Success, especially in the music industry, is a fleeting and fickle mistress, which I'm assuming is quite frustrating for both artist and label alike; what's worse than having a string of high-charting hits and then suddenly taking a nosedive when the public doesn't receive the next, supposedly-assured single as well?

Well, there's probably a lot of things worse than that, like the single not charting at all, but I think we all know what I mean. Angela Aki, the lovely half-Japanese singer-songwriter/pianist (who's about to turn thirty and doesn't look a day over twenty!), found out just how fickle the public can be with the release of kodoku no KAKERA, her sixth single, in late May. Although the title track was the theme song to one of Japan's ever-present television dramas, the drama itself garnered low ratings, in turn greatly affecting the single’s sales, and the 31,534 copies it sold (barely double its first-week sales) made it a flop compared to the success that SAKURA-iro, Aki's first post-album single, was met with.

Theories abound about whether or not the drama's ratings were the only thing that impacted the single's sales -- one other mentions the fact that there's really only one track, represented in three different forms, here (a letdown compared to the several different tracks that all of Aki's previous singles have contained) -- but regardless of the sales, the music contained herein is, for the most part, beautiful, and shouldn't that be what really matters?

kodoku no KAKERA is, in the tradition of almost all Angela Aki A-sides (with the exception of her most-recent single tashika ni, another flop with even less content than this one!), a ballad, but it manages to make itself stand out among the rest, which is a feat when most of your songs are the same genre. The song demonstrates the oft-rare ability to have its arrangement reflect the changes in lyrical content as the track goes on, building on a simple piano line, a lush string arrangement, and what sounds like a trumpet (although I'm not sure, and the insert simply lists it as "horn") chiming in at just that right moment between notes to create the solitudinous atmosphere of which the song's title and lyrics speak. As the song treads forward and the lyrics become more hopeful (and, although they speak of finding out that happiness exists because of having experienced loneliness, they're certainly not happy by any means), the song adds more to the instrumentation in the way of a light drum-tap (during the verses) and full-blown drum section (during the chorus) as well as increasing the intensity and volume of the rest of the arrangement so that the final crescendo is somewhat like the sunlight breaking through the clouds. In terms of arrangement, the way everything comes together makes this one of my favorite Aki tracks.

Vocally, however, is where I take offense. While Aki's vocal is spot-on and lovely as usual, I have problems with her interpretation of the lyrics (and since she wrote the darn things herself, that's definitely an issue). At first, she's perfectly fine, relating the fact that she's had another sleepless night (because she's been thinking about past loves, which doesn't seem to faze her anymore) in a quieter, straightforward tone, but when the pre-chorus (which talks, of all things, about not being able to trust people and abandoning oneself to the flow of time) and chorus hit, she adds more power and oomph to her performance, a move I find troublesome because of the lyrical content of what she's singing. She sounds just a bit too happy for my liking when she sings in the second chorus, "Even with betrayal I wish to believe that happiness exists." Although this vocal tone is appropriate in the song's climax (in which Aki forgives herself for her past mistakes and lets go of her loneliness, to truly realize that happiness is all around her), it's troublesome in places where a more sorrowful vocal would make much more sense. I think this is the first time I've ever taken issue with Aki's interpretation, and I seriously hope it's the last. It doesn't quite ruin the song, but it's annoying nonetheless.

The piano version of kodoku no KAKERA is essentially the same version as track one, but strips the arrangement of everything except the piano and Aki's vocal (and it's almost two minutes shorter, cutting out the second verse and chorus), which gives the song a whole new dimension, as the solo piano backing creates almost as lonely an atmosphere as the original arrangement did, albeit with less flair and grandeur. Against this different backing, Aki's vocal stands out more, and while the problems of interpretation are still there, they're less grating because of the song's shortened length. I'm not sure what to think of this track -- it's different enough, but in terms of solo-piano Aki pieces, it's one of her weaker outings, as it's essentially unchanged from the original (unlike, say, the piano version of HOME, which managed to top the original in almost every way).

I find Solitude to be the best of the three tracks here, and it almost-singlehandedly makes the single worth a purchase. Aki's first completely-instrumental track, the song follows the general melody of kodoku no KAKERA while embellishing it with little touches and flair that make it a song all its own (including a revised bridge and ending), truly demonstrating Aki's chops as a composer of simple pieces. I'd love for her to do more of these, because she's done masterful work here.

In the end, I'm going to have to give this, sadly, four stars instead of five, because while the majority of the work is nicely done, there are a few too many standout problems to make it perfect. I'm not disappointed, but Aki could have done a bit better than this. Still recommended, though.

Angela Aki: "kodoku no KAKERA"
[ CDS | ESCL-2960 | ¥1,020 | 2007.05.23 ]

01. kodoku no KAKERA [ 5:23 ]
02. kodoku no KAKERA -piano version- [ 3:48 ]
03. Solitude [ 3:51 ]

[ http://www.angela-aki.com ]

Other Angela Aki Reviews:
ONE (2005)
HOME (Single) (2005)
Home (2006)
SAKURA-iro (Single) (2007)

Recommended: Yes