The Other Buddy Review - Makkun’s Tribute Album
I figured you ought to just read j1m0ne’s shorter review of this cover album, Buddy, a tribute to Masami Okui [some referral links in this post]. I’ll try to keep this one short, too.
But a bit about tribute albums first–I’m not a huge fan of them, compared to cover albums; analogically they’re like crossovers under the broader category of parodies. Okay, that’s not a great analogy but the primary exercise of a tribute/cover is the idea behind it. A mediocre cover track can still be interesting like a poorly drawn parody picture; likewise the concept itself tickles enough that some fans can forget the lameness of the re-rendition.
Thankfully we got people like Masaaki Endou on this CD, so it can’t be bad…He just released a pretty L-O-L cover album himself this month. Anyways, more on that later. I’m just going to go down the track list.
I always thought Kuribayashi’s style and the songs she sings match Makkun’s style the closest, and I think TRUST is a good example of this. I like the song as one of the “later” Makkun’s representative works, so I thought well of this opening track.
Minorin’s Rinbu Revolution is probably the most controversial track on this CD. But rather than railing on Minori Chihara or on the arrangement for an inadequate tribute for the awesome original track and one of Makkun’s most popular songs ever, I just thought of Yoko Takahashi. I mean, the way Minorin tries to do this song is exactly how Takahashi would sound! Or maybe Chiaki Ishikawa? The arrangement does make sense but it is like as if upon each vowel, Minorin would sound on cue or sound deflated, creating an uneven experience.
Jounetsu by Misato Aki is pleasant–which continues a trend on this album–taking some of Makkun’s back catalog and playing them down a notch. She was able to deliver the chorus, which is probably the hard part for Aki, in matching the original image of this song.
INTRODUCTION…well, for starters is one of Makkun’s lesser-known songs, so it’s a bit of a surprise that it gets the cover. But at the same time this rocking rendition is probably more enjoyable than the original. I wonder what a KOTOKO song would sound like if Endou got his hands on one. At any rate, this song is certifiably 90s rock no matter who sings it, or if it did come on a 2004 album release. If this man can do a full of 80s and 90s rock covers of not just anisong, but also tokusatsu stuff (Go Go Power Rangers!) then Introduction is piece of cake. By the way, do go buy his cover CD; it’s quite good.
Olive is Yoko Ishida’s tribute track. It’s a pretty normal, light pop take of Olive and not some para para take of…something. Thank God? But considering her new para para CD came out the same day, this is just a smart move no matter how you slice it. This arrangement of Olive was pretty much the same as the original, so it’s not too slow and has plenty of oomph to it. Strangely Ishida sounds a bit hollow in the recording for reasons beyond me.
Iiwake was delicious; Suara here is like an extra dry version of sour apple Jolly Rancher…I guess that might just be my favorite flavor of the Jolly Rancher line. Needless to say she does justice to the song, and the rearrangement is pretty spot on too. Heck, it’s nice for karaoke in general, much like the original track but in a different way.
Otomegokoro Mugen is from Evolution, which is a late 2006 album. But this one track harks back to her 1996 days. Megami Paradise anyone? I think Tomoe Ohmi got it right with that cheesy anime vocal thing–charmingly soft and just catchy enough. If it wasn’t right before Momoi’s Koishimashou it would’ve left a stronger impression.
And yeah, like Endou, Momoi took a Makkun fan fave and personalized Koishimashou, Nebarimasho into something out her own library. And I think anyone who’s been following Makkun and Momoi as long as Momoi has would agree that there are few, if any, better song to cover for her. Cyber Team in Akihabara was on the air (one of the earliest dempa anime that few shows today can even top) in Akiba when Momoi was just getting started during the early part of her career. I’m not sure how much mind she paid to it (but she’s quite the geek after all…), or how sentimental this could be for her. It’s well done, to say the least; she impressed me yet again with great selection and delivery. Sometimes I wish Momoi’s own songs have this much impact :)
The album winds down with Wasuregusa. Hironobu Kageyama, in my opinion, is a better ballad singer than rocker, but he can do both. The song choice is not much of a fan fave, but he did play acoustic guitar in the original version? I think if it was an acoustic act alone with him and his guitar, this song would’ve rocked even more. As is, it’s kind of average.
Chihhi rounds out this album with HAPPY PLACE. Being long time co-worker, friend, collaborator, and probably the contemporary with the most similar works during Makkun’s 15 years, it’s no surprise (and sort of good) that Chihiro Yonekura gets the last say here. I’m not sure if the song fits, being “Happy Place” and all, but the heartful delivery works well once the song throttles up like a motorcycle racing down the lonely, coastal road with a sunset to the side. (As an aside, Chihhi’s decidedly mellow, unplugged, cover album came out on the same day, too; it’s got more Makkun tributes!)
A lot of people have grown out of the scene, gotten tired and couldn’t justify following an evolving and growing artist like her, which is fine. However, honestly, all this tribute stuff makes me wonder just how much life Makkun has left as a performer. I think she’s made a good transition to the production side of things but actually I still want to see more of her stuff! Selfish fan ranting aside, it’s an occasion to celebrate one of the influential anisong artist! I hope she holds out doing shows and making songs until I get to see one of her proper lives XD
In the end, let me just share a little tidbit about CD Japan. As much as I whore them, I also found it ironic that a search for “masami okui” for people on their site will not take you to this delicious tribute album. It does, coincidentally, show you the new Megumi Hayashibara/Slayers gigantic 3-CD set, which somehow has Makkun’s name attached.
And for some reason, I think that may be more of a tribute to some.
You’re too kind with your comments that it makes me sound like a harsh, bitter ogre. But I enjoyed reading your more balanced, unbiased coverage of Buddy :)
I am too kind :v But you know, I pretty much think the same as you; I just say it nicely :)
For the curious reader:
http://jouttex.otadesho.com/tribute-to-masami-okui-buddy/