SPEED POP ALBUM REVIEW
GLAY's first major album debut and it is an impressive one indeed. They show more confidence and sound more polished than they did for their indies album. The songs' originality quotient here is very high and they don't sound like your run-of-the-mill pop rock songs that flood the saturated market these days. A trye taste of GLAY's talent - this album promises a whole good hour of listening pleasure!
Recommendations : HAPPY SWING, Kanojo no "Modern...", INNOCENCE, Manatsu No Tobira, Life ~Tooi Sora No Shita De ~
SPEED POP
An interesting piece of music that reminds me of George Michael's "FREE". The way Teru says the words adds a sexy touch to it.
HAPPY SWING
An upbeat song with a happy melody that is infectious, even on a depressing day. The guitars also contribute to the jolly bounce of the song, especially the solo. This song is an energy-booster and it perks me up instantly. Of course, the clincher has to be Teru singing "DANCIN' IN ILLUSION For the sake of your everything" where he sounded so earnest and boyish. A cute and jolly song that I am extremely fond of, this also happens to be the name of GLAY's official fan club.
Kanojo No "Modern..."
This is one of GLAY's best rock songs even though they composed it in their indie days. The guitars and the bass are simply glorious to listen to and this version is definitely more polished than the one in "Hai To Daiyamondo". The solo takes my breath away and Hisashi earned his place in my heart with this power play. A simply brilliant execution. Moreover, I can't get enough of Teru energetic singing. Sheer ecstasy is what this song is.
Zutto Futari De...
A really slow ballad by GLAY. It was nice and even touching the first few times I heard it but because it goes sooo slowly. it grates on my nerves the more I listen to it. I have no idea how this ballad made it through the selection process for REVIEW. However, Teru's pristine rendition saves this from otherwise becoming a dead-boring song. Don't expect too much of the guitars and the bass too - typically for me, Hisashi and Jiro seldom shine in GLAY's ballads for Teru takes centrestage.
LOVE SLAVE
A punk-rock song that is actually quite good despite the initial misgivings I had. I like the rhythm of the guitars in this song. The mini bass 'solo' coupled with the guitar solo later really makes it a funky number to take note of. The only flaw would perhaps be Teru's mispronunciation of the word "romantic" which I mistook for "lunatic" the first few times I heard it. Other than that, a good attempt by GLAY at punk rock.
REGRET
A nice song whose melody rings long in my mind after it ends (sure sign of a good song for me). The basslines jump out at me and the acoustic guitar contribute to the lightness of the song which is delightful.
INNOCENCE
One of my favourite songs by GLAY because it really fits a touching and romantic love of a good friend of mine. The lyrics are very beautiful and tender and Teru's emotional rendition brings out the beauty of this gem of a song. The guitars themselves sound like they are telling the love story in their own way too - GLAY really brings this song alive.
Freeze My Love
A rock ballad that reminds me of the hauntingly beautiful "Winter, again". The lyrics are refreshing in a sense that it uses frost as a metaphor to depict the lover's decision to stop himself from ever loving again. Teru brings out this quality (painful decision which the lover in the lyrics experienced) very well the way he sings it and the guitar solo is probably the backbone of the song as I can just about feel the frost of deep love. The last paragraph of the song is the most heartwrenching and breaks the dam of tears.
Manatsu No Tobira
This song is also found in Glay's indie album "Hai To Daiyamondo" but like I have mentioned for "Kanojo no 'Modern...'", the version here sounds more polished although I prefer the arrangement in the indies album. A Jiro song, the basslines here are great, especially at the beginning of the song. I like the melody very much too and it's exciting because it's really very different from what I am used to listening, even from GLAY themselves. It takes some getting used to and may sound cheesy at first but give it a chance, it's really worth it.
Life ~ Tooi Sora No Shita De ~
This song has a very heavy British feel to it and thus, it is one of my favourites, being a huge Britrock fan myself. The basslines and the acoustic guitars contributes to that Brit feel and sounds really good. The guitar solo evokes the feeling of lazing under the azure sky on a cool summer day. A gem of a song that is likely to slip by unnoticed if one is careless.
JUNK ART
This is one rock song to skip. You don't miss much of GLAY if you give this a miss. The lyrics don't make any sense to me at all, especially the English lyrics. Enough said.
RAIN
One of the songs that gave GLAY their break in the JROCK circuit. This song is a collaboration between Takuro and Yoshiki but frankly, Yoshiki's influence here is so blatantly obvious and his stamp is all over this song that Takuro is relegated to the shadows. I don't mind it one bit though because I am an X-Japan fan too and this is the closest I could get to a Glay-X collaboration. I like the version (GLAY's version) found in "Hai To Daiyamondo" better than the version here because it's quieter and thus, it fits better as a sad love song. Moreover, Teru shines in the indies version as his emotional rendition does not have to compete with the grand arrangement found in this version. This is one of the few songs that Teru sang his heart out for. A beautiful and delicate ballad typical of Yoshiki but I am glad that this is GLAY's song.
*Review dated 5.6.2000