Good-bye My Loneliness

Good-bye My Loneliness is ZARD’s debut album. It was released on March 27, 1991, one month after she released her debut single and peaked #34 at Oricon. It charted for 45 weeks, selling a total 253,740 units.

Album Review
ZARD – Good-bye My Loneliness

tracklist:
1. Good-bye My Loneliness
2. Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de
3. Koi Onna no Yuuutsu
4. Oh! Sugar Baby
5. Onna de Itai
6. It’s a Boy

This album opens up with a laid-back song. Namely, Good-bye My Loneliness, ZARD’s first single. As I said in the single review, I love this song’s catchy lyrics, kind-of sweet feeling, and it’s really calm atmosphere. I also love the jazzy interlude it has after the 2nd chorus. I think it would be awesome if ZARD was to sing at that part because her voice really suits Jazzy melodies.

Honestly, Is this the extended version of her debut single? Why do all of her previously released songs gather at the beginning of the album? Not to mention, tracks one and two of her debut single are also tracks one and two of this album. Anyway, I was happy to see Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de in this album because somehow, I like it better than Goodbye My Loneliness. Not only is it better than the title track but also, out of all the tracks from this album, it’s the most rock-sounding song. It’s even the most appealing one from the album, mainly because of it’s serious melody and it’s retro-rock sound.

The next 4 tracks are the new tracks of the album.
The first one is Koi Onna no Yuuutsu. It quickly picks up where the previous track left off. It opens with an old keyboard sound accompanied by wierd “auhhs…” in the background. It is then followed by the guitars and the drums leading up to the first verse. Remember how Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de sounds like? well, It sounds almost the same as this song. Not in terms of it’s tune but, in terms of it’s instruments. Both songs uses almost the same instruments and share the same atmosphere, which I looove, of course. Also, Out of the 6 tracks from this album, this song has to be the 3rd best song for me. I just really love how things flow in it and how excellent ZARD’s vocals sound in it.

The next song is my 2nd favorite out of the six songs from this album. Oh! Sugar Baby is very very good. I like the way how cheery it sounds and how catchy it is. I also love the guitars in this song. It sounds so energetic and really helps the song sound so catchy. One reason for that certain catchiness is because of the great, english phrases it uses such as “Sexy Walk”. It also features a sugary-pop feel that really makes me wonder… how a bubblegum commercial would turn out if this song was used the CM song for that commercial.

After that Sugary treat, Onna de Itai comes next as the fifth track. Just like the last 4 tracks, this song uses a lot of Rock elements and sounds so retro. Well, this album is kind-of retro since it was released way way back 1991 but, who cares? This song is still good. The chorus is so catchy and just like her other songs, It is well-done!

Now, for the final track, ZARD brings us the only ballad in the album, It’s A Boy. Okay, I have a lot of positive reactions to give this song. First, I’m not a big big fan of ZARD’s slow songs but, honestly, this song caught my heart. Even though I don’t usually like her slow songs, I just can’t resist how it sounds. It sounds unexplainable but, boy, It left me speechless. Second, Yes! Finally! A song that doesn’t use too much rock instruments! One reason why I like this song is because it’s the most different from all of the 6 tracks from this album. All of the previous 5 tracks from this album sounds so rock-ish. It sounds so rock-y that I’m not happy with it already. I’m tired of it. But, with this song, the remove some of the rock instruments and replaced them with more piano sounds and classical instruments. Lastly, Again, Just like in all of the 5 previous tracks in this album, this song is so catchy! It is slow tempo-ed but, wierdly, the “Hold Me Tight” lines she keeps on singing really makes me want to sing along. In conclusion, It’s another well-done track and is a must listen!

Favorite Tracks:
It’s A Boy and Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de

shuffle rating!
A-

Good-bye My Loneliness

Single Review
ZARD – Good-bye My Loneliness

Good-bye My Loneliness is ZARD’s debut single. It was released February 10, 1991 and ranked #9 in the oricon charts. It charted for 15 weeks and sold 209,460 units. The title track of this single was used as the theme song for the J-drama Kekkon no Risou to Genjitsu.

tracklist:
01. Good-bye My Loneliness
02. Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de

Goodbye My Loneliness is a mid-tempo song that uses guitars, drums and pianos a lot. It features a good melody and (kinda) sweet lyrics. In my opinion, This song was pretty interesting, at the same time it was refreshing too!, Thanks to the natural sound and amazing vocals of ZARD. Another thing that’s good about this song is that that the blending of the instruments were perfect and it remained to be catchy when it’s tempo was a bit slowed-down. A well-done track to say the least. (Sorry for repeating that line~ if you know what I mean XD)

Now, moving on to the energetic, up-beat rock-ish pop/techno b-side called Ai wa kurayami no naka de. This song is one of the catchiest ZARD songs that I’ve heard actually. It features some awesome, enjoyable, catchy lyrics that keeps you away from hating the track and brings you closer into loving it. The melody has a great combination of guitar sounds with pop beats and a wow!(-ing) techno feel. Another great track from Izumi-san!

Favorite Track:
Ai wa Kurayami no Naka de

shuffle rating!
A-