Review of Angela Aki's "Kokoro no Senshi" single

I got to spend some time to sift through a ton of uncategorized music sitting in my computer (translation: too much downloading and not enough filtering to delete crap that's not good), and I happened across Angela Aki's "Kokoro no Senshi" single that came out this week. FYI, she's the one they asked to sing the Final Fantasy 12 theme song when it comes out in March (and August in the US).

For some reason I can't explain, I didn't think the songs in the single were that great. They weren't bad, but I wouldn't keep them around. The only notable track in the single is her cover of Faye Wong's "Eyes on Me" from FF8 was included as a bonus track on the CD... and that's not necessarily a good thing. I guess I'll bullet my list of negatives for her cover:

• She changed some notes in the song, so it sounds weird
• She made the song sound angry, especially towards the end. WTH? It's supposed to be a wistful song! Bet you can't visualize Rinoa being pissed.
• The piano accompaniment is nice, but it also sounds angry. See point above.
• When you do a cover of a great song, it better be better than the original. And it's not.
• I find her voice grating at times....
• Just cuz you're doing a FF theme song doesn't give you the right to mess with a previous one. Shame on you Square-Enix and Nobuo Uematsu, for approving this collaboration.

I still prefer the original version, sung by Faye Wong, in all its Engrish, sappy glory. I give Angela Aki's single, and especially the bonus track, a two thumbs waaaaaaaaay down. Needless to say, it no longer exists on my computer.

I just hope that her single for the FF12 theme song is much better.