jchertudi's cd collection.

SOAP's debut starts off strong: The title track is one of Ken's slower tempo hard rock tunes, with a great chorus melody and, unsurprisingly, a great bridge and guitar solo. Upon hearing this song, I was hooked on the band right away. But then Every Second, I'm in ROMANCE ups the ante. The song itself is pretty good, but it's all the guitar solos (all 3 of them) that really take the song to the next level. The drum and guitar interplay during the final one is amazing. The next two songs I'm less fond of: A Song For You is a slow, rocky ballad, overlayed Ken's caterwauling, which drags a bit. PRIVATE RELIGION is a fairly standard rocker which doesn't stand out as much. So, two great songs, one mediocre, and one not so great. Not a bad start.

gimme A guitar is the most even of SOAP's releases. Every song is basically good. Sakura's opening track unsurprisingly opens with some interesting rhythms leading into a straight chorus which rocks hard. The title track is another of ken's slow hard rock songs, which, while not up to GRACE level, is still good. The best song this time around is the ballad tsumi no nagame, which still has Ken's high-pitched wailing, but also one of SOAP's greatest moments: the quiet bassline after the dramatic first chorus, bursting into Ken's glorious guitar solo. Lastly, DUNCE is just a fun, fast rock tune with wild instrumentals. A very even release.

There was a long period of time between this mini-album and the others, so anticipation was high, you could say. Alas, it was a letdown. high! kicks off with this wild rock song that really has no melody at all, and just Ken shouting. Not impressive at all. I wanna fly with your airplane is a straightforward rock song with nothing particular standing out. 2seconds to the top features bassist Ein on vocals; it's a nice break from Ken's wailing, but he doesn't have fantastic vocals either, and the song is a more serious, but still not very interesting one. So far, not so good. But red sky, this long, dramatic rocker with long, dramatic guitar solos, completely saves the album. It's really the only good one on here. Everything else is OK at best.