alan [Voice of EARTH] (First Album)

Tennyo ~interlude~
Ashita e no Sanka
Sora Uta
Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~
Hitotsu
Kaze no Tegami
BRAVE
Yume no GARDEN
Gunjou no Tani
my friend
Liberty
Tsuki ga Watashi
RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~
Megumi no Ame
Together

The album starts off with Tennyo ~interlude~. This is a pretty long interlude, its practically song limit going a bit over three minutes. Its a nice opening to the album and invokes such an atmosphere of surrealism. I thought alan’s mountain notes were a bit unnecessary if only because they seemed to come out of nowhere, otherwise a pretty good start to the album, even if it did play like one of those random instrumentals.

The first full length track on the album is Ashita e no Sanka. This is alan’s first single and I admit its quite the single to debut with, but I believe at this point the novelty has worn off. I do like how this incorporates traditional Chinese music, very nice and gave me such an ‘house of flying daggers’ vibe. alan’s vocals are pretty regular and then you get to the chorus where she hits these notes that sound so alien, its awe-inspiring and annoying at the same time, that’s the best way I can describe it. I do like how this song was put together, how there isn’t much going on with it, but its memorable and leaves quite an impression. I may not like this track as much as I once did, but this is definitely one of my favorites from her.

The next track on the album brings the pace up a tad with Sora Uta. I reviewed all five of alan’s elemental release singles and this is the second in the saga. This song just sounds different to me, like a whole lot more interesting. I like the oriental airy-ness of the arrangement, I mean its not ‘wow’ ing or anything, but it certainly gives off an refreshing type of feeling. alan’s vocal performance also sounds better to me, like not so annoying and more in control. I don’t know, I don’t dislike this song anymore, but I’m not sure if I fully like it either. I’ll have to give it a few more listens before I can fully decide, but I’ll give it one thing, it sounds a whole hell of a lot better this time around.

The next track on the album is the first single from alan’s elemental release saga, Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~. This song sounds a lot different than it did on the single. I gave this track a lot of flack, but hearing it on the album I actually quite like it, if only because its almost like another version. I like the sound of the kids at the beginning, I like how the arrangement and the entire atmosphere of the song makes you think of the Earth and how precious and important it is to our well-being and survival as humans. alan gave a good and rather genuine vocal performance and though I still think her mountain notes sound like a cat wailing, they were appropriate. I love the choir singing along with her towards the end and the fact that this track just sounds a whole lot more inspirational this time around. I can safely say this has grown on me.

The next track on the album is the rather tame Hitotsu. I’ve always thought of this as a part two of ‘ashita e no sanka’ because they sound so similar to me. This is a pretty quiet song and I think that’s where its charm lies. The arrangement plays like air and alan gives a somewhat strong vocal performance without overdoing it, even during the high notes, she kept it to a minimum. I’ve always liked this track, right a long with ‘ashita e no sanka’ that hasn’t changed.

The next track speeds the pace up a tad with Kaze no Tegami. Ah, unlike ’sora uta’ this song is still as underwhelming as it was on the single. I’m just really not feeling the pseudo-rock and experimental arrangement it just seems so dead and limp, like it should be coming out at me, engaging me, but its just as dull as lights flashing on and off. alan’s vocal performance was pretty stagnant as well. I mean there was no emotion in her voice, no feeling and it made the song tedious. I don’t know, this track was the perfect opportunity to give us something other than oriental ballads and the payoff was weak.

The next track on the album is surprisingly not a single. BRAVE is a pretty boring title. We finally get presented with a non-single track, but it was hardly worth the wait. The arrangement is very traditional, but it isn’t really all that interesting and sounds pretty typical and strange. alan’s vocal performance wasn’t really all that good either, it wasn’t bad, but it did nothing to hold my attention. I also hated the bombardment of caterwauling she kept doing, it sounded like she was drowning.

The next track on the album is the ethereal-esque Yume no GARDEN. Ah, yet another song that isn’t a single, that makes two in a row. Anyways as where the previous was annoying, this is pretty forgettable and boring. The arrangement is a series of sounds that I guess are supposed to give off the atmosphere of an otherworldly garden or something, but sounds like crickets chirping at night an the wind. alan’s vocal performance was decent, because needless to say she does have a nice voice, but it just came across as tired to me, because she wasn’t doing anything with it. I mean the ‘mountain notes’ would have actually sounded right in this track, unlike the previous. Its also long, which made the song drag and thus more dull than it should have been.

The next track on the album is the last single release before this album Gunjou no Tani. I still think this is a pretty good track. It has a nice arrangement and alan delivers a good vocal performance and uses the whole high note hitting to her advantage. It’ll never be a favorite of mine and I don’t think alan will ever release a single or record a song that can top ‘red cliff’, but this is an enjoyable and rather atmospheric listen.

The next track on the album keeps the slow pace going with my friend. This is a pretty mild song, that manages to do nothing really, but has a nice flow. The arrangement is quite pretty, despite being rather simple and alan gave a somewhat boring yet genuine vocal performance. I have a soft spot for ‘friend’ songs an though this doesn’t really stand out and is a little forgettable I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. Its not bad.

The next track on the album is the one that was suppose to be a single, but thankfully wasn’t. Liberty is not so much boring as it is uninteresting (which seems to be the case with these non single tracks), I do like the flow, its nice and easy. The arrangement is a rather simple piano piece with some sparkle sounds that play like they were thrown in there every once in a while. alan’s vocal performance was rather nice though, but it didn’t stand out at all. This is a decent listen, but single material it was not and I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that.

The next track on the album is the down-tempo Tsuki ga Watashi. This song is pretty similar to the last track. The arrangement is more traditional though, that’s always nice. alan’s vocal performance was quite like the previous, nice, but it didn’t stand out. I’m not sure why the single tracks are so underwhelming and safe, but this was a pretty listen none the less.

The next track on the album is the epic RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~. I swear alan must share my opinion in this being her best song, especially considering she releases it so much. I gushed about this song enough on my single review of it and my feelings towards it hasn’t changed. This is a great song, with a haunting and rather fantastic arrangement and a top-notch vocal performance, I wonder if she will ever be able to top this?

The second to last track on the album is the down-tempo Megumi no Ame. I gave this song quite the beating in my single review of it, but like ’sora uta’ and ‘natsukashii mirai’ this track just sounds so much better, a lot better and surprisingly not boring at all. I like how simply pretty the arrangement is, there’s nothing to it and it plays so nice. alan’s vocal performance was also rather lovely. I quite enjoyed this song this time around, imagine that?

The last track on the album is the limited addition Together. This is the new track on the album that left the biggest impression on me and the only one I genuinely like. The arrangement was nice and dramatic and alan’s vocal performance was gorgeous. I thought it was interesting how she would switch up her tones, to where the song sounded incredibly depressing one second and then oddly up-lifting the next. This was a pretty good end to the album.

-GRADE: B
Rating: ** stars

alan’s first album Voice of EARTH is like the majority of debut albums, good, but not good enough. It took eight singles before this could be released and honestly had she snipped the eight to about three or four, I would have most definitely rated this album higher as she didn’t it becomes an orgy of tracks I’ve already heard and that really dumbs down the enjoyment factor. The main problem I had with this album, other than the mountain of singles, was the fact that the album only tracks were rather mediocre and safe. You go through all this trouble to glamorize the singles to make the album appealing and the songs that everyone are anticipating (the non single tracks) are pretty average and the only one that I’d even bother listening to again would be ‘together’ and ‘Tsuki ga Watashi’, ‘my friend’ possibly, but lets not stretch it. I did like how the elemental singles I didn’t like (all, but ‘red cliff’) played a lot better and the only one I still had qualms with was ‘kaze no tegami’. Voice of EARTH is a decent debut album, with some pretty nice tracks and some good vocals from alan (because lets face it, the woman can sing), but its just not all that good to me and was a pretty average if not boring listen.

*This is an old review, this is the first of a slew of reviews I did before I decided to go on my hiatus. [April 14th, 2009]

alan [Gunjou no Tani] (8th Single)

Gunjou no Tani
Gunjou no Tani (Acoustic Version)

alan’s 8th single starts off with the a-side Gunjou no Tani. I was more than prepared to be unimpressed, I wasn’t impressed, but I did come out liking this song a whole lot more than I thought I would. The arrangement is like mild rock, or maybe I’m just thinking of it along those lines. I’m a bit pleased by how, well somewhat lively it seems, since I was expecting it be more slow-paced, perhaps flowing. Its almost distracting in a sense, but fitting. alan’s vocals weren’t ‘wow’ like they were in ‘red cliff’, but I thought she sounded pretty good, I actually liked all those high-note ad-lids she hit. I’m not much of an alan fan, but this is the best a-side I’ve heard from her since ‘red cliff’ and I am very much so relieved by that.

The next track on the single is Gunjou no Tani (Acoustic Version). Hmm? I like acoustic versions of songs, but sometimes they come across as a bit boring. I do like this though. The arrangement is guitar based of course and it allows for alan’s vocals to stand out more, which is a good thing, because she does have a nice voice. I’m not sure which one I prefer more; this is a good version of the original.

-GRADE: A
Rating: *** stars

alan’s 8th single Gunjou no Tani was better than I expected it to be. I mean her five elemental releases really made me wary of her, but after this I think my confidence in her musical ability has returned, somewhat. I know ‘kuon no kana’ comes before this, but since its like ‘red cliff’ all over again, I decided to just review this and get it out the way. Gunjou no Tani is a good song and I believe I’ll enjoy it even more on the album. I’m glad alan opted for an acoustic version of said song instead of an b-side, otherwise I doubt I would have gave this album an A. Hopefully her singles only get better from here.

*This is an old review, this is the first of a slew of reviews I did before I decided to go on my hiatus. [April 14th, 2009]

alan [Megumi no Ame (恵みの雨; Blessed Rain)] (7th Single

Megumi no Ame (恵みの雨; Blessed Rain)
Namida

alan’s 7th single, fifth and last in her five elemental release saga is the a-side Megumi no Ame (恵みの雨; Blessed Rain). It represents water. I didn’t think it would get any better than ‘red cliff’ but I didn’t think it would be worse than the first three either. This song is boring, plain and true. I understand that rain or water isn’t the most interesting of things, but as the most beautiful of the five elements I at least expected it to be a bit more on the lovely side. Water is my favorite element, so this dull take on it is really quite the disappointment. The arrangement was pretty flat, I hardly noticed it. alan’s vocals weren’t bad, but she chose to sing this song in the same pace throughout, I mean even when it rose a little towards the ’supposed’ climax there wasn’t much of a change and it just made this song quite the tedious listen. This is definitely the worst and most forgettable of the five elemental singles.

The next track on the single is its b-side Namida. This track is even more dull and I honestly didn’t think that would be possible. The arrangement is the only interesting thing about this song, with its music box quality which is rather relaxing, but then again only by a little. alan’s vocals were a bore, despite them not being bad to listen too. I also did not get the feeling of water, not from this or the a-side, unless we are talking about still, un-moving water, which is boring.

-GRADE: D
Rating: * star

alan’s 7th single Megumi no Ame was quite the bore-fest, sincerely. I honestly thought I would like this, what with water being my favorite element, but it turned out to be my least favorite in the elemental series and in my opinion her worst single to date: Megumi no Ame was boring and Namida was even more boring. Yawn… I’m just glad its over.

alan [RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ (RED CLIFF~Heart War~)] (6th Single)

RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ (RED CLIFF~Heart War~)
Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~
Ashita e no Sanka ~Orchestra Version~

alan’s sixth single and fourth in her five elemental release saga is the a-side RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ (RED CLIFF~Heart War~). It represents fire. Ah, so this is what all the hype surrounding alan was about. I must say this song right here certainly justifies it. I’ve been giving alan a hard time, but if her first three elemental singles had played like this, I would have had no reason to complain. This song is epic incarnate. Did I get a fire like vibe from this song? Not really. Though, that hardly matters because this is one great song. The arrangement was perfect, it created a dramatic and rather intense atmosphere and surely carried this song as well as alan’s vocals. This is quite possibly the best vocal performance I have heard from her, it was rather grand. I was so impressed by her tones that I literally stopped what I was doing an just listened completely absorbed. Then the infamous mountain note she hit as where in ‘longing future’ it sounded weird it fit right in here, I was nearly stunned. I mean I was waiting to be blown away by alan, after so many rave reviews I was wondering why I was so unimpressed, but this song has made me second guess myself in concerns to her. This is a great song, its quite possibly her best so far.

The next track on the single is its b-side Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~. Its the same song only in alan’s native Chinese. This is good of course, but surprisingly I like the Japanese version a lot more.

The last track on the single is Ashita e no Sanka ~Orchestra Version~. This is really long, but it never really felt long and that was a plus. I won’t go into too much detail with this (i’ll save that for when i  review the single), I’ll just say this is a pretty good version of the already good original. The only problem I had was that sometimes while she was ‘mountain’ noting she kind a sounded like she was whining, but otherwise she gave forth a good and rather powerful vocal performance.

-GRADE: A
Rating: *** stars

alan’s sixth single RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ is the best I’ve heard from her since Hitotsu. RED CLIFF ~Shin Sen~ is just epic and a pure orgasm of the ears. The Chinese version is good as well, less epic though and way more dramatic. The orchestra version of Ashita e no Sanka was also pretty good, but I just didn’t like how she sounded like she was whining during the chorus. This is an all around solid single though, one of her best.

alan [Kaze no Tegami 風の手紙; Wind Letter] (5th Single)

Kaze no Tegami (風の手紙; Wind Letter)
Kagome

alan’s fourth single and third in her five elemental release saga is the a-side Kaze no Tegami (風の手紙; Wind Letter). I like this song a bit more than the previous two, but it still does nothing to awe me and after a while it becomes pretty dull. The arrangement is nice, somewhat powerful and engaging but a bit simple and tame. I didn’t too much like when it went kind of futuristic, it was like she was trying too hard to bring some interest or variety to this track and only managed to confuse me. It does make me think of the wind though. alan’s vocals were good in this song, pretty strong though, she didn’t do much with it and that tidbit kind of let me down. I feel so detached from this song and it doesn’t help that its pretty long so it seems to just drag on, especially after the break. I could really picture this  being the opening to an anime and that seemed to occupy my mind more than this song did. I don’t know want it is, but alan has a tendency to just exhaust me her music is such a chore.

The next track on the single is its b-side Kagome. I didn’t like the b-side all that much either and I can’t really tell which one I liked more or less because they both sound so similar. Well, the arrangement to this is leaning a bit toward rock and makes me think of being swept up in a windstorm or something. It makes for some dark atmosphere. However, it just gets weird towards the random ‘oh’ part that seems to come out of absolutely nowhere. I didn’t really care for alan’s vocal performance, it was decent, but she came across as very awkward to me or I just felt awkward listening to her sing this. This is a pretty forgettable b-side.

-GRADE: C
Rating: * star

alan’s 5th single Kaze no Tegami was yet another disappointing single in this elemental release saga she had going on. Kaze no Tegami was fine at first but then it just got dull. Kagome is ultimately forgettable. I know it seems like I’m coming down hard on alan; I have no problem with her personally, I actually liked her first two singles, but I don’t know–these just do nothing for me… maybe RED CLIFF will change my mind.

alan [Sora Uta (空唄; Sky Song)] (4th Single)

Sora Uta (空唄; Sky Song)
My Stage

alan’s 4th single and second in her elemental release saga is the a-side Sora Uta (空唄; Sky Song). It represents sky. The arrangement is pretty nice. It sounds very traditional and in a sense its engaging but after a while you find that you’re ignoring it completely or it could be that the novelty has seemingly wore off. alan has a really good voice I’ll certainly give her that, but she sounded really annoying in this song. I mean she sort of sounded like Ayu earlier in her career only with a better voice and more controlled vocals. This song is pretty up-tempo and in a sense gives one the feeling of air or the sky, because its so light and sweeping, but in the end I found this song a bit of a chore. I mean for a song that’s somewhat fast-paced its boring and uninteresting in every way. I lost interest the minute she started singing and by the end of the song I was barely even listening to it. It’s bland, and offers nothing.

The next track on the single is the b-side My Stage. I’ll admit this song is a lot more interesting than the a-side, but it doesn’t mean much since its still a pretty underwhelming song. This track sounded a lot Chinese to me, I kind a liked that, but it didn’t stop this song from coming across as very pointless. alan’s vocals were decent, but she sounded strangely awkward like she herself couldn’t believe she was singing such a boring and uninspired song. Its upbeat, but it still manages to play like lukewarm water and it just amazes me. The song is pretty cute, but it doesn’t make me think of the sky at all, in truth it makes me think of a school play and those are never interesting.

-GRADE: D
Rating: 1/2 star

alan’s 4th single Sora Uta is pretty forgettable and bad. Sora Uta could have been a good song, but it just annoys and is painfully uninteresting. My Stage is a bit better, but it just bores and plays like filler. I wonder why she didn’t add a children’s choir version to this one? This is a pretty disappointing single, I really hope Kaze no Tegami is better than this.

alan [Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~] (3rd Single)

Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~
Seed of Green
Gasshou [Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~](Chorus with Suginami Children’s Choir)

alan’s 3rd single and first in her elemental single release saga is the a-side Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~. It represents Earth. The arrangement is pretty good, but I’d have to admit at times it got pretty strange and then it would seem to catch itself and become epic sounding once again. I’m not saying epic in a grandiose like sense though, but I mean that in it would play like its suppose to play sense. The arrangement is pretty weak if you ask me, but when its not playing oddly its really nice on the ears. alan’s vocal performance was pretty good as well, but it wasn’t as great as its made out to be. The most glaring thing about this song is this ‘mountain’ note (I guess that’s what they’re calling it) when her voice gets really high it sounds so out of place, but just right at the same time. I can’t even really describe it. It didn’t sound very high-note-ish to me, in fact it sounded like a cat wailing or a little girl trying to hit a high note. It just came across as so wrong, but so right. The best part about this song was the echoes where it sounded like ethereal voices were singing with her. This song isn’t bad, but its not really all that impressive. Also, I didn’t really get a Earth like vibe from this song. I mean what does Earth sound like anyways?

The next track on the single is the b-side Seed of Green. This in a sense pertains to Earth as that is where you plant seeds. The arrangement is rather simple. Earth represents power and stability in my mind, but I didn’t get that from the a-side or the b-side, in fact this arrangement came across as very weak to me. alan’s vocal performance was good, but a drag. The low and slow way she sung this song really made it dull and quite a chore to get through. I really don’t care for this track and it becomes forgotten as soon as it ends.

The last track on the single is Gasshou [Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~]. This is a children’s choir version of the original and despite the fact that its just a bunch of kids singing to a beautiful piano melody, I actually found that I enjoyed this a lot more than its original version. The kids sound really adorable and this is just a charming and endearing little version of Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~.

-GRADE: C
Rating: * star

alan’s 3rd single Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ is a pretty dull single and lacks the feeling of Earth in every way. I thought the a-side Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ was pretty epic-less and it really annoyed me after a while. Seed of Green the b-side was pretty boring and pointless. Gasshou on the other hand was endearing and really quite the charmer of a song and saved this single from a D rating. I hope the other four singles are better than this.