Konami and Red’s joint project “Mitsumete Knight” received the royal musical treatment when it was released: an OST, an instrumental arranged album, and a vocal collection. Among the three, it’s not difficult for me to pinpoint my favorite album: the instrumental album, “Concerto.” However, it’s equally easy for me to say that all three albums are excellent, and the “Vocalize” album is just more great stuff from Konami’s Kukeiha Club.
Coming from an all-star cast of composers, arrangers, and vocalists, this vocal album stars four key female characters from the game. The album’s liner notes lists them as Sophia Robelingue, Priscila Dolphan, Lesley Lopicana, and “Anne” (no last name). Anne gets one song, Sophia gets three, and the others get two each. Each and every vocal performance is simple and enjoyable. Synthy jazz pop ballads are on the ballot, and I vote “yes” to all of them.
Three short drama tracks break up the soft, relaxing vocal tracks. There’s an intro, an outro, and a short break in the middle. This middle track, Track 5, had some heartfelt dialogue in it. My knowledge of Japanese is not too impressive, but I heard the girl ask, “doshite Kamisama?”, which means “Why, God?” Take that to mean what you will, but the way the line was delivered was excellent. I can’t think of an English equivalent that could be pulled off without sounding trite or fake.
It’s difficult to say which character vocal I like the most. Really, they’re all beautiful. Some sound more sophisticated, and others sound more childlike: but none of them are nasal or annoying, which is a breath of fresh air after all the crappy vocal albums I’ve heard over the years.
Konami’s Kukeiha Club musicians did such an excellent job with the music backing the vocalists, and the vocalists delivered such a great performance, I can’t help but love this little treasure. The quality and style of the vocals are like early Falcom vocal albums, but perhaps a little more refined in terms of production. If you like the style, this may be the pinnacle of that style. The album is an incredibly hard find, but I suggest you collectors do your best to find it. It trumps most of Konami’s other vocal albums (see the slew of Tokimeki vocal albums…), and it’s better than what most small-time publishers release as vocal albums.
