Relive a romantic winter with Koda Kumi.
In 2008, Koda Kumi released many great songs, so the expectations for stay with me, her last single promoting her Trick album, were very high. Fortunately, the winter love ballad proved to be as successful as her previous single TABOO, and eventually it became her 6th single to top Oricon’s Top Ten.
stay with me is a quiet song consisting of piano and a strings section mixed with the delicate sound of bells, which creates a very romantic atmosphere. The calm, even and soothing voice of Koda Kumi completes it. It is worth mentioning that the song has a simple, slightly slow beat and her vocals don't stifle the other instruments. It's a change from Kumi's usual music style, which tends to use a lot synth.
The B-side, Winter Bell, is slightly faster and a more Christmas-oriented song. As the title implies, the song is full of various bells, from tolling church bells to jingling sleigh bells. This sets up a lovely Christmas atmosphere. The beat and melody are kept in similar style to the previous song, so it maintains the romantic mood. The instrumental versions of these two songs are also nice to listen to.
The only thing that spoils this otherwise excellent release is the alternate arrangement version of stay with me. Even though the song's length is cut in half and it still sounds very delicate, it somewhat ruins the single's romantic mood. It would have been better if they had put an orchestra version instead, or just stopped with four songs. Fortunately, the single as a whole is so enjoyable to listen to that the listener won't notice the passing time.
In a nutshell, stay with me is ideal background music for lovers to listen to during long, winter evenings.
