Ken - Speed

Ken's newest solo project seemed to promise a more mature sound from the man most famously known for his position as guitarist in L'arc~en~Ciel. While his attempt at a new start is admirable, the overall result is mixed at best.

The title track, Speed, certainly lives up to it's title. Starting off slow with a simple guitar melody, it suddenly kicks off much harder and faster roughly ten seconds into the song before slowing drastically back down and then, well, speeding back up. Some lovely piano is intermixed, dancing between the guitar mostly driving the song. Despite Speed's generally quick tempo, you're eased gently into the cover of Gary Moore's Empty Rooms by the ending piano. The synthisizer, guitar, and slow beats work well off of each other, setting a nostalgic, quiet mood. Also, Ken's English pronouncation is fairly good; "You'll never know the reason why she's gone" is sung very clearly and is oddly affecting because of it. Unfortunately, Ken's voice lacks some of the conviction and emotion that one would hope to hear in a song such as Empty Rooms and it keeps it from being as effective as it had the promise to be.

The third track is another cover, The Shadow of Your Smile, a song originally from the American 1960's film, The Sandpiper. Ken concentrates here on his strength, the guitar, and it pays off handsomely in this instrumental track. The guitar is absolutely haunting here and helps make The Shadow of Your Smile the most memorable song off of this single. It has an almost ghostly yet tropical feel to it, inspiring visions perhaps of an abandonded village of huts in Hawaii. The last song is a karaoke version of Speed, which, depending on your opinion of Ken's job as a vocalist, may be more to one's taste than the original title track. It provides a welcome chance to better listen to and appreciate to slow piano and rushing guitar that comprises the tune.

As a solo artist, your strengths and weaknesses are exposed for all to see and this is particularly true of Speed. Ken's ability as a guitarist, honed by well over a decade of work, is clear, particularly in the last two tracks. His voice, however, may be an aqquired taste and his ability to go into the higher vocal ranges is questionable. When he sticks to the mid-to-low range he sounds much stronger and some further practice and polish may yet help him stretch himself further as a solo artist.