Review : Mizuki Nana – ULTIMATE DIAMOND

Here’s a repost from my LJ blog : my thoughts about Mizuki Nana’s latest album.

• #1 MARIA&JOKER

A first track that starts like Bring it on!, meaning an english male voice that talks in a mic. The song is very jazzy (saxophone,drums,…) and nana’s voice feels very « sekushi » (like a diva). When i first listened to it on niconico, i was like « what the… hmm kinda strange ». But the more i listen, the more i like it… so not a bad song actually.
Note : 4.5 / 5

• #2 悦楽カメリア (Etsuraku Camellia – Pleasure Camellia)

This song is awesome, totally win, and the pv is… … see that pool of blood ? 8D
Nana-san said it’s a « wa-metal » song. While the instrumental is indeed metal, very fast and strong, it’s also very traditionnal (it reminded me of naruto themes, y’know ?). Nana’s voice isn’t metal at all (fortunately ? (o_o)’ ) yet it perfectly fits with the instrumental.
Lyrics are by Nana-san herself, and they are just beautiful, as always when it’s from her.
An amazing song, that’s all.
And damn that pv… (x____x)
Note : 5 / 5

• #3 PERFECT SMILE

Cutie.
… is what I first said listening to this song.
Yeah, the song is cute, but not very catching.
But it is cute.
Cute.
The « lalalaaa » type of song, see what i mean ? xD
Note : 3.5 / 4

• #4 Trickster

Awesome song. Awesome acapella ending. Awesome PV.
Note : 5 / 5

• #5 Mr.Bunny!

What a funny title, neh ? xD
And the song is funny too… but not what i like. I’ll pass ! (u_u)
Note : 3 / 5

• #6 沈黙の果実 (Chinmoku no Kajitsu – the fruit of silence)

I was waiting for this song so hard !
And it was worth waiting… this song is AMAZING !
When you listen right from the start, you feel like « this song gonna kick some asses ! » And it indeed does !
Nana sings like just perfect, never saturing, never screaming, never too low. And the « aaaahh~ » … omg, it killed me.
And that solo acoustic guitar ! Awesome !
Note : 5 / 5

• #7 Brand New Tops

Here again a funny title. It’s not what I like either. Too much chorus for me.
This song is for live purpose, and yes it feels like it’s gonna be a freakin’ good live track !
Still, it’s not a bad one, but i won’t listen to it often. =P
Note : 4 / 5

• #8 少年 (Shounen – Boys)

And opposed to Chinmoku no Kajitsu, right from the start i thought « aww, gonna be boring ».
And yeah, a bit boring indeed, but i somewhat like this song because it reminds me of those old tracks back from years ago.
But i won’t listen to it too much either : instruments and chorus are not fitting together, making this track a mess, sorry ! =(
Note : 3.5 / 5

• #9 Gimmick Game

Fast-paced electro-pop song, beautiful voice.
Though it’s not my type of song (but i discovered that i don’t hate electro-pop song since i listened to TwoMix and ShiinaTactix xD), i do like this one. Actually, lyrics are a bit strange, with lot of engrish here. But apart from that, this song is total win.
And the « oooooh~ » at the end… … nana-san should’nt make that sort of sounds too often, her fan would go crazy… *goes crazy*
Note : 5 / 5

• #10 Dancing in the velvet moon

Here you can hear that « true » sekushi voice she has.
So total win here.
Note : 5 / 5

• #11 ray of change

Acoustic intrumental is often total win for me.
Slow and quiet voice is often total win for me.
Engrish lyrics are rarely total win for me.
But nana’s engrish is funny to hear, and maybe it’s just me but I think she’s improving ! 8D
Back to the song : it’s a very good one, i like it ! But she needs more training in english undoubtedly… gambare nana-san !
Note : 4.5 / 5

• #12 深愛 (Shin Ai – Deep Love)

Nana + Harp = O__O
Note : 5 / 5

• #13 蒼き光の果て-ULTIMATE MODE- (Aoki Hikari no Hate-ULTIMATE MODE-)

I loved (and when i say loved, it’s really loved !) the « normal mode » but the instrumental was not as good as nana’s voice.
And now it reverts : the instrumental is perfect, but I feel that nana’s forcing herself to put more emotions in it whereas it’s not needed.
Still, it’s a wonderful song.
And still it’s FAR WAY BETTER than this sh*t of COSMIC LOVE (yeah, I said sh*t to one of nana’s track, but it’s the only one that I hated that much ! xDDD sorry if i offended someone (u__u) ). F*CK YOU SONODA RYOJI FOR MAKING NANA SAD ! >8D *goes crazy*
Note : 5 / 5

• #14 Astrogation

Fast-paced electro-pop song. But I didn’t like this one because Dancing in the velvet moon was catching me too much. I didn’t hate it either, because COSMIC LOVE was here… haha. (^o^) »
Note : 4.5 / 5

• #15 夢の続き (Yume no Tsuzuki – Continuation of Dream)

I was waiting for this song too, because lyrics are by our goddess herself !
Considering the title, it was probably a slow song.
And yeah it is, very relaxing, with a cute Nana singing, few acoustic instruments doing their works… an very OK song.
But do not listen to much to this track, or you’ll be asleep for a while ! (^.^)’
Anyway, it fits perfectly its place of « last track » for this album.
Note : 4.5 / 5

Overall :

I was scared of this album at first, because nana said she wanted to sing differents and new sorts of songs.
Among the new tracks, only two stunned me : Etsuraku Camellia and Chinmoku no Kajitsu. That two tracks are AWESOME, definitely. Which one is my fav ? dunno. (.__.)’
Then come ray of change and Gimmick Game, which i really love !
Yume no Tsuzuki is also a good one, but not enough catchy (slow song can be very boring unfortunately).
MARIA&JOKER could had been better, nana’s sekushi voice not being as good as in Dancing in the velvet moon.
And the remaining ones (PERFECT SMILE, Mr.Bunny!, Brand New Tops, Shounen) are « boh boh ». I’m waiting for listening to them in Live, cuz you never know with nana-sama !

Every nana related thing are worth to be bought, and this album does not depart to this.
4 new tracks loved out of 10 is a bit low, but the already known songs (Trickster, Shin Ai, Dancing in the velvet moon, Aoki Hikari no Hate and Astrogation) make of this album a « must have ».