Baby Blue Eyes

SHIINA HEKIRU
BABY BLUE EYES
Copyright © SME Corp
SRCL 4179
1 Feb, 1998
¥3,059

—by Ivevei Upatkoon

1. Kaze ga fuku oka [The Hill where the Wind Blows] 4:52

2. Distance 5:09

3. Kaze no Yukue [Destination of Winds] 4:29

4. Todoketai omoi [Thoughts I Want to Send You] 3:54

(remix version)

5. Anata no namae [Your Name] 5:08

6. Sorette ii ne [That's good, isn't it?] 4:08

7. Dare no sei demo nai [It's Not Anyone's Fault] 3:49

8. 246 5:02

9. Jun 4:16

10. Graduater 3:53

11. Infinity 4:37

Pure, Straight and Tough, with all her might...
In the US, Shiina Hekiru is still a relatively unknown figure in the anime community although she does have a fair number of Web pages devoted to her. As a voice actress, her biggest role was probably the lead character of Shidou Hikaru from MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH. She has not done many other famous anime roles despite having been around for nearly five years. In Japan, however, Hekiru has become a very successful idol singer, popular among anime and voice actress fans. She has even showed up on TV several times, and a surprising number of people outside the fan community have heard her name, if nothing else. What makes Hekiru different from other voice actresses is that she is determined to make a singing career that is removed from her voice acting work.
To date, Hekiru has released five albums, her latest one being BABY BLUE EYES, a 1st of February release. As fans of RAYEARTH and IDOL DEFENCE FORCE HUMMINGBIRD may know, Hekiru was a particularly bad singer when she first began her career. With this new album, however, no one need have any qualms about listening to it. Hekiru has spent the last eight months reworking her sound and brushing up her singing style. She changed music producers as well as her entire band, and selected each song personally. Continuing the trend of her previous CD, WITH A WILL, this new album features pop-rock with an additional heavy emphasis on the electric guitar, creating a harder, more interesting sound that suits her new image better. Hekiru herself is extremely pleased with the result, to the point that she calls it her "first album".
The most surprising thing about BABY BLUE EYES is the quality of the singing. Since WITH A WILL was released in December 1996, Hekiru has worked even harder to improve her singing, and it shows. Her upper range has become richer, and the transition between notes is much smoother. While some may find the raw, unpolished style in her previous releases more appealing, it is delightful to hear Hekiru's newfound control over her voice, especially given the challenging nature of many of the songs on this CD. She has a very distinctive voice that lends as much character to her songs as the music itself, and she has finally learned how to use it well. Those who were apt to attribute this improvement to modern technology were proven wrong at her BABY BLUE EYES concert series this year, where she demonstrated that she could hold her own in a live unplugged version of her debut single, "Setsunai egao" ("Heartrending smile").
The songs in this CD cover a wide range from hard rock to j-pop to ballads and include "Kaze ga fuku oka" ("The hill where the wind blows") and "246," both singles from last year, a remix version of "Todoketai omoi" ("Thoughts I want to send you"), and "Graduater", a long-time fan favorite that has just been released as a single this January. While this version of "Graduater" differs quite a bit from the one she used to sing at her old concerts, it is by far the superior in both arrangement and voice. The melody has been slightly reworked, and the introduction of the prominent electric guitar solo between verses has done wonders for this song.
Perhaps the most impressive song on this CD would be "Distance". It is a hard rock number complete with a rap portion that will have Hekiru fans sighing in appreciation. She sings exceptionally well, very smooth with much power while the rap is forceful and tough.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are the two ballads, "Anata no namae" ("Your name") and "Infinity". While this reviewer is usually partial to Hekiru's fast songs myself, the former is quite good, and the latter is definitely a favorite song on the CD. A melancholic, beautiful piece with lyrics written by Hekiru herself, it is very powerful and stirring.
The rest of the songs, while not especially outstanding, are above average and make a good listen, all except for "Sorette ii ne" ("That's good isn't it"). In fact, that would be the only real complaint to have about BABY BLUE EYES. It is a bubbly cheery song — a seeming holdover from her earlier works — that feels completely out of place with the rest of the repertoire and clashes terribly with the tracks before and after. Aside from that, however, I enjoy every song on this CD. The only other thing that would have improved this album would be if the quality of the singing had been a bit more consistent. For this, I look forward to Hekiru's next release.
All in all, anyone with even a passing interest in Shiina Hekiru will want this disc. Listeners who like pop-rock should check this CD out. The first print packaging comes as a cool jewel case with a blue stripe and the title of the CD etched into the plastic itself, and a 28 page color booklet. Be warned, however, that the pictures were taken such that Hekiru's face cannot be seen clearly. For fans, an extra plus is the catalogue number of the CD - SRCL 4179 - which corresponds to the name of her official fan club 4179*LOVE (in Japanese, the numbers 4, 1, and 7 can be read "shi", "i", and "na" and 9 stands for "ku" or club).