Sunday, December 24, 2023

Zard Album Review: Mō Sagasanai

“Mō Sagasanai” (もう探さない, I Won't Search Anymore) is Zard’s sophomore album and unlike “Good-bye My Loneliness” is helmed by a singular producer. Many people involved with its production, specifically Oda for music and Akashi for production, will become very influential in Zard’s music later.  However here it is a very mixed effort and represents growing pains for Zard.  


A singular producer should generate a consistent album, this can be a good thing but for “Mō Sagasanai” it feels like Izumi Sakai is fighting Akashi’s production.  Where it doesn’t work I put on him, Sakai is always going to sing like herself which is part of what makes her timeless.  My feeling here is Akashi’s  production was aimed at an older audience.  


“Mō Sagasanai” has some good tracks, so it is not a failure by any means..  "Sunao ni Ienakute" is the best track on the album, which is also one of two tracks that Sakai was most involved with as she penned the lyrics and music.  “Forever” and “Lonely Soldier Boy” are also solid entries.  


The cover of the album is stylistically very cool and very contrasting to Zard’s other albums with how Sakai is portrayed.  We’re going to see a lot of this over Sakai’s career.  She can pull off a lot of styles, looks and emotions.  Here with a thousand yard stare, she looks young and fierce and I very much like that. 


Here is the breakdown by track:


"Fushigi ne..." (不思議ね…)

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Tetsurou Oda

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 4

Music: 3.5

Production: 3.5

“Fugishi ne…” starts out feeling a little dated with the synth, but about 30 seconds in it takes a little turn and feels like a Zard song.  There is some interesting and busy guitar work here that contrasts well with the mid-tempo song. The song is very Sakai, barring the heavy synth at times you could drop this anywhere in her prodigious catalog and it would not be out of place.  Also I do not think this is a distinctive song for that reason either, but that kind of Zard is a couple albums down the road. 



"Mō Sagasanai" (もう探さない)

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Tetsurou Oda

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 3.5

Music: 3

Production: 3

Sakai’s vocal delivery is really interesting, she comes off as a little lower and husky in parts and then clearer higher vocals in the chorus.  It is an interesting contrast.  The sax lead in is nice and through out the song gives some jazz elements.  The synth work is a little heavy and busy, which makes the song feel a little mechanical, sometimes contrasting elements work but in the case here I think the synth and jazz elements are not complimentary. Oda will deliver better songs down the road for Sakai!  



"Sunao ni Ienakute" (素直に言えなくて)

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Izumi Sakai

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 4.5

Music: 4

Production: 4

I feel set up, the first two tracks were very mid-tempo and here "Sunao ni Ienakute" is a rock song.  Notable that Sakai handled both lyrics and music, which even today is not common (esp for a singer now two albums in) but then much more unheard of for female performers.  The synth work here is good and the guitars are great.  Sakai’s delivery is clean with a little huskiness at parts.  Her ability to go high/low within a syllable was always her signature sound and we get that a lot here.  This is a really good song 



"Hitori ga Suki" (ひとりが好き)

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 3

Music: 2

Production: .5

A very noisy intro to the song, which feels like a dated mess, which is "Hitori ga Suki" in a nutshell.  This is entirely on Akashi.  Sakai’s vocals are fine and on point.  Drums are a little more assertive, which was missing to some degree in prior tracks.  Guitar work is alright, though the bass is toned down.  Like prior tracks the synth work is where "Hitori ga Suki" does not work, adding to that there is weird and pointless noise added just before the 4 minute mark.  



"Forever"

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Daria Kawashima

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 4.5

Music: 4

Production: 3.5

Sakai’s vocal delivery for ‘Forever” is really good.  Backing vocals leading into the chorus are a little out of place (and sound like Kawashima).  Guitars are very assertive.  Drums can be felt.  The synth work is better or at least pushed way back.  “Forever” overall is a timeless Zard song and if you found it on a later album it would not be out of place.  



"Lonely Soldier Boy"

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Kuribayashi

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 4

Music: 4

Production:4

The prior track “Forever” sets up “Lonely Soldier Boy” very well.  This is a hard rock song and while cemented in an early 90’s sound, it doesn’t feel stale.  Sakai’s vocals here are really good and really show how she started singing higher better after her debut album.  Guitar work is very good.  Drum and bass are felt. The synth parts are pretty minimal, which is to the benefit of this track.



"Itsuka wa..." (いつかは…)

Lyrics: Izumi Sakai

Music: Izumi Sakai

Production: Masao Akashi

Vocals: 3

Music: 3

Production: 1.5

…and “Iysuka wa…” ends “Mō Sagasanai” on a slower note mid-tempo rock note.  It is an interesting song and structurally very different than "Sunao ni Ienakute."  I feel Sakai struggles a little in her high notes and sometimes is a little muddy, which her high/low vocal delivery is muted.  I wish she would have sung more like herself.  The production on "Itsuka wa…” is where the problems are, yet Masao Akashi is going to deliver some really exceptional songs for Zard down the road



Over all score: 3.48 / 5 Vocals: 4.3 Music: 3.35 Production: 2.8


Overall, I do not love “Mō Sagasanai” as an album.  Not do I hate it.  Nor would I seek it out as an album to listen to in whole. I am not sure how it will stack up against all of Zard’s other albums to come but it is a step back from “Good-bye My Loneliness” which in American parlance would be a sophomore slump. 


Saturday, December 2, 2023

Zard Album Review "Good-bye My Loneliness"

The year in 1991 and "Good-bye My Loneliness" straddles a fine line of the music Zard was to shape in the decade ahead and the decade that preceded this, her debut album. It is a game changer, though at six tracks it maybe tilts a little more towards EP than LP, but I consider it to be a full album.

I am deliberately reviewing Zard's album in chronological order as I want toe xplore how her music changed over the arc of her prodigious career. I will give a retrospective of Zard's albums compared to each other much later (when...really depends on how much I write and how often). But stand alone, 

"Good-bye My Loneliness" is a very good album and it could have been a great album but I think "Oh! Sugar Baby" and "It's a Boy" both hold it back from that.

Sakai wrote all the lyrics save for two which were penned by Daria Kawashima.

"Good-bye My Loneliness"
Music/Arranger: Tetsurō Oda / Masao Akashi
Vocals: 5, Music 4.5 Production: 4.5 
A mid tempo track with a vibe that thanks to its drum and synth parts takes me a little further back to Brit New Wave for me. Without a doubt this is one of Sakai's best delivered songs, which is notable as she was still finding her own sound and vocal range. This makes it interesting because the vocals delivered very differently than the mountain of songs that were to come later. Also notable is I think the backup vocals are a dialed back to maximize Sakai's vocals. Anyways this is the song that started Zard and its really good, but the next track steals the show.

"Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de" 
Music/Arranger: Seiichirou Kuribayashi / Hiroshi Terao
Vocals: 5, Music: 5 Production: 5 
Where the opening track was mid tempo, "Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de" is gas poured on a fire. Backup vocals are very assertive and I can absolutely hear Maki Ohguro, who is very deft in this role. This is my favorite song on the album. It is a perfectly balanced song and much credit goes to Hiroshi Terao (who these days is kind fo the face of Zard via YouTube).

"Koi Onna no Yūutsu" (恋女の憂鬱)
Music/Arranger: Kawashima / Akashi
Vocals: 4, Music: 3 Production: 4.5 
This song sounds like a bit of an 80's throwback and something you'd find in the closing credits credits. These are not bad things and as an album "Good-bye My Loneliness does straddle a line between the 80's and what Zard was instrumental in setting up for modern Japanese Pop/Rock. It is a fairly short song, was just starting to get into it and done.

"Oh! Sugar Baby"
Music/Arranger: Kuribayashi / Takeshi Hayama
Vocals: 3 , Music: 3 Production: 2.5 
Oof... those are some heavy synth hits, probably at the time this was not a bad song but it encapsulates a sound of the early 90's that decades of time cannot shake off. At about the 1:50 mark it takes a weird turn. The guitar work on "Oh! Sugar Baby" is pretty good, drums feel muddy. Its just kind of a mess so far as production goes. All of this said, the song finishes better than it starts, with the exception of the weierd heavy breathing with about a minute to go.

"Onna de Itai" (女でいたい) 
Music/Arranger: Kawashima / Hayama
Vocals: 4.5 , Music: 4 Production: 4 
Another song that feels like it was from the 80s, but the good part of the 80's. Sakai's vocals are very emphasized and bring a lot of energy with Kawashima's lyrics behind them. That said everything is well balanced, it is definitely a rock song and a slightly more laid back than "Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de."

"It's a Boy"
Music/Arranger: Kuribayashi / Akashi
Vocals: 3.5 Music: 2.5 Production: 1.5 
Being artists have a lot of engineering in their songs, for the most part it worked well for Zard... but not here. It is overwrought. Sakai's lyrics are actually really good, but get washed with everything else going on in the song. It is a feel good song though, but I guess there is a reason it is at the end of "Good-bye My Loneliness.

Overall grade: 4.0 
Vocals: 4.25 
Music: 3.75 
Production: 3.75

"Good-bye My Loneliness" is a good album and while a couple of tracks I feel hold it back from being a great album it does a lot of table setting for jpop going forward from 1991, which Zard was a trailblazer. It might not be as great of a start as Puffy has with their self titled debut, but it certainly had more influence. Groups like Puffy almost certainly could exist because of Zard.
Were "Good-bye My Loneliness" the only thing Zard ever did, I think it would be an album people remember and wonder why we never more. Not the case, much more was to come!

Boring reviewer notes:
Hat tip to u/Fancy-Holiday5519 on reddit for their reviews which inspired me to follow suit.

My reviewing style is something I have used for years. For example, my notes in for each song are my thoughts as they are hearing it so it is deliberately displayed as my flow of consciousness through the song. Sometimes I add some researched notes to give some context.

My Japanese is not sufficient to judge the lyrics much, I am going purely on how good the vocals sound.

When averaging scores, I round to the nearest quarter percent that I think is warranted, so putting my thumb slightly on the scale....

I will refer to all songs in Romaji because I feel that makes the writing approachable to more folks and recommend it for anyone writing about Japanese music for an audience outside of Japan.

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Asian no Juicy

Image courtesy
of McDonalds Japan
Maybe it is the way of any long standing group or musician that their music is going to be repurposed for an advertisement... so "Asia no Junshin" is now "Asia no Juicy" to be the pitch song for McDonald's new sandwiches.* 

Is it silly?  Yes...

Does it make me a little sad?  Not much.

Is the song actually pretty faithful to the original?  Surprisingly... yes.

Replacing Ami and Yumi are Nanase Nishino and Marie Iitoyo. Nanase is a model, actress, TV personality and former member of Nogizaka46.  Marie is an actress and model.  No idea is the are actually singing, but the vocal delivery sounds very Puffy.

Truth is anything Puffy can do to stay in Japanese pop culture is a good thing as they are kinda in maintenance mode at this point.**  If it is hucking McDonalds sandwiches, that's fine.

Honestly I think it is much more common in Japan to see musicians and artists pitching brands with their songs.  If you YouTube Zard's ads, you are going to be watching for a solid half hour of commercials.  Likewise Puffy is no stranger to this from Toyota to Pizza Hut.

Here is the long version:

 


Here is the short version:



No idea if anyone actually reads this blog any more.  But  if folks are still around, comment.  I do want to hear from you.

* Truth be told the sandwiches are all probably delicious.  Japanese McDonalds is really good.  

** One below average album in a decade...