Makihara Noriyuki - Kanashimi nante Nan no Yaku nimo Tatanai to Omotte Ita. (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

September 2, 2008 by Dennis Amith

“Crooner, producer, songwriter Makihara Noriyuki returned in 2007 with his highly anticipated album that would be a chart topper and an album full of awesome music.”

ARTIST: 槇原敬之 (Makihara Noriyuki)

ALBUM: Kanashimi nante Nan no Yaku nimo Tatanai to Omotte Ita.

LABEL: J-more

CATALOG #: YICD-70038

DURATION: 56:06

RELEASE DATE: November 7, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

introduction
祈りの歌が聞こえてくる
Dance with me
GREEN DAYS
カイト
Love was sleeping.
lose no time
赤いマフラー
Anywhere
Circle of Rainbow
五つの文字

Singer/songwriter Makihara Noriyuki has had many chart topping hits and pretty much has carved his name into one of the most successful singer/songwriters in Japan.

Despite having some lows in his very much publicized personal life in the past, Makihara has apparently moved past that and in the past few years has done quite well with writing SMAP’s big hit “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” and returning with his hit earlier in 2007 with “GREEN DAYS”.

Makihara Noriyuki has always been an interesting performer, especially in the 90’s with his chart topping happier hits to his unusual transformation of various outfits and get-ups in the late 90’s but no matter where he was headed, fans enjoyed his personality, his music and his lyrics.

2007 also marked the year from a move from EMI to Avex’s J-more label (and being on the Sony Music Japan label for much of the 90s).

But after our J!-ENT photographer Mahito was a big fan of Makihara, this was his favorite artist and would listen to him sing Makihara constantly and somehow along the lines, the music grown on me over the years that I have been purchasing older CD singles and anticipating each CD single and album release.

With his 15th full length album “Kanashimi nante Nan no Yaku ni mo Tatanai to Omotte Ita.”, the album is quite interesting that only “GREEN DAYS” (his 36th CD single) and “Akai Mafura” (his 37th CD single) were released as CD singles but many of the songs (non-singles) were used on the album were used in commercials.

The first track “introduction” showcases Makihara’s orchestration ability. Primarily featuring a string arrangement, guitars and solo violin with an almost Irish style of feel.

The second track “祈りの歌が聞こえてくる” features a happy track utilizing flamenco guitar by Oki Jin. A song that was very fun that is complimented by a string arrangement and clapping percussion. The flamenco guitar definitely adds a nice touch to the overall song.

The third track “Dance with Me” is another track that is reminiscent to the 90’s hits with its brass arrangement but also the use of bongs, marimbas and vibraphone courtesy of Oishi Marie. The song is a fun and catchy track and was used as a them for TV Tokyo’s coverage of the 2008 WTTC Japanese National Table Tennis Team.

The fourth track “GREEN DAYS” is Makihara-style. Catchy rock and the happy, emotional songs that he’s known for. His 36th CD single and an enjoyable track! Would call this vintage Makihara because it has the same positive vibe as his classic hits but this song is the style of music that people fall in love with when it comes to Makihara’s style. The song was used in the drama “Ushi Negai wo Love & Farm” and also used as a theme for a Toyota CM.

The fifth track “Kite” was an Aoki CM theme song. A song that has almost an old school feel with hits music and harmony. Featuring congas by Oishi Marie.

The sixth track “Love was sleeping.” is an acoustic guitar driven slow ballad that incorporates a string arrangement. The song was used as a theme for an NTT DoCoMo CM.

The seventh track “lose no time” is an experimental, electronic dance song featuring all instruments by Makihara Noriyuki. Showing that he can experiment with different genres and still incorporate it into his own style.

The eighth track “Akai Mafura” (or “Akai Muffler”), his 37th CD single, features another guitar and string arrangement driven ballad. The song was used as an ending theme for “お茶の間の真実〜もしかして私だけ!?〜”.

The ninth track “Anywhere” is a beautiful slow ballad that features another guitar and string arrangement driven song but also incorporates piano and a electronic beats.

The tenth track “Circle of Rainbow” is an ambitious song as Makihara goes for a track that utilizes afro percussions, marimba and a large group of people providing the chorus. Almost like a magical Disney style of song.

The final, eleventh track titled “五つの文字” was a theme song used for FUJI TV’s news show “Mezaniyu”. Another happy upbeat track that reminds me of old school Makihara songs.

As for the CD insert, the booklet features lyrics and production credits with photos of Makihara Noriyuki.

Makihara Noriyuki is a talented individual and in 2007, I was really highly anticipating this new album release and it’s been in rotation in my CD player for many months now.

His music is one of those things that you either enjoy or not enjoy. Almost, like the Phil Collins or even thea STING of Japan, you either enjoy his lyrics or you don’t. The man is truly talented as a singer, songerwiter, musician, producer and for me, I wasn’t a big fan in the early 90’s but as the years went on, I started to really enjoy his works and now, very much appreciate his musical work even more.

“Kanashimi nante Nan n o Yaku ni mo Tatanai to Omotte Ita.” is just an album that showcases Makihara’s style and that nearly 18 years since his debut, he still manages to innovate and yet manages to incorporate various styles of music and make it his own.

So, this album is solid, a lot of cool songs included and if you are a fan of Makihara, you will truly enjoy it. Check it out!