Beyond the Sea

SINGLE REVIEW
Crystal Kay - Namida no Saki ni

1. Namida no Saki ni
2. Girl Move On
3. Dream World SOIDOG MIX
4. Namida no Saki ni SOIDOG MIX
5. Namida no Saki ni INSTRUMENTAL

This is Crystal Kay’s 24th single and it was released on June 11, 2008. This single reached #42 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 3,144 copies.

For Crystal Kay’s standards, Namida no Saki ni is pretty different. I noticed the song’s use of electric guitars immediately and they actually play a pretty large role in the arrangement. The riffs are quick and sound good next to the various beats, but Crystal Kay’s vocals don’t seem to match that well with the music. Throughout most of the song, her voice sounds choppy and less refined. Despite that, the chorus is pretty catchy. At least this song is an improvement over the material from that horrible mini-album Shining.

The B-side is more like Crystal Kay’s style of music, but with a Hispanic twist. Girl Move On has a cool R&B sound with a distant electric guitar screeching in the background. The chorus caught my attention the most because of the Spanish lyrics and I thought she sang them well. Thanks to her lively and less awkward sounding vocals, I liked this song more than Namida no Saki ni.

The single also includes two SOIDOG remixes. The first one is of Dream World, the main promotional track from her previous album ALL YOURS. I must say that this remix is awesome because it gives the song a slick and edgy electro pop sound. I actually prefer it over the original since it is definitely more interesting.

After that is the Namida no Saki ni remix. Once again, the arrangement has been changed to sound more electronic with the addition of synth. I’m still not feeling those vocals, but at least the music sounds nice. It’s not as good as the Dream World remix though.

Overall Rating 

3½ stars

MINI-ALBUM REVIEW
Crystal Kay - Shining

1. Shining
2. Snowflake
3. Happy 045 Xmas
4. No More Blue Christmas’
5. Shining (Jazztronik Mix)

 ♦ ♦ ♦ 

This is Crystal Kay’s 1st mini-album and it was released on November 28, 2007. This mini-album reached #21 on the Oricon Weekly Single Charts and it sold 6,050 copies in its first week.

Shining is the main track off this Christmas themed mini-album. The song is nothing short of typical and terribly bland. The music is very pop with acoustics and mild beats, but it lacks any interesting hooks to bring in the listener in. The chorus is also very uninspiring. I don’t mind that Crystal Kay keeps on drifting towards the pop route, but this song is boring. If you want an awesome pop song from her, listen to Koi ni Ochitara or the material from her latest album ALL YOURS.

The next track is pretty much the same song as before, but in ballad form. Let’s say that you slow Shining down, add a flowing string arrangement, and make the beats a little bit stronger. The result would be Snowflake, and fortunately, this song is better. It’s still typical, but definitely more memorable than Shining.

The 3rd track is by far the worst on the mini-album. Happy 045 Xmas just oozes with unoriginality and corny lyrics. Sure, it’s a “Christmas party” song that’s supposed to be fun, jingle bells and all, but it teeters on the edge of being extremely generic and unforgettable. This song was originally a digital release that could be purchased from Crystal Kay’s official website (which basically means that it’s pure filler material on this mini-album).

It’s too bad that the best song on here is an OLD track originally released back in December 2003. Her cover of Natalie Cole’s No More Blue Christmas’ was the bonus track on her English album NATURAL and it’s been slapped on here for the mini-album’s Christmas theme. I love her vocals on this track and she does great justice to the original.

Closing this thing up is the Jazztronik mix of Shining. I will admit that the remix is A LOT more interesting because of the jazzy piano chords. The beats are faster as well, but that’s pretty much it. It’s an improvement over the original, which did nothing for me.

Thank goodness Shining is an only a mini-album, even though it’s pratically just a glorified single, because it contains some of the most disappointing and bland material that Crystal Kay has released to date. Honestly, the vocals are great as usual, but the music is less than stimulating and it feels like recycled pop. No More Blue Christmas’ is the only song worth listening to, but it’s a cover AND an old track from 2003. This “mini-album” just seemed so unncessary and rushed upon further inspection. I believe that this could have been a great release, but poor execution and the lack of original material proved otherwise.

Overall Rating

1½ stars

ALBUM REVIEW
Crystal Kay - ALL YOURS

1. Konna ni Chikaku de… *
2. Dream World
3. Anytime
4. Anata no Soba de *
5. Cherish
6. STILL
7. Butterfly’s garden
8. Kitto Eien ni *
9. ESCALATOR
10. Sugar Rain
11. I WANNA BE
12. Lonely girl
13. Midnight Highway
14. Last Kiss

♦

Note: Songs with a (*) at the end of their titles have already been reviewed. Click on the links to see their reviews.
Songs in bold are new tracks and will be reviewed.

♦ ♦ ♦

This is Crystal Kay’s 7th album and it was released on June 20, 2007. This album reached #1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 136,841 copies.

Konna ni Chikaku de… was a perfect opening track and it’s quite possibly the album’s best song. It’s just so unique compared to her past works.

The next track pretty much represents what most of the new album tracks sound like. Dream World is a mid tempo song with a catchy chorus. It’s one of the better tracks because it has a very nice rhythm.

Track 3 is a little bit slower paced but it has a nice beat. Anytime is pretty good and it has excellent vocals, which is a trait that many of the new album tracks share.

Anata no Soba de is great because it has wonderful beats and the chorus is very catchy. It shouldn’t have been released as a single in my opinion though (since it was a one track single).

The album slows down for the next few tracks and it begins with Cherish. The sound is still progressive but it relies more on the beats rather than Crystal Kay’s vocals.

I was really glad to see STILL on the album (which was released back in December as a digital download). The English version of this song is known as As One and it was originally the B-side on the Kitto Eien ni single. I do have to admit that the song sounds a little better in Japanese but only by a little.

Track 7 bored me to be completely honest. Butterfly’s garden has this annoying rain drop beat that never goes away and I couldn’t stand it.

Ending the album’s ‘laid back’ phase, I was glad to hear Kitto Eien ni. The song has grown a lot on me since then and I find it quite beautiful. The song’s orchestral arrangement is unique and pretty epic compared to the rest of the songs on the album.

Track 9 is the kick in the ass that the album needed because ESCALATOR is FANTASIC. It’s very refreshing to hear thanks to its various synthetic elements and the song is almost like an edgier version of Konna ni Chikaku de… because it’s another unique effort by Crystal Kay.

After ESCALATOR, the album begins to pick up and the rest of the tracks that follow are nice and upbeat. Sugar Rain sounds very poppy but yet it has a R&B sound in it.

I liked track 11, I WANNA BE. The song is heavy with harmonizing background vocals and they all blend together quite well.

Track 12, Lonely girl, has a nice dance rhythm with synth in the background. Aside from that, I thought the song was okay.

The next track was pretty average too. However, I thought the fast paced beats in Midnight Highway were really cool.

Now onto the album’s final track. Last Kiss starts off kind of weird because of the brass but then it transitions into a really catchy opening chorus. Crystal Kay’s vocals are at their best and this song was a great way to end the album.

ALL YOURS is a good album, but I found it to be lacking a lot of the elements that her last album Call me Miss… had. Honestly, the album is too laid back and I wanted a stronger R&B sound. This album does excel in one area though, and that is the vocals. Crystal Kay’s vocals are at their absolute best and at their prime. I thought the best songs were Konna ni Chikaku de…, Kitto Eien ni, and ESCALATOR because they showcase her musical range outside of the pop and R&B realm. I do recommend this album, but I also believe that it is not her best.

Overall Rating

3½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Crystal Kay - Anata no Soba de

1. Anata no Soba de

This is Crystal Kay’s 23rd single and it was released on May 16, 2007. This single reached #30 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 4,059 copies.

Anata no Soba de is a one track single that was sold a special low price and even though this single isn’t worth getting now unless you’re a hardcore collector (since it’s on her latest album ALL YOURS), it’s still a nice song. What I liked the most about this ‘R&B love anthem’ is the very catchy chorus and excellent vocals from Crystal Kay. Compared to her past two singles, this song sounds the most R&B but with a dash of pop.

Overall Rating 

3½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Crystal Kay - Konna ni Chikaku de…

1. Konna ni Chikaku de…
2. FEEL
3. Konna ni Chikaku de… -KZ Future Disko Remix-
4. FEEL -Singo.S Remix-
5. Konna ni Chikaku de… -instrumental-

This Crystal Kay’s 22nd single and it was released on February 28, 2007. This single reached #14 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 15,158 copies. The title track was used as the ending theme song for the anime Nodame Cantabile.

Konna ni Chikaku de… is an awesome song because it experiments with three different genres of music. The song opens with wonderful strings and then R&B beats enter into the mix. There is also funky synth arrangement that comes in during the bridge. This has grown to be one of my favorite Crystal Kay songs because well, it’s different. It’s more than just your average R&B song because of the strings and synth. I also want to mention that the chorus is extremely catchy.

The B-side, FEEL, follows Crystal Kay’s traditional R&B style with it’s thumping bass. The song also has a laid back club sound that isn’t boring. She showcases powerful vocals during the chorus and especially during the bridge, where she really belts it out. All in all, this is a good B-side.

Now onto the remixes. The KZ Future Disko Remix of Konna ni Chikaku de… is similar to her past remixes. It just makes the original sound more ‘club friendly’ but I actually liked the new instruments that were used in the remix. The added acoustic guitar stood out the most for me though.

The Singo.S Remix of FEEL doesn’t really present anything new at all. It just has some added sounds and that’s pretty much it. The remix of Konna ni Chikaku de… is much better in my opinion.

Overall Rating

4 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
Crystal Kay - Kitto Eien ni

1. Kitto Eien ni
2. As One
3. Kitto Eien ni -STUDIO APARTMENT REMIX-
4. As One -REMIX-
5. Kitto Eien ni -INSTRUMENTAL-

This is Crystal Kay’s 21st single and it was released on January 17, 2007. This single reached #12 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 19,615 copies . The title track was used as the theme song for the live action movie version of the manga Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru.

Kitto Eien ni is a nice ballad with sweeping strings and percussion, etc. However, it sounds like a very typical Japanese ballad but I do give credit to Crystal Kay for trying something different from what she normally does. Almost all of her previous ballads have had a slight tinge of R&B in them and this is the only one that makes full use of an orchestra.

The B-side was a nice surprise for me. As One is in English and I thought the lyrics were excellent and pretty emotional. This song is one of the best English R&B slow tracks I have heard and just another reason why Crystal Kay could be a successful artist in America. The Japanese version of this song, STILL, was released on December 1, 2006 and was only available as a digital download.

Now onto the remixes. The STUDIO APARTMENT REMIX of Kitto Eien ni takes the song in a new direction by removing all of the orchestral elements and adding a constant dance beat. I was glad Crystal Kay’s vocals weren’t sped up for the remix because that’s what ruined the Koi ni Ochitara remix that was on the Kirakuni / Together single.

The remix of As One gives the song a new pop and R&B sound, so it doesn’t sound so much like a ballad anymore. Unlike other remixes, I didn’t mind the ones on this single at all and I thought they were rather good.

Overall Rating

4 stars