JYJ (Jaejoong/Yoochun/Junsu) - The...

This is probably one of the most difficult reviews to write, mainly because it hits a sore spot for me, and a lot of others. But I've had enough of going all emo about this, so I'll get straight to the point.

At the beginning of this whole JYJ in Japan, HoMin in Korea thing, I said that "oh it doesn't matter, JYJ are the voices of the band anyway - they'll sound fantastic," but hearing this mini album makes me wanna take that back. Actually, even when they started those dome concerts I observed that - the album just reinforced it in my mind.


I've said this from the very, very, very start - I want five. I want five voices, five parts of a harmony. I don't want two or three, I want five. I "fell" for the five. I didn't fall for one, or two, or three, I fell for five. And that's all I'll ever want. There is nothing like hearing those five voices on stage together, and there is nothing that will ever be like that.

Those five voices were put together for a reason, and a damn good one. You have your solid base, your middle support, your strong and versatile lead, and the floating top part - that's how harmonies should sound. Every single voice makes the sound the way it is - you lose one, you lose all. I'm not just saying this because I'm a fangirl - I became a fangirl because of the harmonies.

Hearing JYJ now, without a doubt the songs are gorgeous and the production impeccable, but they're missing that spark - they're missing the two extreme voices, and those are just as important as the melodic ones. The entire album sounds so.. bare, if I may say so.

I'm done with my whining about how I want the five of them together, so no more. I promise to do my best and talk about the album as a JYJ album, not "the album by the three DBSK guys who sued SME". But it's hard for a fangirl in pain. : (

These songs were all performed by the three a few months back when they played several dates across Japan, including two nights at the Tokyo Dome. I've heard live versions, but let me just say that these recordings did justice to the live performances a million times over.

The... opens with いつだって君に - what I assume is the lead single. I mean, it does have a pseudo-music video. In simple terms it's a gorgeous, gorgeous song. And I really mean gorgeous. It doesn't his you over the head, but the melody is gorgeous enough to stick. It doesn't have a predominant string section, but with a song already this gorgeous, who cares? Add standard Japanese production to a gorgeous melody, strong arrangement, and three of the best singers in Asia and you have magic.

I love it when these guys do uptempos, I really do. Ballads are nice and pretty and all, but the measure of a good singer is not how high a note he/she can hit, it's how versatile the singer is. The verses of Get Ready remind me a lot of a more disco-y Survivor. Junsu blew me away on this, more than Jaejoong for once, but of course JJ and YC sound fantastic. Once again, none of the songs hit you over the head with excessiveness, nor do they drag on and on and on without going anywhere - Get Ready's nice and perky, but not scream-y or anything like that. It has a melody, it has an arrangement, but it's not boring.

Someone kill me now before Long Way does. The gentle drum rolls, the pretty piano loop and the mind-blowing vocals just leave me speechless - even if I'm hella articulate on paper, words can't describe how gorgeous this song is. It just is, so I'll shut up and let myself bask in the gorgeousness.

Just when I thought I'd heard it all, apparently I haven't. I have an LQ audio rip of a live performance of W, and I was in love with it, what more the recorded version. My new favorite line when I write reviews is, "Music is half heard and half felt," and this is everything that statement stands for. The technical side of this song is spot-on - a stunning string section with a gorgeous piano loop just floating arranged in such a way that it doesn't overpower anything and perfectly-executed vocals give me goosebumps. Who the hell cares if I can't understand the lyrics, that's not what I mean when I talk about the "half felt" part - it's the emotion in the vocals, instruments and arrangement that give a song dimension. And in this case, W has a ton of it. It's a ballad, but you don't hear them screaming their heads off until the tail end, and it only lasts for a while before going back to how it was. It's not about the vocal gymnastics we all know they can do, it's about the emotion, how they sing the song, and they did a damn good job on this one. Throw everything together and, once again, you have magic.

5/5

10 comments:

  1. Man.

    I've come to write a comment on this after I manage to calm myself after bawling while listening to the album.

    Senti, much? Haha.

    DBSK had me so gaga over the five of them. Not three. Not two. But all five of them.

    Though my DBSK-bias would be Changmin, nothing can compare to hearing their five voices combine to make such a wonderful melody.

    You were so downright about the "Those five voices were put together for a reason, and a damn good one."

    I want five. I want five voices, five parts of a harmony. I don't want two or three, I want five. I "fell" for the five. I didn't fall for one, or two, or three, I fell for five. And that's all I'll ever want. - These are just my very thoughts.

    Denial stage pa rin ako. I admit defeat to these guys. Shesh.

    Anyways, JYJ's album is love. It never fails to amaze me. W and Itsu Datte Kimi Ni are my faves at the moment.

    Can't wait to hear them on Korean stage.

    JYJ, Changmin, Yunho = DBSK. Hurry up, and share the same stage again.

    We shall be waiting for you. :)

    *Nikki, wala akong masabi. Your writing resounds my thoughts exactly.

    Till the next review.

    Nagmamahal,
    HOTSPICYKIMCHI

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah me too... i feel the same as you. i want 5,becos if it were not 5 it feels incomplete... the song, and how they felt and how the fans felt are half missing. but we need to understnd them(dbsk) that's why we the fans need to support our oppa, even we are very far away.. and our oppa never remembered each face of their fans.. but they still remembered how far their fans support them,always keeping the faith just for them, like a family, and they know very well how big, how wide red ocean are for them until they keep the pain themself, the pain the get from being under SM, and yes end of 2009 they start to sue SM,bcos they can;t stand it, they know their fans will hurt.. but as their truly fans, we can't be selfish, we need to think about their sacrifices, as we can see, now they were separated.. we know they miss each other, as we miss them to go back together, we can feel their sufferness? really? we were not, but we can feel how much they wanted to be back as dbsk again... as jaejoong said, i want to go back, but i can't...
    and when yoochun said something that will make their fans cry(yuchun also cry) jaejoong stop him.. we don't know what they are still hiding.. their pain are not fully known by their fans,bcos they dont want their fans to cry more and sad... they want their fans to support them. and it is not becos of jyj the dbsk breakout for a while..so dont blame them(for other fans who giveup on supporting them)
    i know some fans of other boyband and some anti's if dbsk, would be happy of their pause activity myb not just that, they will be happy till crazy when dbsk are stop, but keep this in mind as they come back.. they will be on TOP again XD i know thats why you guys were worry so much of wanting them to stop being dbsk anymore, right? so just mind your own business. and mind about ur own boyband they might also become like this one day, so just put ur mouth to your next and eat some chillies ne?

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'W' is definitely my favorite song in this album. You're right about the emotions overflowing in this song. I actually read your review before downloading and listening to the album. I wasn't contented with the live version and the recorded version definitely gave 'W' more sense. :D

    They could've done more with the songs if Changmin and Yunho were there. The magic really belonged to the five of them. I hope we'll see them again onstage. I'll wait no matter how long.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really love the song W, it has to be my favourite really. I also think Get Ready and Itsudatte Kimi Ni is beautiful. ^^

    But I do agree with you, I want 5 but there's nothing we can do about it. 2009 turned out to be a bad year for Hottests and Cassies so...¬¬

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's rare to find releases where I enjoy all the songs but this is one of those exceptions. Beautiful songs combined with those gorgeous voices. You can't wrong with that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not invested in DBSK as a group, so not sharing the angst. I did give this mini-album a listen though and I agree with your rating; it's lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm not invested in DBSK as a group, so not sharing the angst. I did give this mini-album a listen though and I agree with your rating; it's lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  8. totally agree with u, no doubt JYJ can sing in fact they sing damn well but listen to them without the other two it just feels like unreal to me feels soulless

    ReplyDelete
  9. You said the very words I wanted to hear all along. Most fans say that they will support JYJ and HoMin even though they're apart, etc. This is right, but I don't feel completely satisfied with these theories. DBSK=5 and they sound damn good as 5 (especially acapella WOW blew me away). I'm sorry if this sounds selfish but I really want them back together again and until then, this irritating thought will bother me non stop.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Maybe it's just that God never made PERFECT stuff. I agree with your rating too. New DB5K fan here. Just dropped by to say that I like your thinking perspective and I enjoy reading your reviews. DB5K fighting!!!^_^

    ReplyDelete

Want to share any of your thoughts on the above post? Drop a comment here! I read all comments and reply occasionally, especially if you have specific questions for me. :D

Note that comments are moderated. Spam, self-advertising (K-Pop-related and otherwise) and overly vulgar submissions will NOT be accepted. If you want me to promote/endorse/follow/link to your site, please e-mail me at popreviewsnow@gmail.com instead.

 

Recent Tweets

Like Pop Reviews Now on Facebook!

Statistics (Since May 2009)

Music - Top Blogs Philippines Follow on Bloglovin

Blog Archive

You're reading an award-winning blog

The K-Pop Writers' Workshop


A workshop for writers of critical pieces on Korean entertainment -- formal reviews, expository essays/Op-eds, and personal essays/Creative Non-Fiction.
Learn from the best in K-Ent writing