I can’t say I’m surprised the coupling tracks with Cocco’s single "Yakenogahara" didn’t make it on Best + Ura Best + Mihappyokyokushuu. They aren’t bad songs, but they aren’t her prime work either.
"Anemone" is one the singer’s tenderest moments, and the lullaby simplicity of the song probably puts it closer to her children’s work. This track probably could have been included.
"Vanilla", on the other hand, isn’t terribly remarkable. It covers the rock terrain very familiar to her aesthetic. About the only thing really creative about it is the inconclusive fade at the end.
Most likely, their lack of inclusion may be attributed to time. Cocco released "Yakenogahara" in April, and Best + Ura Best + Mihappyokyokushuu was released five months later. It takes a few months of planning to execute an album release, and I bet Best was in the can before Sangrose hit the streets.
Note: I’m including two files in one post, so feed readers may only display one of these links.
The two other coupling tracks will be featured in other entries.
As much as I would have liked Cocco’s Best + Ura Best + Mihappyokyokushuu to have been ura complete, the two-disc set is still a very thorough document of the singer’s early work.
"Hakobune" was one b-side (or coupling track, as it’s called in Japan) that really ought to have been included in the collection. It’s the third track from the single "Hane ~lay down my arms~", one of Cocco’s strongest releases. The second track of that single, "Drive you crazy", is uncharacteristically buoyant and did make it onto Best + Ura Best.
"Hakobune", however, is a perfect match with "Hane". Both songs have that gradual build, and Cocco’s performance on them really soar. I think I prefer this song over "Yakenogahara".
Cocco was pretty specific about the kinds of b-sides that would appear on her 2001 best collection, Best + Ura Best + Mihappyokyokushuu. Only the best b-sides (ura = reverse) were fit for inclusion. "Best", of course, is a relative term, and over the next few days, I’ll be featuring the ura kyoku that didn’t make the cut.
A limited edition first pressing of the collection included a third disc with a single track ("Sleeping Prince") off of Cocco’s self-titled indie EP. All three tracks of that release would be rerecorded for her major label debut, Bougainvillea. The production quality of the EP doesn’t match the sheen of Negishi Takamune’s work, but Cocco’s voice still cuts through it.
This performance of "Kubi" actually feels intimate without losing any of the song’s visceral power.
No survey of Clannad is complete without mentioning the band’s signature tune: "Harry’s Game".
This one song pretty much put Clannad on the international map. "Harry’s Game" is actually the theme song to a British television show. When it was first released in 1982, it was the first song sung in Irish to hit the Top 5 on the British charts. Ten years later, it was featured in the movie Patriot Games, where it caught the attention of an advertising executive.
"Harry’s Game" then served as the soundtrack to a Volkswagen commercial in the US. The 1-800 number displayed in the commercial was inundated with calls not about the car but about the music used in the commercial. The commercial was later edited to credit Clannad.
"Harry’s Game" deserves the acclaim it’s garnered. It’s a simple tune bolstered by the group’s tight harmonies and some very atmospheric keyboard work. Although it predated Enya by a few years, it wasn’t widely known to American audiences till after the younger Brennan became an international hit herself.
It’s interesting, however, to see how both parts of the family arrived at a similar sound by different routes.
Clannad recorded two versions of the traditional tune "Coinleach Ghlas an Fhómair". The more recent version appeared on the album Magical Ring, and it has a clean, pop production. The guitars ring in a spacious room, and Máire Brennan’s voice can be heard clear and unencumbered.
By contrast, an earlier record of the same song on Clannad 2 sounds rough. The guitars dominate the mix, and Máire’s voice is practically in your face. The harmonies feel more organic, and the performance, while still being excellent, feels unpolished.
Obviously, I like the latter version more.
Clannad’s first six albums contained primarily traditional material, and they emphasize musicianship more than studio finesse. In fact, the sound quality of the recordings themselves is pretty primitive. As such, the performances feel more alive than even the most overproduced Clannad pop album. (Hello, Sirius.)
I went through a pretty heavy Clannad phase in the ’90s, but I’ve let go a lot of the band’s pop work. I haven’t let go of any of the traditional albums from the ’70s. Those albums are classics.
"Closer to Your Heart" was the first song I ever heard by Clannad. I bought it as a 7-inch single.
A friend from high school got me into Enya, and he mentioned she was related to the members of Clannad, of whom I’d heard of as far back as grade school. (Ah, music magazines — a great way to learn names without ever hearing the music itself. How did I survive my youth without the Internet?)
Sufficiently curious, I bought "Closer to Your Heart" and was immediately drawn to Máire Brennan’s voice. So I took the further leap and got Macalla, which cemented my Clannad fandom.
Macalla is still a staple in my collection, and it never gets old. As much as I love "Harry’s Game" and certain portions of other Clannad pop albums — their traditional era is somewhat unassailable — Macalla is the strongest of Clannad’s latter-day work.
Fuaim is the only Clannad album on which Eithne Ni Bhraonáin served as a full-time member. She also appeared on the album Crann Ull. Eithne left Clannad afterward to launch a solo career as Enya.
While latter-day Clannad and modern-day Enya share a penchant for the ethereal, a reunion between the two don’t seem to be a priority for either. That leaves "An tu’ll" as the only time Enya took lead vocals on a Clannad song. (The liner notes of the 1993 reissue states she sang on "Buaireadh An Pho’sta", but that sounds like Máire to me.)
Clannad had already established itself as a premiere interpreter of traditional Irish music in the ’70s, but as the ’80s dawned, the group reinvented itself as a pop band. Fuaim is the bridge between the two aesthetics. Although consisting of traditional material, the arrangements steeped deeper into pop territory.
On "An tu’ll", Enya sings with a sweetness subsequently wrenched out of her atmospheric overdubbed sound. It’s as foreign as hearing Enya sing with a drum set. (That sound file comes up later in the year.)
Featuring a single track off of Chris Butler’s The Museum of Me, Vol. 1 really wouldn’t do the album much justice.
Butler uses an array of vintage recording devices for the album, and the fidelity ranges from tinny to convincingly hi-fi.
"Davey’s Sister’s Home from College" would have been a pretty good song recorded in a fancy studio, but as a barely audible demo, a certain spunk comes through that might have otherwise been buried under compressors, EQ and digital audio.
And I love how Butler introduces the song, like a home recording it could have been.
I’ve written about Waitresses founder Chris Butler many times before, but it’s easier just to listen to his music.
Let me just copy and paste what I said about The Devil Glitch:
Butler recorded the longest pop song in the world, as certified by the Guiness Book of World Records. While writing "The Devil Glitch", Butler kept adding lines to his impossibly long chorus.
He sent out a demo of the song to various friends, who then wrote their own music over the song. Butler collected those recordings to fashion a song that continuously evolves and remains engaging for all 69 minutes.
I was incredibly tempted to create an MP3 of that 69-minute track, but that wouldn’t give listeners an incentive to get the CD itself. Butler was merciful enough to make a short version, so perhaps that can serve as an appetizer.
When Chara released A scenery of me in 2004, it seemed like an album intended to fulfill a contract. Chara self-covered a number of tracks from her first few albums with Sony, and I don’t remember seeing the kind of run-up leading to the album as her previous releases.
Chara is now signed to Universal Music, having released a new single in late 2006.
I can’t say Chara occupies the same level of fandom as ACO or Cocco, but she has a remarkable and singular voice, and she can write a damn good single.
"Sekai" made me realize I probably like Chara more than even I’m aware of. The song is the rockingest thing she’s done since "Skirt", and the follow-up singles are just as good.
Chara’s newest album in two years, Union, comes out on Wednesday (Feb. 28). I’m looking forward to it.