Miho Fukuhara – LET IT OUT September 10, 2009

Track Listing

1. LET IT OUT
2. Yasashii Aka another ver.
3. BEN
4. LET IT OUT (FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ED Ver.) (FMA Edition only)
5. LET IT OUT (Instrumental)

1. LET IT OUT

Miho’s 2nd A-side brings forth another ballad and LET IT OUT is clearly the ending for FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST amd oddly it doesn’t sound like ending material at all, especially for this anime series.  Then again Nana Kitade’s “Kesenai Tsumi” doesn’t fill that bill neither.  It is my first Miho song so I can’t really comment whether it’s better than her previous songs or not, but what I’m hearing now is very nice and I can see her getting popular pretty quickly.

2. Yasashii Aka -another version-

Basically a rearrangement of her 3rd single of the same name, Yasashii Aka on this single sounds oddly like something Kaori Mochida would’ve released as it sounds rather calm and soothing.  I’m also paying attention more to her vocals which are quite nice and strong…maybe a little like a mix of Mika and ayaka perhaps?

3. BEN

I’m guessing it’s a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, Miho decided to cover BEN (which was already covered by Stephanie 2 years ago).  Miho’s version actually sucks when compared to Stephanie’s actually.  Miho’s vocals are a bit on the higher register and well, her voice doesn’t has the same force as the former had.  The arrangement is sounding a bit on the lazy side of things, but Miho does have her moments of beautiful vocals here, but this just wasn’t that good of a cover.

 

 

After “HANABI SKY”, Miho did pick up a little bit with LET IT OUT since it’s a bit of a stronger ballad and will have a lasting impression on me.  The rearranged version of Yasashii Aka is alright, but maybe a little too calm for me.  Her cover of BEN though did not make me happy since her vocals don’t exactly fit for these kind of songs…hmmm maybe we’ll have another cover that suits her better.

MiChi – YOU

Track Listing

1. YOU
2. YOY
3. YOU (version 3.1)
4. YOU (Instrumental)

1. YOU

For the first time in MiChi’s career, we finally get a true ballad from her.  Unlike the previous releases which were dance/pop tunes…MiChi does a fine job at doing a ballad.  There’s the typical things that ballads have, which are piano and drums.  MiChi’s vocals are more or less better than they were in her upbeat stuff, but I think it suits this song nicely.  The mixing of both languages are equally as nice as well.

2. YOY

YOY though is a bit more to what MiChi’s been releasing before this single and it’s kind of more like her debut and that’s a good thing because I missed that.  It’s a bit simpler though and the arrangement is a bit more darker perhaps.  Now the title is more like Y.O.Y….and yet there’s a track on her upcoming album that says “Why Oh Why”….what’s this all about?

3. YOU (version 3.1)

How many versions of the song are there really?  YOU gets shortened and it starts with an erhu solo which is different for MiChi standards.  This mix sounds more like a remix though because it’s got a more R&B sound to it which is nice and such.  What sucks about it is that MiCHi doesn’t come in until it passed half-way and the song is 3:21, so you know it’s a small moment.  Not a good version if you ask me.

 

 

MiChi’s 4th single and last of the “UP TO YOU” era is rather an interesting one since the A-side is a ballad and not a pop/dance number.  I thought YOU did a good job swerving MiChi out of her comfort zone.  YOY was back the normal sound, albeit a little darker and I liked it just as much.  Now the YOU alternate version is probably the worst remix/version I’ve heard so far so yea….