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Copyright © King Record Co.
Performed by Two-Mix (Nagano Shiina and Takayama Minami)
13 Tracks; 57:02
| 1. |
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Believe My Brave Heart |
2:56 |
| 2. |
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True Navigation |
4:13 |
| 3. |
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White Reflection |
4:45 |
| 4. |
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Summer Planet No. 1 |
4:33 |
| 5. |
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Missing You |
4:42 |
| 6. |
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Beat "Break" |
1:33 |
| 7. |
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Break |
4:31 |
| 8. |
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Burning |
4:11 |
| 9. |
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Can't Stop Love |
4:36 |
| 10. |
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Winter Planet No. 1 |
4:33 |
| 11. |
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Wake |
5:40 |
| 12. |
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Living Daylights |
6:00 |
| 13. |
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Believe My Brave Heart |
4:47 |
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—by Charles McCarter
If you don't know who Two-Mix is, then you've probably been living on Mars.
In a cave. With your eyes closed and your hands over your ears.
Okay, well maybe not quite that extreme. Two-Mix is comprised of Takayama
Minami, who does the vocals, and Nagano Shiina, who plays the instruments.
They write and produce all their songs. Their first single was "Just
Communication," which every anime fan knows is the first opening to GUNDAM
WING. They followed up "Just Communication" with "Rhythm Emotion," the
second WING opening, and even did songs for the OVA and movie as well. (And
did I mention that Takayama is also a famous voice actress as well, voicing
such characters as RANMA 1/2's Nabiki, ESCAFLOWNE's Dilandau, and Kiki in
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE?) Since then, they've branched out a little and
moved on to songs for thing besides anime (and GUNDAM).
This album is another compilation album, taking various singles and songs
from other full-length albums and releasing them on a "collection" CD. In an
interesting departure, the first track is an instrumental. Synthesizers are
Two-Mix's hallmark, and that's no different in this track. But it is slow
and reflective, more like an atmospheric piece than a dance tune.
The second track, "True Navigation" returns to their more upbeat, dance club
style. The beat is strong, the vocals are good, and it gets your toe
tapping. What more can you ask from a dance tune? Plus, it was the Japanese
ending theme for THE X-FILES. The truth is out there!
The third track, "White Reflection," will be familiar to anime fans as the
opening theme to GUNDAM WING:
ENDLESS WALTZ. It's probably one of the best songs that they've done, and it certainly
stands out here as one of the best tracks on the disc.
Several other songs are from various other sources. For example, "Summer
Planet No. 1" was from a commercial. Hard to believe but true. Still, it's a
catchy dance tune and I don't think anyone was complaining. If only our
commercial music was that good. And "Living Daylights" was the ending for
NBA FAST BREAK, and as such it delivers a powerful amount of energy. And no,
it has nothing to do with the James Bond song of the same name. "Break" was
the B-side of the "Living Daylights" single.
"Can't Stop Love" is unusual because it has less instrumentation than most
other Two-Mix tunes. Of course, it has a very strong, danceable beat, but it
seems a little lighter and therefore more unique than some of the other
offerings on this collection.
Of course, with dance music, one runs the risk of all the songs sounding at
worst exactly the same, and at best slightly similar. Of course, that is the
case here, but since most fans of Two-Mix seem to enjoy their sound, it
doesn't really bother anyone very much.
If you've got a couple of Two-Mix albums already, chances are you already
have several of these songs. While the songs that aren't headliners here are
good, they're not as good as their best work. So it's up to the individual
as to whether or not they want to pursue their Two-Mix fix. If, of course,
you're a big fan of the group, then you probably won't be disappointed by
this album. If, on the other hand, you're only in it for the GUNDAM WING
songs, then you are better off looking for another album, like BPM "BEST FILES," which has more
GUNDAM WING bang for your buck.
King Records
KICS 649
¥3059
Available Now in Japan
Where to buy
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