REVIEW: Merry - Gekisei
This is Merry’s second single release of the year, some four months
after their last one. Rumors flew about this single early on. Enka
covers? A fifteen-minute title track? Though some said that it was in
fact, three songs in one track or something similar. Well the truth is
about to be uncovered.
Also, the three-version thing is in full force. One version gets you a
DVD, but no b-sides, and the other two have one b-side a piece on them.
As I’ve done in the past, I’m simply going to review all three songs
without regard to versions.
Merry
Gekisei
Genre: rock, jazz, Eroguro, Angura
Release Date: 08-20-08
Price: 1,260 ¥
Released By: Victor Entertainment
Tracks: 1 (+2)
01.Gekisei (all types)
02.Gakuseimachi Kissaten (type A only)
03.Isezakicho Blues (type B only)
Gekisei - starts out with some static before a lightly strummed acoustic guitar comes in for a few bars. Then comes the noise they’re famous for lately, but it does finally settle down into on off-beat reminiscent of Calling. And I must ask again, how many times does Yuu plan on ripping himself off with that song? That goes on until about 5 minutes in, then we get to hear an upright bass, some hi-hat, and Yuu and Kenichi trading muted chords. This particular section sounds a bit like something off of Peep Show, distorted, but jazzy. Gara’s singing is urgent and he occasionally throws in a bit of scatting. At almost seven minutes, this bit descends into noise with Gara using a distorter and a lot of other random sounds, including Yuu yelling in the background. Easily the worst part of the song. At 8 minutes in, it returns to half of the first part and half of the second, and by 9 we have that acoustic strumming returning. But for the most part, the rest of the song is essentially a continuation of the first five minutes. The very last part has Gara shouting some random depressing words and then the acoustic strumming leads us out into a little music box ditty.
Gakuseimachi Kissaten - the first of the enka covers. I almost didn’t recognize Gara’s voice at the start, as he’s a lot lower than usual. It certainly sounds like a 70’s song, but at the same time, it has a distinctly eroguro flair. It reminds me somewhat of Guruguro Eigakan or Taiheiyou Belt. Mainly I really enjoy Gara’s vocals. He shows he doesn’t have to be dramatic all the time in order to sound good
Isezakicho Blues - this song however, makes the entire single for me. It was originally sung by a woman, but you’d never know that with how Gara sings it. And he’s again, nice and low, and during the chorus, just for a bar or two, he sounds almost exactly like Morrie in one of his old solo songs. The stop-start tempo is also fantastic. This song has more old jazz feel packed into barely 3 minutes than you would think possible.
Of course in this single, to get all three songs, you have to buy at least two singles. If you’d like to know which I’d recommend, it would be the one with Isezakicho Blues. That mere three minutes is far better than the fifteen of Gekisei. Just repeat it about five times to get the full effect. Yeah, I haven’t been terribly pleased with Merry lately, but I like this thing. Even if the b-sides are just covers, they’re fantastic covers and they bring back that old Merry sound. Also, you’d be hard-pressed to dig up songs, even old songs, where Gara sounds that good.
Final Word: the coupling of Gekisei and Isezakicho Blues are definitely worth your money. ★★★★☆
Key:
★★★★★ = Excellent, flawless, perfecto
★★★★☆ = Very good, has some minor flaws
★★★☆☆ = Good, maybe a few boring moments, but overall enjoyable
★★☆☆☆ = Fair, bad outweighs the good
★☆☆☆☆ = Poor, possibly offensive to your ears
