2021年6月23日に日本でレビュー済み
Package: Package arrived on schedule, nicely wrapped, and no defects. This was an order from abroad.
Product:
For many new and casual fans, it’s Eri Sasaki’s soothing voice that catches attention and is as expected, featured again in her sophomore album. Yet, Sasaki-san is more than just a singer with an angelic voice, she is also a musician of multiple talents. In Colon, she showcases her prowess as a songwriter, moving towards her own musical and artistic inclinations. The result is another album worth putting on repeat play.
The massive Yurucamp hits ‘Fuyu Biyori’ and ‘Haru no Tonari’, should be the most readily recognized hits of Colon. They’re not the typical fast-paced anison as much as Sasaki-san isn’t the typical anison singer. Both songs are acoustic - the style that for now, appears to be Sasaki-san’s place of power, her strongest suit. There are two more of this type to sate the listener’s satisfaction - the utterly, hauntingly beautiful ‘Part of Me’ (one of the two songs from the Bakamatsu anime) and ‘Tamashii no Heya’, a simple piece that Sasaki-san wrote by herself some time ago.
Personally, I think the main Bakumatsu anime ED theme, ‘Haruka Naru Tabi’ is the best song of the album. It has that sweeping epic feel similar to the one I get when listening to the title track Period from Period (that chorus!). Perhaps it’s not as popular because it’s tied to an anime that is nowhere as good as Yurucamp, but it’s another old song that Sasaki-san wrote on her own.
Listen to ‘Haruka Naru Tabi’, then to ‘Tamashii no Heya’, then for good measure, take out your Period CD and play ‘Pausing’. These are the three released songs whose writing credits solely go to Sasaki-san, and you realize they’re all so beautiful, yet so diverse from each other. And to me that affirms the point of Colon: by now the world should know that Sasaki-san, songwriter, is as every inch as good as Sasaki-san, singer.
The rest of the album exhibits Sasaki-san’s musical tastes and range, which seem to lean towards a more jazzy, soulful feel, with a little of electro-dance elements. Orchis was a chill, entirely different song at the time of its release, though now one of the new songs, British Robot, carries some similarities (I heard she collaborated with the same persons in both songs). ‘Fireworks’ and ‘YURUSU’ are a pair of soft, comforting songs with contrasting styles. Me Time is a playful-sounding track that reminds me a bit of the lightest song in Period, ‘Shampoo’.
Sasaki-san seem to enjoy collaborating with other musicians, aside from her usual co-writer Nakamura-san. The Lattice mix version of ‘Dia vo Lhizer’, which featured performances from two of her Lattice bandmates, was the only song she did not have a part in writing to make it to the album, but it’s still a welcomed piece. It nicely sampled Lattice’s style wherein every part of the band is prominently featured: vocals, drums, piano, and violin taking turns at the spotlight. And there is the Hamiltonesque ‘Beep Beep Beep’, wherein Sasaki-san took a step towards her dream of working with Western musicians, this time in the form of Josh Paul of Daughtry, who provided the lyrics and bass.
As Colon’s vision is to put her own artistic brand up front, the album included every song in each of her single releases since Period. I was surprised by this, since Period didn’t include every B-side. I suppose this can be a little bonus for fans who haven’t purchased any of the Haruka Naru Tabi, Fyu Biyori, and Haru no Tonari single CDs - get all the songs in those releases by simply getting a copy of Colon.
The downside of this vision, on the other hand, is that several gems Sasaki-san sung in the past years were left out. My personal favorites in this exclusion list are On The Rails and her cover of ‘Haru yo, koi’, but there are more, like her version of ‘Kono Basho de’, ‘Ichiru no Nozomi’, ‘Ranse no Hana’, and maybe even ‘Okaerinasai Shounen-tachi yo’, though this last one might not be a seamless fit with the others. As a foreign-based fan with limited access to her content, I’ll be ecstatic if she releases them in a future album or as singles in a more accessible media, like streaming (as she did with ‘Mononokerenbo’ and ‘Yoi Yami Kareido’).
How does Colon compare to Period? I suppose it boils down to the listener’s musical tastes. Period is more traditional pop throughout - from the perfect crispiness of ‘Be Clear’ to the vocal rollercoaster of ‘Ring of Fortune’ to the explosive chorus of ‘Period’. An element I love in Period that isn’t in, or isn’t as prominent in Colon is the showcase of Sasaki-san’s vocal talent - not just her voice, but her ability to sing through the toughest note combos, such as in ‘Ring of Fortune’, ‘Otoninaru’, and ‘Last Diary’. Colon is more “Eri Sasaki” the artist, it’s more chill and the jaunts into other genres might be enjoyable for you. I’d recommend getting both, if you haven’t already.
About the Blu-Ray content, I’ve already seen the performance except ‘Fuyu Biyori’ from Sasaki-san’s Semicolon online concert, but it was still nice - the video and audio were very clear and the band performance superb. (I like Period’s acoustic concert better though - maybe because Sasaki-san is so good with acoustic performances).
Others:
Regarding the purchase itself, around 18 days after I placed my pre-order, I was notified that my card was rejected. It was weird because my bank said there was no issue, and when I added the card again, it was working again.
I was also a little disappointed that the CD didn't come with an autographed photo/card that was advertised for pre-orders.
