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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01. 朝日のあたる街 (Asahi no Ataru Machi)
02. 春を待つ人 (Haru wo Matsu Hito)
03. スウィング時代 (Swing Jidai)
04. 夕立ち通り (Yuudachi Toori)
05. サマー'71 (Summer '71)
06. 夢を見ていた午後 (Yume wo Miteita Gogo)
07. LOVE SONG
08. センチメンタルな夏 (Sentimental na Natsu)
09. ぼくたちの昨日 (Bokutachi no Kinou)
10. ブルー (Blue) |
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Review |
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Time changes everything, they say, and among other things, it turns the wheel of the seasons as summer turns to fall, fall turns to winter and so forth. And just like the coming of fall might fill a tree with splashes of passionate red, it can completely change a listener's outlook on a certain song or album. This is what happened to me with blue, an album released by Sokabe Keiichi in the summer of 2007.
I bought it on my way back from work on the day it came out, and an initial listen floored me immediately with the first track, "Asahi no Ataru Machi." It's vintage Keiichi, a perfect package of the great lyrics, great singing and great melodies we've come to expect from the ex-Sunny Day Service frontman. You'll be hard pressed to find this kind of heartrending honesty in any other band today, in or out of Japan. However, the rest of the album wasn't really that good. "Swing Jidai" and "Sentimental na Natsu" were good enough, but something wasn't clicking. Keiichi has a knack for crafting mellow songs that are thrilling in their own special way, but tracks like "Summer '71" and "Love Song" were just too mellow for their own good. Nevertheless, I found myself constantly listening to the superb opening track yet did not pay much attention to the rest of the disc.
A few months later, shaking off the fall-soon-to-be-winter chills, I decided to give it another full, proper listen. It was like listening to a completely different album. "Swing Jidai," initially dismissed as an almost mindless rock tune, evokes memories of the adrenaline rush that came with seeing Sokabe Keiichi and his band live. The entire verse section chugs away at a restrained pace, building up towards a simple yet effective anthemic chorus. The nostalgic "Sentimental na Summer" starts off sparse, but as the song goes by, the number of guitars multiply to great effect. As the song fades out, I found myself transported through the seasons. Songs I didn't care much for back then, like the charmingly simple "Love Song" or the happy-go-lucky foot tapper "Yuudachi Toori," were now crucial steps on the journey to a summer that had gone by only a few months back.
A certain Tokyo record shop owner once told me that blue was the perfect summer soundtrack. One would be inclined to agree, as a cheerful summer vibe runs throughout the majority of the album's relatively sparse arrangements. And, true to its namesake, the album still retains Keiichi's trademark blue undertones, particularly on the excellent opening and closing tracks. Yet there I was, listening to the so-called ideal summer jams on a hot summer night and I couldn't wrap my head around it. However, listening to it now, it all starts to make sense. Sokabe Keiichi's blue is indeed an outstanding summer album, except that you don't necessarily have to listen it during the summer. Play this album anytime you're feeling blue and you'll find yourself on a journey through time, reliving a sentimental summer of your choosing, condensed into 43 minutes of great music. |
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