star-lit" background. But the fact that there's nothing to contain the 3-fold case makes me feel paranoid of easily ruining it xD;;
tl;dr
Sophisticated, solid, but fun 10th album. Strong album songs and solos with hit singles.
I like it better than BnMF!
*squish* XD ♥
Album! Plus Nippon no Arashi (sales are donated to 3/11 victims).
BW Tour bag thanks to kyraensui xD! *hugs*
10th album. 2011/7/6. Overall impression: 4.5/5
Only album tracks will be reviewed.
- Rock this - The fact that it starts off quietly and then picks up with a rock flare makes the song very good choice for opening! As a rock fan, plus having all the members rapping this time, it wasn't hard for me to immediate like the track~
- まだ見ぬ世界へ (Mada Minu Sekai E)- as the first album track leaked thru radio, it really set high standards for the rest of the tracks. I loved the techno, cyperpunk influence of the song! Even the autotuning didn't faze me because it sounded intentional.
- Lφve Rainbow
- always - a mellow, yet upbeat track! this song deceived me so badly xD The melody of the stanza was nothing too special, but suddenly when the strong chorus came in, the beauty of the song just hit like a strong gust of wind.
- Shake it ! - Jun's solo! It's so danceable, catchy, and adorable ♥ Whereas his past solo had always intended to sound "cool", I love how this time his solo seems a lot more "fun" but with a touch of coolness. And he's so silly to say it's the shortest track of the album when it's only off "Rock this" by 1 sec xD
- 虹のカケラ～no rain, no rainbow～ - (Niji no Kakera) - one of my favorite album tracks! So lighthearted and uplifting that I feel like running through a field. The bit of Irish flare with the tin whistle and fiddle alone makes the track fresh and an instant favorite. ♥
- Dear Snow
- Hung Up On - Ohno's solo! the first solo to include Sakurap (YAMA~♥). Since his previous solos have been slower beats, I was so happy they gave him a more "wild" dancing number, superb for his vocals and dancing skills. I love Sakurap was minimal enough to just be backdrop~ SUPER SOUL!
- Joy - whether it's because we got to the dorks recording this song in Scene Dome+ DVD or not, gosh this track is SO MUCH FUN. It's fun, jazzy, and catchy, and totally catchy. I will always think of them having fun in the studio and the warmth from watching them.
- どこにでもある唄。 (Doko ni demo Aru Uta.) - Nino's solo, composed, partially arranged, and written by him. Gosh, he outdone himself by delivering this beautiful ballad. It started out with a soft piano but flared out into strong instrumentals. Lyrics of hope and encouragement to overcome hard times, it's perfect message for the current Japan. ♥
- negai - best choice to follow-thru after the strong ballad: another strong ballad, but a more bittersweet one. With the message of prayer and longing for, this song absolutely pulled my heartstrings. I love the bit of Occidental Asian & Indian vibe and then the violin solo in the bridge of the song.
- Lotus
- 「じゃなくて」 ("Janakute") - Aiba's solo! I LOVED the song when I first heard it, as I wanted him to sing this type of song. Jazzy and cool, but still fun, and most of all actually compliments his voice very well! With the one-sided love narrative lyrics, this song is totally Broadway musical material ♥
- morning light - gosh, this song is EPIC. It's like hybrid of electro techno and pop, so fierce and danceable. And Ohno's powerful cry in here is absolutely swoon-worthy. As another techno-influenced song, I think this track also helps anchor Mada Minu into the album.
- To be Free
- このままもっと (Kono Mama Motto) - Sho's solo. I SEE WHY THEY REVEALED IT LAST. Omg I never expected such a fluffy, refreshing song about nostalgic puppy love from him ♥ He also ventures the low AND high notes effectively. The way he delivered it, he sounds so sweet and in love that all I wanna do is just squish him forever and congratulate him x3!
- 果てない空 (Hatenai Sora)
- 遠くまで - A very uplifting and strong pop song to end the album with the feeling of moving forward! Also one of the first songs revealed to us prior to the release, and I was so happy to know the album will have a strong and optimistic anchor.
There's rich variety ranging from mellow pop to upbeat/danceable pop, to the fresh sound of techno influences, a bit of rock and also jazzy flare, strong and heartfelt ballads, a touch of world-music exotic flavor. Most importantly, I think all the album tracks are strong pieces and memorable, almost even more than the singles. Everything is nicely shuffled for a great play-through. I also love how they all ventured to try something different for their solos. This time Jun's with the fun song, Ohno with the wild song, Nino with the touching ballad, Aiba with the cool song, Sho with the love song. Somehow they seem to really reflect the current them xD
The boys named the album as a response to 3/11. I don't know how much of the album was conceptualized after the earthquake, but the message in the album can't be more appropriate for the context - the pray and desire to move forward together, to embrace this world. Even though it's hard not to draw comparisons to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei (my review), I can safely say that I definitely think that Beautiful World is a huge step-up from it. As an album, it's more unified and overall the sound is much more mature and sophisticated. For BnMF, there are tracks that took me a while to warm up to, or otherwise not as memorable. This time I actually love all the tracks with equal weight and won't want to skip over any songs, including the solos.
Probably the closest to "con" point would be the packaging for the First Press. I LOVE the simplicity of the cover, and how the circle cut-out opens to a picture of them, and eventually opens to a beautiful "star-lit" background. But the fact that there's nothing to contain the 3-fold case makes me feel paranoid of easily ruining it xD;;
tl;dr
Sophisticated, solid, but fun 10th album. Strong album songs and solos with hit singles.
I like it better than BnMF!
*squish* XD ♥