Johnny's WEST - Zundoko Paradise RE single review

Artist: Johnny's WEST
Title: Zundoko Paradise
Release date: 02 February 2015
Type: single
Version: RE

Packaging: Being on a Johnny's label the regular edition packaging is pretty basic. In fact outside of two pages, which include the cover, they are all plain white. The cover plus one more picture, which is of the guys in the same outfits they are wearing on the cover, are all the graphics spared for this. And coming in a slim CD jewel case there is no back cover just the front that doubles as the booklet and the CD itself.

Tracks:

1. ズンドコ パラダイス(Zundoko Paradise)
This is basically Ee Jyanai ka 2.0. Or like if the remixed the music for that song a little and put it to different lyrics. I can barely get through listening to the song as all I hear is Ee Jyanai ka and my mind keeps trying to put the lyrics for that song to it.And it just does not seem to bode well for the group if the are already rehashing songs with their third single.

2. SAKURA ～旅立ちのうた～ (SAKURA ~Tabidachi no Uta~)
A nice ballad that does much to wash out the disappointment from the title track. That while it is pleasant to listen to it does not stand out much, outside of the fact that in the chorus the word 'sakura' seems to be repeated quite a bit. Other than that pretty forgettable but nice to have playing in the background if you are like me and listen to music near constantly.

3. 青春ウォーーー!! (Seishun Wao---!!)
My favorite song on the CD. It has good energy and is catchy. In fact I would much rather have had this song be the A-side as at least it is not a complete rip off of another song the group has released before. I love the breakdown in the song past the halfway mark and at the end, it really helps the song stand out and stop it from getting too repetitive. I can picture this being a fun performance of the group to watch easily and think the live version for that reason would be more enjoyable.

4. Time goes by
Not a bad song but sounds rather generic for a Johnny's pop song. In fact I could easily see it as a song Tegomass, NEWS or Kanjani8 would have as a B-side or album track. That said it does lean on the more forgettable side with that though it has a couple of moments that sound like they could have moved onto some more interesting or fresh sounds for the song but instead it slips back to the well established Johnny's sound.


Overall: The B-sides are the saving grace of this release. That is unless you really want another song that sounds just like Ee Jyanai ka. That said I just found myself disappointed with this release. It really shows the flaws of the group, or at least with how it is being managed to be a rehash of what has come before but with less originality used.

I was truly excited for the group when it was announced that they would debut and still do love their debut single. But sadly everything after that does not quite measure up though its not all bad. It is just not good enough for me to keep following them as I originally planned to.