Taiyo no Uta [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]

"Taiyou no Uta" recently won the Japanese drama award for best soundtrack--and with good reason. The two songs, which were played repeatedly throughout the whole series, are included here- "Taiyou no Uta" and "Stay with Me". They have guitar-driven melodies, and the lyrics sincere with a touch of melancholy. For me personally, I enjoyed the acoustic versions much more than the polished, in-studio covers because they added another dimension to the drama that made it effective as it was. Sawajiri Erika makes an impressive debut, similar in many ways to Shibasaki Kou's singing debut a few years back. She has a whispery voice that can at times be lost in the music, and she does sound a bit strained at times for the high notes (especially evident in the studio-vers. of "Taiyou no Uta") but there's just something so magnetic about the atmosphere she exudes through her voice that makes me less critical of what she lacks. What I was disappointed in though was the lack of the lyrical-included version of "Wish". The instrumental vers. is a great added bonus to this CD, but I can't help but wonder if "Wish" will be released any time soon.