Review by Audny
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MY ROOTSYellow CherryWorth purchasing
For those who enjoyed Ippome, this CD is definitely worth the money. It's a fairly short (and very cheap) CD, but the quality of music (with the exception of Sexy Lady, which only serves to crack me up every time I hear it) is at least as good as their mini-album Ippome. The inside booklet isn't especially attractive, but the humour value of the middle pages is priceless. I have no gripes with this CD, and my only gripe is that Yellow Cherry has never released a full-length album of, say, 40 to 50 minutes. If you're wondering what Yellow Cherry's other music sounds like, this is an excellent place to start. It converted me from a semi-dubious fan of Ippome to a hardcore Yellow Cherry fan.
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Yume no Oku no Motto OkunoodlesGood early release
Definitely not among their best, but it's a good early release. The music tends to drag on a little and YOKO's vocals definitely matured in the fourteen years since this release, but any true noodles fan will buy this single anyway.
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ivynoodlesNot their best
This was, quite honestly, the first noodles CD I ever heard, and I thought it was amazing. I still do, in fact, despite the fact that it's rather short (only 22 minutes long). It wasn't until I heard some of their other music that I realised that this CD doesn't measure up. It may be amazing, but it seems the band wasn't quite sure how to make up for the loss of their guitarist. IKUNO's bass is used to provide a beat and chord structure, similar to AYUMI's drums, and a whole line of music is simply left out. I still recommend this CD, but if you're looking for some of their best, don't look here.
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LOVE MY LIFE Original Soundtrack performed by noodlesnoodlesGreat OST, not great noodles CD
As a starter CD for those just getting into noodles's music, it's quite good -- but for old noodles fans, it's a bit of a letdown. The only new songs on this CD are 'Love My Life' and 'Ever Catch'. The tracks titles SE-[number] are little 20- or 30-second musical snippets, not full songs in their own right. As an OST, it's great, but not amazing. My main gripe has more to do with the artist chosen to do the music than the music itself -- I think the music works, it fits, it's good, it blends well in the movie -- but as a stickler for the way things were in the manga, I'm a little disappointed in the change in style of the music. That's neither here nor there in determining the quality of the CD, though -- and the CD itself is definitely worth purchasing. Just don't expect much 'new' from the band or consider it in the light of a soundtrack and you can't be dissatisfied.
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DELICIOUS BUMP TOUR IN USAthe pillowsA bit disappointing
I've seen much better DVDs. The lighting here is poor, the clips of songs are short and cut off. I understand that part of the poor lighting is a result of the small venues the bands played in, but the general lack of music -- or complete songs -- annoyed me. I enjoyed the non-music parts, but a DVD featuring musical artists ought to be more about the music and less about the way they relax or interact with people in the area they're touring. One of the DVD's best redeeming features was the Monty-Python-style animation. Both amusing and interesting, it provided a nice way to connect the different pieces of the tour. Still, I would not buy this DVD if I were not a hardcore fan of either noodles or The Pillows.
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Breath (Prince of Tennis Character CD)Shusuke Fuji (Yuki Kaida)Not Tenipuri's best, but great vocals
I ordered this knowing full well what the album sounded like. Musically, it's pretty awful; the arrangement on 'Amazing Grace' is bad enough to make you cry. The redeeming feature of this mini-album is Kaida Yuki's amazing voice. If you buy this CD for another other reason, you'll be highly disappointed.
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Billy's Target (Prince of Tennis Character CD) [Limited Release]
Shusuke Fuji (Yuki Kaida)Billy's Target (Prince of Tennis Character CD) [Limited Release]Shusuke Fuji (Yuki Kaida)Simply wonderful!My favourite Tenipuri release ever, though not for those who don't like jazz. Not only is this single wonderful music, it's a style of music appropriate to Fuji's character, as is the subject matter appropriate to his quirkiness. The single is called 'Billy's Target' because the entire song is about apples -- it starts with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, continues to discuss William Tell ('Billy') and how he shot an arrow through an apple on his son's head, and even mentions the myth of Isaac Newton discovering gravity through a fallen apple. Highly recommended. You'll never look at Fuji the same way again.
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SlashmidnightPumpkinTheir best yet
I started listening to midnightPumpkin after the release of their single VEGA/CRYBABY. I found their album POP IRONY to be a little monotonous -- too much percussion and guitar, not enough brass, and some of the songs were too repetitive. This mini-album was a complete reversal. The brass is lively and /there/, and the songs don't extend beyond the point of interest. The cover song 'Have You Never Been Mellow' is my favourite, and I like it far more than the original.
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I Rag YouRAG FAIRGood debut album
This strictly a capella band is amazing. While some of the tracks are reminiscent of Yellow Cherry's 'intro', 'skit', and 'outro' tracks, the actual songs are wonderful. I've never been a fan of Stevie Wonder, but I enjoy the cover of his 'To Feel the Fire', and how can one go wrong with the Beatles? My favourite tracks are probably 'Start' and 'Hound Dog' (the latter is yet another cover). My only complaint with this album is the lack of original music, but at the same time, I wish RAG FAIR still sang music like this today.
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Natsukaze Tayori / Kokoro YohouRAG FAIRNot my favourite
Although it pains me to give a RAG FAIR release such a low rating, I'm a little annoyed by the turn their music seems to be taking. They were much cooler -- and much more unique -- as a strictly a capella band. The title track, Natsukaze Tayori, begins with a blend of piano and guitar and has almost none of the 'a capella' feel of many of their previous songs that have included instruments. The second track, Kokoro Yohou, is much better and fitting their unique sound. Not a bad single, but definitely not their best, either, at least if you're a fan of their a capella sound.
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HorizonRemioromenWonderful album
My favourite release so far. Their sound has changed a bit since the release of the album 'ether' to include more strings and a richer, thicker sound.