V.A: V-ROCK DISNEY

[sai 868]

YES YOU SAW A REVIEW THREAD COMING.

Nightmare - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Pretty cool intro, but a bit misleading for the CD in general, seeing as this is one of the heavier songs in here. It's nice they let Nightmare od the intro though, they're pretty good with those. 8/10

Nightmare - A Friend Like Me

Another song from Nightmare (this time with vocals). Actually the English is so bad I thought the whole song was in Japanese, so the Engrish doesn't bother me that much. Nightmare turned this Aladdin song into a cool Jazzy VK song, not as good as THE LAST SHOW, but most certainly in range with Dasei Boogie. Enjoyable song, yet not their best. 7.8/10

Ryuuichi Kawamura - Beauty and the Beast

Even if I have no clue who Ryuuichi Kawamura is he doesn't do this incredibly bad. I don't really like the vocals at some points, too high-pitched for me, but the way he made the track sound was rather enjoyable. Not as good as Nightmare though. 6.5/10

PENICILLIN - Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

Oh this is just pure lulz. The vocals were a bit off at some points, and the way they made it isn't that great either, but I'll just save this for when I want to have a good laugh. It's better than Beauty and the Beast though. 7/10

Plastic Tree - Chim Chim Cher-ee

Even though they emo'd the hell out of it, this is amazing. I absolutely loved Mary Poppins when I was a kid, and Plastic Tree gives it a whole new feeling. Ryutaro's sad vocals totally fit the mood of the song played by the instruments. 8.5/10

Sadie - This is Halloween

They should've let D do this justsayin.gif Anyway, I love this song in general, but the little things that made me love it so much were completely ruined or deleted by Sadie. It's still nice to listen to a J-ROCK version of this song, but they left all the little charms out. They could've toned down on the screaming as well. Still giving this a higher rating because I love the movie. 8/10

Aoi from Ayabie - Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Holy shit this is bad. The vocals and rhytm are completely out of sync. Even though sometimes that can create nice effects, it does nothing here but annoy me. Don't even want to hear the end of this. Thanks for ruining one of my favourite Disney songs, Aoi. 4/10

THE KIDDIE - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

THIS IS AWESOME. The pronounciation of the title isn't done that bad, and this is a great song to cheer yourself up. Once again Mary Poppins is done right. This is my favourite of the whole compilation, can't stop playing it! 10/10

ニンジャマンジャパン - When You Wish Upon A Star

Actually, even after listening this for 5 - 6 times I still can't remember what it sounds like. It's decent, but nothing memorable. 6/10

CASCADE - Heigh Ho

Wow, this is just...so wrong and so right at the same time. I'm not really taking this seriously, but this is amazing if you're hyped on sugar. Suddenly I want to watch the movie again. 7.5/10

DASEIN - You'll Be In My Heart

Japanese version of You'll Be In My Heart? Sure. It's pretty well done, but I prefer the original by Phil Collins. I can say that this band did a rather good job though, it's quite difficult to cover a song of this calliber. 7.5/10

Overall: 8/10. Great for the lulz, has some nice songs in between as well. I want to buy this now. I've always been a fan of Disney, so having this is like having my childhood all over again.

Best: THE KIDDIE, Plastic Tree, Nightmare & Sadie

[LIDL 692]

Well, thought it might come off bad, or even terrible.

But i actually enjoyed it. I, like most of us, may have under estimate the album

because of the label "Visual Kei" that somehow will correlate to something gloriously cheesy.

However, there is 2 songs that personally for me, sounded like trying too hard.

Those are PENNICILLIN's and THE KIDDIE's covers.

It is still listenable, but the composing were so bad, and i don't get the point of it.

And although sadie are sounded like some other bands again this time.

They were quite successful to pull the song to sounded "not the same" than the original.

And NIGHTMARE really pulled the VK Jazz nicely, i like it somehow, than get annoyed by it.

And i never heard about ニンジャマンジャパン (NINJAMAN JAPAN) before, but they did it quite fine,

i like their ska rock composition.

Plastic Tree just did their own thing, i personally liked it.

Always putting their trademark sound into any cover song they did.

And pulled it off nicely.

Not much to say for CASCADE's. The pitchy anime voice are kind turn off for me.

But the music is O.K, fun enough.

p.s to sai: Ryuuichi is the vocalist of LUNA SEA

MY favourites: DASEIN's, AOI's, Ryuuichi Kawamura, and NIGHTMARE's (both of 'em)

Overall, this album did no shame for Disney fans.

It's not outstanding but not too shabby either.

But note that there is so many Visual Rock style in this album.

Sounds like almost all are represented in the album.

A one package of V-Rock journey, if i may.

Even the V-Rock Jazz that ever so common and will be done by a band

at one point at their musical career.

Would wish there is some goth MDM style in it too though, would be perfect.

[SUBLIMINAL 52]

Admittedly I only downloaded this VA as a joke. I had no idea this was going to be released until a friend linked me to Aoi's cover of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" and I disliked it so much the masochist in me wanted to ruin my other favourite Disney songs. I googled the tracklist and decided I had to hear this for another reason: I wanted to hear Yasu pronounce supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I was fairly certain I was going to hate it, that I was going to get a kick out of how bad it was.

But I didn't. I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. If I wasn't giggling at how awfully ridiculous some of the songs were, I was genuinely dancing and singing along with them.

ナイトメア - The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Heavier than I expected of a ナイトメア opener. It's excellent though. I'm one of those people who can only listen to them in small doses and find them forgettable otherwise, but the two tracks on this album have a distinct sound I have an affinity for so I might yet give them another chance. Doesn't tamper with the infamous original too much, has the same fantastical flair under that frightening drumbeat. When I was younger I used to be scared of the brooms in Fantasia, so they got that right! Lacks some of the magic it could have had if it had been longer. I wish they had tried some of the more complex musical parts too. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is around seven minutes in length and has some interesting instrumental pieces that should have been implemented. To cut it down to one or two minutes is unfair. One of the better VK introductions to an album I've heard. 7.5/10.

ナイトメア - Friend Like Me: It breaks my heart that no one sang "A Whole New World." I'm sure Yomi would have wrecked it though, his English is terribad. All the same, this is an extremely difficulty song to sing! So I can't pick on him too much. Even if the only discernable lyric is "you ain't never had a friend like me." It does almost sound as if it's being sung in Japanese. Or Gibberish. And is indeed similar to 惰性ブギー (Dasei Boogie), which happens to be my favourite ナイトメア song. They do swing elements quite well. I give Yomi props for trying, but they probably should have picked a song that wasn't so vocally demanding. Or at least sung it in Japanese. Decent cover only marginally marred by poor pronounciation. Impossible to sing along to, but fun to dance to. Nice bass line. 6/10

河村隆一 - 美女と野獣: Beauty and the Beast is my most beloved Disney film. That movie was my childhood. There was no doubt in my mind that 河村隆一 would do it justice when I discovered he was participating on the VA. This, for me, is the best song on the album. Gorgeous in Japanese, especially atop those minimalistic verses in the beginning. Love the guitar solo it erupts into as well. Superb. I can't pinpoint a flaw with this song. It's one of the songs I've had on repeat since I downloaded the album. Perfect, in my opinion. No one else could have covered this song so splendidly. Beautiful piece with a big rock 'n' roll mid section. 10/10

PENICILLIN - Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride: Confession! I have never seen Lilo & Stitch and have no intention of doing so. I am also not a PENICILLIN fan. I forgot the name of their vocalist. He's attractive, but he is an awful singer. And the only thing I remember being remotely interested by was how the too brief guitar solo bled into this messy bass... solo... whatever that was. Since I've never heard the original song I can't compare it to that, but on its own it's... not good. Oh, and the end. I remember the end. Because it ended. Rubbish noise that I'm guessing is supposed to pass for upbeat, feel-good punk. Hated it. 2/10

Plastic Tree - チム・チム・チェリー: They made this song their own. More melancholy than the original, which was fascinating for me personally because I found myself imagining the scene from the movie in a different light. The accordion was awesome. And if the song was drifting into that lullaby-esque territory some Plastic Tree songs are known for, they pick it up toward the end. Lovely harmonies. Pleasant pattering drums. Tinkering keys. Is that a flute I hear? Overall this is wonderfully, ultimately Plastic Tree at its core. 8/10

Sadie - This is Halloween: I will start with I hate Sadie. Always have, always will... But I don't hate this. They nailed it, in my opinion. I was surprised. It creeps out of your speakers. It's scary, angry, guitar-driven, the atmosphere is pitch black. Doesn't hold a candle to the original, but it is definitely not as dreadful as I anticipated. It's great, actually. Although there are bands that would have done an even better job. (Not D ) Really enjoyed the chanting "la la la la" and the guitar riff. However, this captures the spookiness of the original and twists it, Sadie style. 6/10

葵 - Can You Feel the Love Tonight?: Anyone who can even suggest this man is anywhere near as talented as Elton John... I won't spare words for how dumb that is. Oh, God, I cannot stand this cover. Don't mind the guitar (the acoustic twang here and there). Hate his voice. Hate the twinkling 80s-christmas-song-style synths that are so fucking high-pitched I couldn't stop cringing. It also sounds way too... decorated. And that's not how the song should be. His English is alright though, so I suppose that's a bonus. 3/10

THE KIDDIE - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: This was the first track on the album I listened to. And I was in hysterics the entire way through it. Only Yasu could pronounce supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and not atrocious. My only gripe is that it's mainly the chorus, and I would have loved to hear Yasu sing the rest of the lyrics because he does have an amazing voice and deserves a round of applause for even being able to say the word. But this is hilarious. Fresh, fun, bouncy, upbeat pop rock. Catchy, but can get repetitive. Even the guitar solo is bright and cheerful. Great for singing along with. 8/10

ニンジャマンジャパン - When You Wish Upon A Star: I have no clue who this band is or why they are on this compilation. I am glad I have never heard them until now. Awful, simply awful. Almost had me hooked on that ska intro and then, lo and behold, vocalist begins to sing and I exit my media player. Why is this even on here? Surely they could have found someone else willing to do this? 1/10

CASCADE - ハイ・ホー: I love CASCADE. Maybe it's because I haven't listened to them in years, but I remember their music being a lot more exciting than this cover (I WANNA KISS TONIGHT, oh man). Maybe it's because I adore Snow White as much as I do Beauty and the Beast and my standards are too high. But I couldn't get in to this. And that's weird, because for me it's impossible not to fall in love with a CASCADE song. CASCADE - Everybody Wants to Be A Cat from The Aristocats would have been so much cooler. 6/10

DASEIN - ユール・ビー・イン・マイ・ハート: Not bad, not bad. Of course nothing can top the original, but I do like this a lot. A lot. An unexpected "gem." It's the right choice for the end of the album, too. Everything feels... right about this. A pleasant, romantic, fitting end to a trip down memory lane~7/10

ETA: I got lazy towards the end of this review. Yawn.

[Asakusa 95]

Even if I have no clue who Ryuuichi Kawamura is he doesn't do this incredibly bad.

what? seriously, not to be an asshole or anything like that but I can't believe that there are people who doesn't know about LUNA SEA.

I'll do a detailed review later

[sai 868]

Lol I do know LUNA SEA and I knew their vocalist was called Ryuuichi but I didn't know it was him since I didn't know he had a solo project. But then again I don't know all the members' names. Just like with other bands I listen too.

[Des 289]

I enjoyed Nightmare, they weren't spectacular but the covers are alright.

I like how Sadie got the nerve to add those sort-of-creepy screaming voices to put their own signature on the song. It worked pretty well. Doesn't touch Marilyn Manson's version though. That one still rules.

Plastic Tree was kind of depressing but in a good way. Good cover.

Ryuichi was by far the best on this album. I'm not quite sure what he is doing here among those bands. He's the odd one out. His vocals are by far the best and the song kind of suits him too.

I don't care about the others. They were plain bad and forgettable.

[The Libertine 2]

I enjoyed plastic tree, Ryuichi, and Sadie's covers, did not like any others really.

[JustIronic 1]

Sadie's and THE KIDDIE's covers were epic. I kind of liked Aoi's, am I the only one?

Nightmare was one big wtf, Friend like me, I mean what, was he even singing words?

Still one of the better songs I've heard by them tbh.

Oh and Plastic Tree's was beautiful.

[evilcoconut 109]

Other than Plastic Tree, Sadie and Ryuichi, I was properly horrified by this whole thing.

[Ito 2438]

Even if I have no clue who Ryuuichi Kawamura is he doesn't do this incredibly bad.

what? seriously, not to be an asshole or anything like that but I can't believe that there are people who doesn't know about LUNA SEA.

I'll do a detailed review later

I wtf-ed at that too. Ryuuichi is a boss.

His song, PT's, and Sadie's were the only songs worth while off of this album. I had high hope's for Penicillin's track but it kinda sucked. The rest were just god awful and pure lulz.