Creston Drive was the first album To Be Continued released through their new record deal with Toshiba EMI, their sixth overall, and their second to last album before disbanding in 2000. (Due to the different record label, no material from this or its followup Core Pop shows up on Sony's GoldenBest singles collection for the band.) This album was apparently recorded in London, with the backing work taken up by English session musicians rather than (mainly) Japanese ones, so there ends up being a far more Western influence on this album's sound. This is undoubtedly the most "different" sounding album in their discography, and it almost feels like an album that just happens to be sung by a J-pop musician rather than a full-fledged J-pop album.
Different isn't always bad, of course. This album has a more laid-back feel than their previous material; rather than be accustomed to the usual "always on" sound of J-pop (even during its quieter songs), the material here kinda floats along as the vocalist picks up the slack. Thankfully, Okada has the pipes to make it work, though I can't help but wonder if the Japanese lyrics were at all weirdly impacted by the English writers responsible (the liner notes claim the band had a partial role in arrangements, as opposed to fully arranging it themselves in the album's immediate predecessors, and I don't know how much that extends to lyricism). That being said, a couple tracks on this are a bit overlong, to the point where they start to bore; track 7, the second of three songs on this album whose title was actually written in Japanese, is a perfect example.
I would recommend checking the sample tracks linked below before deciding if you want to grab this album, but I definitely liked most of it. The album's cover gives the feel of a nice drive on a long, empty road, and the music fits the tone that the cover sets pretty well. That being said, Core Pop is definitely more in line with their prior discography than this album is.
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Melody
2. Wonderful Woman
3. 南へ行こう
4. Half Moon
5. Dear Friend
6. Alone Again
7. 鍵穴が溶けてしまう・・・遠い感情
8. Yes Yes Yes
10. 静かに星を見上げるように
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| Argh, the dreaded obi fading strikes yet again! Must... replace... |
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