Anri -- All of You

 

Due to various factors, I'm providing my usual second of two articles fairly late at around 11:00 pm tonight. So I figure that I would finish off this KKP Monday with something soothing for the bewitching hour.

The ballad "All of You" by Anri（杏里）was something that I first heard on her 1987 self-cover album "Meditation" which I've always considered to be the gateway with her City Pop past behind her and then her more West Coast dance-oriented R&B in her future. Originally though, "All of You" made its first appearance on her June 1986 9th original album "Mystique". 

Written by Yumi Yoshimoto（吉本由美）and composed by Anri, it's a summer's-end beach sort of ballad about a woman who can no longer follow her boyfriend's dreams overseas and decides reluctantly to head back to Japan, but perhaps if he were to come back home, maybe there is a chance at reconciliation (that last part is just my hope). The song is lovingly arranged by Jun Irie（入江純）although its rush to become a power ballad near the end kinda dents things a bit, also because Anri's voice couldn't quite soar here for some reason like it did for other songs such as "Windy Summer".

A new version of "All of You" was released as Anri's 30th single in June 1994 with Derek Nakamoto as the arranger. This version has a slightly faster tempo and more of that straight R&B feeling. The single peaked at No. 27 and is also available on another self-cover album "16th Summer Breeze" which came out a month after the single. That power ballad part in the original has been switched out with something a little more softer and gospel-oriented which works out better for me.