Decade Music Selection 2

My next two Kamen Rider Decade Albums have arrived – SONG ATTACK RIDE First and the Kamen Rider Decade First OST.

Now, surprisingly, I am reviewing both of these CDs a day earlier than release. How is that possible? Because CDJapan have astonished me with incredibly fast delivery time. One day, to be precise, and this is before the Japanese release. I love mail.

Let’s start with the SONG ATTACK RIDE First Album. When I first learned of the album, I had anticipated it to just be the original theme songs only. Then I heard RIDER CHIPS and Shuhei Naruse were on board doing remixes of the openings to Kuuga, Kiva and Ryuki (in the order their worlds appear on Kamen Rider Decade). And they’ve done a pretty good job.

Now, the most important thing to note here is that the remixes aren’t completely new creations, as I initially believed. Essentially, they have the original vocal track, but with new background music provided by the aforementioned artists. It’s an interesting idea, and is pretty unique.

Firstly, the RIDER CHIPS versions. We start the CD with “Kamen Rider Kuuga!”. The song starts off with an acoustic guitar, but slowly builds up, so by the second chorus it has become more alike to light rock. And, in all honesty, it works for the song. I feel sorry for RICKY though, because his role is pretty limited during the album. He provides additional vocals, and only really joins in for the “No fear! No pain!” part of the song, and has a similar role through the album. I think, in a way, it’s nice that Toei and Avex haven’t gone over the top with recreating these songs.

“Break the Chain” from Kiva is the next RIDER CHIPS song, and compared to Ryuki and Kuuga it doesn’t stand out all that much. It lacks the heavier sound that Kiva had, and the violins are missed. However, it sounds pretty cool after listening to it a few times. I think the solo is the best part of the song, and Yoshio Nomura did a good job in recreating a sound similar to some of the solos performed by Ayano and YUJI from TETRA-Fang.

Lastly, “Alive a Life”. I personally love this track. It takes what made the original good and improves on it. RICKY had a slightly bigger role here, joining in for more of the chorus and I think that had some effect on the final version. The guitar work sounds good, and the presence of Keyboards during the chorus captures the original essence of the song.

Next up, the Shuhei Naruse versions. Shuhei features Ayano on guitar, so it’s almost a mini TETRA-Fang reunion! Anyway, Shuhei’s version of “Kamen Rider Kuuga!” starts quite similarly to “Double Action ~Sword Form~”, ironic considering Shuhei’s involvement with Den-O. It’s a pretty different version, making use of Shuhei’s multiple keyboard skills, and Ayano’s crazy guitar work – featuring another one of his awesome solos.

Similar to the RIDER CHIPS version, I feel Shuhei’s version of “Break the Chain” is his weakest. It’s gone for a much slower approach with some unique voice samples. I would have thought this version would have been much faster and more akin to the TETRA-Fang performances from Kiva, but it turned out quite differently. It’s a nice song, but not what I’d really expect from Kiva.

Finally, “Alive a Life”, and once again done pretty well. Ayano features very prominantly, and the song sounds much heavier, which works well for the song. Shuhei has attempted to make the song his own, and it is obvious that he’s enjoyed making it more as it sounds a lot better than “Break the Chain”. Between this and “Kuuga!” however, I feel Kuuga wins outright.

The album ends with the original versions of the songs in all their glory – “Kamen Rider Kuuga!” by Masayuki Tanaka, “Break the Chain” by Tourbillon and finally “Alive a Life” by Rika Matsumoto.

Overall, I think the album is very enjoyable and produces a unique taste of the original songs, providing something different from the originals, but capturing the same spirit. Well. All except Kiva, which I felt lacked the necessary style.

Now, the next SONG ATTACK RIDE album is to feature the openings to Blade, Faiz and Agito, in that order. Which song from Blade I’m not too sure – probably Nanase Aikawa’s “Blade Brave”, as “Elements” by RIDER CHIPS feat. RICKY would seem kinda odd. But, we shall find out next month.

Next up, the Decade OST. After listening through it a few times, I can safely say it is enjoyable. Mostly all the tracks featured so far in the show are there, sounding very nice in their extended, unspoilt-by-dialogue format.

The OST comes with 45 tracks, including the TV Size version of Journey through the Decade. It’s amusing to listen too, as a few tracks contain the odd beat the sounds VERY similar to songs by TETRA-Fang – so far I’ve noticed similarities to Silent Shout and Eternity Blood. This is probably Shuhei’s doing, as he and Kōtarō Nakagawa are the OST Composers.

So far, my favourite track is ‘KAMEN RIDE’ (track 2), the main Henshin theme for Decade, remixed for the Ride the Wind single release with power guitars. This track must be one of the show’s main themes, as there are various songs through the OST featuring the same melody.

Overall, it’s a nice soundtrack to listen too, with some interesting themes such as “KAMEN RIDE” and the “FINAL FORM RIDE” songs. I’m not brilliant with OST reviews, so this is the best I’m going to manage.

Popularity: 7% [?]