The first Greatest Hits album from one of Japan's most uniqu
Ana Rivera | Somewhere where Yankee Stadium isn't too far away | 01/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Released on December 7, 2005, this is Japanese actress and singer Mika Nakashima's first Greatest Hits album, tracing the history of her biggest musical successes from her first single, 'Stars' (appearing here with brand new lead vocals) to her most recent at the time, 'Glamorous Sky' (theme from the 'NANA' motion picture and her first and only #1 hit although sales-wise it didn't top 'Stars'). Her style of music is an easy-listening ballad/old jazz amalgamation, more in the vein of Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Barbra Streisand, and maybe even Andrea Bocelli.
What's great about this album is that the song choices exhibit a versatile range of styles in much the same vein that artists like Britain's Sarah Brightman have done in classical crossover. The style could be 'easy listening' ('Stars,' 'Will,' 'Find the Way,' and 'Yuki no Hana'), adult contemporary pop ('Aishi-teru' and 'Sakurairo Maukoro'), old Hollywood-style ('Love Addict'), or even uptempo rock (the aforementioned 'Glamorous Sky'), instead of the 'urban-techno' sound of many pop and R&B artists out there today.
Mika's voice is soothing and compelling, and brings out the mood of each song in such a way that after listening, you'll probably want to listen to it again and again. (Oh, did I mention she's my favorite female musician?)
This album is a J-Pop issue, but is best recommended for people who have an ear for good music. She's probably good taste in music as far as I'm concerned. This CD has sold over 1 million copies to date.
Favorite songs on this album: 'Stars' (Track 2), 'Will' (Track 4), 'Yuki no Hana' (Track 5), and 'Glamorous Sky' (Track 14) but every song on the album gets an A+ from me :)"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1