Yamashita Tomohisa - SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD

 

While Yamashita Tomohisa has been slowly releasing music over time as a solo artist, fans waited patiently for the day that he would move from a single to an album: finally, that day came. Shortly after the release of SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD in January of 2011, the album stole the first rank on the Oricon music charts, selling over 100,000 copies.

The album starts out with the song Theme of “SUPERBAD” which is a spoken track with the narrator who explains in English the story of Yamashita’s rise to fame. At a minute and fifteen seconds, it’s a cute track which opens the door to the album’s story.

Thrown directly into Daite Senorita as track two, fans are taken back into time to the drama of “Kurosagi,” which featured Daite senorita as its catchy rock theme song. You can read a full review of the single which Daite Senorita debuted on here.

The single soon moves into Tokyo Sinfonietta which is one of the shining gems of this album. The dance track has great lyrics, an excellent rhythm and lets Yamashita show the range of his voice. The song maintains a pop feel and builds up for the chorus which will have you singing along with Yamashita’s chants of “Oh! Oh! New world!” The background vocals and voice distortion really enhance the song, making it a great addition.

The track Hadakanbo features a very jazzy tune with smooth vocals by Yamashita. The singer’s voice is a bit more sexy in this song as he belts out the stanzas. The rhythm has a funky feel, and one can envision Yamashita dancing around as he is singing. A fun addition to the album, it has unique elements not found in other tracks, and really shows Yamashita’s variety.

Party Don't Stop tells no lies — Yamashita is determined to have you moving through the majority of this album, and Party Don't Stop gets you right back on your feet after the cool-down track of hadakanbo. This song is clearly a club song, from its lyrics telling you to “shake your booty all night long” to its deep DJ voice which echoes behind Yamashita. Most lyrics in this track are in full English, and some are downright hilarious, making Party Don't Stop an all around fun song to not only dance but sing to as well! Another equally fun song is Kuchizuke de Adios. The song welcomes you back to the 70’s with its brass accompaniment, and the overall beat will get you throwing up dance moves of the disco floor. While the song is not as memorable as others, it is definitely fun and is a great song for karaoke or parties.

Previously released in a single, SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD simply wouldn’t be complete without the track One in a Million. Rapped expertly by Yamashita in mostly English during the stanzas, the song explodes into a dance pumped chorus which will have you jumping everywhere. Featuring several female background vocals, the chorus is in your face full of emotion and a great track for the album. Also previously released was Loveless, another dance-oriented love song featuring a piano in the background. The song has a great upbeat pop feel and compliments SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD for its beauty and the romantic sophistication it brings to the album.

ONE GIRL, is another track sung totally by Yamashita in English, and will have every girl swooning! The lyrics are cute and romantic, and are exactly what any female fan wants to hear — who doesn’t want to be told they are Yamashita’s one and only? Featuring a really good dance beat and back-up vocals during the chorus, this song can be appreciated for its whole composition as well as Yamashita’s soft side.

Yours Baby is a rapped song with a funky R&B feel that really suits Yamashita. The song is fun and flirty, and like ONE GIRL, is sung entirely in English. The chorus is particularly interesting and is very reminiscent of the sound of 1960's oldies, making it a very unique track off the album. Tweaked with just a hint of electronica, Yours Baby is definitely memorable.

Blood Diamond is a true zinger off this album. With its hard edged electronic beat, it starts off with a police siren and the echo of rain and quickly beats out its dance rhythm, skillfully mixing Japanese and English lyrics and building each stanza up to the sensuously sung chorus with distorted echoes of the song’s title. The experimentation of electronics used really makes this song shine on SUPERGOOD, SUPERBAD.

Another heavy dance track is Dekiai ROBOT. The song has a catchy electronic rhythm which gets you moving during its first stanza with Yamashita’s speed singing. Mid-stanza there is a long echo behind his lyrics and most of the instrumentals fade to a chime before they bounce back and the chorus jumps to life with its emotion-filled speedy singing and equally fast rhythm. Unlike some of the previous electronic mixes, Yamashita infuses brass band and even choir-styled female backup singers into the choruses of this song, making it one of the stronger ones off the album.

Tsuki to taiyou no rhapsody reverts us back to a sound much more like Daite senorita, complete with a major guitar rhythm and quiet clapping in the background. In headphones, these are much more audible in the right ear. The song implements chimes and Yamashita really pushes himself in this song, belting out the ends of each stanza and the chorus.

A much slower song, Gomen ne shows a much softer side of Yamashita, reminiscent of his work in NEWS. The song is a startling change to much of the rest of the album but is a beautiful song nonetheless, backed up with soft background vocals and a very gentle melody. Another lovely track is Saigo no Love Song. With its slow piano opening, the song has very little music accompaniment except for the snap of fingers and the piano, backing up Yamashita. The song is the slowest on the album and is just as pretty as Gomen ne. However, like its other slow counterpart, it seems out of place on the album, as it follows Blood Diamond which is much more fast paced. Despite its awkward positioning, it is a song worth hitting the “repeat” button for.

Crazy You revisits a pop-jazz theme but does not have the rhythm to get you dancing as much as it is a toe-tapping track. The song has a friendly vibe and good lyrics; while it’s not the brightest song on the album, it is definitely one that shouldn’t be skipped.

Santa Maria has a very Spanish feel by its name but does not actually inject any Spanish into its lyrics; even most of the rhythm is a fast paced dance beat, nothing that really emphasizes its title. The song is similar to something you would hear off of “Dance Dance Revolution” and is great when exercising. Keeping with a similar theme, Tsumi to Batsu is a song with a very 90’s rock feel which sounds more suited for an anime theme song than on this album. It’s a catchy track with good lyrics and a nice beat but is something that seems not to fit in precisely with the story Yamashita is telling.

As one of the final songs on the album, Sleepwalking seems like it will be equally slow as Saigo no Love Song, which it follows — however the result is quite different. Slowing off start, the composition and the lyrics begin to steadily speed up and build to the airy chorus. Once again Yamashita implements background singers at just the perfect spots, making his voice much stronger and the overall effect on the song’s emotion particularly profound.

The final song on the album, Seishun Amigo is another song which we’ve heard before — “Nobuta wo Produce” anyone? It is the theme song that Yamashita sung with Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN. A catchy song about friendship, you will be quickly singing along to the album closer. It’s a great end and one which will keep fans hungry for new music, and soon!

Yamashita’s first full album was certainly a success, and fans can be hopeful that they will see much more from his solo works to add to this strong existing collection. In the meantime, he is wrapping up his first solo tour, and will hopefully have new music in the works in the near future!

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