16. Shiina Ringo- Gyakuyunyuu ~Kouwankyoku~
WHAM! A tumbling cascade of horns and guitar distortion. THAT is how Ringo chose to open this album- with her most fully realized showtune ever. The ferocity of her delivery is unmatched. The woman is on fire. The gut wrenching production values only add to the dramatic effect. You're in Ringo heaven.
My heart was pumping the first time I heard the opening track,
Shuen no Onna on Ringo's self cover album, and it still stops me in my tracks today. But it doesn't stop there. There's a whole world of unfamiliar familiarities throughout this album- and while it does trip and stumble occasionally, the tour through re-imagined past songs for the most part is quite breathtaking.
Whether it be the stabbing like electronic attack of
Kachuu no Otoko, the wonderful Jpop of
Private or the stripped down simplicity of
Saisakizaka, there is a lot of experimentation and imagination that breathes new life into these (often forgotten) old tracks. The opening 4 track run to me, is the most successful opening to a Ringo album in years. The fact that it has an instrumental half way in (
Bouenkyou no Soto no Keshiki) really sets it apart from any other release too, and I think it's a brilliant move on Ringo's part- especially seeing as the instrumental is so great.
Sure, with an album like this with so many cooks in the kitchen (every song is produced by a different producer), there's gonna be a few less than brilliant interpretations- this version of
Hiyori Hime anyone???- but there is just so much to EXPERIENCE here that it's hard to really care or nitpick. The production is crass, but given the extreme circus-like nature of things, I think it's fitting. Just remember to bring some paracetamol with you.
It's certainly an album I go back to frequently, and deserves it's spot in my top 20 easily.
SPECIAL MENTION: Shiina Ringo- Hi Izuru Tokoro (SUNNY)
It's not a bad album by any means, I do like most of it to an extent. I'm not going to go into too much detail- most people already know my stance on this album- but I'll put it into once sentence why I don't think it belongs in my top 20:
"It's like
Sanmon Gossip- with training wheels."