 | SEED – like the Wind (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review) |
July 26, 2006 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
The debut of SEED, from the Kyushu entertainment school and a new dance unit that is following the footsteps of Okinawan Dance School students/group SPEED. Overall, a good debut but I actually enjoyed the coupling track more than the main dance track.
GROUP: SEED
CD SINGLE: like the wind
LABEL: Avex Trax
CATALOG #: AVCD-3100
DURATION: 24:19
RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2006
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- like the Wind
- STAY GOLD
- like the Wind -you take the lead vocal-
- STAY GOLD -you take the lead vocal-
- like the Wind -instrumental-
- STAY GOLD -instrumental-
- like the Wind
SEED is a four member all-female pop group which consists of Hazuki, Kurumi, Riko and Mana. The four are part of the Kyushu Entertainment School and were the winner of the auditions and on January 6, 2005, SEED was born.
Their debut single “like the wind” is a pop, dance track from Yasushi Sasamoto and the vocals of the four girls are good and I can tell that the goal is to do something similar to the Okinawan Dance School where SPEED, MAX and Namie Amuro came from and trying to highlight the school in Kyushu.
The single seems to be more of the four girls singing in unity, no individual segments that I saw (from the music video). But for the most part, “like the Wind” is a good pop track.
As for the coupling track, “STAY GOLD” also featuring music and arrangement by Yasushi Sasamoto and words by Dan and Yukiko Nakaoka, this is where we can hear the girls showcase their vocals and more individual performances by each member. A mid-tempo pop track and is actually, in my opinion, the better track on the single. It’s a breezy single that is not dance oriented like “like the Wind” but it works with their vocals.
The next two tracks are “you take the lead vocal” tracks of “like the Wind” and “STAY GOLD” ala karaoke tracks and the final two tracks are the instrumental versions for the two vocal tracks.
The music video for “like the wind” showcases the girls in various settings, different outfits but for the most part, a basic but glitzy video (a good production) and features the four dancing and singing to the song and for the most part, you can tell that SEED has put a lot of time in learning the choreography for the song.
Overall, “like the Wind” is a good single debut for the group but since this is their first, I want to see more of what the group is capable of, especially vocally. I know the goal is to promote the four as more of a dance unit, but I have to admit that I enjoyed “STAY GOLD” as it focused more on vocals and showing us what they are capable of vocally, while “like the Wind” is more focused on all four singing together and definitely a track that is directed more towards their choreography for the song.
But it’s too early to decide of how I actually feel about the group thus far, but for the most part, “like the Wind” is a good debut single for SEED. Look forward to the next single.
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| SMAP – Aoi Inazuma (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review) |
July 17, 2006 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
SMAP may be without member Katsuyuki Mori but to listen to SMAP’s 22nd single “Aoi Inazuma”, its easy to say that the guys will be fine. Awesome, catchy and addictive, “Aoi Inazuma” is an awesome track!
GROUP: SMAP
CD SINGLE: Aoi Inazuma
LABEL: Victor
CATALOG #: VIDL-10800
DURATION: 19:10
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 1996
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- 青いイナズマ
- 真夏の夜は振り向いてはダメなのさ
- 青いイナズマ (music track)
- 真夏の夜は振り向いてはダメなのさ (music track)
With the release of SMAP’s last single “Hadaka no Ousama ~Shibutoku Tsuyoku~”, I had no idea where the group would be headed, as the single was the last single for member Katsuyuki Mori who left the group. And aside from Takuya Kimura, Mori’s voice was the most prominent vocals on SMAP’s previous singles.
But with the release of their 22nd single “Aoi Inazuma” (Blue Thunder), I believe it’s safe to say that the guys are going to be just fine! In fact, “Aoi Inazuma” is a fantastic single and a great single to show their fanbase and everyone else that they can still produce cool pop songs without Mori-san.
The song is catchy, addictive and myself along with my friends, we can’t help but sing this song and playing the instrumental portion during our karaoke parties.
As for the coupling track “真夏の夜は振り向いてはダメなのさ” (The summer night is not a bad turn around), the coupling track is quite unusual as it is a rock n’ roll head banger and while Takuya Kimura can pull the vocals off, the others don’t do quite well. Definitely an interesting choice of song to have on the single (especially since it’s so different from “Aoi Inazuma”).
Overall, “Aoi Inazuma” is a pretty awesome single and if you are a SMAP fan, definitely a single worth purchasing!
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