[Album] Winter Acoustic “Kalafina with Strings”

Half those marks aren't even on a black background, plus there's all kinds of obvious creases there.
 
Listened to the album while fixing Christmas lights to my tree today and damn I can't listen to sprinter and RYB without making weird faces at the loudness and terrible mixing. Jesus Christ I'm trying to enjoy myself lmao
 
george1234 said:
^ this usually happens to me with all kalafina releases since red moon 2-3 weeks after release.
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there are some instances in which I really like part of the single/album (Hanataba, signal, obbligato, lapis, Yane no Mukou ni, Alleluia - the song, Tsuioku) and put it on repeat and/or listen to it even weeks/months after their initial releases but if we're talking about a whole album/single, I'm with you. I'd say I don't listen to Kalafina single/album on repeat anymore since ryb single.
 
People actually listen to albums on repeat after the initial 'newness' period wears off? That's news to me. Pretty much every album I've ever heard I'll listen through a few times in the first week or so and then it'll leave regular rotation, regardless of what it is.

Whether I go back to it later on, that is a clearer sign of whether it's an album I enjoy. I have a ton of music in my library and only so much time, so unless I have something that's in that newness stage I have to be selective. There are still a whole bunch of albums that I go back to even after years, and I guess those are the ones that are worth listening to.
 
by repeat i mean i put it on my playlist so i can listen to them again and/or want to listen to that songs again even right after the songs ended. songs that don't interest me are just there in my laptop for the sake of completeness. yeah, i'm the type to actually choose songs one by one instead of putting it all into local media/playlist. i dont want to listen to songs i dont want to.
 
I can't tell I put them on repeat, but sometimes I love to re-listen to RM or SH again, and they never cease to amaze me ♥
As ritardando, I choose the music on my playlist one by one, but with those two albums I just copypasted them everywhere, because I find almost every song ejoyable ♥ I'd do the same to FotW, but the awful anisong trinity (?) turns me off so much.
With the acoustic albums I kinda abandoned most of Kala songs on my computer besides Fairytale (I loved this new version so much), but play the Christmas ones really often, and it seems like I won't get tired of them soon ♥ (I'll probably end up still listening to Jingle Bells in August)
 
@Zinnia i agree - I still listen to SH and RM as whole albums- something magical about putting the disc into your player and letting kajiura take the lead in determining how the playlist goes. I also enjoy the FOTW track list.
 
I never use playlists actually, just listen to albums as a whole. Maybe except for various artists albums.

That said I love practically all of Kalafina's stuff, so I do go back to all albums at least now and then. The only exceptions being that I use an alternate tracklisting for FotW that adds lapis, Tsuioku, IEN, Alleluia and KnGnN and ditches HB, Hokage and Shitlieve, plus a little reworking of the order.

I also listen to Natsu no Asa regularly but have listened to Blaze once since the release week before remembering how unmemorable it is.
 
Seasonreaper said:
The only exceptions being that I use an alternate tracklisting for FotW that adds lapis, Tsuioku, IEN, Alleluia and KnGnN and ditches HB, Hokage and Shitlieve, plus a little reworking of the order.
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Wow I thought I was the only one who did that. XD

I listen to the Christmas album pretty regularly. It's December so it's the right time to listen to it, usually when I'm in the car or doing work. Other albums are selective because my mood for Kalafina songs change regularly.

I regularly rewatch lives though, like constantly. At least two songs a day.
 
I gave up on waiting for my copy to arrive and downloaded it. Quick review:

1. From Heaven Above - Sounds really pretty, but it's short and works mostly as an overture, rather than a full song.

2. In Dulci Jubilo - I'm not really that familiar with the original of this song, but this does indeed sound very pretty. Vocals are great, and that pronunciation is really quite good.

3. Fairytale - Well, it sounds like Fairytale, except a little more minimal and maybe slightly slower I think? I'm not a huge fan of Fairytale as it is, being my least favourite song on SH, but this performance is really, really nice. Also damn, Keiko here is glorious. Wish Hikaru's 'sayonara' was more of a 'sayonaraaaaa~' though, although I think other people have mentioned that.

4. Sprinter - I've always loved Sprinter, and I absolutely adore the acoustic version on the 5th Anni Live, even more so than the original. Sadly that version is better than this one, although I do like this. Hikaru really stood out here. Does sound as though the mixing is off at points though, which is irritating. Second half is better than the first.

5. Jingle Bell - Jingle Bells is an odd song for me, as I'm never sure whether I actually like it or not. This, though. THIS. I love it. This arrangement is wonderful, I'm guessing this is the closest we'll ever get to a jazz song from Kalafina sadly, but it's good. Really good. Pronunciation is actually really damn good here too, I'm impressed. Vocals are damn solid, too. Best thing so far. Why so short, though?

6. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Pretty much what I was expecting arrangement wise. Vocals are grand here too, especially the harmonisation. Not much else to say.

7. Kimi no Gin no Niwa - I wasn't sure how this was going to work without accordion, but I guess just switching it out for other instruments kind of works? Other than that, it's very similar. Too similar, really. It's a decent recording and the girls sound lovely but I don't see any special reason to listen to this version rather than the original which is already damn great. Plus what can I say, I really like the way the accordion sounds in the original, this version sounds like it's missing something a bit without it there.

8. Ring Your Bell - I've always quite liked RYB but my main complaint is it's too long and the last part drags out forever for no apparent reason, yet this version is somehow longer? Hmm. Wakana's first RAISE YOUR SOOOOONG~ is actually gorgeous. I still think it could've been shortened by a minute or so with nothing lost at all, same as with the original. Wakana goes a little too high for my liking at the end as well. It's a solid note but it just seems out of place a bit.

9. Morobito Kozorite - Hmm, wonder why they decided to do this in Japanese and the rest of the Christmas songs in English? It's pretty lovely though, although god damn is it short. I was just getting into it and then it suddenly ended. Why.

10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - That pronunciation. Impressed. Overall it's very pretty and the vocals are on point. Good stuff. All three of them get their time to shine here and they do it very well.

11. Dolce - What is a dolce? Sounds like dolce. At least I think it sounds like dolce. I forget what dolce sounds like. Presumably like this but with less of a strings focus. Girls sound good. I'll get back to this when I remember what dolce is. Which will be never.

12. Alleluia - Kind of weird to go from Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas straight into this. What happened to track 11? Maybe the version I downloaded didn't have it? Anyway, I did make a small post when I first heard this through the prerelease, and my opinions haven't really changed much. Keiko sounds bloody great as she usually does on this song. Hikaru and Wakana sound a little off time-wise and don't quite harmonise at points which is a bit distracting, plus Wakana's vocals during the bridge still sound a bit too high for her. I wonder if they recorded this after doing a bunch of other stuff? I haven't really had any issues with the vocals for the rest of the album but this seems off.

13. Yasashii Uta - Well shit. This actually made me tear up a little. Very few songs have ever done that for me, and even less have done it without seeing them being performed live. I don't think I can give much more praise than that.

Overall, this album is pretty great. I could've done with a bit more rearrangement on Kimi no Gin rather than just switching the accordion out, RYB being at least rearranged to make the damn thing shorter and the girls' performance on Alleluia came across notably weaker than the other songs for whatever reason, but other than that, good stuff. Honestly Yasashii Uta and Jingle Bell alone are enough to make the album worthwhile by themselves, having the rest just makes it even better. Really impressed with the English pronunciation actually, wasn't sure what to expect but I wasn't anticipating it to be so good. Other than Alleluia and a couple of snippets scattered across the album I'm impressed by all three girls' vocals as well.

Now if only my copy would actually bloody get here.
 
Wtf, it was released almost a month ago. Did they at least send you an email for the delay?

I never wrote a review, and I'm still not doing one hue. I liked all of it. Just thought Wakana's voice sounded annoying in some parts of In Dulci Jubilo. Other than that, bretty good.

For the next one plis sing Oh christmas tree, Gloria in excelsis deo, Silent night, O holy night, Rockin around the christmas tree, and (muh favorite)The first noel :love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRSqp4hoFVo
 
Nah, it got shipped out before release day, I just had it set to RSAL which is slow as hell.

I legit want a cover of Dreaming of a White Christmas with Keiko on lead though.
 
Seasonreaper said:
11. Dolce - What is a dolce? Sounds like dolce. At least I think it sounds like dolce. I forget what dolce sounds like. Presumably like this but with less of a strings focus. Girls sound good. I'll get back to this when I remember what dolce is. Which will be never.
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Thank you for the best description on Dolce I've ever read.
Hope your CD arrives soon! Unfortunately, all orders shipped from 11/11 to half January take forever to arrive. This is the worse time of the year to have anything shipped u_u'
I agree I want another acoustic album with more christmas covers and gorgeous vocals :love: It would be nice a new album with new covers every year ♥ Silent night would be precious, and the short cover of Gloria in excelsis Deo they did on one of their radio programs was indeed glorious, so I really need a full version :dote:
 
I've listened to the album as well! I really like it, I thought Yasashii Uta was really sweet. My mom liked it too even though she doesn't care for the Japanese language/music. I also played the English (or Engrish) songs, she did not like Jingle Bells right away. Here are my thoughts:

from heaven above: very nice. I thought it was a good opener for the album.

in dulci jubilo: Hmm. I did not care for it actually. For some reason I don't know. Guess I just never really cared for this song.

fairytale with strings: pretty, Wakana did an excellent job here I thought. Very peaceful, could fall asleep listening to it.

sprinter with strings: Meh. Pretty much what everyone is saying. Hikaru is trying to sound different and it's a little weird. I like that she's trying to make new arrangements of songs, but it just doesn't really work with this one. It is an upbeat song.

Jingle Bell: I love Wakana's english, it's gotten really good. Keiko is great, Hikaru is kind of weird here too, but I give her credit since it is a different language.

we wish you a merry Christmas: Love it. Very nice.

Kimi no Gin: See this works with only strings. Great, I still can't listen to this song without thinking of my nightmare though... which is a shame because I love the song, not my fave from Madoka, but still.

ring you bell: The beginning is strange, and I love that it's with strings ver but there's piano. (Not trying to be mean, just pointing it out, I know with strings means other instruments with strings.) I like this peaceful version, but it doesn't really work again.

Joy to the World Jap Ver: I like it. Now I'll hear it when I sing it in church all the time. lol

have yourself...: I do not like this song normally, but their version is so sweet. Hikaru is much better in this song.

dolce: I love the song, this version is kind of sleep inducing as well, even though it's basically the same, right?

Alleluia: I really like this version. I just wish Keiko would be a little softer, but other than that they all did great.

Yasashii Uta: Love it. Keiko gets parts! I love all of them in this. This is a cross between Hoshikuzu and Mizu no Akashi. But it has its own charm.

I like their versions of the Christmas songs. I give them so much credit for learning hard songs to sing like Jingle Bells. (There are a lot of l's.) Great job everyone!

 
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