Voice of EARTH

August 2, 2009 at 11:43 am | Posted in alan | 4 Comments
Tags: alan, Voice of EARTH

Eye Candy + Random Thoughts

After all the amazing single covers, I was expecting a really nature-esque album cover from album, but instead we get a naked hippie (or at least what seems naked) doing this Buddhist thing with her hand.  The little earths in her eyes are interesting, but that’s the best part of this photo.  To me, it looks like she has a pound of make-up on and those diseased fingernails are just gross looking.  No fingernail looks peach colored.  I don’t know what girls do when they paint their nails, but painting the bottom of them is just nasty.  At least these covers aren’t Ayu bad (have you seen Sunrise/Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~ covers?).  Ya alan, get your sh!t together.

* * * * *

1. Tennyo ~interlude
2. Ashita e no Sanka
3. Sora Uta
4. Natsukashii ~longing future~
5. Hitotsu
6. Kaze no Tegami
7. BRAVE
8. Yume no Garden
9. Gunjou no Tani
10. my friend
11. Libirty
12. Tsuki ga Watashi
13. RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~
14. Megumi no Ame
15. Together
16. RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~

The album starts with the beautiful, yet haunting intro, Tennyo ~interlude~.  Why it’s called an interlude, I have no clue.  All I know that this is just amazing.  I remember studying the Three Kingdom’s Era in Chinese history as a report in my journalism class, and this intro reminds me of all the war and bloodshed that went on in that time.  It’s like a battle song and alan’s wail is like a death cry.  It also reminds me of those Dynasty/Samurai Warriors games.  I don’t care if it doesn’t have any vocals in it (besides that wail and alan’s quiet singing which is definitely not Japanese).  What an amazing way to start things off.

Then you move onto alan’s first single, Ashita e no Sanka.  This is still one of my favorite alan song and probably will always be.  I love Oriental sounding music and lucky for me, alan includes oriental elements to almost all of her songs.  Her wails in this song are perfect and they really amke the song what it is: AMAZING.  She can really hold notes for a long ass time.  I just love everything about this song and after almost two years, it still hasn’t lost it’s flair.

Things then change to the not so great Sora Uta.  Well, I don’t think it’s a bad song, it just lacks originality.  It reminds my of Ayumi Hamasaki’s vogue a lot.  I think this is a more refined version of that song though, and overall a better one.  It just is seems a little plain, that’s all.  Doyou think alan has ever worked at a fast food place since she does say “fry away.”  Just a thought.

Oh great, now we move on to one of her songs that I really don’t like.  Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~  just seems like a really boring song.  The chorus is nice to listen too, but the verses in the and the child chorus really ruin it for me.  It’s not that I hate children, it’s just that they sing like children which is not good.  Well it worse at the end when they say longing future over and over again.  The bridge is really pretty, but that’s the only part of the song I really like.  Well that and alan’s emotional vocals.

Does alan hate me or something?  First we have Natsukashii Mirai and now we have her most boring single this era, Hitotsu.  This is just an average ballad that any hack could do.  Again, alan’s vocals are pretty good, but this song is just too draggy for it’s own good.  This would be the song I would skip while listening to this album, well sometimes.

I don’t know why everyone thinks Kaze no Tegami sounds like an Ayu song… oh wait nevermind,  the synths and the guitars after the alan first sings screams Ayu.  I can’t think of an Ayu song that sounds like this, but it does sound like an Ayu song in her I am… to My Story days.  I have no problem with this song sounding like an Ayu song, since I enjoy every (yes, every) Ayu song.  The song is still a little on the meh side, but I think once alan has a better understanding of the Japanese language she will be able to pull out some amazing things (maybe a sexed up Kuu song?)

BRAVE  is the epitome of a song that I once loved, but now despise.  I like her distorted wails though.  I’m really surprised that I can understand all of her english lines.  I think that might be a reason why I don’t like it.  There is just a lot of english.  Again, it’s not really a bad song, it’s just that their are better songs of this style and alan is just way better at ballads.  Nuff said.

Things pick up a lot with Yume no Garden.  The music is truly beautiful in this song and the verses really add to the mysteriousness of it.  Then we come to the lack luster chorus.  It doesn’t even sound like a chorus.  It just seems like it’s building up for the chorus, but then it ends and we come back to the verses.  Someone needs to bitch slap alan’s producers because right now this album is pissing me off with all of the lackluster songs.  Well, all I have to say is that the verses and the music really saved this song.

Finally we move on to something amazing.  I just love everything about Gunjou no Tani.  The vocals are amazing and so emotional sounding and the music is some of the best I have heard in a long time.  They should make Cocco alan’s main producer or whatever since she is really talented.  alan definitly needs to come out with more songs like this, but her ballads are good too.

I used to hate my friend, but now it’s not so bad.  alan’s vocals make everything better.  I’m glad we got something a little different with an acoustic ballad.  It does seem to be a little boring since not a lot is going on in the song, but it’s ok.

Then things turn for the worst.  Libirty  is the song I would definitly skip on this album.  It’s so boring and horrible.  I’m starting to think alan is failing at her ballads, but it’s not her fault.  Avex is doing everything for her and she is just providing vocals.  Still, this song sucks balls.

Ok, now my faith has been fully restored in alan.  As a gamer, I immediatly thought I was listening to the opeing scene in Final Fantasy X (which I though was beautiful).  The piano opening is really amazing.  Tsuki ga Watashi has to be one of my favorite new songs on the album.  alan gives another powerful performance and I can’t help but love this song.  YAY!

I’m happy that this album isn’t sucking anymore!  RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~  is yet another amazing song from alan.  I really like how it builds up.  The wail is really beautiful and then the last part when she sings all solemnly is really great. 

Then things go back downhill.  I think I said this a lot on this album, but Megumi no Ame is not really a bad song, just a little… bleh.  It can be pretty at times like when the Chinese instruments come in.  The chorus is also nice to listen to, but this song just isn’t amazing like Ashita e no Sanka and RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~ and after hearing those songs I want something even more amazing.

Luckily the album doesn’t end their if you bought the limited version.  Together is a really amazing song and is way different to the other songs on this album.  I like the winding noise that plays throughout the song.  The speaking parts are a little pointless.  I heard she was balbing about the earth and that we she save it.  Definitely a hippie at heart.  I like how powerful her vocals are after that though.  I think the ocean sounds are a nice touch also.  I also noticed that she says Megumi no Ame (I believe)… maybe she is paying tribute?  Still, this should have been part of the regular album since it is way better than the majority of new songs on it.

If you bought the album from Tower Records you get the rock version of RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~.   RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~ (modern rock version)  really is nothing special.  It’s not a really interesting rock song and in all actuality, it sounds really hollow.  The song still sounds epic, but I think I prefer the original more.

Instead of doing a little review of the songs that didn’t make, I thought I would just review all the b-sides like an album, since if you put them all together it could be one.

* * * * *

Voice of EARTH was an ok debut album.  The singles really overshadowed the new songs, namely because most of the new songs sucked.  Seriously, what was avex thinking when they made so many singles?  Maybe it’s just that they wanted alan to get a big hit before the album came, but after EIGHT!!!! singles, they found that a little hopeless.  I have no clue, but that’s my guess.  This album would have gotten a higher score if I reviewed it when I first listened to it, mainly because I was obsessed with alan at the time, but after a few months of really listening to this album my opinion changed, mostly about the filler-ish new songs.  That shouldn’t keep anyone from listening to this album though since the majority of the singles = LOVE.  Hopefully alan’s next attempt won’t have so many singles or so much crappy songs, but one can only wish…

4 smelly, naked hippies out of 5

1. Ashita e no Sanka
2. Tsuki ga Watashi
3. Gunjou no Tani
4. RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~
5. Together