R-Girl's Rock review

まずは。。。。

スパイクさん！どうもどうもどうも！！ユージンです！　＼（＾０＾）／


That was a short hello to a friend on twitter,he found this blog and tweeted about it coz it's got posts on SCANDAL in Singapore,so i went like "Hey!That's the blog me and my friends are writing in!" And he's like "Serious?Heeeeeeeeeeeeee"



Now back on topic.

This may be a little late,but i thought i'd do a review on SCANDAL's latest mini-album,R-Girl's Rock,which is a cover album of various famous tunes from various artists.I'll provide the tracklist below:

R-Girl's Rock-SCANDAL


1.六本木心中
2.恋人がサンタクロース
3.SINKY-YORK
4.ロックンロール．ウイドウ
5.DAYDREAM
6.Sunny Day Sunday
7.Secret base~君がくれたもの



-Before you read the review,bear in mind that the review is solely based on my opinion.And as i'm a guitarist,i pay more attention to instruments than the vocals.-


1. 六本木心中 (Romanized-Roppongi Shinjuu,alt.pronounciation Roppongi Suicide) (Original artist-Ann Lewis)

For me and many others,this is the best song on the album.If you've heard the original by Ann Lewis,SCANDAL takes the song and raises the rock level by at least infinite.MAMI shows how much her guitar playing has improved as well in a scaling guitar solo.With huge amounts of crunch in the guitars,the track speaks of classic rock spiced up with lots of gain;distortion wasn't as heavy as it is today back in the days.TOMOMI's bass is the one that impressed me the most on this track;You can clearly hear how she keeps the band's playing tight in the second verse where she comes in after she sings the first few lines.All in all a great track to rock out to.



2. 恋人がサンタクロース (Romanized-Koibito ga Santa Claus) (Original artist-松任谷由実)

This song took a few listens to grow on me,on my first listen i thought that the chorus was a little repetitive,but the guitar solo enraptured me enough to give it a few more listens.Now it's a must play on my list.The band livens things up with the addition of the layering of many guitars,and of course the guitar solo.Overall a nice track to listen and jam along too,though sometimes it gives off a melancholic feel,depending on the mood the listener is in.



3. SINKY-YORK (Original artist-JITTERIN'JINN)

A poppy,upbeat number,hinting at classic Brit rock-feel with the bouncy guitar riffs and overdriven tones.I've read somewhere that MAMI uses her Gretsch White Falcon while playing this song live;that may very well explain the guitar toning in this song.Really lively song to listen to.



4. ロックンロール．ウイドウ (Romanized-Rokkunrooru.Uidou,English-Rock'n Roll Widow) (Original artist-山口百恵)

This is another really rockin' song in the album.The synth in this song does nothing but accentuate the rock feel nicely,which is always a good thing,because for me that's what synth is good for,not a song with nothing but synth in it.Well,never mind that.The girls said that they had to tweak this song round a little,since the original is more pop-rock and they turned this cover into pure rock.Just another pure rockin' song,so get out your headbangs.


5. DAYDREAM (Original artist-Judy and Mary)

This cover was actually first released in the Yumemiru Tsubasa single as a sidetrack,and since it's a cover the girls included this track in the album.One can hear the Kagerou influences in this track,leads playing over chords and a thumping drum track in the background.If i'm not mistaken,TOMOMI said that she likes to play this song live.This is another song,however,that took a few listens before i thought it was okay.Still,it's a good cover.

6. Sunny Day Sunday (Original artist-SENTIMENTAL BUS)

For RINA fans like myself,this track is a real treat because the awesomely and great and pretty and rockin' and cute and justplaingoddamnitawesome drummer RINA sings a line or two in this track.This was from an idea from the girls,because RINA has always been credited with Drums and Vocals when on screen,but never actually did any singing.So they decided that she should sing a line or two for this track.On an impartial view of the song,it cannot fail to make anyone feel a smile tugging at their lips when listening to this song.The guitar solo is very well balanced by introducing a whole new tone instead of the usual Muff-powered crunchy tone that MAMI has.One of the best tracks on the album.


7. Secret base~君がくれたもの (Romanized-Secret Base~Kimi ga kureta mono) (Original artist-ZONE)

This is the only sad song on the album,while the others are jovial in their own right.Again,this was released prior to this album,as a special cover PV.HARUNA,TOMOMI and MAMI sings in this track.Initially i thought that TOMOMI's voice is a little too high-pitched for this song,and thought that it was weird for her to be singing.Now i feel her voice melding with the song nicely,as she sang at a comfortable pitch for herself and not straining like a cat being restructured in a washing machine.That said,i do skip over this track quite often unless in the rare moment that i prefer a really sad song.However,this is entirely due to my preferring rock songs and lively songs.Good plucking of the chords by MAMI and backed by HARUNA's chords,this almost sounds like a garage band covering a song,which in many ways is,actually.




That ends my review of R-Girl's Rock.I think that the girls really have outdone themselves on tracks like Roppongi Shinjuu.5 thumbs up!Hope that it wasn't too wordy. :P I do tend to go on a bit.

And oh,a little advert,SCANDAL's new single titled Pride will be released 2011.02.09 and will be used as the ending theme for anime series Star Driver.SCANDAL's 2nd Live DVD,EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!~TEMPTATION BOX TOUR 2010 will also be released 2011.03.16.

So get these two if you can,okay?Show your love for SCANDAL by supporting them and buying their CDs!


So i don't know when i'm going to be writing again,which is a relief for wordy-posts-haters out there,but i'll do my best to get something up.

Later!