Review by Vickie_M

I got bought this album on a whim after listening to Origa's latest album, Aurora (which I highly recommend by the way). It features music from her first album in the early 1990's up to 1999, and it can be summed up as an easy-listening album, which will surprise fans of her song "rise," and is all in Russian except for a small part on one song. The collection starts out with the gentle, ethereal "Lilika," and continues on with happier songs, but the sadder "Panimayu" is a treat as well, with Origa singing with a quiet, pleading desperation. There are also traditional Russian songs featured, such as "Polushka Pole" and a theme from a show titled "Waga ga kokoro no MARIA." This album is a nice collection of Origa's best works, though fans of her newer style with be disappointed with the lack of newer material. But still, this CD is very nice and I hope you consider ordering it.

Overall, the only decent song on here is "rise" by Origa, which is the only reason I bought this single. The first song has a somewhat decent beat to it, but the lyrics are laughably unintelligible. "rise" is a pounding hard rock/techno song half sung in English and Russian and is my favorite song on the single. The last song is a chillout piece that some may like and some may not; I didn't like it because of the girl's breathy and distorted vocals. Plus, like song 1, I had no idea what she was saying! The lyrics to the song aren't even in the booklet! So if anything, I'd say it's worth getting this single for the song "rise," but the price might make it not worth it's; it's up to you.

If you were going to buy just one Ayumi Hamasaki single, this is the one you should get! It may be a single, but it's almost 76 minutes long, so it's definitely a great deal. Secondly, the songs on here are all high-quality, and though they're a bit old, they don't seem that way, because they the monochrome, too late and trauma all feel so new, with their dancable beats, and End roll is one of my favorite ballads by Ayumi; I highly recommend it! The other tracks are instrumentals, and I love singing to them, but listening to them is great, too! There are also 6 different remixes on here, so there's something for everyone. Finally, you might want to consider getting this single quickly if you haven't already; CDJapan is one of the only places I've seen this single sold, and in other places it's out of print, so get it soon to add or start your collection!

The song INSPIRE is powerful from the very beginning and gathers energy every time it enters the chorus, begging you to sing along and dance! The PV was pretty good; Ayu dancing in the desert with some sort of frilly red dress, and, of course, her trademark REALLY long nails! GAME is an emo sort of rock tune, and Ayu's lyrics for it are great! The only thing I didn't like was how her voice was distorted in the verses, and the vocals didn't quite seem at their peak. The PV was...interesting. The whole set is dark, with flashing television screens, and some sort of really tall, freaky-looking man that seems to be haunting (chasing?) Ayu around. This is a good single from Ayu that I would recommend for faithful fans and people who like dance/rock music.

Shake It Up is a poppy dance tune that combines a few different musical styles while still maintaining a rock-steady beat. At one interlude, you can hear a Spanish sounding guitar, while a disco beat dominates another part of the song. Although it's a typical party song, I really enjoyed it and listened to it over and over again. The instrumental is also worthy of a few listens because of the quality arrangement.

This is probably one of the first songs I've heard from Mika, and I thought Hi no tori was pretty good. The song itself might take a few listens to get into, but I found it very refreshing and jazzy, and Mika's voice fit perfectly with the music, which was wonderfully arranged. Eveything from the drums, the flute, and all the other instruments gave Hi no Tori a perfectly surreal atmosphere to it...which made the instrumental at the end excellent, also! The cover of Missing, which is the second track, was great, too. It was very classy, catchy and soothing, like a rainy afternoon. So, I give this single a four out of five; the only thing that kept it from a perfect is that it took a bit for me to get into it. Oh, and I thought the cover was great; Nakashima-san always looks nice.

Well, if you haven't heard of Origa, that's OK, because most haven't. However, this Russian singer can amaze with any song she sings, whether it's in Russian, Japanese, or English! This album consists of half techno-pop and half soft, soothing ballads, and they are all done superbly well by Origa, who writes the music to most of her songs. My favorites on Aurora are Promise and Aney, Unborn Child, though the rest of the songs are excellent, too! If you're looking for a new artist to add to your collection, THIS is the one!

Hmmm...this is one of Ayumi's CDs that didn't totally blow my mind. RAINBOW gives an overall laid-back vibe, and unlike the last album, I am..., it's suprisingly very poppy. True, there are a few good song such as "Free and Easy" and "independent"; the rest are pretty forgetable and sleepy, and might even be an acquired taste for a die-hard Ayu fan. Also, the interludes aren't as remarkable as her others, but were probably just added on to make the tracklist look nice. They don't make any sense as you listen through the album and serve no purpose whatsoever, except the intro, "Everylasting Dreams", which was alright. In the end, RAINBOW is an album that is half good + half ugh = meh, not bad. Between a 2 and a 3.

This was my first real taste of Otsuka's music, besides sampling it online, and it was a very rewarding experience. The music on the CD was a great collection of off-the-wall, happy-go-lucky tunes like "Happy Days", and relaxing songs like "Daisukidayo". On the other hand, however, the DVD was extremely disappointing: no music videos! All the DVD has is a short live action movie staring Otsuka and an animated video for "Daisukidayo". Besides the DVD, this album is a great introduction to Otsuka's music for new listeners and fits well into any fanatic's CD collection. Nice job, Ai!