alan – Swear November 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Swear
2. Beauty
3. Swear (Instrumental)
4. Beauty (Instrumental)

1. Swear

I’m so happy that Swear isn’t a ballad.  I was starting to lose faith in alan after her last single, but hearing a more poppish style from her is a great idea.  Even though her voice isn’t extravagant as most people would say in songs like “Gunjou no Tani” or “Sora Uta”, she isn’t doing too bad here.  It’s a lighthearted pop tune and honestly it doesn’t exactly fit in her releases, but it’s a nice song either way.

2. Beauty

The B-side however reminds me of one of her older B-sides, “Sakura Modern”.  It starts with a melody that makes it sound Chinese, but at the same time Beauty has this mix of winter and spring with its flowing arrangement and alan’s pretty single.  I’d say this is one of the best B-sides I’ve heard from alan in a while (then again, when was the last B-side?  Oh yeah.  “Namida” from “Megumi no Ame”)

 

 

alan ends off the “my life” era with a pretty nice single.  It’s nice that we finally get a new B-side rather than a rearranged version or other things.  Swear’s pop side shows off alan in a cute way while Beauty does show off her Chinese side of her like her early B-sides and I liked it.  I’d say this is the best single of the era.

alan – BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~ August 29, 2009

Track Listing

1. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~
2. Shiawase no Kane (2009 ver.)
3. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~ (Instrumental)
4. Shiawase no Kane (2009 ver.) (Instrumental)

1. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~

After the crazyness of her previous single, “Kuon no Kawa”, alan brings out her ballad cards once again to release the aptly titled, BALLAD.  The opening of this song was just grand and alan’s wailing shows she’s still got the ability.  Even though the song is just another ballad from alan, she tries to keep it going and not make it such a bore, but I can’t help but think she needs to not do so many ballads, especially ones that are titled BALLAD…It’s not disappointing, but her flair is starting to wear thin on me.

2. Shiawase no Kane (2009 ver.)

I’m not sure why she had to bring back Shiawase no Kane from the previous era, being as the lone digital single and all.  The new version of the track was resung and it doesn’t have the birds chirping opening up the song.  Besides those two things, this is the same song that was here a year ago.  I would’ve rather heard a new version of “Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ instead, but it’s nice that Shiawase no Kane is on a single.

 

 

alan so far in this era has been disappointing me so far with her releases.  I mean if you look at it, we really only got two new tracks so far unlike the previous era where we had new B-sides on each single.  BALLAD of course was digging it’s own grave and sadly shows the lack of interest in her ballads that have been happening since “Megumi no Ame”.  She needs to pick up the slack soon and not release so many ballads one after another.  Shiawase no Kane was a nice touch, but honestly could’ve done without.  Meh, not liking this at all.

alan – Xin De Dong Fang July 11, 2009

Track Listing

1. Tian Nu
2. Ai Kan De Jian
3. Fei Xing Zhi
4. Xi Jie
5. Jia You! Ni You ME! feat. Wei Chen
6. San Sheng Shi San Sheng Lu
7. Ming Ri Zan Ge
8. Xin・Zhan ~RED CLIFF~
9. Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu~
10. sign
11. Ai Jiu Shi Shou (bonus track)

1. Tian Nu

Chinese equivilent to “Tennyo ~interlude~.  Tian Nu opens the album basically the same way “Tennyo” did back on “Voice of EARTH”.  She definitely wails her way in through the beginning which is hardcore that it makes it a standout opening.  It’s just the same thing, but you hear alan actually wailing in the BKGD when it gets into the more aggressive part of the song.  Not much else to seperate the two really, but it’s an epic opening.

2. Ai Kan De Jian

Chinese equivalent to “Gunjou no Tani”.  Now “Gunjou no Tani” is one of my favorites of the Japanese album and I was excited to hear her Chinese version (since the PV was filmed in China of all places).  Now being the first vocally Chinese song off the album, alan’s sounds just as good in her foreign tongue.  Even then, my ears think Chinese is quite strange.  Anywho, I think alan did an amazing job this song again and it might be just as good as “Gunjou no Tani”.

3. Fei Xing Zhi

Chinese equivalent to “Sora Uta”.  Now I was surprised that alan did a Chinese version of “Sora Uta” just because it was one of the tracks I didn’t really expect to get the nod to have happen in the first place.  I still love that she kept the English lines intact and I think she actually did a pretty job pronouncing them.  She once again kept the same amount of energy throughout and is another track I like as much as the original if not more.

4. Xi Jie

Chinese equivalent to “Kimi Omou Sora”.  It’s been actually quite awhile since I listened to “Kimi Omou Sora” last so this comes to me a new song in some cases.  What I do recall was that the song was very pop like, even more so than “Sora Uta” and that it combined traditional Chinese elements and more modern sounds together.  It quite sounds like something from Final Fantasy X really.  Still the BKGD vocals are a bit strange to hear, but it’s kind of cute in its own way. 

5. Jia You! Ni You ME! feat. Wei Chen

The only “REAL” new track on the album, Jia You! was released previously as a digital single beforehand and is a song that features a big singer in China, Wei Chen.  It’s kind of funny listening to this because it’s kind of like medieval sounding at the beginning and most of it actually.  Now their harmonization is alright, but you can hear some odd stuff.  Wei is rapping a bit here as well, since the song sounds a bit R&B as well.  Iono, such an overall odd genre alan is dabbling in, but whatever at least it’s catchy (as Chinese goes).

6. San Sheng Shi San Sheng Lu

Chinese equivalent to “Sakura Modern”.  Actually this track was previously released back on “Xin・Zhan ~RED CLIFF~’s” single.  Just like “Xi Jie/Kimi Omou Sora”, This contains a mixture of traditional and modern elements all wrapped up in Chinese goodness.  It starts off with water running and I’m guessing some kind of Chinese instrument.  It’s a little bit of R&B as well, which is interesting, but at some orgel and strings and you get this track.  I kind of like this though better than “Sakura Modern”.

7. Ming Ri Zan Ge

Chinese equivalent to “Ashita e no Sanka”.  Was anyone surprised that she would’ve added a Chinese version of her debut single?  Sadly, this was a horrible Chinese translation of the track.  I mean the opening and verses sounded just as good as the original, but when she gets to the chorus and the wails she does….she fails it, in the worse way.  The wails themselves sound so forced and in the 2nd roll through the chorus she’s horribly flat….damn what happened here?  I love “Ashita e no Sanka”, but this was just a red flag towards the album. 

8. Xin・Zhan ~RED CLIFF~

C’mon if you don’t know what this is the equivalent to, then shame on you.  Anyways, it’s my third time reviewing this and I still choose “RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ moreso than this version.  It is basically the same track, but the wail at the end is omitted, how unfortunate because it is the climax of the song basically and all we get is the orchestration.  I do like alan’s vocals here though which I’ll give points to and the Chinese was very fitting to the song as well.

9. Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu~

Kind of odd to see Chi Bi on “this” album rather than wait for the next album…then again seeing how it’s a big track to alan, it’s understandable to see this on here so soon.  What sets itself apart from “Kuon no Kawa” is that the pitch is a bit higher…It actually is pretty epic as songs go, and to hear it after “Xin・Zhan” is even better because they fit better together.  Talk about nice for alan, this is great.  I can admire the Chinese version a bit more now since the JPN version isn’t plugged in front of it (though that still is better).

10. sign

I find it funny that sign of all songs would be the only track from her discography that’s the same on both countries, it acts like the closer to the album.  Now it has alan singing in her native tongue backed up by a a beat and there’s various things happening that sounds like it could a slow dance track with all the synths going on.  I quite like that it does fit the mood and with “Tian Nu”.  Wish they put this on “Voice of EARTH” though.

11. Ai Jiu Shi Shou

Our bonus track is the Chinese equivalent to “Shiawase no Kane”.  Now this was also pre-released as a digital single the same time that “Shiawase no Kane” was, so it was basically which version was better like “Chi Bi” and “Kuon no Kawa”.  The song is basically a piano & acoustic guitar ballad.  It’s quite nice to hear something natural happen here.  I do wonder why she omitted “Shiawase no Kane” from “Voice of EARTH” (that is until she announced the tracklist for “Natsu no Umi”.)

Tracks Recommended

• Fei Xing Zhi
• Ai Kan De Jian
• Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu~
• Ai Jiu Shi Shou

You know what, comparing this and “Voice of EARTH”, I rather take this album over it.  Listening to the tracks off of “VoE” there were filler tracks for sure, but here we get the big songs and most of the conversions were donce nicely.  The only track that disappointed me was the Chinese version of “Ashita e no Sanka”, that was a big no-no for her, but otherwise this is a very strong Chinese album *BTW this is the only artist that I’ll follow that does C-pop*

alan – Kuon no Kawa April 5, 2009

Track Listing

1. Kuon no Kawa
2. Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu~
3. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~
4. Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~
5. Kuon no Kawa (Instrumental)
6. Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu (Instrumental)

1. Kuon no Kawa

I don’t think I really expected anything to come out from alan so soon after “Voice of EARTH”.  So of course I’m happy to see a new track and just like “RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~” it also is a mysterious track.  But instead of keeping the climax towards the end the song carries a pretty steady sound throughout and all of it is basically epic.  Well, it doesn’t have a huge climax like “RED CLIFF” but still a good song.

2. Chi Bi ~Da Jiang Dong Qu~

alan also put on the Chinese version of Kuon no Kawa on the single.  Now right from the start the song is a bit higher on pitch which is definitly interesting right?  It sounds a little faster as well at the start.  Now like you all know me, Chinese isn’t exactly what I normally review on here.  I can admire the fact the chinese sounds nice and alan is at a higher register, but I found the JPN version more to my liking.

3. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~

Third time reviewed seriously?  Well, RED CLIFF is on here because all of the songs are tied into the same series of movies.  What surprised me is that this is still better then “Kuon no Kawa and Chi Bi”.  I mean it had a great flow and it reaches epic awesomeness by that final climax.  Still an amazing ballad from alan.

4. Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~

The chinese version also makes a reappearance on this single as well.  Like I said in the review it’s just as nice but I consider the JPN version because it has the mountain notes.  Other than that, it’s a pretty good Chinese track, but not as perfect as it’s counterpart.

 

 

Is this considered a new era or a re-cut?  alan’s single that contain the songs from RED CLIFF was a nice treat for us.  Kuon no Kawa and Chi Bi are fine tracks that remind me of Gunjou no Tani and that’s good because she’s continuing to make new sounds with an oriental twist.  However, those two songs were overshadowed by the inclusion of the RED CLIFF twins.  Nothing could really bypass them and sticking them on here was a bad idea because they turned out better than the new tracks…ouch.

alan – Voice of EARTH March 3, 2009

Track Listing

1. Tennyo ~interlude~
2. Ashita e no Sanka
3. Sora Uta
4. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~
5. Hitotsu
6. Kaze no Tegami
7. BRAVE
8. Yume no Garden
9. Gunjou no Tani
10. my friend
11. Liberty
12. Tsuki ga Watashi
13. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~
14. Megumi no Ame
15. Together (Bonus Track)
16. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ (Modern Rock Version) (Tower Records bonus)

1. Tennyo ~interlude~

Who knew an interlude could really be past 3 minutes long.  Already by starting out, alan is using her fierce mountain to get her point across.  After her blowout, erhu and random synths start coming which reminded me of a past interlude “sign”.  Maybe not as similar, but there’s a small beat and alan’s ad-libbing just kind of makes sense right?

2. Ashita e no Sanka

Probably a smart move to begin the vocal tracks with her debut A-side.  Ashita e no Sanka was the first song she’s done in JPN and fully adding in those mountain notes really sent shockwaves across the online sites.  Now the verses do seem like her weakest points in the song, but the choruses and the ad-libbing done near the end was just amazing, if not orgasmic.  Still the breakout song of late 2007. 

3. Sora Uta

Sora Uta was her first A-side to stray away from the ballads and to use some English as well.  I do love the fact the song has an airy atmosphere to it.  There’s traces of guitar and alan’s singing normally besides her entrance.  There’s something really sweet and ethnic about that is just wondrous.  I’ve definitly grown to love this song.

4. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~

The next two A-side are always forgotten about whenever someone mentions alan.  First up is the first of the GoDai elements singles.  I don’t know why I can never remember this track because it is a pretty good ballad.  It’s alright, but it just seems to be covered by the rest of her ballads.  Well, the biggest inclusion is the whole “choir” injection that was brought in to support it, nice try alan, but it’s still very simple.

5. Hitotsu

That’s the same problem here.  Her 2nd A-side pops up and it still doesn’t leave much of an impression on me.  It’s even simpler than the last track…Seriously.  She doesn’t whip out the mountain notes in this song…probably a good thing because it would’ve made this song even more obvious. 

6. Kaze no Tegami

Wow, 5 old tracks in a row?  I think that’s a new world record right?  Just like “Sora Uta” it’s upbeat and stands out in her discography.  I will say the song’s arrangement really sounds like something Nami Tamaki would do moreso than Ayu.  Still, it’s kind of gotten a bit bland since its initial release because alan isn’t really showing much power of even interest.

7. BRAVE

ABOUT DAMN TIME!  It’s great to see alan kind of hitting a more electronica sound because alan’s vocals at the beginning is messed around with which is cool.  The dance beat is a little of the safe side, but at least alan has more interest here than “Kaze no Tegami”.  The chorus is still pushing the boredom line, but I do like how everything else seems to just feel right.

8. Yume no Garden

Our next new track has a pretty interesting opening.  It’s very quiet and breezy and then alan comes in with quiet vocal just like the music.  That’s all that goes for it because it gets really boring really quickly.  I know it’s trying to be an epic song, but it just didn’t connect with me at the end and to me it’s her worst song.

9. Gunjou no Tani

Thank god this song appears next.  It was the last A-side to represent the album and it’s a way better upbeat pop/rock track than “Kaze no Tegami”.  She seems to be channeling more emotion here and to hear this cool rhythm and melody mixed with strings was well made.  I notice her voice seems a little odd in the verses, but the chorus just made up for that in a big way.

10. my friend

my friend seems to introduce a more acoustically driven alan here.  I feel that the song’s whole acoustic feel is a nice change to the album and alan seems a lot more calmer.  Some people will probably call it out because it seems very simple to her other works, but I think it’s alright

11. Liberty

Liberty was originally going to be a single release and honestly they made it a good idea not to make it because honestly, it’s nothing really special.  I mean “Hitotsu” was almost like this, but even better.  It kind just ends up being another “Yume no Garden” very unoriginal and pretty damn boring.

12. Tsuki ga Watashi

Yeesh, more ballads?  I’m already getting tired of hearing these and this definitly pushed my thoughts into thinking that she’s getting more unoriginal as the album gets close to the end.  I’ll give it that it sounds very wintry and the orchestration works nicely for alan.  I’ll give it that it’s a nicely done ballad.

13. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~

RED CLIFF I think is one major powerhouse of a song.  It begins quiet and full of mystery and alan’s ad-libbing is sweet and easy to the ears.  Even the arrangement is epic almost.  The slow-going beat and the various strings moment just all leads up to this huge climax where alan belts out one of the most bone-chilling mountain note phrases in her career.  If there was a song that represented her, it has to be this track.

14. Megumi no Ame

Ugh, why did they have to make this the last track?  Megumi no Ame is still a very boring A-side.  Nothing has really changed my initial opinion of other than the nice erhu solo near the end.  That was nice, but alan just seemed very out of it here.   It has a good ending quality though I’ll give it that too.

15. Together

Our bonus track, Together is probably one of her more interesting tracks.  It seems to be tribal and full of chinese heritage that it’s just taken so well.  I love the when alan just sings out loud and includes these Chinese sounds.  Then she has a speaking part, but it’s kind of heard to hear due to the strings being loud.  This was a better way to end the album.

16. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ (Modern Rock Version)

If you got the album via Tower Records you got a seperate disc with this new version of alan’s most recognizable track.  Obviously if you can’t tell, this has a strong representation of rock throughout.  It kind of erases the whole original feel, but this is a pretty cool track they decided to give a new touch to.  I really loved the fact they did the rock portions through alan’s mountain cry, now that was something special.

Tracks Recommended

•  RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~
• Ashita e no Sanka
• Sora Uta
• Gunjou no Tani
• BRAVE

Wow….this album was alright because of the numerous singles released beforehand.  They were full of life and made so much more of a good listen.  Now the new tracks were pretty much crap.  BRAVE, Together, and Tsuki ga Watashi were the only good ones…The rest was downright uninspired and was such a bore…Then again looking at the tracklist, it was covered by the A-sides.  Maybe it’s me but this album was a disappointment much to chagrin that I love her stuff

alan – Gunjou no Tani February 1, 2009

Track Listing

1. Gunjou no Tani
2. Gunjou no Tani Acoustic Version
3. Gunjou no Tani (Instrumental)
4. Gunjou no Tani Acoustic Version (Instrumental)

1. Gunjou no Tani

At first I thought it was going to be another ballad, which by now is starting to annoy me, but she proved me wrong with a loud pop/rock sound that sounds so much better than “Kaze no Tegami”.  I honestly think this is her best song since “Ashita e no Sanka”.  It does feature those Tibetan mountain notes and she sounds amazing here.  The thing that got me was the arrangement is so similar to Coldplay’s “Clocks” that maybe one day they can collab to this song, make a mash-up perhaps?  HAHA.  Still what an amazing track.

2. Gunjou no Tani Acoustic Version

Instead of the grandiose of the original, this is more of a laidback version with acoustic guitar and more prominent erhu.  alan also resang the song and honestly it sounds better than the original if not more.  You can hear subdued e. guitar acting as the small reminder that y’know the original is still there.  Still uuuuhhhhmaazzzzing!!!

 

 

I was worried that her final single before “Voice of EARTH” would have been another ballad, luckily it wasn’t and one of her strongest singles altogether.  If there’s a single worth starting on it’s either this or “Ashita e no Sanka *RECOMMENDED*

alan – Kaze no Tegami December 6, 2008

Track Listing

1. Kaze no Tegami
2. Kagome
3. Kaze no Tegami (Instrumental)
4. Kagome (Instrumental)

1. Kaze no Tegami

I’ll agree with people saying it sounds likea dumped Ayu song, but c’mon don’t trash it.  It actually sounds pretty epic considering.  There’s so much synth here it’s quite surprising because it is something alan hasn’t done so much on.  Sora Uta might be that comments contradiction.  I kind of wished she would’ve used them mountain notes here, because it c’mon who wouldn’t want that?  Kaze no Tegami isn’t the best A-side in this 5 elements phase IMO.

2. Kagome

Is it really surprising that the B-side was much more effective?  You can really hear the Chinese flavor the song has to offer and alan’s voice isn’t as dead as before, but the song also does take a more rock ballad road as it’s main background.  The 2nd verse though sounds dark to me and so cool as well.  Love this track.

 

 

alan’s 3rd single for the 5 GoDai elements surprised many because of how much difference it has to the other singles.  In my opinion, alan’s sampling different styles to her music and this was definitly a high point.  Now if she can use her talent to amplify it, I know she’ll do uber well.  Kaze no Tegami was alright, but I felt quite ehhh with her performance after a while.  Kagome however, totally made the single and it really captured the feeling of Wind well.

alan – Sora Uta November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Sora Uta
2. My Stage
3. Sora Uta (Instrumental)
4. My Stage (Instrumental)

1. Sora Uta

Finally we get a change of styles with Sora Uta, a pop track that starts off with medium-mountain notes.  I actually like the strong sound from this track.  Even though not many people enjoy the song, I actually think this is another of the tracks I really enjoy…because I was getting tired of the overload of ballads.  Also she does use English which is not bad actually, definitly a new thing for her and it worked.

2. My Stage

My Stage is basically faster than “Sora Uta” and it sounds like one of those pampered rich songs, you know? Like one of those shopping montages.  Somehow, I’m finding myself actually bored with the overall song.  I’m just kind of lost listening to the song….definitly standout of the discography.

 

 

Sky was the theme for this single and it worked somewhat…I definitly didn’t really get the feeling of the sky with either of the tracks.  Still, Sora Uta is definitly a favorite upbeat track and My Stage was just odd….Let’s finish with the “Air” single next!

alan – Megumi no Ame November 8, 2008

Track Listing

1. Megumi no Ame
2. Namida
3. Megumi no Ame (Instrumental)
4. Namida (Instrumental)

1. Megumi no Ame

I’m sorry but this is just too much.  Most of alan’s songs are ballads with an exception of like what?  3 songs?  Anyways Megumi no Ame sounds pretty traditional especially with the chinese strings, but I felt that it was similar to “Shiawase no Kane” which didn’t really help me to like this track.  It’s just your normal ballad song behind the chinese touches.  Definitly disappointing.

2. Namida

Namida on the other hand sounds a lot better and more fitting to the theme of water.  Alan sounds pretty deattatched to the song as she kind of eerily sings with the song which added more to the song.  Even though it’s another ballad, I felt this was a more valiant song.  Still, I can’t help but think is that she’ll only do is practically ballads. 

 

 

Of the singles I reviewed so far for alan, this is probably the one that disappoints me because the B-side is way better than the A-side.  Which so far hasn’t happened except for the “Hitotsu” single, because I keep switching favorites from it.  Seriously though, Megumi no Ame didn’t exactly represent water well.  Namida was right on that.  Least favorite single so far of the era.

alan – Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ November 1, 2008

 

Track Listing

1. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~
2. Seed of Green
3. Gasshou [Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~]
4. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ (Instrumental)
5. Seed of Green (Instrumental)

1. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~

alan returns with the start of her “5 elements” era and this time she starts with the element of Earth.  It’s a little more complex than her previous ballads and it does have a nature-like sound to it.  Finally, she returns with them Tibetan high notes that made her debut so powerful.  It isn’t as prominent as her debut bit it’s there and sounds just as good.  The chorus feature a children’s choir as well which gives the song more grace and then the Chinese strings, I think it’s an erhu but I’m not entirely sure plays a solo before rounding out the song with the chrous.  It’s quite a nice change to her ballads.

2. Seed of Green

The B-side actually kind of sounds like the A-side except there’s no choir in it.  Seed of Green does sound a little more simplistic in arrangement and sound which is alright, but I think this song has a certain interest in it that I like.  I really liked how she sung the chorus adding some feeling to it.  After that there’s like a nature-like moment and it’s how she retained the single’s element feature. 

3. Gasshou [Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~]

A little shorter than the full version, it just features just the choir which kind of disappoints me a little bit because alan isn’t in it, unless she’s playing the piano -_-   If she’s in it than she’s definitly being covered by the kids.  About them, they aren’t so bad…I mean they “are” kids so you’d expect some sour notes here and there, but overall they didn’t do a half bad job.

 

 

alan’s 1st single for the 5 elements era really had a good impact.  Both A-side and B-side proved to be really great tracks and were pretty catchy.  Gasshou was probably the only disappointment, but was a nice try for being a special track.  Earth is probably her cleanest single at least until proven that Water beats it.