First,
thanks goes to Jessica Stan for sending this in for
review!
Asuca Hayashi is often called a prodigy, and while I haven't tracked her career in later years her early start as a musician is nothing short of amazing. Hayashi burst on the scene in 2003 at the young age of 13, featuring vocal range that defies her youth. This single, which was produced around the time of Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2003) and features the end song from that film, marks some of her earliest work and one of the best songs used in the Pokémon franchise.
In total, the disc contains four tracks,
although the content is somewhat doubled up. First is the "Single Mix" to "Small Things", which is the same exact cue that appears off the Pocket Monsters: The Wishing Star of Seven Nights - Music Collection (ZMCP-1579) CD. The song is, probably more than any other, Hayashi's claim to fame as it excellently demonstrates the artist's range. The music by Takahiro Yamautsuri also perfectly accelerates the mood, making the track seem all the more epic as it swells. For those who like Yamautsuri's music, the disc also rounds out its runtime with an instrumental version of the song which allows the piano work to standout more. Furthermore, the disc also contains a promotional clip for Small Things.
Like most singles, the disc also has a second song, which in this case is "I Want to Be a Swallow". The song is softer, rustic and oddly enough being more on the pop side, which makes it feel very different from "Small Things". Both songs are excellent, although the weakness of the disc is found in the third track. "I Want to Be a Small Swallow" is actually the same song sung in Mandarin and while it's not horrible... it feels off. The track doesn't match the tempo of the background music even half as well as its Japanese counterpart. Truthfully, an instrumental version of this track would have been far more welcome than the Mandarin version that was included.
Overall, singles in general are hard to recommend to soundtrack fans unless the content was never released on the actual soundtracks, as applies for the singles created for The Gransazers (2003) for example. In this case, the best song, "Small Things", is already found on the movie's CD soundtrack. Still, the second song is good enough that, if found at a good price, this CD might make a worthwhile listen ever so often.
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