Mochida Kaori - Itsu no manika shoujo wa

Itsu no manika shoujo wa is Mochida Kaori's second solo single, which she released in 2004 when her band, Every Little Thing, was taking a break. She decided to record two cover songs for this single; the title track Itsu no manika shoujo wa and Mystery ~anata ni muchuu~ are both by Yosui Inoue. Cover songs are often tricky as fans of the original artist will often think that the new version doesn't do the song any justice.

Though having a good producer helps and what's better than having the original artist as the producer? Yosui Inoue has in fact produced this single himself. Mochida Kaori has chosen to stay as close as possible to the original version, although her voice adds a personal twist to it.

The first track, Itsu no manika shoujo wa, is a quiet but emotional song. The song starts with the melancholic sounds of a harmonica and an acoustic guitar softly strumming before Mochida joins in. Her voice, which would be regarded as "fresh" and "young" in most of Every Little Thing's songs, has taken on a very somber edge which adds to the sad tone of the song. Crystal clear and heavy with emotion, her voice laments throughout the song; the result is a piece just as beautiful, or perhaps even more beautiful, than the original.

Mystery ~Anata ni Muchuu~ is the second song and has a more upbeat sound, featuring a whole band with a moderately paced drumbeat. A tense and mysterious atmosphere is created by the synthesized strings humming in the background, and the riffs of the guitar and bass especially contribute to this. The song has a bit of an eighties feeling to it, but where Itsu no manika shoujo wa had a bit of a tendency to become slightly repetive, Mystery ~Anata ni Muchuu~ makes you pay attention to every moment, especially because of Mochida singing in a slightly higher pitch. During the interlude, the song drifts off a little, to be halted abruptly by a sudden sound of a Rhodes piano.

Both fans of Mochida and Yosui will be interested in this special collaboration and all parties, young or old, will certainly not be disappointed!