Angela Aki [ANSWER] (Third Japanese Album)

Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~)
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan’s Cover)
ANSWER
Somebody Stop Me
ダリア (Dahlia)
Final Destination
Our Story
黄昏 (Tasogare)
We’re All Alone (Boz Scaggs’s Cover)
リフレクション (Reflection)
レクイエム (Requiem)
Black Glasses (In Collaboration with Ben Folds)
ファイター (Fighter)

The album starts off with the albums first and only single Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~). I gushed about this song enough in my single review of it, but I still find that I love it, even though it seems a bit underwhelming on the album.

The next track on the album is Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan Cover). I didn’t too much care for this song when it first came out, but I’ve always rather liked Angela’s cover songs, she really does them well. This is no exception, she translated the lyrics to Japanese, which was a nice touch and dished out another exceptional cover. I’d actually like to hear the original.

The title track ANSWER is up next. I got such a ‘kokoro no senshi’ vibe from this song and would have been amazed had it actually went in that direction. It doesn’t, but its still a good song. The arrangement is piano based of course, with some guitar thrown in for good measure, mild, but effective. Angela’s vocal performance was pretty nice, in the beginning I wasn’t too much feeling her, but she got into it as the song went along. I really love the, ‘you’re my answer’ part of the chorus, its rather sweet. I thought I wasn’t going to like this track, but it became its own as it went on. I still think ‘today’ is her best title track to date though.

The next track brings the pace down to a trickle with Somebody Stop Me. This song is strange, because I don’t know if I should like it. I mean I do, but it seems to just come and go. The arrangement is that of the piano, its rather simple and makes this song sound familiar, like one of her older songs. Angela’s vocal performance was pretty good, though it didn’t seem like she sung much. This is a good track to pop on when you want to wind down, but be careful of the mood, since this songs gives off a rather depressing vibe.

The next track on the album is the rather dull ダリア (Dahlia). This is a pretty long song, well over seven minutes. I honestly can’t fathom why Angela would want such an uninteresting song to just stretch on like this did, but I think that was this songs major downfall. I like how the arrangement started off on a classical note and then of course fell into one of Angela’s typical piano melodies. Needless to say it got old fast, especially considering the length. Angela’s vocals give me such a ’silent girl’ vibe and that is not good at all, because as it stands that is Angela’s most boring song to date. The vocals just dragged, because Angela wasn’t really doing much, but just singing this song in the same tone throughout. The most I made out was ‘dahlia’. This is a pretty tedious track, in which is magnified by the absurd length of it.

The next track on the album lifts the pace and the mood with Final Destination. This is so far my favorite song on the album and it got me back on track with it after the snooze-fest of the previous. The arrangement is of course the piano, but I like how crisp and clean it plays. Angela’s vocal performance was nice as well, because I love how the song just gives off such an self-assured feeling. Its precisely like I said in my single review of it: Angela’s going somewhere and no one is going to stop her. I love this track and yes, ‘oh, driving in my car’ is still the love.

The next track on the album is Our Story. This song is all right, if only because of its delivery, because if this song wasn’t so strong, mostly vocal-wise, it would be really boring. The arrangement is just the piano, but its played simply and aggressively at the same time, nothing interesting, but its effective. I liked Angela’s vocal performance, it wasn’t all that interesting, but she was into it and it kept me engaged, its honestly the only reason why I like this track.

The next track on the album is the down-tempo 黄昏 (Tasogare). This song sounds so familiar, I mean the piano piece and the vocals. I liked this a bit, it didn’t do much, but its honestly a nice listen. The arrangement is of course the piano, played rather somberly. Angela’s vocal performance was pretty wistful as well as if she was singing about something or someone that made her happy and sad at the same time. This is a pretty quiet track, but its good.

The next track on the album is the repeat We’re All Alone (Boz Scaggs’s Cover). This track is on her mini-album, so I honestly don’t understand why she decided to put it on here. I guess she did an all new vocal performance, but I can’t tell the difference, its still the same song to me. I like it, just not on this album, since it seems like filler and its pointless.

The next track on the album is the surprising リフレクション (Reflection). Well I didn’t expect this song to go the way it did, as its a pretty up-beat and slightly fun track. The arrangement is very Island-y, that’s the best word I can use to describe it without saying reggae-ish. I liked it, it was simple yet engaging. Angela’s vocal performance was quite energetic as well, I really liked how she got into it and made a song that could have come across as quite confusing, rather enjoyable.

The next track on the album is the dramatic and rather epic レクイエム (Requiem). This is a really long song, I just felt I needed to get that out of the way. Though despite its length it never drags or becomes boring, of course my interest shifted, that’s to be expected, but I never found myself wondering why it hadn’t ended yet. The arrangement is a piece of work, its quite incredible and certainly drives the entire song, completely reflecting the title. Angela’s vocal performance was rather nice as well and I’m surprised she managed to keep it up for so long, I’m wondering if she’ll ever sing this live. The length a turn a few people off, but I say give this a chance and hear it through to the end, you won’t be disappointed.

The second to last track on the album is the quirky Black Glasses (In Collaboration with Ben Folds). In collaboration, huh? This is a pretty different song from Angela, it almost sounded like she was enjoying herself for once, but that’s of course a stretch, she sounded way too serious for that. The arrangement is piano of course, but I like how whimsical and fun it plays, with the tinkles. Angela’s vocals were nice as well, I liked the verses more than the chorus, because the chorus came across as rather silly to me with the whole, ‘wizard of oz’ reference, but all in all this was a pretty enjoyable track.

The last track on the album is the strangely in Japanese ファイター (Fighter). This is quite a twist, normally she ends her album with incredible all English tracks, but this time its a pretty good Japanese one;  I’m not sure if I like this script-flipping. Anyways, this is a nice song. Its not as sad as ‘your love song’ or as positive as ’surrender’ its somewhere in the middle, but it does leans more towards positive and sounds more hopeful than the previous album closer, reflecting the title nicely. This was a good ending to the album, I really loved how it went out, very abstract. I would have still preferred it to be in English though.

-GRADE: A
Rating: *** stars

Angela Aki’s third album ANSWER was a lot better than I expected it to be, to the point that I actually may prefer it over her second album. When I first gave this album the run through I was not impressed and I thought it was boring, so I went into this review with no expectations and came out rather pleased. I don’t know how Angela does it, but she manages to make boring sound so good, except in the case of ‘dahlia’. ANSWER is another good album from Angela and I hope she keeps them coming, she never really disappoints.

*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 15th, 2009]

Angela Aki [These Words] (First English Album)

I’ll Fall
We Dance
100 Ways
April Sun
Funny Dreamers
Roshini’s Song
Perfectly Happy There
Your Voice
Peace To
Magic
Come Home to Me (Hidden Track)

The album starts off with the tame I’ll Fall. This song is pretty mild and depending on who you are, you’ll either like this song or not like this song. It comes across as boring because it never goes anywhere, and Angela doesn’t really do much with her vocals, but I like the natural air of it.

The next track on the album is the lovely We Dance. This is hands down my favorite English Angela Aki song, it just speaks to me. I mean it sounds like one of those old Irish songs, and it really makes you want to get up and dance. The arrangement is just the piano, but its quite lively and really carries this song. Angela’s vocals are gorgeous and I love the chorus, her ad-libs were all over the place, but I just adored the deepness of her voice we see said: ‘we dance’ at the very last breath of the song. Its so powerful.

The next track on the album is the forgettable 100 Ways. This song really does nothing for me. The arrangement is, I can’t ever remember it, but I do recall hearing a rather bland guitar solo at the end. Angela’s vocals are pretty strong, but this song just seems to go nowhere and I just wanted to say: ‘who cares about his hundred ways of doing whatever?’

The next track on the album is the bland April Sun. This song had a bit of potential, but then it kind of fell fast into the: ‘what’s the point of this track?’ category. The arrangement is pretty mild, I heard a guitar thrumming, maybe a piano, but probably not. I can’t really remember it because it was so uninteresting, but it does make you think of the sun on a hot day. Angela’s vocals were fine, during the verses. I don’t know what went wrong during the chorus, but she does such weird things with her tones and that made it sound like she was trying too hard. The song also seems a bit messy, and made me wonder why Angela felt the need to go all over the place vocal-wise, it really wasn’t needed. This is a pretty forgettable track.

The next track on the album is Funny Dreamers. This is a bland song that seems to take itself entirely too seriously. I mean the arrangement is just dull. Angela’s vocals were decent, but I just didn’t like how she chose to sing this song, it just came across as: ‘ah, i am really trying too hard to make this song relevant, aren’t i?’ the lyrics don’t really make any sense either, ‘…drowning in a pool of evidence…’ er, what? It just went completely over my head.

The next track on the album is the down-tempo Roshini’s Song. This song gives me such a ‘your love song’ vibe. Finally, some piano, no one does it better than Angela and good-ness it felt good hearing it on this album. I think it brought the sheer sadness of this song out more, and thus I connected with it more. The piano arrangement was gorgeous like I stated, and Angela’s voice was also appropriately wistful: ‘let me love you one more night…’ its just so touching, and made me think of Bonnie Raitt’s tearjerker ‘I can’t make you love me’ also, on a random note I had at first thought Angela had said: ‘let me do you one more night’ …yeah.

The next track on the album is the mellow Perfectly Happy There. I’ve always felt rather connected with this song, despite the fact that it goes nowhere. The arrangement is a fitting guitar piece, that is actually pretty nice, though nothing memorable. Angela’s vocals are pretty casual, I liked the way she sang: ‘and she’s perfectly happy there’ I mean it seemed like she was saying a whole bunch of nonsense, but when she gets to that line, everything seems to fall into place.

The next track on the album is the guitar-driven Your Voice. This song is down-tempo, the main instrument being the guitar and it sounds acoustic, it most likely is. Angela’s vocals were really good in this, the high light being the chorus where her voice would rise and then dip back down. This is a nice listen and very reminiscent of her later work.

The next track on the album is Peace To. Next to ‘we dance’ this is my favorite song off this album, because Angela talks about relevant issues such as war, hunger and hate. Angela has always come across as a very spiritual person to me, i’m not all that religious but I do believe in a higher power. I love when she says, ‘…and his grace will come down on us/peace to his people… on earth’ this is a good song with an important message.

The next track on the album is the down in tempo Magic. I never really pay attention to this song, because it always came across as the dullest. Its really grown on me though, because its such a lovely song. I mean it starts off a bit depressing, because of the mournful piano piece but then it picks up and becomes hopeful ending on a light and positive note. ‘This time its going to be much different…’

The last track is the hidden Come Home to Me. This song is piano driven and Angela’s vocal performance is tired. This song is boring and I really hate that its a hidden track, it shouldn’t be a track at all. Boo.

-GRADE: C
Rating: * star

Angela’s Aki’s first (and only) English album These Words is more or less a bore. This is Angela’s first and only Indie’s release, so I guess I get the whole vibe of it but honestly its just such a dull listen. The only songs that really stand out are: We Dance and Peace To. I did like Roshini’s Song, I’ll Fall was decent and Magic was a nice listen. The rest are so forgettable its really not even funny. I’m a fan of music like this, but half the time it sounded like Angela was making stuff up off the top of her head, because even in English most of the stuff she was singing made no kind of sense. Though this album was a dud in my opinion I’m quite sure a lot of people will enjoy this album. I mean, I may dislike this but I actually hope that Angela gives the whole English thing a second try, I think she’d do better this second time around. These Words as it stands is a lullaby and not a good one either, I’d recommend it to only die-hard Aki fans or people who like music like this–others will just be bored to tears.

Angela Aki [TODAY] (Second Japanese Album)

Sakurairo (サクラ色; Sakura Colour)
Again
TODAY
Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song)
Tashika ni (たしかに; Surely)
Silent Girl
Moral no Soushiki (モラルの葬式; The Funeral of Morals)
Otome Gokoro (乙女心; The Feelings of a Girl)
One Melody
Tomo no Shirushi (Friend Symbol)
Kodoku no Kakera (孤独のカケラ; Fragments of Solitude)
On & On
Surrender

The album starts off with the nostalgic Sakurairo (サクラ色; Sakura Colour). I have always loved this song, mostly because its so familiar. It really reminds me of coming home again after a long absence. The arrangement is really gorgeous, it gives off such a contentment and feeling of warmth. Angela’s vocals were really in tune, like you could feel how much she felt what she was saying, especially when she says, ‘zutto’ at the end of the chorus’. My favorite part of the song has to be the bridge, when Angela slows her vocals a bit, her voice sounds weighed down; heavy and it really made me connect with her. This was a solid and good start to the album.

The next track ups the pace a bit with Again. It amazes me that I did not like this song when I first listened to this album, but it is a really good song. Lovely and very intense piano playing from Angela in the arrangement, gave this track a lot of depth and atmosphere. Angela’s vocals were very desperate to me in a sense, and it really pulled me into the song. I just love the chorus, its so catchy. This is one of the songs that would be great during concerts or tours, I hope Angela takes advantage of it.

The next track is the up-tempo TODAY. This is really quite the infectious song. I mean in all truth the only thing that keeps this track a float is how terribly infectious and engaging the chorus is, you know, the repeated succession of ‘today!’ oh yeah and her kick ass piano playing in the arrangement, I loved every minute of it. I could literally picture Angela standing up her fingers ripping across the keys and just really getting into this song. TODAY is a song that can become old, pretty fast and the chorus has the tendency to become repetitive and annoying–but I seem to enjoy it more and more every time I listen to it.

The next track is the down-tempo Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song). I always figured Angela would do an infamous ‘ai no uta’ song, and here ya’ go. I wasn’t too enthusiastic with this song when I first heard it, I thought it was terribly boring, lank and uninspired. I took the time to actually listen to it one day when I was going through the album and realized that it was quite a beautiful song. Angela’s piano playing is very light, but it really does its part to set a somber mood. Angela’s vocals were also gorgeous and very emotional, especially towards the end when she utters: ‘(oh) i’m callin’, callin’, callin’, callin’ your name’ this is a good, and rather under appreciated song.

The next track is the infectious Tashika ni (たしかに; Surely). This song plays a lot like TODAY, only its a lot more interesting and a lot more fun. It’s less serious than TODAY and I believe that’s why I find that I enjoy it more. The arrangement is pretty rambunctious, Angela is really getting into her piano playing, and it doesn’t let up. I can say the same for her vocal performance, a lot of the time she sounded breathless to me, and you could tell she was really feeling the song. This is a track that you can easily find yourself growing tired of, and after awhile it does become a bit dull and repetitive, but its still a good song.

The next track is the rather boring Silent Girl. No matter how many times I listen to it, I can never shake the fact that this is just one of the dullest songs I ever heard. It also seems to get even more boring every time I listen to it. The arrangement is very basic, quiet, and stagnant. It alone can lull you to sleep. Angela’s vocals are pretty OK, though nothing special. It felt as if she took this song a little too seriously, and was trying way too hard to make it emotional, and it just made the song very tedious.

Thankfully the next track ups the pace and brings me out of the stupor ’caused by the last track. Moral no Soushiki (モラルの葬式; The Funeral of Morals) is a bit on the dramatic side. I thought the arrangement was pretty dark and powerful, and added a slight edge and intrigue to the song to really pull you in. Angela’s vocals were very focused and pretty good, and seemed like she was really into the song, working hard to make the message of it felt. It seems rather religious to me, and the car screeching and the frenzied pace of the song towards the end was just really haunting to me. This is definitely a memorable song, even if it does have the tendency to become boring.

The next track on the album is the cross between down and mid-tempo, Otome Gokoro (乙女心; The Feelings of a Girl). This is another song off this album that I didn’t too much favor when I first listened to this, and even though I’ve grown to like it, it still isn’t all that interesting. The arrangement is pretty tame, but it does what it should. Angela’s vocals I did like, the sort of deep tone she used was nice and didn’t make it seem like she was running out of breath. The chorus is really the high light of the song, its pretty memorable. I adore the title.

The next track is the down-tempo One Melody. This song is pretty long-winded and boring. I mean I like the arrangement, its very pretty and soothing, Angela’s vocals are fine if not a little plain, and I like the ‘one melody’ of the chorus, but in all truth this song gets dull as soon as it starts and doesn’t let up. Its also forgettable in every sense of the word.

The next track on the album is the mournful Tomo no Shirushi (友のしるし; Friend Symbol). I get a very mournful vibe from this song. There’s not much going on with this song, it has a minimal though rather moving arrangement (it sounds a bit like Onegai), and Angela’s vocal performance was slow put still rather pretty and sad. I at first thought this song was just really boring and not really memorable at all, but it has a subtle charm about it that I like. That, and its not really a bad song.

The next track keeps the down-tempo’s coming with Kodoku no Kakera (孤独のカケラ; Fragments of Solitude). This is really a lovely song. I adored how it opened with the piano and went out with it. The twinkle like quality of it made it very wistful and engaging. Angela’s vocals were nice as well, though I did expect this song to be a lot more than what it was. It just came off as very anti-climactic to me. Still, its a good song.

The second to last track on the album is the phenomenal On&On. Angela kicks it up a notch with this song, and what a relief, because the down-tempo tracks were becoming a stupor. The piano arrangement in this song is most definitely one of her best, and you could tell she was really into it, but not only that but the song in general. Angela really put emotion into this song, and I loved every minute of it. The ‘dreams live on and on!’ part always gets me, its just such an inspirational and positive song; to always follow your dreams and your heart. This is definitely a song I wouldn’t mind hearing live, the sheer depth of it alone is enough to bring you to tears.

The last track on the album is the down-tempo Surrender. What a beautiful and absolutely heart-wrenching song. I thought the piano arrangement was gorgeous and so very melancholy. Angela’s vocals were top-notch in this track and full of so much emotion, I could just hear them spilling over. This was such a great and powerful way to end the album. I also like how she ended it with a song entirely in English like Your Love Song (which I still love better). HOME ended on a rather sad note, TODAY ends on a somewhat hopeful one.

-GRADE: A-
Rating: **1/2 stars

Angela Aki’s second album TODAY is not as good as I thought it would be, and certainly not as good as HOME was. The up-tempo songs were nice, and catchy, but after awhile had the tendency to become a bit boring and redundant. The down-tempo songs were good as well, but at the same time they seemed to go on far longer than they should have, thus making them very tedious in the process. Angela’s main instrument in nearly all of her songs is the piano, and though she plays the piano very well and the arrangements are more often than not gorgeous, it does get old and I would have liked to hear a bit more variety. Angela had some really stellar tracks on here: Sakurairo, TODAY, Tashika ni, Moral no Soushiki, On&On and Surrender. Again, Ai no Uta, Otome Gokoro, and Tomo no Shirushi and Kodoku no Kakera actually really surprised me, because I at one point really disliked them, but now I find them quite enjoyable. Silent Girl is a drag of a song, and I’ll never like it, its just way too boring and the same goes to One Melody. TODAY is a much lighter side to HOME, and though I enjoyed her debut album more, this album is still pretty damn good.

Angela Aki (Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~)] (8th Single)

Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~)
final destination
Still Fighting It
Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ -strings version- (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~)

Angela Aki’s 8th single starts off with the a-side Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~). I knew from the moment I read the title that this was not only going to be a moving song, but a good one as well. Angela never seems to disappoint me when it comes to quality and this song definitely delivers. The arrangement as it stands is your typical Angela fair: the piano. I mean what is a truly good Angela Aki song without her piano? I love the piano arrangement in this, its very slow and sure, nearly church-like and gives off a feeling of nostalgia and remembrance. I did enjoy Angela’s vocal performance, though it was not as strong as I would have liked she still gave it her all and I’ve always respected her for that. I thought the clapping segment was a nice touch, it really was and if you had found yourself growing disinterested with the song that part would have most certainly pulled you back in. This is another memorable song to add to Angela’s collection, because its so very poignant and relevant; for the record I really would like to write a letter to my fifth teen year old self, I find myself missing that girl.

The next track on the album is the b-side final destination. I think I like this song more than the a-side, though I’m not going to say its for sure. Of course this song has the customary Angela and her piano, but its still such a nice arrangement very calming, but at the same time it makes you a little anxious as well. I did think Angela’s vocal performance in this song was a little better than it was in the a-side, if only because she sounded less like her voice was going out and more assertive. I love how this song gives off the whole vibe of you going somewhere, somewhere important and no one is going to get in the way of you getting there. It has such a finality about it that really absorbs you and makes you connect fully with the song and its title: ‘(Oooh) drivin’ in my car’.

The next b-side is a cover of a Ben Folds song Still Fighting It. I listened to the original song and found that it was pretty nice, afterward I listened to Angela’s cover of it. I was surprised that she decided to sing it in Japanese instead of in English, but the end result was a very good one. She really did this song justice; such emotion and feeling she put into this track and I actually prefer this version over the original.

The last track on the album is the lovely Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ -strings version- (手紙 ~拝啓 十五の君へ~; Letter ~To You, at 15~). Could this song get anymore beautiful? This version is much more slow-paced than the original and I of course liked this just as much as I liked the original. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that they took out the whole clapping segment and the ‘la,la,la’s’ during that part was a little more than annoying; all in all this was still a good version of a good song.

-GRADE: A+
Rating: *** stars

Angela’s Aki’s 8th single Tegami ~Haikei Juugo no Kimi e~ was just what I expected it to be, fucking good. I knew I missed Angela Aki but I didn’t know just how much until this single came out and I listened to it. Angela is a very inspiring person with a lot of depth and that is why I enjoy her music so much it always has something to offer, her music always has a purpose. I can’t wait to hear more new material from her, she never gets old.

Angela Aki [HOME] (First Japanese Album)

Kiss Me Good-Bye
Love Is Over Now
Kokoro no Senshi (心の戦士; The Warrior Within)
MUSIC
This Love
Onegai (お願い; Wishes)
Uchuu (宇宙; Universe)
Rain (Re-Arrangement)
Kiseki (奇跡; Miracle)
Oogesa ni ‘Aishiteru’ (大袈裟に「愛してる」; Overstatement in an ‘I Love You’)
Hallelujah
HOME
Your Love Song

Angela opens the album with the sweeping ballad and croon-fest Kiss Me Good-Bye. I use to think this song was incredibly boring and forgettable, but one day I actually sat down in listened to it and realized it was actually quite good. I love Angela’s vocal performance during this song and the arrangement adds atmosphere and depth really making this song emotional and heartfelt.

We go into another ballad song, but this one is one of Angela’s best and most memorable songs to date. Love Is Over Now is just such a depressingly beautiful song that always gets to me every time I hear it especially when Angela says: ‘Love is over now’ its like a finalization that love has ended, forever and it’s overwhelmingly poignant, because it’s like she has to keep saying it to prove it to herself.

Angela speeds it up a little mid-tempo wise with Kokoro no Senshi which stands for The Warrior Within. I love this song, because it is so powerful in it’s delivery and man can Angela play the piano! she gives such an aggressive vocal performance especially during the chorus, but my favorite part would have to be the repeated succession of, ‘yeah!’ this is a great song.

We go into the first up-tempo track on the album, MUSIC. I always love Angela’s up-tempo tracks, because they really are –once you get into it– a lot of fun. A song adhering to the joy of music and how it’s a wonderful thing, ‘can you hear the music?’ only problem I have with this song is that after awhile it can get a little grating. It’s not her best fast paced track, but it’s a good one with a nice fresh arrangement and vocal performance.

Slowing it down again we go into the next track that follows along the same vein as Kiss Me Good-Bye pace wise. This Love starts off wonderfully with Angela playing the piano and then gives way to a very heartwarming song of love. This song can come off as very boring, because it’s incredible slow and never really seems to go anywhere, but at the same time you can’t help but be touched by Angela’s sincere vocal performance.

I really love this next song, Onegai (お願い; Wishes). It’s the shortest track on the album, but it’s just so touching and smooth. It’s rather depressing in a sense especially since Angela sings it in a sort of melancholic way, but at the same time you can’t help but feel some hope shining through. ‘Onegai’ is what I would describe as a ’smiling through the tears’ type of song.

The next track is a hate it or love one: Uchuu (宇宙; Universe) starts off dark setting the mood for what I was hoping would be a little like her song ‘moral no soushiki’ from her TODAY album. It’s something like that, but as where ‘moral no soushiki grabbed my attention from start to finish, Uchuu seems to grab me from the start then towards the end I sort of lose interest. It’s still a good song though (especially the instrumental which I love), just not one I particularly care for.

The next track is the re-arranged version of Rain. I don’t really like this version, because it seems like a watered down version of the original, plus I don’t feel as if it should have been re-arranged because in my opinion it was perfect as is. This version just lacks the intensity and emotion that the original held and it makes me feel detached from it. Still, it’s a great song and the reason why I’m an Angela Aki fan today.

Angela brings up the pace and brings us one step closer to the end of this album. Kiseki (奇跡; Miracle) is a great, lively and inspirational mid-tempo track. I just love the instrumental and how it sparkles, Angela’s voice as well. My favorite part of the song has to be when Angela says, ‘I am waiting for a miracle’ I can just feel it. This is one of my favorite Aki tracks, definitely.

Angela slows it way down with Oogesa ni ‘Aishiteru’ (大袈裟に「愛してる」; Overstatement in an ‘I Love You’), which is to my great surprise, terribly boring. The arrangement is barely there and Angela sings the verses and the chorus at such a snail-like pace that you just after a while can’t even be bothered to pay attention to the song because you just wish it would end. Its too long and not a good kind of long, but a painful ‘why does this song have to be so long?’ long. I mean there are more interesting ways to tell someone you love them, this song isn’t one of them.

Thankfully Angela decides to pick up the pace a little after putting me to sleep. Hallelujah is definitely somewhat of a religious song, at least that is the impression I got while listening to it. The verses are rather forgettable, but Angela really puts her all into the chorus especially the, ‘can you feel it?’ parts of it. It’s a really nice track that delivers it’s message, clearly.

The second to last song on this album is the title track HOME. I didn’t too much like this song when I first heard it and still I have a hard time appreciating it, but at the end of the day when I really give it a listen I have to admit, it’s a good song.

Angela ends this album on a superb note, Your Love Song is just an incredibly moving song which is sung entirely in English and is one of the best endings to an album I have ever heard. It really rounds everything out nicely and just leaves you with such a feeling of awe. I loved how Angela sang along with the piano to this track, because this is one of her all time best vocal performances. Your Love Song is definitely one of my favorites and best in Angela’s entire discography.

-GRADE: A+
Rating: *** stars

This is my favorite Angela Aki album and I don’t think that will ever change. Every song on this album has it’s own special poignant appeal that really captures your ear in your heart and forces you to recognize her talent. I have always loved this album and it has not diminished with time. Of course I had a few problems with this album, the most glaring being the re-arranged version of Rain;  some tracks though good were a little slow as to where a casual fan of her music will be lulled into a doze. However, those problems pale when you realize that you are listening to some truly great and emotionally moving songs. I can listen to this album over and over and over again and never get tired. It’s one of the few albums that I will always love, unconditionally.

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