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Post by Moe on Jul 18, 2008 12:46:35 GMT -5
In another thread Sky posted this: Well, ask and ye shall receive. When it first came out I loved this song, but when Amarantine came out, I thought it was eclipsed by other songs on that album that I loved even more. Then I started to skip the track a lot, and began to wonder what it was that was bothering me. I came to the conclusion that Enya's voice was too high in this track, that she was straining to sing it. Or was it simply that, no matter how I tried, I could never sing it?
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Post by riene on Jul 18, 2008 13:22:29 GMT -5
What I said a couple years back on Unity still holds true for me today. I still don't like the song.
"I remember being so disappointed with this song, after the eager anticipation of years of waiting for a new Enya single or album. It's not the Japanese--I think the variety of languages the Trio choses to incorporate is really . It's more the high pitch of this song--it's just too soprano for my tastes, and IMHO does not show off Enya's voice in its best manner. I think the ponderous slowness of the song gives it an auditory dragging effect as well. I also don't like the that wavering effect and the mock gongs."
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Post by oregonwinebaby on Jul 18, 2008 14:38:24 GMT -5
I have mixed feelings on this track. I liked it at first. I liked the "ha ha ha ha ha ha" part, actually. It has a passionate sound to it. It's hard to explain. That sound to me got taken away when I watched a video of her performing that on stage a while back. Her stage presence did not match the song at all for me. I guess the song sounds like different sections put together but didn't quite blend right.
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(C)arl
Member
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Posts: 202
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Post by (C)arl on Jul 18, 2008 14:51:13 GMT -5
I like the song, but also dislike the 'ha ha ha' part. If I recall correctly, the 'ha ha' part wasn't included when it first was released, it was later on added to the album version. I wonder why. It sound, like Sky mentioned, as if it was sampled, and it strikes me as rather uncreative.
I like the rest of the song. In my opinion Sumiregusa is the song that captures the theme of the album cover the most. I always thought the Amarantine cover had a rather Japanese look to it, with the red dress and the strait black hair.
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Post by Treecat on Jul 18, 2008 15:04:05 GMT -5
The song now doesn't seem to fit Amarantine. It doesn't fit with the English songs, it doesn't fit with the Loxian songs. As it's my belief that Amarantine is an album with a strong theme running through it, Sumiregusa now feels like a speed bump on the road.
I like the song, but when I'm driving I'll sometimes hit the next track button. When I'm listening at home, I like the vocal and the 'hahhhyayayayay yyeeaaa" and gong part that other people don't like, but I still feel like it was added to the album because people had heard it on the website and it was expected. Maybe it should have been a b-side and something else recorded in its place for the album?
QUESTION: Was Sumiregusa recorded specially for Panasonic, or was it a song they were already working on and licensed to Panasonic for the tv commercial when they were approached by the company for something to use?
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Post by jpanarese on Jul 18, 2008 16:56:35 GMT -5
This song never really "captured" me like so many others. I can't say that I "dislike it", but I don't really listen to it much. There was a time where I did listen a lot to it, but I don't remember why. It does seem a bit "out of place" on the album, now that I take the time to consider that notion. I think the Japanese aspect is great because it diversifies the languages Enya has sang in, but there is simply something "lacking" overall, in my very humble opinion, to the track.
John
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Post by Moe on Jul 22, 2008 19:50:41 GMT -5
The song now doesn't seem to fit Amarantine. It doesn't fit with the English songs, it doesn't fit with the Loxian songs. As it's my belief that Amarantine is an album with a strong theme running through it, Sumiregusa now feels like a speed bump on the road. I like the song, but when I'm driving I'll sometimes hit the next track button. When I'm listening at home, I like the vocal and the 'hahhhyayayayay yyeeaaa" and gong part that other people don't like, but I still feel like it was added to the album because people had heard it on the website and it was expected. Maybe it should have been a b-side and something else recorded in its place for the album? QUESTION: Was Sumiregusa recorded specially for Panasonic, or was it a song they were already working on and licensed to Panasonic for the tv commercial when they were approached by the company for something to use? Good question, TC. So I listened to all of Amarantine today, specifically to see what bugged me about Sumiregusa, and I came to agree with what had already been posted above about Sumiregusa: that it doesn't seem to "fit" with the rest of the tracks. So here's my hypothesis: Panasonic asks Enya to promote Viera TV with a Japanese song; Enya/Aigle agrees and Sumiregusa is created. This was a side deal, with nothing to do with Enya's next planned studio CD. Then, when putting Amarantine together, the trio considered adding Sumiregusa as an "extra" in Japan - something they have done before. It was meant only for that market. However, at some point, Warner and/or Aigle got the message that special releases for different countries were not globally appreciated by Enya fans, the majority of whom wanted each album to be the same everywhere. What to do? Insert Sumiregusa into Amarantine, regardless of its suitability. You please the Japanese (not to be confused with JPanarese ) by giving them Sumiregusa, and you please all fans by issuing the exact same CD everywhere. It's just a wild hypothesis, nothing more..................
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Post by skyscape on Jul 23, 2008 5:53:13 GMT -5
I like Sumiregusa quite a bit. The clarity of Enya's voice is superb and I like that it's in a real language (on its release a Japanese-speaking member of Unity claimed that Enya's Japanese was actually quite presentable). I don't care so much for the "ha-ha-ha" section which seems like an add-on pegged on to the original to make it appear rounded enough for the album.
I realise that Sumiregusa is on the whole very unpopular though. I remember some fans comparing it to "fingernails being scrawled down a blackboard"....surely nothing by Enya could have that effect on the listener.
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Post by Treecat on Jul 23, 2008 7:36:57 GMT -5
Kerry, your ideas are solid enough for me. Now there's a potential 'secret' for the studio---that Enya may have specifically written a song for a tv commercial, not that she had written a song that was then licensed for a commercial. When I first heard the short version of Sumerigusa on the website, I thought it would be the outstanding vocal of the new album. I couldn't see anything topping all those gorgeous layers of vocals. Welp, WSTHH happened! I like the song. I like the fact that Enya ranged into Japanese for it. But on repeated listenings to Amarantine, it just doesn't seem to sit easily in the album. It needed to be released, it's beautiful, but it might have fit better as a b-side.
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Post by Moe on Jul 23, 2008 9:29:55 GMT -5
Yes, an excellent B side, I agree
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Post by skyscape on Jul 23, 2008 14:54:36 GMT -5
I actually thinkit was a stroke of genius how Enya and Nicky captured that quintessential Japanese sound in this song. If you listen to the chorus Enya really nails that nasalised sound which typifies some oriental music.
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Post by Treecat on Jul 23, 2008 21:23:44 GMT -5
I wonder if Enya had coaching during the recording of this song, someone to advise her on pronunciation?
It's a very atmospheric song, and I could easily see it as part of a soundtrack to a movie set in Japan.
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Post by themoonsshepherd on Aug 2, 2008 18:59:42 GMT -5
Interesting comments...for me, it's one of my favorite tracks from Amarantine, if not my favorite, and while I think it has a different feel from the rest of the album, I also think that this is what sets it apart and why it has endeared itself to me. That, and also the fact that it was released well before before the rest of the album gave me a ample time to reflect on the track.
As for version preference, I will take the longest one, although the other two versions are good for what they are.
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Post by phantas on Apr 7, 2009 13:56:30 GMT -5
I LOVE this song...absolutely love it. As I'm a fan of Anime movies, where traditional Japanese music is oftimes used, I was so glad to hear this traditional sound in Enya's music. I can not speak Japanese but I hear slight bits in Sumiregusa which don't fit - still, her pronounciation is wonderful. I love the gongs, the hahahahahah effect - As it was something different from the original version we heard on enya.com I was thrilled...whether it sounds sampled or not I do not really care as it serves a visualisation purpose for me. I have a very strong visualisation for this song, probably one of the first songs to give me that!
I love the rise and fall in the song, in the vocal melody. To reveal something of my visualisation, it's like a bird in flight, soaring across mountains, through valleys.....bliss.
I agree though, that, after repeated listening to Amarantine, Sumiregusa does not fit into the album. But then Amarantine, as discussed in the other thread here, feels like two seperate albums (gosh, didn't someone say that AWC felt that way too? I see a pattern here!) - A Loxian one, where Sumiregusa could be added too, and an English one with the standard songs and instrumental Drifting. I would even go so far and include The Comb of the Winds on the Loxian album, because of the slight oriental feel of that instrumental. It almost mimicks Sumiregusa.
I'm sorry, I'm biased - whenever I play Sumiregusa I'm immersed into this visual world...it's always the same visual but so gorgeous.
Love, Phantas
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Post by Treecat on Apr 7, 2009 21:31:22 GMT -5
When I first heard Sumerigusa I loved it. I never skipped it on Amarantine. In the last few months though, I've skipped over it more often than not. I think it seems more and more out of place on the album, so I now skip it to get back to the songs that are what the album is about.
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