I first heard Bonnie singing It's Gonna Rain as an ending theme to Rurouni Kenshin. That song is among the ones that got me really interested in J-pop, and It's Gonna Rain is my all-time favorite Rurouni Kenshin song (RK featured L'Arc~en~Ciel and Judy and Mary among other bigatin J-pop artists).
My first Bonnie album was Even So, and all I can say is lucky, lucky me. This turns out to be (at least according to me, very reliable, haha) one of Bonnie's most liked albums by real fans of hers. It is a dark album (that's how most reviews describe it and there's just no better word), with Bonnie working the happy-sad elements she's really good at. I just became a dedicated fan after Even So. At present I have listened to all her albums that I know of.
I was able to listen to her latest album ONE this afternoon. I played the album on our old but still reliably loud stereo (I have to kick it to make it work sometimes, but it still produces great sound, LOL) despite the household not really being J-pop fans and sat back to enjoy the ear candy. Before the intro to track one could finish I saw the crossword portion of today's daily which I abandoned earlier on the living room chair and was suddenly in the mood from some brain cell work.
This is the result of this afternoon's activity:
LOL. I reviewed ONE while doing the crossword. I never cease to amaze myself. XP
As for the review itself, those scribbles pretty much say everything.
Won't Let You Go reminds me of Burning Inside from her previous full album Thinking Out Loud. I thought it didn't make a great track one and that maybe Princess Incognitio or even Ring a Bell should've been handed the job of intro to the album.
Fyewsha Fyewsha Fyewsha is another of Bonnie's songs that I just file into my mental playlist of summer tracks.
Princess Incognito reminds me of Just a Girl Bonnie.
Track four, Joy, has already grown on me since it was released as a single and it's not very hard to like anyhow.
Mousou Lover reminded me of Catch the Sun and later on Take me in due to its shady mood.
As for Kane o Narashite, I didn't think it was much of a hit when Bonnie released it last year, and now I don't really like it that its English version Ring a Bell makes it as a bonus track to this album. I mean, come on. They're in different languages but they're still the same song, and they're even very close semantically.
But after this came in the most disturbing-in-a-good-way and possibly the one I will conclude to be the best track after many listens: One Last Time. Though I thought there were just too many instruments that I couldn't really hear Bonnie anymore starting from the bridge part, this track is still a winner. I still think that Bonnie is at her best when she sounds in grief. And yeah, I'm afraid it's gonna be one of those tracks I'm gonna listen to when indulging in depression.
Rock You till the Dawn to me is a mix of pop rock and R&B, reminding me for some reason of Imagination from Thinking Out Loud.
Fed Up which is a collaboration with Craig David is the one I least like at first listen of this album. They sound really good together but I'm just not feeling this song.
PLAY & PAUSE is new! I've never heard Bonnie do an R&B track like this before, and she raps in it! (So cute!) But it strangely reminds me of Hikki. (O.O)
The next track Himitsu reminds me of anime themes in the 90s. A number of Bonnie's songs have been anime tracks so it's not a very far-off comparison.
The next one is another track I marked. Try me Out is added to my summer playlist. It's just so laid-back-by-the-pool cute and a very easy listen to my ears.
The next track is something I really liked at first listen (from her recent Joy/Happy Ending single), even more than I did Joy. The reason that I like Happy Ending so much may be Bonnie's hopeful lyrics, but I think it makes a really good soft rock track. It would have been the perfect last track to this album but Bonnie puts in Get on the Bus (which I note in the crossword sounds like a filler) and Ring a Bell.
Overall I think this is a really good original album from Bonnie, better than her previous Thinking Out Loud and Golden Tears. There are many new songs which are all treats. I've read in a Bonnie Pink forum how ONE has all the previous Bonnies in a package. I agree, and I think that versatility is what makes this album a real treat for all BONNIE PINK fans like yours truly.
If I review Bonnie by comparing new tracks to her old ones it's because I'm no musician or music expert and this is the only way a fan can do it. I'm very partial to older Bonnie albums (Even So which remains my favorite, Present and Just a Girl), and maybe this is another reason why I keep making comparisons to her old songs. But nonetheless any new song from Bonnie is a treat, and I am her fan now and always.
P.S. 70 down is gimlet, a drink which Bonnie mentions in A Perfect Sky. Look at how happy I was at the coincidence (I even drew a smiley x.x).
