TOP TEN OF AI OTSUKA – Set 1: Less known and underrated

Today I’m starting a new series of articles on Ai Otsuka Love Blog – TOP TEN of Ai Otsuka. We’re starting off with a list of ten less known and therefore underrated songs from Ai-chan’s discography. All of these songs have something very special about them, but for certain reasons they became album tracks or B-side, so they had no chance to be promoted. It’s a pity, because some of them could have become very successful singles...

Let’s go~!

This is a digital single released in 2010, Ai-chan’s last single to date. Despite the endorsement deal with Panasonic, the song didn’t chart well – maybe because of its specific style, more similar to LOVE-chan’s releases than to Ai’s. I love it anyway. I used it as a ringtone in my mobile for a very long time :)

Natsuzora was released in 2005, as a B-side to Ai’s single “Neko ni Fuusen”. For me, it should have been a single instead of “Neko” or at least the second A-side. This song is great – romantic, nostalgic and full of emotions. Its mood reminds me a little of “Kingyo Hanabi”.

This song is the last track on Ai’s debut album “LOVE PUNCH”. It features piano and a small choir! Moreover, you can find there one of the most developed ad-libs Ai has ever done. I like it and this upbeat feeling this song gives me every time I listen to it.

“Kurage, Nagareboshi” was a marvellous single. It’s too bad that despite its finest quality and being the 5-year anniversary single it didn’t sell so well. I loved the music, artwork and the PV. "H2O" is one of B-sides featured in this release. As “Kurage, Nagareboshi” was a rather slow, grand and beautiful ballad, “H2O” goes in a different direction – it has a funky rock vibe, interesting arrangement, awesome vocals and amusing lyrics comparing love to a chemical reaction! :)

This is an intro to Ai-chan’s third studio album “LOVE COOK”. It’s a very unusual composition and truly one of a kind. It starts with a strange mood and gives a really night / dawn feeling. Then the song develops into a powerful rock number in which Ai’s cute voice reveals its hidden power. I love it and I think she really needs to more such songs in the future!

Come to think of it, "360°" is definitely one of the most mature and unconventional songs Ai has created so far. It’s exquisite and refined, aggressive and yet delicate. The message of this songs is conveyed in the way it was arranged. Before reading the lyrics, I felt that it was about some uncertainty and indecisiveness in feelings and emotions. Ai sings: “I love you and I hate you”. The way this song was sung and arranged truly gets the message across. You can almost physically feel the pain Ai is singing about...

This song was included in Ai’s second studio album “LOVE JAM”. It’s somewhat pop-rockish, moody, melancholic and kind of sad. Otsuka sings about being strong and overcoming various obstacles that appear in our life. It’s no surprise that our weaknesses and our endless struggle to improve can make us tired, hopeless and sad. This song reveals that life is not only about happy things, but it also has a darker side that all of us have to face.

I can’t believe that this song didn’t become a single! It’s so damn beautiful! It’s easily one of my favourites... I love the imagery of the lyrics – the winged egg wants to see the sky, the world and experience all flavours of life. Isn’t it similar to a fable or a fairy tale? Also, the feathers falling down from the sky during the performance at LOVE COOK Tour additionally highlight the delicacy and tenderness radiating from this song.  I love it, just love it.

Another highly underrated song. This time it comes from “LOVE PiECE” album which didn’t have many album tracks, because it was composed mostly of singles. Luckily for “Kumuriuta”, it was given a PV which has Ai-chan soaked in rain and diving in a pool (trying to sing underwater, too). It’s another song filled with sadness and overflowing emotions. Ai-chan asks the sky not to cry over her, because her heart is still strong. This is my favourite line which always makes me emotional and gives me hope.

As I said before, “Kurage, Nagareboshi” was a great single, not only because of the wonderful quality of the A-side, visual framework and the PV, but also because of the amazing B-sides. “Ame no Tsubu” is a renditon of Ai-chan’s song titled “LOVE MUSiC” which appeared both in “LOVE COOK” and “AI am BEST”. “LOVE MUSiC” was cute, nice and very Ai-chan, but in this version she took this song and squished it like a lemon to show its true essence. This was one great job, because Ai-chan was able to transform one of her not-bad songs into one of the greatest musical achievements she’s done till now. “Ame no Tsubu” radiates with maturity and refined taste, showing Ai’s artistic development, increased sensitivity and truly musical soul. The song is just too lyrical. Everything about it is lyrical – starting from the text to the strings appearing in the verses, to the quiet recitation to the refreshed chorus. This is a very rainy song. I love to listen to it when it’s raining and I’m feeling romantic :)

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This list is a highly subjective set of songs chosen by me, so you might or you might not agree with this particular choice. You’re welcome to add your types in the comments :)

You can also suggest another sets for TOP TEN! :) Your ideas will be appreciated~

LOVE COOK - a review

In 2005 Ai Otsuka released her third studio album – “LOVE COOK”. Its release, on December 14, 2005, was preceded by three singles featured on the LP: “SMILY / Biidama”, “Neko ni Fuusen” and “Planetarium”. The album was available in four versions: regular CD only and regular CD+DVD (the same cover) and two limited editions: CD + illustration book and CD + Photobook.

I’m a happy owner of the edition with the illustration book :) The book is about an adventure of LOVE-chan which Ai drew and wrote herself. You can see the pages photographed by me here.

“LOVE COOK” is Otsuka's best-selling album (835,333 copies sold) and one of the most popular ones (around a year on Oricon Top 300), but... is it really deserved? Let's have a closer look :)

I was kind of confused after listening to this album for the first time. Literally: I didn't know whether I liked it or not. In terms of individual songs, I was generally impressed, but when it comes to the whole... not really. Unlike “LOVE JAM” or even “LOVE PUNCH”, “LOVE COOK” doesn't seem to be cohesive at all. It starts flawlessly, but the rest is generally quite forgettable (as for Ai-chin), excluding some randomly placed brilliant songs. This album is simply uneven: some songs could be tagged as "epic", others as "anything but epic", the rest as "generic". If I was to say which album contains Ai's the least successful songs, I would say "LOVE COOK". However, since it features also several perfect wins, it is by no means a bad album.

Let's rate the songs now, as I said earlier that individual approach works better for “LOVE COOK” :) Rating will be done in frying pans, because of that:

Each song can score max. 5 frying pans. Let's go!

5:09am

Ai should do intros, if they are to sound like “5:09am”. Definitely it is one of her best songs in terms of vocal performance. Her powerful, loud and emotional voice here gives me goosebumps every time I listen to this. Ai needs to do more rock (but not in the cutesy rendition like in “Happy Days” or “Do Positive”).

Five frying pans out of five for a great opening to the album.

Haneari Tamago

After a strong rock intro, Ai sings a beautiful ballad which belongs to my best favourites (along with “Kumuriuta”). The melody is simply breathtaking and Ai's delicate, crystal clear voice fits it perfectly. It's a shame that it didn't become a single. I'm sure it could have been a success comparable to ”Ren'ai Shashin” and another #1 on Oricon...

Six frying pans out of... oh, wait. OK, so five it is... :)

Biidama

This track and the subsequent one are two main songs from the double A-side single "SMILY / Biidama". It's one of Ai's biggest successes, as the songs topped the Oricon charts and sold very well. “Biidama” is a cute mid-tempo song with nasal vocal (which seems to be extremely popular in Japan). What I particularly like in it is Ai's funny dancing in the PV and the carefree happiness which takes you over while listening to this song :) Moreover, the jazz arrangement used in Ai am BEST Tour is pure love :3

Four decent frying pans out of five.

SMILY

I hate to say that, but I really dislike this song. Even though I'm a loyal and dedicated fan of Ai-chin, I can't stand it. I'm not saying that it's bad, because it reached #1 for a reason, but the level of cutesy and upbeatness in it is over the top... even for me :P

Three frying pans for the number one. If it wasn't for that, only two pans would be granted.

U-Boat

This is one of the few forgettable and generic songs that Ai has ever made. It's similar to “SMILY”, but more moderate. However, the two songs are so close to each other (in sound and in placement), so you can only remember the exaggerate” SMILY”, so “U-Boat” goes on unnoticed... The PV, even though it's happy and full of summer energy, is also nothing very special.

Three and a half, because of the moderation and because the summery happiness is good.

Neko ni Fuusen

Strange as it sounds, this song, being fairly average, became a single and sold quite well, moreover, I like it very much :) Is it because of the feline theme? The song is dominated by acoustic guitar and Ai's sweet nasal vocal (so that she even sounds like a cat). What I don't like in it is the PV, which features digitally created cats. The cats are stiff as if they had advanced rigor mortis, so a hint for the animation director: work harder! :P

Four frying pans, because of my personal bias :)

Cherish

After a slight drop in quality of music, we're reaching the brilliance again. “Cherish” was featured on a tribute album “LOVE for NANA" and due to its huge popularity, also on “AI am BEST” compilation, even though it never was a single. This is a little dark rock song with a painful message that love is more about suffering than happiness. The lyrics are so different in comparison to other Otsuka's texts, that they really deserve some attention. The song is so good that it's a shame that Ai doesn't seem to follow this musical path anymore. As I said before, a little bit more of serious rock in Ai's discography would be awesome.

Five out of five, because it's a widely recognised pinnacle of this album and I share this opinion.

Ramen Sanpun Cooking

Yeah, a typical Ai-chan's prank - when the emotions are high, she suddenly brings us down to earth with something like “Ramen Sanpun Cooking”... Although Ai's fans prefer “SMILY” over this one, I like it better for a reason I can’t explain :P This song is weird and basically about nothing lyrical (cooking a soup?) which makes it a song which you react to with a confused grin and... rarely come back to. At least this is what I do. Generally, from all these jolly prank songs (e.g. “Katorisenkou”, “Mousou Chop”, “Babashi”, etc.) this one is the weakest.

Three frying pans. Enough to do some cooking :)

Tokyo Midnight

Ai-chan decided to do some jazz and appeal to the more mature audience with new classy sound... The effect is quite good, however, it’s evident that these were Ai’s first steps in this kind of music. Luckily, Ai is a good musical learner, so the next steps were far more successful which is best expressed in her fifth album “LOVE LETTER” :)

However, I give only three and a half, because we demand more from jazz than from pop.

Planetarium

This song is probably the fans’ favourite of all time. Most listeners admit that it’s one of the most beautiful ballads that Ai has ever sung, equally with” Daisuki dayo”. I agree that it’s a great song, but “Planetarium” isn’t my personal favourite (because it’s “Haneari Tamago” which blows my mind, of course). I love the imagery of this song, the PV and the starry cover of the single :)

Five frying pans are truly deserved.

Birthday Song

A song that all Ai-chan’s fans know from LOVE is BORN concerts :) I don’t listen to it very often, but it is one of the most adorable songs from Ai and I love every performance of it (especially the birthday cake part :D).

Four and a half for the unforgettable sentimental pleasure :)

LOVE MUSiC

Even if the content of “LOVE COOK” isn’t always very impressive, at least it is properly framed: both the opening and ending sound great. The flawless start demands an appropriate ending :) Luckily, it was achieved, because ”LOVE MUSiC” gently wraps up the album, settling the listener down. “LOVE MUSiC” is a sweet ballad – simple in melody, but rich in meaning. The PV for this song reflect the message of the lyrics. No words needed.

Five neat frying pans for a perfect ending!

We have reviewed the album thoroughly, so let’s now summarise what has been said:

It seems that “LOVE COOK” is a pretty nice album after all. Definitely it isn’t her best, but still it’s quite enjoyable. I think that it sold so well because of catchy singles and various tie-ins, not because of the extraordinary quality of the whole material. It’s a pity that all B-sides from the singles from 2005 are better than some album tracks (brilliant “Natsuzora” or “drop.”). Nevertheless, LOVE COOK is a nice title to have in the library for every J-pop fan. It contains a few tracks like “Planetarium”, ”Cherish”, “LOVE MUSiC” or “5:09am” which are always good to come back to.

Support Ai by buying this album:

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