REVIEW: AKB48 “River” single
AKB48
RIVER
(King Records)
Available on CD/DVD, CD, and on iTunes Japan
Rating: 
I’ve been enjoying AKB48’s singles output in the wake of “Oogoe Diamond”, with that song and this past summer’s “Namida Surprise” being personal highlights. Their new single may have broken that streak somewhat.
“RIVER” starts off in an unusual way for a J-pop single. Unison chants from group are accompanied by the sound of stomp dancing. This introduction is different, but at over 40 seconds, it is also a tad overlong. Had this tack been done by an American pop group, the length introduction would have been excuse enough for listeners to reach for the radio dial and change the station – not a good idea when you’re trying to attract new listeners. When the song proper comes in, we do get a good AKB48 song. The problem is, it’s only good enough for an album track – and not as an opener, but more like at the halfway point of an album (where Side Two would traditionally start on a vinyl record) – it doesn’t seem to work as A-side material.
“Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara” (credited to the “Undergirls”, although not the same line-up as on “Tobenai Agehachou” – there’s no Meetan to be found), on the other hand, is more worthy of being the single’s A-side, with the verses recalling the band’s DefSTAR-era material and the choruses being in a similar vein to the band’s more recent singles. Had this song been the A-side, it would have made for a stronger single.
“Hikoukigumo”, credited to the “Theater Girls”, was originally a stage song from Team A’s 5th Stage that was recorded with an entirely different lineup. While the intent behind having three different lineups on the single – highlighting members that haven’t gotten much exposure on past single releases – is worthy, the fact that producer/lyricist Yasushi Akimoto is recycling material for B-sides (“Shonichi” from one of Team B’s stages was one of the “Namida Surprise” B-sides) should be some cause for concern. Could this be why we haven’t seen an actual studio album (that wasn’t a soundtrack to one of their stage shows) from the group yet?
For what is probably going to be (if past discographical history is any indication) the last AKB48 single of the year, this three-song disc is unfortunately their weakest of their releases since they switched labels from DefSTAR to King. Hopefully, AKB48 and their creative team can use the next couple of months to recharge and get some stronger material out on the market.
3½ out of 5 stars. (Ouch – looks like AKB just found something in common with Kiss besides being on my iPod.)
REVIEW: KISS “Sonic Boom”
KISS
Sonic Boom
(Kiss Records [North America]/Roadrunner [elsewhere])
Available as a 2CD/DVD set in North America and as a single CD elsewhere.
Rating:
Kiss fans have had every right to be skeptical over the past decade or so. The band’s last studio album, Psycho Circus, was really a “reunion” album with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss that had very little Ace Frehley and Peter Criss on it. They embarked on a “farewell tour” at the turn of the century that turned out not to be a farewell after all. And – most damningly – after the reluctant-to-repeat-himself Ace Frehley chose to depart the band in order to decompress before resuming his solo career, Gene Simmons made the controversial decision to replace the influential guitarist with ex-Black & Blue guitarist and sometime Simmons lackey Tommy Thayer without initially telling the public. (Peter Criss, “the most miserable man on the planet” according to Simmons, was already on the shitlist of his ex-bandmates during the so-called farewell tour and was replaced by Eric Singer.) Follow all that up with Simmons claiming in his autobiography that there was no longer a market for a new Kiss studio LP, and it’s understandable to think why an album called Sonic Boom might easily be dismissed – like some fans who heard a leak of the album on the heels of the release of Frehley’s Anomaly album already did – as sonic bunk.
But in the wake of Paul Stanley recording a follow-up to his 1978 solo album (and touring behind it) and Frehley working on Anomaly since 2007, it probably doesn’t take an Einstein to presume that Simmons was full of shit when it came to the Kiss Army wanting new material rather than another repackaging of back catalog.
In advance press when the album’s recording was announced, Stanley – who took the producer’s chair for the project – boasted that the album would have no ballads or outside writers, and would hark back to the band’s “glory days” both musically and sonically. Similar claims (sans the no-ballads comment) had been made about Psycho Circus. Here we go again?
Continue reading
Instrumental Berryz
Apparently willing to go a little further than her bandmates Miyabi and Momoko (who only learned a couple of riffs to “open” their Buono! performances), Massa Sudou decided to pick up an acoustic, learn some chords, and work on a very nice solo acoustic version of one of Berryz’ best singles, “Munasawagi Scarlet”.
Get this girl a nice Les Paul Custom and some Stooges and Kiss albums – it’s time she went on to the next level!
