Gyakuyunyuu ~Kouwankyoku~ (Self Covers album) and May/June Tour 2014

[TurtleFu]

btw in terms of seats I think there were 10 rows of 100 each so not as small as a show as a hoped but still pretty small. I was in the front of B2 (so second row first column)

[deadgrandma]

Now album is in heavy circulation-

I gotta say it's a pretty wild ride, not perfect but certainly a more exciting studio release from Ringo in a long while. My full review will come in a little while, once it's all sunk in (and I've heard it in lossless quality too).

All I'll say is my main complaint is that it's too short. Want more.

Spoiler: Leading Lady is mind blowing.

[Inseu]

I'm enjoying the entire album so far. Gonna review later after the music sank in. Best thing about the album is that it rocks!

[gekokujyo]

^ I agree. Track 1 is everything. It's about as close as we'll ever get to a studio version of Ringo doing UFO.

[deadgrandma]

^ If first track is anything to go one, more Yoshihide Otomo and Ringo collabs need to happen in the future. Actually, that's all that should happen from now on. Wonder team.

[Positron]

After listening to this album, if Ukina agreed to be the surrogate mother for Variety and Utaite Myouri's love children I'd hope Reimport would be the regular sibling who traveled abroad and that we'll meet the prodigal son later this year. I don't dislike the album (that much) though, just wish all the tracks played better against each other.

Also, out of boredom I'll review the album with a weird narrative:

After long last, a play that had traveled overseas finally got reimported with authority alongside a cast of old and new. It was clear the lady still knew how to lead (01), but the guy they brought in... well, I guess he wasn't so bad. While a whirlwind of emotion, he made a novel and ultimately satisfactory effort (02) - at least he wasn't an NSA agent and straight up ruined your privacy (03). But I digress, let us take le moment to relax (04).

[I couldn't come up with a clever way of implying that Manatsu no Datsugokusha is almost but not quite a great track and really needs a live arrangement to boost its playability, kinda like the opposite of sa_i_ta (05).]

So after finding mostly nothing out of the ordinary with telescopic surveillance of the outside area other than a slight anomaly at +4° 26' 00" (06), I decided to have a little more fun for about 3 minutes with a megaphone (07). Unfortunately, when I settled down and popped into a cafe for a cappuccino I had to lament on how it wasn't as good as when the place first opened (08).

Thought there would be a spot of bad weather when I first set out, but turned out to be all right, Didn't mind bringing an umbrella (09) in case of rain, but I wouldn't want to hear bad reports from the self-proclaimed weather princess on TV every day (10).

And so I made my way back down that auspicious hill. Someone was playing accordion off to the side and I tossed a bit of money into the jar since it was a fine performance, but I couldn't help but wish that pianos were slightly more portable (11).

[lazer85]

Glad I took a listen. Still sticking by my original statements....but I still sense an artist in there. This is a huge ADHD jumble of gold and shit. So far the first 4 tracks all have both, I anticipate the rest of the tracks to be the same. The songs falls short when the production kicks ass. The production is bubblegum or crap when the songs are good. This is what happens when you try to balance art and product. You need a high tolerance for cheesey cheese and crappy crap in order to enjoy.

[gekokujyo]

Hiyori hime and Kitteiteki 3min. were kind of bad lol. I really wish she had picked some other track to self cover.

(also Kronekodow has since confirmed the Nov/Dec arena tour. Going for sure)

[lazer85]

Sorry! I didn't realize I listened out of order. Anyway, doing an album with someone more experimental like Otomo Yoshihide is the only thing that could get me interested in this singer again, she's gone too far in the opposite direction and I listen to everything with such skepticism now. Even her recent collab with Nakata Yasutaka sounds more like Perfume than Capsule.... so it's hard to listen with an open mind. The Otomo Yoshihide track would have been really nice on an album where it wasn't the only stand out track....but in this context it wasn't enough. Each track had something I liked, but they all left a pretty unpleasant aftertaste. I'll listen to this collection a few times maybe, minus 3 or 4 tracks which were repulsive. I guess I'll keep checking her out whenever she has a new release but I won't be listening to these songs too much in between

[deadgrandma]

Originally Posted by gekokujyo

Hiyori hime and Kitteiteki 3min. were kind of bad lol. I really wish she had picked some other track to self cover.

(also Kronekodow has since confirmed the Nov/Dec arena tour. Going for sure)

You've picked out the two songs I thought were a bit on the shit side too (though there's too much I DO like on this album to really care too much about it):

Hiyori Hime I like a tiny bit, more than than the original anyway. Main guitar melody is consumed by a wall of noise (and not in a good way).
Kitteiki Sanpunkan is just a weak, forgettable song to start with (but was more forgivable with Chiaki on the reigns), she shoulda given us Oishii Kitesu instead methinks.
Also think original version of Ichigo Ichie song is far superior, but still very enjoyable here in its own way.

I think the Nov/Dec tour may indeed confirm a new 'proper' album. The bad news is that the lead in single is probably NIPPON...

If an album of that style comes out, this self covers album will probably be considered a masterpiece haha.