Rie aka Suzaku - Top Runner (Review)

And today we have a very big name, whose talent does not allow me to insert many words in intro: a new album from Rie aka Suzaku has been released. This news is alarming: after the failed "Don't Hide Your Face", something really powerful must be released.

My Rating: 82/100 Best song: Furinkazan

I usually find albums of this artist on Yandex Music - Poppin Records is engaged in publishing. And the very first surprising moment for me was that I did not find it. A little later, I found out that this album was released on King Records label. I must say, this fact significantly adds fuel to the fire. I was very afraid that cooperation with a very famous label would significantly affect the intellectual value - such serious guys work for high sales. Art, most often, is secondary for them. But such fears were not justified and it's pleasant to realize.

Fortunately, here the composer did not depict something pompous, but simply did what he could. As a result, composer's work looks very cool. Here it's noticeable that emphasis was placed on attractiveness for the ordinary listener, although I am not inclined to see a positive color in such an idea. I would also like to note that the album combines many mood shades. In this regard, a detailed description of album structure is difficult to do. Here is a very conditional division into tracks. This is one of the albums that you simply turn on - and enjoy. No bells, no whistles - just put on the headphones and press "Play". But, since I need to write at least 3,500 characters, I will continue my review. Also felt the conceptuality of the album: all the tracks are united by a common idea. The only awkward moment: why release a track that was previously released?

Since the album is fully instrumental, the next item is instrumental parts. Let's start with guitar. Guitar parts can hardly be called complex. Not because the Standard E guitar tuning does not have to a very large variety. Here it's noticeable that a big bet on emotions is being made. Guitar plays beautiful melodies that are very pleasant to listen. In the rhythm section you can also hear a lot of interesting things. Here you can hear the guitar, which is quite often part of the rhythm section - this is not often heard in instrumental albums. The rhythm section continues with bassist. Bassist plays very difficult and interesting parts. It looks particularly interesting in the fifth track, where the bass at the beginning repeats the guitar, and then plays the slap. Also worth noting is the bass solo with the slap in third and fifth tracks. Drummer is cool too. Here is quite a diverse set of rhythms. Particularly interesting are the rhythms in second track. The only thing I don’t like is the pop patterns in the third track, they are in small numbers at the beginning, but I wouldn’t want to hear them. Separately, I would like to mention additional instruments. Here the composer showed a high ability to control synthesizers. Particularly interesting is flute in third track, saxophone in fourth track and Hammond organ solo in seventh track.

My first question is: "is this album of the year or is it just a good way to make some more money"? Unfortunately, this is not a masterpiece. I say "unfortunately" because this artist is able to do really good things. However, it's worth noting that the work is good. My second question is: “Has cooperation with a well-known label influenced the intellectual value of the work”? It's difficult to say unequivocally - too high talent is behind this work. My third question is: “is the album a good and interesting one”? Yes, album is great. My fourth question is: “are there any prospects for something better“? It's difficult to say - artistic personalities are very changeable. For example, take two of the newest albums of Mary’s Blood, which are very different from each other. In the end, I can say that despite the fact that I confidently answered only one question out of four, I can give a high rating.