Eri Takenaka – Sang May 3, 2012

Track Listing

1. Gray
2. Doushite mo
3. Aishiteru
4. Akai Love Letter
5. Uta ga Kikoeru
6. palm love
7. Onaji Hoshizora no Shita de

1. Gray

Ah, the sounds of the beach opens up Eri’s mini-album.  Since she’s an acoustic ladened performer, I was curious as to how she’d handle this.  Gray sounds like what I would expect from a title like this.  It’s somewhat depressing and slow-paced and Eri’s vocals are really sweet to listen to.  I like it quite a bit for it’s sullen atmosphere and on-point vocals ^_^.

2. Doushite mo

Moving away from “Gray”, Doushite mo at first felt quite boring to me at first but hearing Eri sing at first threw me off because the first verse sounds like she was just merely speaking.  It gets better the deeper you get into the tune but it doesn’t really stand out to me like the first song did unfortunately.

3. Aishiteru

Hearing this song coming after “Doushite mo” made me happy since it picks up the pace and the song sounds heartfelt and really cute to listen to.  It’s almost quite a romantic song to listen to since the title kind of gives this loving feeling away.  I once again enjoyed hearing Eri’s soft vocals here…quite soothing to be honest.

4, Akai Love Letter

As the only upbeat song to the mini, Akai Love Letter sounds like it could’ve been performed by BONNIE PINK since it’s got a nice and steady beat and the vocals would just seem right but with Eri it works too because it’s charming and once again (cute).  Not much to say about it besides that it’s a good song!

5. Uta ga Kikoeru

Since ballads are surrounding “Akai Love Letter”, I was slightly disappointed in finding that out.  Uta ga Kikoeru might be the one I’d be rather uninterested in because of its light instrumentation and acoustic base.  I just don’t find it great for me…but it might be good for those people that like stuff like this.

6. palm love

The sounds of the jungle open up palm love and is probably the most unique song off the mini-album since it sounds different but still retaining Eri’s acoustic sound.  It’s calm and Eri’s vocals sound amazing here!  I actually think it’s my favorite song here which is funny right?

7. Onaji Hoshizora no Shita de

Closing the mini out, Onaji Hoshizora no Shita de sounds kind of weird to me for some reason XD. It feels low quality because it feels like there’s some kind of sound blockage.  It’s also the simplest ballad as well since it’s only strings and acoustic guitar.  Honestly, it didn’t do much for me and it kind of blew over my headbut it works as the ending song.

 

 

It’s been a while since we’ve heard original music from Eri (meaning I don’t count the Ghibli cover album much).  Sang is a pleasant mini-album from her and she sounds quite lovely in all of the songs.  I do think Gray, Akai Love Letter, and palm love were the best of the mini…but the rest is actually quite nice as well…should try her out, might surprise you!

Eri Takenaka – Kioku no Mori no Ghibli March 23, 2011

Track Listing

1. Teru no Uta
2. Kimi wo Nosete
3. Country Road
4. Sanpo
5. Himawari no Ie no Rinbu Kyoku
6. Sekai no Yakusoku
7. Rouge no Dengon
8. Mononoke-hime
9. Ji ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo
10. Kaze no Toori Michi
11. Itsumo Nando Demo

1. Teru no Uta

Opening up this cover album, Teru no Uta begins with some accordion playing some melody before Eri comes in.  To me, Eri’s vocals are sweet and very smooth to listen to, but the fact the song has nothing but accordion for instrumentation is a little bit disappointing for me.  I guess it does its job by showcasing Eri’s vocals quite nicely, but otherwise…I wish there was more to the music.

2. Kimi wo Nosete

Our next song sounds better since there’s more to it instrumentally than our first song.  I do think it’s upbeat for having an acoustic/piano arrangement this time around.  The music is quite sweet and simple, but it hits the spot and the addition of woodwinds later on makes it better.  Even Eri’s soft vocals stood out nicely in the song.  Good track.

3. Country Road

Country Road really does sound like something that would be more country than anything on the album (I’m talking bout the genre, country too BTW).  There’s a relaxing geel I get just from listening to the song and Eri sound pretty once again.  I don’t know how else could I say about it besides it’s Western hooks and sound, but it just works for her.

4. Sanpo

I guess this would be that song to be somewhat cute.  Sanpo starts with the rhythm section which is snapping and acoustic guitar thrown in as well to produce the melody.  It’s good that it builds up in time and becomes more catchy and lively.  I did find it sad that it’s the album’s shortest song at little over 2 minutes.  Then again I couldn’t imagine Sanpo being much of a long song it’s not too much sadness on my part.

5. Himawari no Ie no Rinbu Kyoku

I like our next song quite a bit since it’s more noticeable that it’s a ballad.  Being pretty simple being piano-based with a little bit of harmonica.  I found this simplistic kind of track a winner since it focuses a lot on Eri’s voice than in previous songs and she has a nice relaxing tone going on.  It might not really stand out to fans, but I think it’s pretty good.

6. Sekai no Yakusoku

I’ve been noticing a lot on this album so far that the songs are soft and not really trying to stand out for me.  I think it’s harder to enjoy our next song since it feels a lot like our last song.  I mean once again they switched main instruments (latin guitar this time), but that really didn’t feel all that much of a change and it feels like I’m listening to an edited version of “Himawari no Ie no Rinbu Kyoku”.

7. Rouge no Dengon

Another short track comes up next and strangely enough Rouge no Dengon is the probably the peppiest song yet which is quite strange for sure.  I love the kind of latin-like atmosphere I get from the song, but I noticed as well that Eri is singing at a higher register which surprised me a bit.  It’s fun and quirky and one of my favorites on the album.

8. Mononoke-hime

I haven’t really watched that many Ghibli films to be honest, but I def think this has to be from Princess Mononoke.  It does sound like a bit much like the other songs previous on this album which might be a plus or a minus at this point.  It’s quiet and almost sounds like folk music which makes sense to me.  Mononoke-hime is alright, but nothing jaw dropping.

9. Ji ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo

Another song with acoustic guitar as its basis?  Damn, can we make songs a little more exciting?  Our next track is really tough to enjoy because of it’s uber simplicity.  I’m sorry it drags way too much to leave any kind of impression on me and she takes breaks in the song too which leaves this rather blank guitar moment that bored me to death…sorry it’s that bad.

10. Kaze no Toori Michi

At least things get a tad more interesting when harmonica opens up our next track.  It’s pretty much folk music and quite lively musically since it sounds fun and upbeat…though I also get light jazz vibes from the rhythm section.  Unfortunately we get to the song’s flaw and that’s the fact Eri ad-libs only in the song and doesn’t sing actual lyrics which is bad.  It’s just a long interlude it seems XD

11. Itsumo Nando Demo

Closing the album out, is another clone to “Ji ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo” being as it’s an acoustic ballad of things.  It does sound really nice that it does close the album since it has this lullaby kind of mood going on.  I’m still kind of bored of the song after all that, but makes sense to close it off.

Tracks Recommended

• Rouge no Dengon
• Country Road
• Himawari no Ie no Rinbu Kyoku
• Sanpo

Song of Avoidance

• Ji ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo

As it’s Eri’s first cover album and my introduction to her music, I seriously hope this isn’t her overall sound because I got bored with the minimalistic arrangements.  I will say Eri’s vocals are quite angelic and pretty to listen to and she pulled off each of the cover songs nicely…now if only the music had something to go by on…