Beyond the Sea (and Stars)

Mai Kuraki – OVER THE RAINBOW

The cover of the CD+DVD edition

OVER THE RAINBOW is Mai Kuraki’s 10th studio album and it was released on January 11, 2012. The album reached #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 29,618 copies. It was preceded by 4 singles: 1000 Mankai no Kiss, Mou Ichido, Your Best Friend, and Strong Heart (a DVD single).

Gorgeous! Mai-K’s covers seem to keep getting better with each release. Maybe she fired her old GIZA graphic artists. XD

♦ ♦ ♦

Mai Kuraki is still going strong and her latest release OVER THE RAINBOW proves to be a winner. Honestly, this album has grown on me a lot and I really like it now. Alongside her usual songwriters and producers like Aika Ohno and Akihito Tokunaga, the album features songs written by Giorgio Cancemi. If you’re not familiar with his work he is most famous for creating some of Kana Nishino’s biggest hits like Best Friend and Aitakute Aitakute.

The album opens with Strong Heart which was the latest single as well as a DVD single. Written by Cancemi, the music has that light R&B / pop sound that he’s known for and it goes well with Kuraki’s voice. It’s a good way to start things off and it goes right into the cool and sleek synth of another day＊another world. This song presents a new sound for Kuraki since it’s aggressive and relies more on the production value (much like the song FUTURE KISS off her previous album).

Then we have a new version of Sayonara wa Mada Iwanai de, the B-side from the 1000 Mankai no Kiss single. I thought it was decent when I heard it on the single but there are some notable tweaks on the album version. For example, the arrangement seems to have a fuller sound with stronger beats (the original sounded empty and dated to me in this regard) and the adlibbing vocals are a little more layered, too.

Stay the same is the first of the album’s two promotional tracks. This was honestly the only song on the album that I didn’t like because the music sounded childish and Kuraki’s vocals followed suit. She has never really pulled off “cute” before so this doesn’t work for her. Then again, the song does have a tie-in with Sanrio Company, the makers of Hello Kitty. XD

After that is Your Best Friend, the first song that Cancemi wrote for Kuraki as well as the 3rd single of the era. At this stage of the album, the music slows down and ballads start to come in so this song makes for a good transition. We’re not exactly in ballad territory yet but we’re getting there. Anyway, Your Best Friend is pretty and flows wonderfully.

Get ready for some ballads! Mou Ichido was the 2nd single of the era and banned in China for some reason. XD Out of the 3 consecutive ballads, this one is definitely the most dramatic. The stringwork and piano chords invoke a feel of sadness and Kuraki’s vocals radiate with the music.

Oh lordy this next track is sooooo nice. Brave your heart is an uplifting ballad and a collaboration with Chinese singer/actor Alex Ru. He sings in Japanese and has a nice voice, especially when he performs his solo lines. The chorus features them singing together and overall I thought this song was great. It was also the album’s other promotional track.

I was surprised that Sun will shine on u was written by Cancemi because of its simple arrangement. Compared to the other songs he wrote for the album, it’s a nice change since this song is mostly piano and strings without the added fluff he normally does. I must say that Kuraki sounds lovely as well with the chorus being my favorite part.

The album begins to pick up the pace again with the inspiring song Love one another. This was originally a digital release with the proceeds going to charities for victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. I think the earthy tribal sound going on in the music was unique for Kuraki and various vocal layering was a nice touch. Her long-time collaborator Michael Africk wrote this song and provides minimal background vocals.

Originally the B-side from the Your Best Friend single, step by step comes in with Mai-K shouting “Let’s go!” and upbeat strings. This was one of the better B-sides released during this era so it’s a good addition to the album.

The next track is perhaps my favorite on the album. I instantly liked 1000 Mankai no Kiss right after the first listen because of its dynamic arrangement. It disguises itself as a ballad at the beginning but progressively becomes more upbeat and the rhythm speeds up when the 2nd verse arrives.

It’s always been a tradition for most of Kuraki’s albums to end with a bright, upbeat track and we get that with La La La＊La. The music has a slight Latino influence to it and features acoustic guitar with the familiar beats that the musical sytle is known for. Kuraki is no stranger to the genre either. The bridge stands out for its use of synth though.

This might not be a popular opinion amongst Mai-K fans but I preferred OVER THE RAINBOW over her last album FUTURE KISS. To me, FUTURE KISS only had a couple of memorable songs and was kind of disjointed at some parts because of the variety it had. OVER THE RAINBOW trumps it in terms of production value and presentation. All the songs are nicely done with the ones written by Giorgio Cancemi being a breath of fresh air. The only problem that I had with his songs was that Kuraki seemed to struggle to sing those high notes. Normally, she’s spot-on but in these songs she ends up sounding shrilly and almost piercing when she gets around to singing in those upper registers. I think it’s because of her naturally deep voice and she’s wearing it thin. Minor adjustments can fix stuff like that though.

Pros: The flow is great and the music doesn’t sound outdated. I think she’s finally gotten out of her rut!
Cons: Just those little vocal issues. Stay the same is my least favorite track, too.

Overall Rating

4½ stars

Tracklisting

1. Strong Heart
2. another day＊another world
3. Sayonara wa Mada Iwanai de ~album ver.~ (さよならは まだ言わないで)
4. Stay the same
5. Your Best Friend
6. Mou Ichido (もう一度)
7. Brave your heart
8. Sun will shine on u
9. Love one another
10. step by step
11. 1000 Mankai no Kiss (1000万回のキス)
12. La La La＊La (ラララ＊ラ)

Note: My favorite tracks are highlighted in blue!

Mai Kuraki – ONE LIFE

ONE LIFE is Mai Kuraki’s 7th album and it was released on January 1, 2008. The album reached #14 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 89,017 copies.

♦ ♦ ♦

Many of the album’s new tracks are a throwback to the music of when Mai Kuraki first debuted: pop with a R&B tinge. One Life, being the album’s promotional track, is a great introduction for what’s to come. It’s a stylish and assertive song with fast beats and simple guitar chords. The use of synth is pretty strong too. The chorus is pretty catchy and Kuraki sings it very well.

Track 2 opens with ethnic acoustics and light beats. I Like it Like that is another song full of style and the music has an “attitude” to it. The chorus is spunky and the background vocals singing I like it, I like it go along very well next to Kuraki’s voice.

The R&B themed ballad one for me is up next, and the mix of beats and piano open the song with a strong presence. Kuraki’s lower pitched voice is perfect for this kind of song and they go flow very smoothly. She always puts emotion into her music, especially her ballads since her voice seems more soulful.

Musically, Born to be Free is the most aggressive song the album. There’s a lot of stuff going on this song like tribal themed drums, funky synth, whistles, and elongated notes followed by Ole ole!.  It’s also an inspirational song that features liberating lyrics and upbeat vocals backed with thumping percussion. It’s definitely a song that’s supposed to get you up on your feet.

This is the album’s “winter ballad” phase, I like to call it. Starting with Shiroi Yuki, which is more of an unconventional ballad because of the synthed up instruments. It’s still a pretty song that’s gentle to the ears.

I thought it was the best choice to place Silent love ~open my heart~ right after Shiroi Yuki since it’s a similar type of song, but it’s a much more traditional ballad. It’s beautifully sung and I loved the heartwarming, yet calming feeling that the music presented. Like I said when I reviewed the single, it left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

The tempo suddenly changes to upbeat for the next track, everything. With a recognizable synth line and fast, rhythmic beats, I thought this song simply acted as a precursor for Season of love, which is exactly what it does. However, it’s one of the strongest and more memorable tracks on the album too.

I thought the transition from everything into Season of love was flawless, as it goes right into the Hispanic flavored guitar and lashing beats of the intro. I like this song a little bit more as a track on the album, despite those boy band vocals.

Here’s another slow jam, but it’s incredibly smooth to the ears. secret roses has a complex guitar arrangement and it has an interesting use of strings that add a somewhat dramatic effect to the music. I thought it was one of the most unique songs on the album because of Kuraki’s sensual vocal style and the abstract use of different instruments.

I loved the intro to Wonderland. It’s so calming and it sets the jazzy, laid back tone of the song. Kuraki’s vocals are full of life and soul and she really knows how to make it compliment the music. I felt like this was a modern take on one of her older tracks since it has that R&B like atmosphere.

Even though album is drawing to a close, BE WITH U comes in and makes things exciting again. I thought it was genius to place it near the end because it’s like a sudden burst of happiness and it shows that Kuraki isn’t exactly done yet.

The final track is a fantastic cover of Over The Rainbow, the iconic song from the movie The Wizard of Oz. This is a blues and jazz take on the song and it uses the piano, organ, and a gentle electric guitar. Kuraki’s English is better than most other J-pop artists and she performs the song extremely well. There’s a few pronunciation problems here and there, but aside from that, she’s got the song down.

ONE LIFE is a departure from the dominant pop sound of her previous albums FUSE OF LOVE and DIAMOND WAVE. She’s incorporating more classic R&B elements into the songs, with the exception of Shiroi Yuki and Silent love ~open my heart~ of course. It’s an enjoyable album and fans of her older works will most likely find it to be a pleasing listen. I personally think FUSE OF LOVE is her best album, but that’s me. It did take me a couple of listens to fully appreciate ONE LIFE too. This album is also a classic example of how the new tracks completely overshadow the previously released singles in terms of overall presentation. They’re all very well done.

Overall Rating

4 stars

Tracklisting

1. One Life
2. I Like it Like that
3. one for me
4. Born to be Free
5. Shiroi Yuki (白い雪)
6. Silent love ~open my heart~
7. everything
8. Season of love
9. secret roses
10. Wonderland
11. BE WITH U
12. Over The Rainbow

Note: My favorite tracks are highlighted in blue!