Track Listing
- Everybody needs love
- Amouisso
- Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
- Hello
- Kimi no Koe wo
- Beautiful
- Woman “W no Higeki” Yori
1. Everybody needs love
Opening the album, Everybody needs love begins with a bright piano-centric & jazzy arrangement and it just feels right home with Eri’s vocals as it felt like they never changed. She has a lot of character in her vocie and it really adds itself to the upbeat nature of the song. I have to say, as the opening song, it’s pretty awesome!
2. Amouisso
Slowing things down a bit, Amouisso initially came off as an Xmas song with the melody and general feel. It does grow a bit more to add some guitar and drums to the arrangement and once again Eri’s vocals are just mad radiant here and fits the arrangement. Simple song overall but it’s no way boring or bad.
3. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
Something like Tatta Hitotsu no Koi with its jazz arrangement easily reminds me of her “hands” mini-album, but also songs like “Kodou” and “Sketch for Summer”. Though this is purely a jazz track and I’ve always loved Eri’s more sultry and controlled vocals for arrangements like this and she really brought her A-game to this track! I have to say, this was my favorite song from the mini-album by far!
4. Hello
As the first full ballad, Hello brings back the lower vocals from Eri and she still has so much personality to it that she made this rather simple piano arrangement sound not-so-much of a borefest and then the chorus just punches in and its just wonderful! Like “Amouisso”, there’s not much else to really say about Hello but it’s good!
5. Kimi no Koe wo
Released as the digital single right before the album’s release, Kimi no Koe wo had a lot to cover after Eri was in hiatus for another close-to 7 years after her last release, “hands”. Moving even slower than “Hello”, Kimi no Koe wo was the first of Eri’s return and when I took a listen to it, I felt like she had never left her music career and begun where she left off. The song might not be the best the album has to offer, but I do appreciate it as the first taste of Eri’s comeback.
6. Beautiful
Moving on, we get to Beautiful and what I thought was going to end up as another ballad, turned into an upbeat and playful track. I actually thought the arrangement was cool and bright but not overbearing. Once again Eri strikes gold and her voice just adds that extra touch that really made the track memorable for me. It’s a pretty refreshing song and another standout from the mini!
7. Woman “W no Higeki” Yori
Ending the album, we have a cover of an older Hiroko Yakushimaru song (though I have heard Ken’s version ironically enough). With Eri’s version, it has a darker atmosphere to it, but is still something I’m used to Eri’s music so this sort of jazzier feel is pretty nifty and sultry in the end product. It’s a really sweet way to close things off.
Like I said, 7 years after her indies mini, “hands” might be quite a long time (and it was), but when we heard word that Eri was joining avex, I was pretty excited as it would mean we get the chane to hear her lovely vocals once again. III -THREE- is a worthy comeback release and reintroduced Eri back to the masses with more jazzy music on top of some nice pop tracks and ballads. Though I hope that she’ll release a new EDM song like the stuff from “nobuchikaeri”. Either way, this was a solid release!
Kurayami Monogatari 