Crystal Kay – Color Change! August 7, 2008

Track Listing

1. Namida no Saki ni
2. ONE
3. Good Times
4. Help Me Out
5. ITOSHIIHITO
6. Kaerimichi
7. Toki no Kakera
8. TIME GOES BY
9. I Can’t Wait
10. Shining
11. It’s a crime
12. History

1. Namida no Saki ni

 I can’t tell it was supposed to be an angry or a happy track.  It’s definitly has a degree of coolness written off of it.  I know it’s the 1st single and all, but this was my first full listen to it and I quite enjoy the whole beat of it.  I am left making remarks like “Doesn’t this sound like Rihanna’s “Shut Up & Drive?”"

2. ONE

The final single comes next and goes into a R&B beat with snaps and smooth beats.  I still consider this a filler song because it just didn’t catch my attention.  The only thing I really liked is that the connection to Pokemon is relevant here.  I’ll just leave it as it is.

3. Good Times

Good Times it is for me.  It’s got a cool funky beat to it.  Crystal sounds so good here and harmonizes just so perfect with the overall sound.  The song just flows so well and sounds pretty awesome for the entire length.  She should have made this song a single.

4. Help Me Out

Still with the pretty cool beats, Help Me Out sounds like a more danceable “Good Times”.  It’s jsut got that sameness to it and for some reason, I’m not bothered by it at all.  Crystal sounds equally strong here as well, showing off a more friendly vibe.  Her English is as perfect as Utada’s.  They should duet.

5. ITOSHIIHITO

Now this is a R&B track, very obvious in sound, beat, and vocals.  The music is minimal in sound but Crystal is loud and very prominent.  The piano in the song sounds so good too.  The song however gets repetitive towards the end, saying the chorus that many times should be a crime.  Still, I’d rather have “Suki” rather than this.

6. Kaerimichi

The ballad comes in next and this song has some beautiful stuff going on.  Her voice, being so soothing then all powerful in the chorus.  The music has some underlying synths and some other synths and then strings.  This is way better than “Motherland” in quality and I’m so happy.

7. Toki no Kakera

Another ballad?  Actually this is ”Motherland” part 2 for me.  At least the chorus sounds good but there were  few questionable notes for her.  Then again, I’m not too fond of Crystal’s music so I’m not real surprised.  Toki no Kakera was a bust for me.

8. TIME GOES BY

Going back to the R&B sound, TIME GOES BY has a clapping sound and a descending synth line which made me move a little.  Crystal sounds pretty going through her lines.  It’s poppy and the interlude of the song was just awesome for me.  What a cool track.

9. I Can’t Wait

Whoa, finally some awesome tracks.  I Can’t Wait is how you would percieve Janet Jackson’s music.  Some force to an R&B sound and we get a cool track from Crystal.  It’s got some clapping beats also but, Crystal is showing some attitude.  Another great thing is that this track is mostly in English.  So it made me happy to listen to some work like this.

10. Shining

Shining is pop/dance track and it’s affectious organic sounds also helps it out.  Acoustic guitar plays along with the beats and it doesn’t get i the way from Crystal at all.  The chorus was somewhat boring because I thought there’d be a boom to it.  She does say the title at the end which was cool.  Oh yea, Crystal sounds sexii.

11. It’s a crime

Best song for a good reason.  It’s a dancebeat and a pretty hot dance track for one.  Second reason is that Crystal is on vocoder and it sounds great on here and there’s some layering too which is a good combination.  This is a full English track too which surprised that she’d do it for this song.  It reminds me of “Disturbia” by Rihanna and it’s shweet.

12. History

Wow, I love the beginning and then it leads to this cool chorus and overall sound.  The verses are lighter but I thought the percussion took over too much so I kind of lost points with it.  It did make a great album finisher with it’s catchiness and Crystal suttle voice.

Tracks Recommended

• It’s a crime
• Namida no Saki ni
• Kaerimichi
• Good Times
• TIME GOES BY

What a great overall album from Crystal Kay.  The album is definitly great for R&B lovers, even for casual listeners a lot of people will compare her to Rihanna and for good reason.  They’re both great.  Though many people are saying that this is album of the year, I highly doubt it…