Reviews©
The Transparent Butterfly Kiyoharus' solo work is like the ocean; you need to spend time swimming in it before you can understand its rhythms and discover the myriad of life that teems just below the surface. The advantage of this kind of subtlety is that you can go on listening to it for a whole lifetime, always finding new things to love. Having said that I knew as soon as I heard Vinny Beach that it was the best thing he'd ever done; stunning, complex, lyrical, confident, mature, and above all supremely emotional and passionate. In his entire brilliant career, he has never revealed his heart and soul so intensely. And the wonderful thing is, that revelation is not the least bit self pitying or sentimental. The album has sad and lamenting songs but throughout the feel is one of hope and joy and energy. It's incredibly inspiring! All songs are words and music by Kiyoharu, and arrangement by Kiyoharu and Miyoken, except for Kakuu No Kaigan, which was written by Miyoken. Quotes at the beginning of the songs are from this review written by Kiyoharu himself. If anyone can provide a good translation of this or of song lyrics please contact me. P.S. Added some translations kindly sent to me by Kibou Tokumei.
Thank you very much! :) |
1. 架空の海岸 |
| 2. Dance 5.00 "I wanted to begin fervently." |
| 3. Bye Bye 4.41 "Always..do..little..pride..childhood..run away..grow up..ahead..now..become. Even if such a tune is done, it doesn't become too much and ..adult.. naughtiness because the sound is good in mischievous." Love that choppy guitar at the very beginning. Quite superb! And
I love the way its all so complex and intertwined and yet each part
is so clearly defined. You can hear each instrument quite distinctly.
Superbly structured too...the chorus just sweeps you away every time.
A very joyous, uplifting song...doesn't sound like he is sorry to
say BYE BYE :D |
| 4. エメラルド Emerald 4.54 "When there is a jungle feeling and a sea in me, the wind is felt, and ..subtropical though it is not summer...there must be greenery. It is not cold though is not hot." Starts quite harshly but soon turns into one of the sweetest and
cleverest songs on the album. It's wonderful the way it develops,
opening up like a flower revealing its true heart piece by glorious
piece. The break down at 1.30 is just brilliant and at 2.44 it goes
to yet another level. Climbing, climbing, always climbing to new heights.
Wonderful craftsmanship! Not sure I can see the jungle in there but
you know whatever :) |
| 5. Slow 6.27 This is much more oceanic and enveloping, an undulating, meandering song. Very pretty melody, and a strong chorus. Building up in intensity and then dropping again, then building again and again until the inevitable climax. A watery love song. I don't know why but this feels so familiar, even though I've never heard anything like it before. Like all truly great creations it has that feeling of deja vu, of always having been there waiting to appear. And that climax is truly worth waiting for. |
| 6. Cold Rain 4.59 "It was the hopeless thing of being frozen to cold rain as the name suggests, at the time of SADS. When words were rewritten and the occasionally hot time and a occasionally hot feeling loosened this time, it was made the thing which is exposed to cold rain and corrects the body." A Sads era song that was performed on 13 Tour dvd, and was always a big favourite of mine. This is a very beautiful rendition, though at first I thought he had overdone the echo effect on the chorus now I am rather fond of it. The most irresistible thing about Kiyoharu is his sheer INTENSITY! It makes everything he does exciting and this is one of the most intense songs on the album. I often wonder if this level of passion is really how he is or if he is just a very good actor. If it is really real then....WAH! @___@ |
| 7. Club[HELL] 3.38 "The club which has an old hotel in the town with the fictitious seashore which the VINNY boy found, and is located underground....The bony ornament sold at ZURA and a roadside in Mexico.The difference of wealth and poverty was acute." Dark and raucous. This album has so many different moods and this mood is bad and sexy. Almost like RGGM era Sads. It's a fine song, but it doesn't appeal to me as much as some of the other tracks, though I do love the vocal style and emotion he projects. It creates a vivid musical picture of a very sleazy nightclub, a place of depravity and "sin". |
| 8. 星座の夜 Seiza No Yoru (Night of Stars) 4.20 This song took some time to really grow on me, but now I think its totally wonderful. It's a driving song I think, as suggested by the PV with the E-type Jaguar. It has such a light glittering feel. Almost insubstantial, but too melodic and finely crafted to ignore. The mood here is bubbly and optimistic, which is a stark contrast to the last song. I love the way his voice dances over the words of the chorus. It really is uniquely invigorating. |
| 9. Travel 5.54 OH! I SO adore this song!! Fuckety fuck!! |
| 10. 湖 Mizuumi (Lake) 6.32 "In order that aurora may record PV of music at the time of a solo debut, he has rowed the boat in the lake and remembers the image at that time vividly." Soft, tinkling, pretty like a flower. All this watery stuff again, gentle but also strong and all penetrating. These kind of songs rise up and overwhelm you, like a spring tide. Stunning vocal melody! Bewitching song. Bewitching man. I am running out of superlatives. No wonder they are calling this album his masterpiece. |
| 11. And I Can't Feel Nothing 4.41 "You don't need my tears." WOW!!!! The Song of his career in my humble opinion. Takes my breath away it is so good. I can imagine wanting to retire after writing this song. I'd be like....WTF can I do now to equal this? Seriously though, I am sure he will only keep getting better and better if he goes on. But this song....takes my words away. Takes my heart away. Miyoken should get a medal for the STUNNING guitar work here. He does everything except the drumming, as he does in the next song too. The guitar gives me a very celtic feeling, a kind of faery jig. The only complaint I have is, why is this song so short? ;__; |
| 12. この孤独な景色を与えたまえ Kono Koduko Na Keshiki Wo Atae Tamae (Please Give Me This Lonely View) English Translation 6.51 "Everyone dies some day. Do they return to the ground, or to
the sea or do they become a star?" |
13. 君の事が |
blah©flyingfox2006
Kiyoharu
Vinny Beach
～架空の海岸～
~Kakuu No Kaigan~
12/07/06
LTCA-00027/28
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この孤独な景色を与えたまえ |
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君の事が Translation by: About You The old road continues, In my room where there is light falling, From the window, this is all that can be seen. The rain soaked road doesn't go on, Let's bring back the light a little at a time. In the melting wind, I am only smiling The sky, the sea, the stars, and you |