Although not active now, she produces compilation of her hits. So here's a page for her! Okamura Takako has released a new album, please read the review below!
Click to hear Believe!
Click to hear Nagaitabi!
For more information, please visit this site!
Reborn by Okamura Takako
It has come as no suprise to me that Okamura, one time my favourite singer, has decided to be..reborn.
To rise from the dust like a pheonix is one. Attempting to repeat past successes and knowing you are NOT there anymore is another thing.
The first song Answer reeks of absolute boredom! Where was the "Believe" we all loved and treasured?!
Most of the music has keyboard openings, almost similar. And her voice has aged a little, you can detect a slight resigned tone in it. Where were the powerful vocals that burst forth from the disc? Believe had more powerful music, stronger vocals and lovely lyrics. EEKS! Has Takako been weathered down by motherly duties these days (She even dedicates the album to her daughter!)
With a title like Reborn, there is nothing here except evidence of Takako's happily married wife and mother. The housewife image is the only thing I can feel from this album. Sadly, while I remain one of her fans, I presume many others have taken a liking to more charismatic musicians. After all, one goes with the flow.
Overall the music is the same, typical of Takako's music. At least in BEST 2000 the music had a fresher, '80s appeal, characteristic of its time. Takako has long been lost in that fickle music world, and now as she is struggling to metamorphosise into a new age 21st century musician, the Japanese pop world has sadly gone on without her.
I recommend BEST 2000. Sure, there isn't any 90s feel about it, it feels so 80s, but at least the nostalgia of Ai Video girl, 80s dramas and bubble economy days could not be better summed up than
listening to it. In Reborn, one can only feel that Takako has lost her prime and is just making the album to show to listeners "I still exist!". Another Seiko Matsuda in the making?
***** stars for Best 2000, ** stars for this out of sympathy.
