Hitomi Shimatani – Heart & Symphony

This deserves the highest rating, although I don't listen
to it too often. The reason is that it is quite
demanding, rather than unpleasant. It is very much a continuation
of the "Crossover" concept from the previous eponymous album,
with entirely new tracks (except for "Viola"'s misplaced
crossover version). Many of them were recorded
in Berlin (Germany) with an orchestra. I generally
still find the "loud" tracks the less artful. This is not
to say that they are out of place. In fact this was the ideal
time (and age) for her to try them out. The patchwork that still
partially plagued "Crossover" is now completely gone. My
favourite among the fast tracks is "太陽神" with its
"bright" spirit. However, the slow songs (or slow parts
like of "Ｍｏｎａ　Ｌｉｓａ") are again the highlight.
"沙羅双樹" lives from its acoustic guitar (with Spanish guitar
intro), "真昼の月" - the first of her songs I knew -
is ideally accompanied by its chamber musical arrangement.
But nothing, nothing stands over "ｋｏｋｏｒｏ".
This is not really a "pop" song; it is just a piece of
beauty where her voice and the capacity of a full orchestra
come into perfect harmony. That's it!
Unfortunately, it totally eclipses some of the later tracks,
in particular the electric guitar supported "フレーム",
which was supposed to end the album. In this sense the
addition of "Viola"'s bonus track provides an unplanned
but high final note.