01. CROSS MY PALM
Right off the bat, you might be thinking "oh dear...what is this lone synthesizer beat doing?". You know what, though? This song kinda unwinds into something incredibly memorable. I love it. It's beat is kinda dreamy and Nakamori is as clear as a bell and singing pretty strong.
By the way... Like the two albums before it, this album has a trick to it. Maybe I'll get to that in a little bit.
02. POLITICAL MOVES
Slick as hell. Since we're finally moving into the late 80s, this type of sophisti-pop has taken over as the fashion. This one fits in very well. It's jazzy. It isn't loud at all. It's just a jam.
03. SLAVE FOR LOVE
This song is trippy...and almost sinister sounding. It has this unrelenting bass line to it as well as a beat that is more on two-and-four. I like songs like this that going against expectations. As a result, this song is one of the highlights of the album to me.
04. EASY RIDER
As I mentioned in my previous review, this album was recorded in New York City and is full of local artists and producers. This is really the first song that has that true New York sound. Sure, she recorded in America plenty of times prior to this...but this is her first time recording in my neck of the woods.
The song itself is intensely catchy. It's kind of weird that it never was released as a single...but this was the era of Nakamori albums that didn't need singles to promote albums. It was going to hit #1 no matter what.
05. MODERN WOMAN (FEMME D'AUJOURD HUI)
A slower song that has a killer of a catchy melody. It just kinda sails along through the air.
06. THE LOOK THAT KILLS
Interestingly enough this song kinda got re-purposed later on to become the single BLONDE. Both versions are awesome songs, but BLONDE is definitely the single for a reason. For one, it has new lyrics that are in Japanese. Oh yeah, did I mention that this album is entirely in English? Yep! It sure is.
This song was kind of a stand out track because it was created by Biddu-Winston Sela. You might not know the name, but you've definitely heard his work in the past. He's the producer behind Carl Douglas' Kung Fu Fighting. Yeah, THAT song. This isn't even the first time that he's worked with Nakamori. In 1985 he brought her a failed German song that...well, that's a story for another day I suppose.
07. SOFT TOUCH
Another slick song. If there is one thing this album has no shortage of, it's just infinitely catchy songs to groove to. Soooft Tooouch. This song doesn't have a whole lot of ingredients, but what it does with them is just so perfect.
08. MY POSITION
This one is another favorite of mine from the album. It's likely more memorably known for it's somewhat better live performance from her 1991 tour, but the original is also quite good. Nakamori is probably at her strongest during this song. I'll reserve my thoughts on the whole English aspect of this album for the end, but there are some noticeable in some songs. This song isn't prefect, but there is some strength in the vocals.
Not to mention, this one is super-catchy.
09. THE TOUCH OF A HEARTACHE
Back to the Sophisti-pop well. Another great song.
10. HOUSE OF LOVE
This song isn't slow, but it's definitely one on the deeper side. I'm not sure why, but I dig this one a lot. It really isn't one to stand out very much, but it's still one I think about a lot.
11. NO MORE
Heh. This one is a little different and has some decent speed to it. Nakamori goes a little higher on this one and even does a little...rapping??? Sorta, kinda. It's a fun song for just the absurdity of it all.
12. HE'S JUST IN LOVE WITH THE BEAT
This one...I've heard that there are people who dig it, but I think it's just a little tacky. It's definitely the type of song that was popular at the time, though. Nakamori's singing is kinda funny on this one. It's super-bubbly and actually...done fairly well. This song gets the job done, it's just not my type of thing.
OVERALL: Wow. So here's the deal. I may not have written a whole lot about each song, but I friggin' love this album. I've written in the past that I am lyric-challenged when it comes to songs, so it doesn't bother me that Nakamori's English is largely indecipherable. Readers of this site tell me that mine is also extremely ungood. Don't let that scare you away from this album! Nakamori may not have great English, but it didn't stop her from singing the hell out of this album. Not to mention, it served as her English schooling. Sure, she had sung in English in the past (the first song entirely in English was that failed German cover that Biddu brought her for 1985 Mini Album My Best Thanks...I'll get to that someday.) but this kinda readied her for better quality English going forward.
When you line up Fushigi-CRIMSON-Cross My Palm, it's like talking about three different singers entirely. Whether or not Nakamori...or Warner...or both had a goal of breaking out into the American market remains to be seen. I don't think this was ever intended for popularity outside of Japan. That didn't stop it from getting a release in America (my copy of the CD is an unsold US release). Seiko Matsuda's English was better PLUS she had one of New Kid's On The Block (Donny Wahlberg, for the record. I wonder how Marky Mark resisted the urge to punch her for being Asian...yeah, Mark Wahlberg is a supreme scumbag) and her release didn't do well either. Japan never really tried to push their pop stars too much on the US after that. Tetsuya Komuro could have cleaned up as a producer in the 90s if he were given the chance (the closest he got was the theme from Speed 2 and a Backstreet Boys song that I don't even think was released Stateside).
Give this one a try. If you get hung up on things like lyrics, you might not like it all that much. It's a fun listen, though.
PREVIOUS: CRIMSON
NEXT: Stock
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