Shuffle And Repeat

Single Review
Tohoshinki – Purple Line

Purple Line is Tohoshinki’s 16th Japanese single. It was released on January 16, 2008, and reached #1 on the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 47,303 copies, and charted for 6 weeks.

tracklist:
1. Purple Line
2. DEAD END -STY Gin n’ Tonic mix-
3. ZION -Zero G Remix-
4. Purple Line (Less Vocal)
5. Dead End -STY Gin n’ Tonic mix- (Less Vocal)
6. Purple Line (Korean Version)*

[*] available only on the Korean release.

To be seriously honest, I should tell you guys that I never liked TVXQ before. It’s not that I think they don’t have any talent, It’s just that I was not so much into boy bands before. But you know what, even though I didn’t like them before, I still tried out at least one or two songs of theirs, one being Purple Line. I tried out Purple Line because of 2 reasons — this single topped the weekly charts, and I was impressed because of reading a lot of positive reviews about it. Well, I do have to say that I was pretty impressed with the song itself because it is really good. The song is a hot track with a big R&B flavor in it, blended with some Pop. It is a song that will never fail to make the listener get up and dance with the beat because of how HOT the synths sound, how strong and bumpy the beat sounds, and because of how well the boys sing their own lines. Although, I was a bit shocked with the rapping section because I mistakened Yunho to be a girl. He sounded a bit girly but, the rap was good, nevertheless.

Appearing as the second track of the single is the STY Gin n’ Tonic mix of DEAD END, a track from their Five in the Black album. Actually, this remixed version of DEAD END is a lot different and better from the original. Not that I’m saying the original was bad, it’s just that it was a little loud for my tastes. This remix totally removes all the rock elements present in the original version to create a more urbanized version of the song.

The last track on the Japanese release of the single is another remix of a track from their Five in the Black album. The Zero G Remix of ZION completely drives the song away from the original, urban sound, and replaces it with a spacy, futuristic feeling, which doesn’t fit the song. Yeah, this remix is really bad. It makes the original song sound so dull, which disappoints me a lot because ZION is one of my favorites from the Five in the Black album. I definitely wasted my time listening to this crap.

While the remix ends the Japanese version of the single, the Korean version of Purple Line ends the Korean release. Once again, There’s nothing different from the Japanese version, except for the language. I still prefer the Japanese version though.

Favorite Track:
Purple Line

Shuffle rating!
B+

Single Review
Tohoshinki – Beautiful You/Sennen Koi Uta

Beautiful You/Sennen Koi Uta is Tohoshinki’s 22nd single. It was released on April 23, 2008, and reached #1 in the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 119,213 copies, making it the 73rd best selling single of 2008.

tracklist:
1. Beautiful You
2. Sennen Koi Uta
3. Sennen Koi Uta -Korean Version- / CLAP! -SOUL of SOUL remix-
4. Beautiful You (Less Vocal)
5. Sennen Koi Uta (Less Vocal)

To be honest, I didn’t like Beautiful You before. In fact, I never even  dared to touch and listen to this song on my computer but, about 10 minutes ago, I decided to write a review about this single. With having that thought in my mind, I immediately listened to this song, and you know what, just now, I learned to like it. The moment it started playing, I  wasn’t blown away yet but, I do have to say that I thought the guitars opening the song were cool. It set me to the mood, and It gets me excited for what’s coming next. I then hear the guys singing, which isn’t so bad. After a few seconds, I started to hear blended voices singing “You’re such a beautiful woman..”, which opened my eyes, and got my full attention. Oh God! I didn’t know that this song WAS THIS GOOD. It has that catchy melody, especially at the chorus that gets you in the mood for hearing more and more, until you’ve become fully addicted to it. I guess, having you guys hear what my opinion was about this song, I know you guys know that I’m saying that you should all try this. Well, I AM. so, try this one! It’s recommended!

The main reason why I didn’t want to touch this single was because of the other A-side, Sennen Koi Uta. I thought it was depressing, and was just plain boring. Well, after taking a few more listens, I still think everything was depressing. Although, my mind did change a bit about how boring it was. It was more than just a song with boring lines, and boring people singing in it, It was quite powerful, and elegant. The background, where they mixed the heavy beats with the strings was really beautiful. Despite the fact that it’s a depressing song, It’s still worth a listen because of it’s powerfulness. Although some may hate the song, I still think some may still like it, like me. So, go take a liten yourselves, and decide which one are you.

Okay, I am pissed off a bit with the fact that the Korean Version of Sennen Koi Uta is placed here. Actually, I don’t notice anything different with this version except for the language but, I still think it’s nice. It’s a good version but, why still place the Korean one in here?

In Version B, The SOUL of SOUL remix of CLAP!, a track from their T album, was included. This remix has a lot of brass instruments in the arrangement, which was quite awesome actually because the original was COMPLETELY different! Compared to the original version, this remix doesn’t stand out  at all but, I can say that it isn’t that far from the brilliance of the original CLAP! This remix is really Unique, which I think is one reason why gives you a hell of a great listen everytime!

Favorite Tracks:
Beautiful You, and CLAP! -SOUL of SOUL remix-

shuffle rating!
A-