Was this the perfect album I was hoping to review? Read on!0's? Probably not, maybe somewhere in the realm of Mannish. The great songs on the previous album "Hold Me" in retrospect told us where ZARD was going and she delivers here.
"Yureru Omoi" (揺れる想い)
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Tetsurō Oda / Production: Masao Akashi
"Yureru Omoi" opens so strong with drums and keyboards, then guitars and vocals are overlaid... it is breathtaking engineering. In a few seconds, you know exactly what you are going to get. Sakai powerfully fills the song with what I consider to be midrange vocals, its powerful but hits in a way that contrasts with almost every other jpop singer. What also cannot be overlooked in Maki Ohguro's backing vocals, which also contribute greatly to Sakai's lead vocals. Listen to love versions of this song and until the 30th anniversary concert you never knew what was missing live till Maki sang in that performance.
The punch with this track is the drums, live they never live up to this. Maybe "Cruising & Live" comes close. The rest of the music is also incredibly on point here. Tetsuro Oda's music is also very dialed in and more often than not her best songs are on the foundation he builds. Production is absolutely top shelf, Masao Akashi finally figures out ZARD and it pays off.
What I love about Sakai's delivery is I feel it subtly changes through the song as her confidence in this love grows. The progression of "in your dreams" to "in my dreams" to "in our dreams" illustrated this.
No secret "Yureru Omoi" is my favorite ZARD song. Not on this album, my favorite song of her's ever. It is without a doubt perfect on every level.
Vocals: A+
Music: A+
Production: A+
"Season"
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi / Arranger: Masao Akashi
A very Japanese vocal delivery to start this song and elements of it stick through the song making it capital J in Jpop. Sakai sticks to a higher pitch in her delivery, which maybe goes a little against her strengths in the middle or her very distinctive mid/low delivery. So a slight miss here, but they're still good. The music is pretty mid-tempo pop, its consistent. Production is solid. Feels like a song to break up the prior track and next, which is odd because "Yuero Omoi" and "Kimi ga Inai" pair incredibly well as heard in "Cruising & Live."
Vocals: B
Music: B+
Production: A
"Kimi ga Inai" (君がいない)
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi / Arranger: Masao Akashi
I always thought the opening to "Kimi ga Inai" set up the song well and it is an odd higher energy bittersweet song. Normally I am not a huge fan of synthesizer hits, but they work here and feel in place with the song. Sakai's vocal delivery is great and shows a lot of range. Production is consistent with the album thus far.
Vocals: A
Music: A
Production: A-
"In My Arms Tonight"
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Michiya Haruhata / Arranger: Masao Akashi
Leads off with a pretty heavy dose of guitars then kinda falls into a more relaxed guitart pop sound. Sakai's vocals are very breathy slow paced than the music. It is an odd song but not bad, though the synth hits are a little much. Izumi does have some nice vocal delivery here but there are a couple of high notes that are her max of her range. Is it a bad song? No. Is it a great song? No. Its just an odd duck.
Vocals: B-
Music: B-
Production: B-
"Anata wo Suki dakedo" (あなたを好きだけど)
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi / Arranger: Masao Akashi
Not going to lie the song opens up and it feels a little dated. Sakai's delivery here is nice and the best thing about the song, it feels more like she's telling a story which does match up with the lyrics. The chorus is great. The production is very clean and while sounds simple there are a lot of layers.
Vocals: B+
Music: B
Production: B
"Makenaide" (負けないで)
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Tetsurō Oda / Arranger: Takeshi Hayama
This is the song that transformed ZARD from an artist who had a few nice albums to a star that dominated 90's Japan. There is a reason why "Makenaide" remains timeless. Sakai's vocals are so good and hit with her signature overwhelming the midrange. Where she goes high is exactly at the perfect end of her range and goes low at the right time. Musically, the song transcends time and space it might be THE song of 90's Japan, but it still sounds different. The production with "Makenaide" is a marvel, everything is well balanced and complimentary.
Vocals: A+
Music: A
Production: A+
"Listen to Me"
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Daria Kawashima / Arranger: Masao Akashi
Did Little Glee Monster find a time machine? I don't mean that in a bad way, but they would probably sing this song better. The backing vocals are a little aggressive and feel like they are fighting the song more than helping it. I would argue this is the weakest song on "Yureru Omoi." It is not bad, but it is not a song I would seek out to play.
Vocals: B
Music: C
Production: B
"You and Me (and...)"
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Tetsurō Oda / Arranger: Takeshi Hayama
Sakai's vocal delivery is on display in "You and Me (and...)" though it might be a touch of a tropey sad song. Musically it is an okay song, but Tetsuro Oda worked this one so it will be technically fine. Production is good and Hayama brings everything together.
Vocals: A
Music: B
Production: A-
"I Want You"
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi / Arranger: Masao Akashi
With a lead in of two just okay songs, "I want You" cooks with gas. Sakai's vocal delivery is great and for lack of better words very "her." Kuribayashi keeps this a fast song and that works. Production is maybe a touch over processed but this is less a detraction and more of a description. There are a couple of odd choices in production like Sakai saying a breathy "I want you" that felt out of place.
Vocals: A+
Music: A
Production: B
"Futari no Natsu" (二人の夏)
Lyrics Izumi Sakai / Music: Seiichiro Kuribayashi / Arranger: Masao Akashi
A bittersweet ballad. Like the last track Kuribayashi provided the music on this one, it maybe feels a little too big for what is a more intimate song. Piled on top of this is the production is very processed and maybe tips slightly in the opposite direction. Sakai vocals are good here and I feel she is pushing at her range, but she pulls up just a bit short before she passes her effective range.
"Futari no Natsu" is a good song and it being the final track of what is an exceptional album is a good choice. The prior three songs would not have worked.
Vocals: B+
Music: B-
Production: B-
"Yureru Omoi" Album score:
Album Score: B+ (3.37)
Overall Vocals: A- (3.5)
Overall Music: B (3.23)
Overall Production: B+ (3.38)
"Yureru Omoi" is such a strong album and set the stage for an incredibly successful run by ZARD through the end of the 90's. Would I call it a perfect album? No, I think it falls a little short of that mark. Relative to the very strong songs on "Yureru Omoi" there are a few tracks that are okay but drag the album down: "Anata wo Suki dakedo," "Listen To Me," "Futari no Natsu."
But make no mistake "Yureru Omoi" is a top shelf album and the ZARD we had been waiting a three albums to get to, to which four albums in two years is a very high level of production.
While I do these reviews to inform others, it also helps be understand ZARD in a more serious way.
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