Track Listing
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SAYONARA Baby
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Aitai
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Love Forever
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Breathe Again
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Love for you
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Arigatou,
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Kono Machi no Doko ka de
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Dance tonight
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20 -CRY-
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Time is Money
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Anata ga Hoshii
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Love me, hold me
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Happy Celebration
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This is Love
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People
1. SAYONARA Baby
Ahhhh, so we begin the album with well…one of her more better tracks in the era and it’s also the first A-side as well. Instead of the usual R&B mehness she’s usually known for, she kind of brings a more upbeat sound to the table and I like it since it doesn’t bore me at all. Miliyah’s vocals are pretty strong as well, showing off her vocals in a good light and expressing herself well.
2. Aitai
Then we slow ourselves down with the first new track off the album and of course…it’s a damn ballad. Thank god it’s actually a ballad and not a boring mix of R&B integraded in it. It’s still got a nice feel overall and sometimes Miliyah does some weird slides into some notes and she does repeat things too much, it’s better than her past endeavors.
3. Love Forever
Next up is her last A-side of the era and also a collaboration wish Shota Shimizu. I don’t know why she didn’t credit him on the album….talk about a hater! Like “SAYONARA Baby”, this was a more upbeat track and them two were definitely good for each other. They actually harmonize very well through the song, even though Shota does sing over Miliyah sometimes. Another one of her best tracks off the album.
4. Breathe Again
I thought it’d be good since it continues the upbeat sound, but it sounds like something I’ve already heard…in America…The beat clapping beat has been used many-a-times before and it continues on Miliyah’s album. It’s alright, but hearing such a unoriginal sound, just doesn’t work for me.
5. Love for you
We get another, R&B-infused track that has piano and strings mostly providing the melody and such. It actually isn’t that bad really. I love how she does the chorus and since it adds some synth in it, I was definitely feeling this song’s more simplistic nature. This is shaping up to be a better album the 2nd listen through.
6. Arigatou,
See, now this is the kind of song that I really don’t enjoy especially since Miliyah has like a bajillion other songs like this. I mean it’s basically “Love for you” stripped of it’s synth parts and its tempo toned down. In other words, just give it a new melody and lyrics…I’m not a big fan of this song, but I do like the chorus again. It’s just everything else that doesn’t stand out to me.
7. Kono Machi no Doko ka de
Ahhhh, I love the beginning of the song with the plucked strings, but that damn clapping beat returns again and that right there, destroyed the song for me. She could’ve made this an acoustic track, but that beat ruined it.
8. Dance tonight
Now this was a track that I instantly liked first listen-through. Dance tonight has a pretty explosive sound with the brass and it sounds like something disco-like which is a plus in my book. It could be her heaviest song off the album, and I like it alot. A winner here.
9. 20 -CRY-
The middle A-side of the era, 20 -CRY- is my least favorite of the A-sides on the album, but I think it’s alright. It’s a bit more somber sounding than most of the previous tracks so it’s pretty good in the sense that, the mood was needed. Actually, it sounds a whole lot better on the album than it did on it’s respective single.
10. Time is Money
Ahhhh, I love this flute opening to the song. Then a pretty cool acoustic drive happens and Miliyah’s ad-libbing adds in this kind of freaky sound that actually works for once. I don’t know, but this rise of strings in the chorus is freaky cool. Wow, isn’t this just the energetic song that I really need.
11. Anata ga Hoshii
I would’ve easily guessed it was going to be a bit more slower than “Time is Money”, but I didn’t expect to still be somewhat upbeat with a beat and a nice and cute piano melody. Sadly, nothing really pops out for me here as the song seems to drag on by. Still the arrangement was nice though.
12. Love me, hold me
Interestingly enough, Love me, hold me very soulful of her and at the same time it sounds like lounge or jazz. It’s more laidback and showcases Miliyah very well throughout, even better than normal. It has just a lot of sultryness in it and it could be another favorite of mine on this album.
13. Happy Celebration
For a song whose title would make a song like a party track, it’s anything but. It’s a mid-tempo track and actually kind of sounds cheesy on the album…how unfortunate. I love her voice though, it’s just put to a meh arrangement here.
14. This is Love
No this is not a Hikki cover at all. It began nicely with just piano, but then the song goes into blandness when the R&B beats pop in. Another song whose potential is wasted because of this. I mean it still is mostly piano playing throughout, but I just wish it was just that. It does remind me of a Kuu song, but I can’t remember which one.
15. People
I guess we needed to end the album with another R&B track, but it doesn’t feel tacked on as much as the other ones on here. Miliyah and her soothing vocals are pretty well played out and there’s a little bit of synth underlying the track to help out. ~They’re just people~…Is this song about aliens? JK JK…It makes for a good album finisher, but wouldn’t a ballad have been better?
Tracks Recommended
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Love me, hold me
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Dance tonight
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Love Forever
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Love for you
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SAYONARA Baby
Uhm…..well, this album at first bored me a bit, but when I really paid attention to the album, this was actually not a bad listen. She still has her faults with the whole J-urban phase of her career, but the songs that were more upbeat and original sounding definitely won me over. The singles really did hide the fact that the album would be good and even as I write this today….it beat out Perfume for the No.1 spot on Oricon daily.
