CD Review Fun Fun Fun
Dec 19, 2008 2:08:07 GMT -5
Post by jjanim8r on Dec 19, 2008 2:08:07 GMT -5
Mikado asked me to write this some time ago.. so here goes.. my first attempt at a review:
Shonen Knife: Fun Fun Fun 2007 P-Vine records
Track One: Title is in Japanese, and I havent found any translation anywhere. An up beat song that reminds me a lot of "World Atlas
.. it's up beat, features dual ( overdubed ) guitars, and Naoko singing pretty high in her range at times. A fun up beat tune. 4 out of 5
I really wish i could understand the chorus.
Track Two: Barnacle. Love it.. funny classic Shonen Knife fare. about a barnacle on a ship getting to see the world without going anywhere. Fun, and funny. Another up beat number. 4.5 out of 5
Track 3: Flu. Introduces SK fans to a new "polished and produced" distorted guitar sound. ( Sounds like a Line 6 POD ) Also has very "produced" vocals with uncredited male vocals doubling the chorus. ( Roman Yumeno is credited with additional bass and guitar) IMHO.. it's interesting to hear Shonen knife this produced, but it looses it's charm. 2 out of 5
Track 4: Ramones Forever. Great song.. classic naoko trying to sound like Ramones.. and she does it. A song about how they got to open for Ramones on their last tour of Japan, and how cool that was for them. The story gets a 5 out of 5, but the song is a 3.5 out of 5
Track 5: Las Vegas. Weird almost country vibe on this one. Starts with the Fun Fun Fun lyric for which the CD is titled. Not my favorite cut on the disk. It's an ad for Vegas. Talks about the decadance, and gluttony. The guitar solo is classic SK. 2.5 out of 5
Track 6: Birthday. When I sent this song to Mikado he flipped. It was a birthday present to Naoko's daughter Emma. And Emma sings on the track.. and sounds as cute as a button. A sweet and heartwarming track. Features only acoustic guitar, organ, bass, drums.. and voice.. Not a rockin' tune by any stretch... I'll not rate this one.. but I'll give it an A+ on the cute-o-meter.
Track 7: Title is in Japanese.. but I suspect it's POPCORN. By far my favorite track on this CD.. Another in their long list of Food Songs.. this one seems to extole the virtues of popcorn, and even features a popping corn solo!!! To me this is totally classic Shonen Knife.. the reason I love them in the first place.. It's quirky.. fumnny, and it rocks. 5.5 out of 5
Track 8: Another J only Title, but I belive it's called "Dangerous Cookie".. a really heavy song, but with a food song connection. I got the lines "I want to eat delicious cookies, as much as I want to eat, but I should be careful not to overeat" Features a double tracked guitar solo and sounds like Iron Maden or something. Not their best effort IMHO 2 out of 5
Track 9: Once again a J title.. but I'd suspect it's "It's a Warning Sign from/of the Earth" because they sing that line in engrish. A peppy upbeat number. Naoko's voice sounds in top form on this song. 2.5 out of 5
Track 10: another J title. It's a slow song, where etsuko is playing a millitary type beat. Features a beautiful vocal from Nayoko and a nice volume pedal guitar solo that fits the song perfectly. 4 out of 5
Overall: It's an interesting CD on 2 fronts. First.. Nayoko is playing everything but drums. Etsuko isn't even credited with back up vocals, so i's suspect all the voices are Nayoko unless otherwise noted. Second... It's the most "produced" sounding CD to date. Personally I got into Shonen Knife because of their raw sound so this was a departure for me. It was fun to hear them in a good studio getting the full "produced " treatment. My favorite CD?
NO.. but still IMHO Popcorn and Baracle were worth the price of admission, and hearing Mikado's reaction to Happy Birthday was priceless.
BTW: Fun Fun Fun is still not out in most countries. I got mine from cdjapan.co.jp... it was pricey because the dollar was weak against the yen back then, but it looks to be about $29.95 plus shipping by todays standards. cdjapan was fast and they even wrapped the disk in engrish language tokyo music news papers.. so that was fun.. and included lots of fun Japan music scene flyers etc in the box. Totally worth the $50 I spent at the time.
Julianne
Shonen Knife: Fun Fun Fun 2007 P-Vine records
Track One: Title is in Japanese, and I havent found any translation anywhere. An up beat song that reminds me a lot of "World Atlas
.. it's up beat, features dual ( overdubed ) guitars, and Naoko singing pretty high in her range at times. A fun up beat tune. 4 out of 5
I really wish i could understand the chorus.
Track Two: Barnacle. Love it.. funny classic Shonen Knife fare. about a barnacle on a ship getting to see the world without going anywhere. Fun, and funny. Another up beat number. 4.5 out of 5
Track 3: Flu. Introduces SK fans to a new "polished and produced" distorted guitar sound. ( Sounds like a Line 6 POD ) Also has very "produced" vocals with uncredited male vocals doubling the chorus. ( Roman Yumeno is credited with additional bass and guitar) IMHO.. it's interesting to hear Shonen knife this produced, but it looses it's charm. 2 out of 5
Track 4: Ramones Forever. Great song.. classic naoko trying to sound like Ramones.. and she does it. A song about how they got to open for Ramones on their last tour of Japan, and how cool that was for them. The story gets a 5 out of 5, but the song is a 3.5 out of 5
Track 5: Las Vegas. Weird almost country vibe on this one. Starts with the Fun Fun Fun lyric for which the CD is titled. Not my favorite cut on the disk. It's an ad for Vegas. Talks about the decadance, and gluttony. The guitar solo is classic SK. 2.5 out of 5
Track 6: Birthday. When I sent this song to Mikado he flipped. It was a birthday present to Naoko's daughter Emma. And Emma sings on the track.. and sounds as cute as a button. A sweet and heartwarming track. Features only acoustic guitar, organ, bass, drums.. and voice.. Not a rockin' tune by any stretch... I'll not rate this one.. but I'll give it an A+ on the cute-o-meter.
Track 7: Title is in Japanese.. but I suspect it's POPCORN. By far my favorite track on this CD.. Another in their long list of Food Songs.. this one seems to extole the virtues of popcorn, and even features a popping corn solo!!! To me this is totally classic Shonen Knife.. the reason I love them in the first place.. It's quirky.. fumnny, and it rocks. 5.5 out of 5
Track 8: Another J only Title, but I belive it's called "Dangerous Cookie".. a really heavy song, but with a food song connection. I got the lines "I want to eat delicious cookies, as much as I want to eat, but I should be careful not to overeat" Features a double tracked guitar solo and sounds like Iron Maden or something. Not their best effort IMHO 2 out of 5
Track 9: Once again a J title.. but I'd suspect it's "It's a Warning Sign from/of the Earth" because they sing that line in engrish. A peppy upbeat number. Naoko's voice sounds in top form on this song. 2.5 out of 5
Track 10: another J title. It's a slow song, where etsuko is playing a millitary type beat. Features a beautiful vocal from Nayoko and a nice volume pedal guitar solo that fits the song perfectly. 4 out of 5
Overall: It's an interesting CD on 2 fronts. First.. Nayoko is playing everything but drums. Etsuko isn't even credited with back up vocals, so i's suspect all the voices are Nayoko unless otherwise noted. Second... It's the most "produced" sounding CD to date. Personally I got into Shonen Knife because of their raw sound so this was a departure for me. It was fun to hear them in a good studio getting the full "produced " treatment. My favorite CD?
NO.. but still IMHO Popcorn and Baracle were worth the price of admission, and hearing Mikado's reaction to Happy Birthday was priceless.BTW: Fun Fun Fun is still not out in most countries. I got mine from cdjapan.co.jp... it was pricey because the dollar was weak against the yen back then, but it looks to be about $29.95 plus shipping by todays standards. cdjapan was fast and they even wrapped the disk in engrish language tokyo music news papers.. so that was fun.. and included lots of fun Japan music scene flyers etc in the box. Totally worth the $50 I spent at the time.
Julianne
