Ayako Kawasumi contributed her vocal talent to three songs on Uematsu's "Blue Dragon" OST. All three of those songs came, in full form, on this single.

"My Tears and the Sky" (or, if you prefer, "Watashi no Mizu to Sora"), is the game's primary vocal theme, one that was saved for the ending (even though it's the first track of this single). Kawasumi makes a soft, breathy performance alongside an even softer strumming guitar and some relaxing string arrangements. Running in a slow 12/8 time signature, the song is something like a lullaby. It's definitely peaceful, but in and of itself, it feels more like it ought to be a B-side rather than a feature song for a game.

If you ever wanted to wander into a Japanese pre-school and listen to the children sing a song before naptime, you'd probably hear something similar to Kawasumi's "Happy Birthday." Kawasumi either sang the melody twice over, or else copied the voice track and had it slightly off-set to create the illusion that a group of people were singing the song. There are a few points in the song where she joins herself with a descant harmony, which happens to be my favorite part of this very soft song.

So, if you (and all children within a half-mile radius) weren't put to sleep by the first two songs, you get to hear "BAD BUT BAT." This song is a pop-friendly island song with predictable chord progression and the most childish voices yet on the album. This is just straight silly stuff. My favorite part of this song is the opening voice singing "ha-aaaaaah! La la la la (etc)." It sets a great feel for the song, which is then destroyed by an entirely too nasal/childish performance from Kawasumi. If the Japanese were to make their own dub of Fraggle Rock, it might sound something like this...but the Fraggle Rock project would be cooler on account of it being Fraggle Rock.

Yeah...I don't get it. I don't understand why someone would want to own a single like this. The fact that all the songs appear on the Blue Dragon OST is more than enough reason to ditch the possibility of grabbing this single separately. If my words weren't enough, the samples should convince you that this one probably isn't worth getting.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann