Final Fantasy VII -Final Fantasy VII-: Clap & Love – Ayaka

	Album Title: Final Fantasy VII -Final Fantasy VII-: Clap & Love – Ayaka
	Record Label: Warner Music Japan
	Catalog No.: WPCL-10428
	Release Date: September 12, 2007
	Purchase: Buy at CDJapan

Overview

This is Ayaka’s sixth single and the normal edition was released on September 5, 2007 while the CD+DVD edition was released a week later on September 12. This single reached #5 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 67,157 copies. “Clap & Love” was used as theme song for the drama Jigoku no Sata mo Yome Shidai, while “Why” was the theme song for the Square Enix video game Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII. Here are my thoughts about the release.

Body

On the normal edition of the single, “Clap & Love” is the first track. The most surprising thing about this song is Ayaka’s lower pitched vocals. I know that her voice is naturally ‘husky’, but it’s even huskier in this song. I did like that it does make her voice sound more soulful though. As for the music, it’s very poppy and it mixes clapping sounds with upbeat electric guitar. The song’s use of the vocoder to create an artificial voice at the beginning and end is also a very cool addition.

On the limited CD+DVD edition, “Why” is the first track. I guess my expectations for this song were a little too high since it was the theme song to a Final Fantasy game. The song sounded very average and bland compared to “Clap & Love”. However, Ayaka still delivers an excellent vocal performance.

On both editions, there is a live version of “Peace Loving People”, the B-side from the Real voice single. This song has somewhat become a staple at Ayaka concerts because she always performs it near the end and always does a little talk before singing it. She also talks during the instrumentals of the song and you can hear the audience clapping in the background. That’s exactly what you get in this fantastic live recording.

Summary

Overall, this is quite an enjoyable release. I don’t think “Why” is a great Final Fantasy theme song, but the overall release captures Ayaka’s style well and should be a decent listen for her fans.

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