Search - Andrew W.K. :: Gundam Rock

Andrew WK + Gundam = Win

ShiroiHikari | Oklahoma, USA | 09/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So apparently Andrew WK likes Japanese music and last year he made an album full of Japanese cover songs. Then Sunrise asked him to make an album of vocal songs and BGM tracks from the first Gundam series to help celebrate Gundam's 30th anniversary. He did.



No, he's not singing in Japanese! All the vocal songs are translated into English. It works much better than I was expecting; clearly whoever worked on the lyrics knows what they're doing.



I haven't heard the original versions of Star Children or The Cross of Sand, so I don't have context on those, but I can at least judge the ones I do know. His version of the iconic Ai Senshi/Soldiers of Sorrow is particularly good, even if it's not a huge departure musically. It's much better than Gackt's cover. (Don't get me wrong, I love Gackt, but his Gundam covers left a lot to be desired.)



Another great track is Alone in the Wind. I was always fond of the original version anyway, and this is a nice take on it. The English lyrics are perfect on this song.



I've always liked the original version of Amuro Forever even though it's kind of a strange song. The cover version was a very pleasant surprise. I am glad to say that Andrew WK rocked the hell out of this one.



As for the BGM tracks, Char the Great (or Gallant Char, whatever you want to call it) is a solid one, as well as Fear to Fight-- except for how short it is.



Criticisms? Well, the cover of Fly, Gundam is probably the weakest track on the album, which is a shame. The music is fine, but the vocals don't work so well. It's not really representative of the rest of the covers, so if this is the only one you've heard, look up one of the others before you write off the whole project.



In any case, this album is definitely worth the money and I'm glad I got a copy, because this project is just too awesome not to support. I mean, an American musician doing an anime cover album? How many times has THAT happened before? More, please!"