GROOVY TOUR- (****) Obviously a song related to GLAY’s either hectic celebrity life or their life before they became famous. The lines which tell us so are “BAND ON THE RUN…” and “GROUPIE…”. The feel and melody of the whole song itself can be summed up by the title. The song isn’t very fast, but has a ‘hectic’ and sort of ‘rushed’ feel to it. I would like to see this performed live actually, since the song sounds like it was performed in a concert. Hey, they even mention D.I.E!!! My personal favourite part of the song is when it goes slow and dream-like. Truly a nice way to start off the album.
Lovers Change Fighters, Cool- (****) After one ‘rock-like’ song, here comes a faster-paced, harder rock song. GLAY truly intend to get your attention right from the beginning. Teru sings quickly and rather haltingly during the verses, which has a good effect really. The guitars are really awesome during the bridge; they just have no mercy on your ears. The most interesting and very entertaining bit of the song is when Teru half-raps and half-sings before the last bridge. This song has the traditional GLAY energy in it and I’m sure rockers will like this song.
BELOVED- (****) The ballad that brought GLAY to fame. (This was released before HOWEVER). The simple arrangement of this song (verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus) and the sweet guitar melodies are enough to make you cry and throw away those power ballads. Yes, this is sweet and your typical love song, but what makes it so powerful (I believe) is the fact that Teru sings so damned passionately in this song. His performance here carries the song higher. He manages to bring out the feeling in the song so that everyone else can feel it. A very popular GLAY song, and it definitely deserves the popularity.
SHUTTER SPEEDS no Teema- (****) Hey man! The one thing GLAY would do that other bands wouldn’t: let the bassist sing. Jiro gets the limelight right from the beginning with the nice bass intro and of course, by singing the first two verses. His nasal and ‘deep, tough-guy’ voice suits the song and definitely gets your attention. Teru takes over after the first two verses as normal. This song is famously known as “Jiro-punk” so you can imagine what it’s like. It has a nice guitar solo as well as a bass solo and the effects of the sound of camera’s flashing give a nice touch to this song.
Fairy Story- (****) While HOWEVER is ‘beautiful and elegant’, this song is definitely ‘pretty’. I absolutely love this song although my sister pointed out it sounds rather like a Coca Cola commercial. If you don’t like this song, I have to say sorry. BELOVED is an album full of ‘pretty’ guitar solos and tunes, each one never failing to capture one’s attention and enrapture that person. This song is basically about carnal desires (duh). I love every bit of this song, from the mysterious verses and bridges to the desperate chorus where he finally sings out that it doesn’t have to be real love anymore. The opening and the bridges really got my attention. The bridge has this lovely piano tune playing three simple notes, each one going lower and lower, what we call arpeggios. I feel this really completes the overall mysterious feel of the song. Hontou ni kirei!!!
Kanariya- (****) After fast and desperate, we have another slow song. One of the lesser known GLAY songs, Kanariya is actually a hidden jewel. It may sound sluggish in the beginning (not so in my opinion) but if you can’t appreciate the song, tough luck. It starts of rather dreamy and nostalgic with “From my hometown…” really brings back memories. Due to the pace of this song, Teru had to drag a few notes which he did rather well! His power really pays off here. The bridge begins to pick up a bit, suddenly sounding rather desperate and it becomes slightly faster. The chorus is absolute bliss. They use a lot of sound effects like the chirping of birds. When I heard the chorus my heart literally melted. Sounds corny but it’s the absolute truth. Another sweet bit is when Teru sings “Oooh uta wo wasureta kanariya yo ima bokura wa doko ni iru no ka?” he sounds absolutely sad and lost, which is how it’s supposed to sound. By the way, “kanariya” is canary. Another line is “bokura wa jyuu mo motazu” which means “We don’t carry any guns,”. Peace loving GLAY huh?
HIT THE WORLD CHART!- (***1/2) I like to group this and ACID HEAD in one category. However, the latter is much better. Not to say this isn’t good, but ACID HEAD is definitely much more superior to this. HIT THE WORLD CHART has a very sultry feel to it, not unlike I’m Yours. Teru sings the verses is a sort of laid-back way with a very funny groove to it. The chorus is a very different story. Teru literally shouts out “Aishi aimashou motto motto motto motto motto!” My favourite part IS the verse so, unlucky me!
a Boy-zutto wasurenai- (***1/2) Another one of GLAY’s slower cheerful-but-sad songs. The opening catches your attention almost immediately because of the catchy guitar tune. However, don’t misunderstand; this song is slow throughout with a rather poignant feel. Slow and simply sweet, this is one song where you can just sit back, listen and relax.
Haru Wo Aisuru Hito- (****)Ohhhhh... "A person who loves spring...". This song opens with dramatic violins then straight away you hear Teru's voice saying "Sunshine..." accompanied with background singers going "Oohh.." it gives a beautiful effect with just the piano and a tambourine? +I think the background singer/singers is actually Teru!+. Teru's voice is exceptionally beautiful here, especially when he goes "...miageta...". Suddenly, at the end of the first verse, the beat picks up and violins are playing extremely fast and the song goes into full swing! The song goes from spring, to summer, autumn then winter. You have three main tunes, the verse, the chorus and the beautiful bridge where everything slows down and goes into the guitar solo. It's a very beautiful song and the piano deserves special mention here. The bass during the bridge is very audible and gives Jiro the limelight for a while. Teru ends it nicely, the chorus going back to the very beginning with the background singers, by singing "Oooh oooh!" and it doesn't drag on like most GLAY songs tend to do, it just ends after a few moments. Teru sings so passionately here and his voice so beautiful, when you hear this song, you have to like it. No one I know has ever dissed this song. Give it a go! A must listen!
Curtaincall- (****) A classic GLAY song. Basically just a piano, guitar, bass and Teru’s voice is all you need. The piano really dominates the whole song. Unlike X Japan where their ballads tend to be dramatic and powerful, this ballad achieves the same effect by being different from other ballads. This is definitely not a throwaway ballad. “I’ve forgotten whether I’m happy or not,” Teru sings very sadly, passionately (as usual) and also rather tiredly. My favourite bit has got to be the first two bridges. That part sounds really sad! This isn’t a sad mushy teen ballad where they complain about not living anymore. Takuro outdid himself again by writing a mature piece, where we can hear and see ballads from a very different point of view.
Miyako Wasure- (****) How do I put this in words? From the very beginning, you can tell this is going to be another one of those sad songs. However, this is not like Curtaincall where Teru has to blast out almost each line. This song has a nice walking pace and Teru doesn’t need to stretch his vocals so much. The verse has a nice sing-along tune to it and the bridge has basically the same feel. The chorus, like many other songs sounds rather desperate. It sounds really sad and from the way he sings, it sounds like he’s regretting something he did. My favourite part is when Teru sings “I can’t feel love….I can’t feel love without you…” and these lines really wrap up the whole song.
Rhapsody- (****) This song has a really nice energetic opening, light-hearted and cheerful; don’t worry, it’s like that throughout. Rhapsody is a nice choice to end the feel of the album; not excessively happy but not too depressing either. I can’t really recall the translation of the song, but I remember it was about unfairness in the world. Happy-go-lucky with a touch of sadness. I’m sure you would like a listen to this song, even though it might be mediocre compared to the other songs, give this one a chance.