Shio, Koshō-GReeeeN [album review]

Posted on 29 June 2009

Intro

~I am soooo impressed with GReeeeN!!! Their newest album Shio, Kosho is NO.1 on Oricon Chart for 2 weeks and have sold over 600,000 copies already! That’s very impressive despite the fact that they never show their faces (am I right about this one? I have never seem GReeeeN taking photo w/o covering their faces)

~I changed my review system a bit, I realized that I never use the “replay” function I mentioned. (Replay means the # of times you will most likely replay the song, meaning how addictive it is judged by me)

Info

(Bwahahahahaha @ the cover)

Released: June 10, 2009

Oricon rank: #1

Sales: 625,507 copies

Genre: JPop/Rock

Tracklist

1. Hikari

2. Kuchibue

3. Haruka

4. Ayumi

5. Itsumademo

6.Tabibito

7. Hallelujuah!!!

8.Story

9. Setsuna

10. Fuyo no Aruhi no Uta

11. Tobira

12. Sora e no Tegami

13. Fubo Uta

14. Outro [hidden track]

Review

Hikari: exciting, catchy,addictive

-A fantastic opening track for the album with slight techno feelings to it and memorable chorus. I cannot say how wonderful the song is, it is just perfect in every-ways. Perfect x3

-Repeat: +20 times

Kuchibue: cheerful, lighthearted

-Uplifting track that makes you smile, the funky beats sounds childish and happy.

-Repeat: +10 times

Haruka: heartwarming, lovely, touching

-see the original single review here

-Beautiful song with memorable chorus, the rap blends perfectly with the song. The mid-tempo pace sending off smoothing and calming vibe. It is a song with strong and touching emotions.

-Repeat: +15 times

Ayumi: another cheerful song, not as addictive

-Begin with carefree violin playing, it is also a carefree song. The chorus is not as addictive or catchy as the previous tracks, it did grew into me slowly. However the short violin part was good and cute.

-Repeat: +4 times

Itsumademo: heart-calming, sweet

-Much more slow than other tracks, I love the sound of baby’s laughter which makes the song sweet and warming. The chorus does not stand out much but the overall feeling of the song is beautiful and loving.

-Repeat: +6 times

Tabibito: uplifting, fast

-Very very very nice intro, but the later on part was not what I have expected…the raps were very fast, so was the chorus. The song is very exciting and has strong summer/party feeling to it. I love the short guitar solo, it sounds fantastic!!!

-Repeat: +10 times

Hallelujuah!!!:cheerful, carefree and refreshing

-fast beats->claps->suddenly a intro that was not what I was expecting again…Just like the song name it is very upbeat and happy. The song is interesting with fun raps, it is just way to happy!! Like gorillas gone wild haha

-Repeat: +7 times

Story: calming, smoothing

-A typical mid-tempo song from GReeeeN with ordinary chorus and raps but is very calming and sweet.

-Repeat: +8 times

Setsuna: unique, catchy, addictive

-One of my favorite track from the album. Setsuna is well arranged with memorable chorus and fantastic melody, makes the song unique and addictive. It is a lovely mid-tempo ballad that stands out among other tracks.

-Repeat: +17 times

Fuyo no Aruhi no Uta: lovely, warming, cute

-A slow paced song with intro that feeling like a winter ballad. Ooh never-mind it is actually a Christmas song! It sounds very heart smoothing and sweet, especially with the little tinkle sounds that feels like winter and snow.

-Repeat: +8 times

Tobira: freshing, uplifting

-Typical GReeeeN song that feels happy and carefree. Most of GReeeeN’s songs sounds pretty similar to me, but they are generally good with nice chorus so I don’t get bored or tired of listening to them. I love the pianos played in Tobira.

-Repeat: +10 times

Sora e no Tegami: traditional, ancient, romantic

-A song with ancient Japanese feeling to it, yes it sounds very much like traditional Japanese music. I loved it, it is unique and beautiful. For some reason I think the song feels very very very romantic! Ahhh I don’t know why…it sounds so romantic and sweet to me <3

-Repeat: +17 times

Fubo Uta: enjoyable, constant, peaceful

-Smoothing and cute song, there is no big jumps between the song, the melody and beats are pretty constantly throughout the song. I don’t think it is addictive but it is full of emotion, especially when members joined together, the song is very peaceful and calming.

-Repeat: +11 times

* Kiseki was also included in this album, although it is in GReeeeN’s previous album already. I guess the overall feeling of the song fits this album?

Outro: weird, confusing

-First few seconds of the song is completely silent, electric guitar and weird, unnamed voices began to take over after the first 10 seconds or so. I just don’t understand this hidden track…is it a hint of their next upcoming work? It can’t even count as a song to me…

-Repeat: 0 times

Conclusion

Shio, Kosho is a fantastic album composed of wonderful and amazing tracks! I did not find any song in the album that sounds like crap or is been poorly produced. GReeeeN is not afraid to try different mixes or genres, they like to add surprising and funky things to the song like in Tabibito and Hallelulah!!! Like I said GReeeN’s music sometimes sounds repetitive (mid tempo with raps) but I love how they deliver the emotion and how they can make every song sounds good to me haha! Well done GReeeeN! <3 I just love your carefree and uplifting style!

Score: 5, very good, wonderful

Recommend tracks: Hikari, Kuchibue, Haruka, Setsuna, Fuyo no Aruhi no Uta, Sore e no Tegami