Toko Furuuchi – IN LOVE AGAIN (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)
December 30, 2008 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
“Beautiful, smooth and sensual, Toko Furuuchi continues to showcases her vocals and in-depth songwriting for her thirteenth album, ‘IN LOVE AGAIN’.”
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ARTIST: Toko Furuuchi (古内東子)
ALBUM: IN LOVE AGAIN
LABEL: Tearbridge Music
DURATION: 1:07:31
RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2008
- 歩幅
- 恋の不思議
- あなたのトモダチ
- IN LOVE AGAIN
- Mystical
- カサノバ
- 今夜ベッドで
- 帰る場所はあなた
- よくある物語
- Confusion
- game
- 半分だけ
- Beautiful Days – New Version-
Toko Furuuchi returns with her 13th album on a new label and a scheduled performance in New York City in January 2009.
The singer/songwriter from Tokyo who once lived and studied in Connecticut in the US has had a string of hits in the 90′s especially with the hit song “誰より好きなのに”, which continues to be a wonderful song today with many artists having covered the song.
Having wrote songs and produced hits for a good number of artists such as Ueto Aya, Sowelu, CHEMISTRY, alan and many others, it’s actually great to have a new album from Furuuchi, her first in three years since “CASHMERE MUSIC” from 2005.
“IN LOVE AGAIN” continues Furuuchi’s staple of music which is beautiful vocals, in-depth songwriting, producing and also composing the music on this album. So, to say Furuuchi is talented is an understatement, she’s definitely one of the most sought out producers/songwriters in the Japanese music industry.
The album starts of with “歩幅”, a beautiful mid-tempo ballad that features a beautiful arrangement from Shin Kono and features a good balance of strings courtesy of Kinbara strings and an overall beautiful medley.
The second track “恋の不思議” is an upbeat track featuring another smooth arrangement and many instruments by Shin Kono and followed up by another upbeat track “あなたのトモダチ” featuring an arrangement, keyboard-driven dance track by Toshiyuki Mori.
The fourth title track “IN LOVE AGAIN” features an arrangement by Shin Kono for a beautiful, smooth ballad which features beautiful acoustic guitar playing and bass.
The fifth track “Mystical” features an arrangement by Toshiyuki Mori and has a funky style to it. While the sixth track “カサノバ” has a more Summer-like arrangement by Shin Kono with the acoustic guitar and jazz like upbeat arrangement. One of my favorite tracks on the album!
The seventh track “今夜ベッドで” features a smooth, bass driven track and another wonderful arrangement by Shin Kono that also sports a hint of brass. Very cool song and followed by a beautiful ballad titled “帰る場所はあなた” which is piano and acoustic guitar driven. While the ninth track “よくある物語” is more upbeat keyboard driven track, while the tenth and eleventh track “Confusion” and “game” features a little experimentation with keyboards and electronic bass.
The 12th track on the album “半分だけ” is a beautiful ballad and another favorite on the album. I can imagine Furuuchi performing this song live and delivering a beautiful performance.
The final track on the album “Beautiful Days -New Version-” features a sort of live-band type of feel with the piano, bass, percussion and strings in coordination with each other. Another awesome track on this album.
As for the CD insert, the CD insert booklet features lyrics, a picture of Toko, a message from Toko Furuuchi and production credits.
Personally, it’s hard to go wrong with a Toko Furuuchi album. Her music tends to be quite elegant and you know that with each song, you get a well-sung, well-written album that features music that incorporates strings, a bit of brass, piano, acoustic guitar and overall, just a refreshing, lively and elegant album.
Some may consider her music more adult contemporary but overall, it’s well-produced and well-done. Furuuchi has been doing this for nearly 17 years and she continues to look and sound incredible over a decade later when I first discovered her music.
“IN LOVE AGAIN” is a lovely album that is just smooth, sensual and enjoyable. Highly recommended!
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