Oh glorious day! Queen of Pirates has been leaked onto the internet a few days before its official release!
I think what impresses me most about this album is the incredible diversity of styles. Sure, the majority of KAT-TUN’s singles fall into the same general sort of genre, but if you look at their B-sides and albums, this album in particular, you’ll find everything from angsty power ballads to sugary sweet love ballads, from big band style to boy band style, and from almost hard rock to almost techno. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, KAT-TUN’s versatility is one of their biggest advantages over some of the other Johnny’s groups. I cannot imagine Arashi or NewS successfully pulling off a song like Lips, but I have seen KAT-TUN successfully pull off songs similar to Arashi and NewS’ usual fare many a time. KAT-TUN’s other big advantages are named Jin and Kame, but we’re not going to be focusing on that one right now, because it’s time for a track by track review. I’ve also assigned ratings from 1-5 with 5 being the best, mostly just based on how much I like the song.
1. Taboo- The introduction to this song is awesome. It’s kind of a combination of ‘Le Ciel’ and ‘DUES’. The song has a mysterious and exotic feel to it. I couldn’t think of a better track to open this album with, or a concert for that matter. The musical section at the end is sweeping and builds tension for what is to come. My main complaint is that it ends a bit too suddenly, which is why I prefer it as an introduction to something rather than as standalone song. 4/5
2. Keep the Faith- A single. I’m not going to review the singles since I’ve already written about them, but suffice it to say that that it’s in my top 5 KAT-TUN songs. 5/5
3. Affection ~Mou Modorenai~ Hmm. I was expecting a ballad, but this is more of a relaxed mid-tempo song with an R&B feel. There are some interesting points, like the prominent female background vocals (very unusual for Johnny’s!). Overall though, I think this is set too high for most of them except for Jin (his lines at the bridge are great!). I think I would have liked it a lot better as a Jin solo actually, because of both the higher register and the Western feel of the song. It’s pleasant enough I guess, but not one of my favorites from this album. 2.5/5
4. Hell, No- First, can I say how amused I am that they released a song called “hell no” immediately after a single with a prominent “hell yeah” line? That aside, I quite like this song. It really really reminds me of earlier, pre-debut KAT-TUN stuff. It is one of my favorite new tracks from the album. What can I say, I’m a sucker for “catchy” and I love old-school KAT-TUN. 5/5
5. Distance- Powwwwwwwer ballad! And the opening lines go to…Junno? Really? You can probably count the number of KAT-TUN songs where either Jin or Kame don’t have the first solo lines on one hand. I’m glad to see them mixing things up a bit here. As for the actual song, I’ll have to admit, I kind of love power ballads, as uncool as that is. Emotional music will always win me over faster than clever lyrics or artistic composition. I suppose that makes me a very poor music critic in most people’s eyes, huh? Anyway, KAT-TUN has always been good at being loud and angsty, so I fully approve of this one. 5/5
6. Mother/Father- Aw, it’s a sweet and simple little ballad. This time Ueda gets the opening lines, again breaking away from the typical KAT-TUN “pattern”. Ueda has a good voice for soft ballads. Let’s see, the song is nice and touching, but it doesn’t particularly grab me, and the rap section at the end seems out of place. There are better KAT-TUN ballads out there. 3/5
7. Lips- Another single, and perhaps the most hard rock of anything KAT-TUN has produced. It grows on you. 3.5/5
8. Yorokobi no Uta- Two singles in a row? *shrugs*. A fun happy song (happy in the KAT-TUN sense, not the Arashi sense. There is a difference). I like to sing along to this one. 4/5
9. “Un-“ Don’t be confused. The dash is part of the song title. Yay for Japanese songs and their random punctuation! Where was I? Oh yeah. The song. It sounds like a boring filler track from an Arashi album to me. After listening to it I couldn’t even remember the chorus. It reminds me of “Rush of Light”. Unfortunately, I really don’t like “Rush of Light” Next. 1/5
10. Our Story ~Prologue~ Not to bring up the punctuation again, but this is the second title featuring unnecessary tildes. Not that I can talk *clears throat*. I don’t know why they put this song right after “Un-“. The feel is way too similar. “Our Story” is much less boring, but the chorus is just a bit too sappy for my tastes. I’m reminded of Disney music. That’s how sappy-sounding we’re talking here. The key change towards the end almost saves it for me though. Almost. 2.5/5
11. Nannen Tattemo- The last song of the regular edition album is a disco-flavored dance number. Again, they’re playing in a range that’s a bit too high for most of them. *sigh*. I wish they would stop doing that. There’s nothing too special or outstanding about this song for me. 1.5/5
12. Shot- We’re in limited edition territory now, and out of nowhere: big band sound! How cool is that? I’m especially impressed with all of their singing here. The song is catchy and unusual. A winner in my book! 4/5
13. 12 o’clock- Oooh. Once the music starts the introduction for this song is veeery sexy. The song itself utilizes vocal distortion for a techno sound though the instrumental isn’t pure techno at all. This is yet another creative and different sound for KAT-TUN, and the song makes me feel like dancing. I guess it could be a bit weird for some people’s tastes, but I like it a lot. It ends with a kiss, bringing back the sexy. I wish I knew who it’s from! 4.5/5
14. Ai no Command- With lots of heavy guitar and a dark feel, this is the most “rock” of the new album tracks. KAT-TUN’s playing to their strengths here, so it’s pretty good, though I find myself wanting something more from the chorus. I’m not sure what. Just… something more. 3/5
15. Six Senses- Why this song didn’t get a proper studio release before this is beyond me. Everybody loves it, don’t they? Then again, what better way to end an album than by giving fans something they’ve been wanting for quite a while? It makes me very happy to have a high quality version of this now. All I can say is that they had better perform it on their concert tour. 4.5/5
Excuse me for fangirling for a minute, but Jin’s voice might be the best thing about this album for me. He can be inconsistent in singing live on occasion, I know this, but in studio recordings there’s no one in KAT-TUN who can even come close to his vocal ability and his silky smooth tone. His solo lines are the stand-out point of almost every song almost every time. Even if Jin wasn’t half as hot as he is, I swear upwards, downwards, backwards and forwards that I would still be in love with his voice. The Cartoon KAT-TUN II U album really suffered from lackluster song composition, but the absence of Jin’s voice was the nail in the coffin for me. Needless to say, I much prefer this album to that one. I can’t rank it over KAT-TUN’s first album though. It represented the best of 6 years of collected songs, and I doubt they will ever be able to top that in a single album. So, Queen of Pirates is now my 2nd favorite of the 3 KAT-TUN albums.
In summary, the album started off strong, loses steam towards the end of the regular edition, but finishes off with a bang with the excellent limited edition tracks. If you buy this album, do spring for the limited edition. Overall, it’s strong and varied with a little something for everybody and very few tracks that sound like filler. I was not disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either. Highly recommended listening! 
Yarrr,
~Celestia~
PS. Do you need downloads? I’m sure you can find them if you look hard enough, but if people ask nicely I suppose I could upload it here.
konnichiwa celestia!!! thank you so much for the review. it was really detailed and it s really getting me wanting to listen to their tracks because I haven t listened to them yet . the only problem is I can t find the tracks anywhere so can you upload them for me please ! that would be great . anyway keep up the good job on your site!!! it looks great!!
Ah~ Lemme shake your hands lemme shake your hands *glomps*
You read my thoughts~!! You read my feelings~!! Especially for “Affection” and “Hell no” (still don’t get why someone she knows doesn’t like Hell no… Hmm…)
I like “Un-” though… Maybe because it’s too cheesy… and rainbow-like to the extent it makes me laugh real hard. But seriously, I hope that would be dear KAT-TUN’s first and last song of the like >0<
Love “Distance” too, the solo lines of Junno really rock (for once I don’t wanna break something while listening to him… lmaoz, no offense, Junno’s ❤ but somehow everything he does itches me, in a good way though… He’s just an annoying cutie) However, the part I love most in that song is Jin’s? *I know I’m totally biased, still I can’t help but think Jin’s and Kame’s low parts make the song a bit deeper. Though that song bores me a little at the end…
*sighs* It pains me still listening to Nannen tattemo… How I wished it were a ballad… *wonders if they’ll sing Crazy Love or Love, or Lovin’ U in the tour, since those 3 are too good to be missed out*
thanks for gving a review…about your comments regarding the albums, i think CKT II YOU is a really a good one, they pulled it off without Jin, yeah he has a nice voice but the other members have their own style lyk Nakamaru, i dnt agree with you gvng Nannen Tattemo a 1.5/5, sorry….i think its unique and the chord progression is playful,its actually one of my favorite songs in the album, i’ve listened to all the songs already i cant help but think that you’ve been a little biased? giving high scores to those songs where Jin would have more parts.
You think so? I like Nakamaru’s voice, probably 2nd best out of KAT-TUN, but the song itself didn’t really interest me. Same with most of the songs on the CTKII You album. They just all seemed…uninspired. I might have liked them a bit better if Jin was there, but it would still be my least favorite of their albums. And Jin has plenty of parts in the songs I gave low scores too also…he has plenty of parts in almost every song.
Anyway, to each their own.
well, we have our own opinions, honestly i really think Jin has the best voice in KT because it’s flexible and he cn sing high notes smoothly but i won’t listen to him all the time, i would say Maru has the most soothing voice, deep and dramatic actually thats why i love listening to him…I was a bit disappointed when I found out that Jin wasn’t in most of CKT II you, ofcourse I’d like them complete but because of that album they proved how good they are, after lisening to the songs a couple of times, i found myself saying that Jin missed alot of fun, he missed a lot of beautiful songs, most of my favorite songs are included in that album again because of their quality and song structure
I have to agree with you about your review for this album. May be i’m bias fangirl but Jin voice is not only good but it’s also charming while other like Nakamara also has a good voice but not charming for me. I don’t think it’s important for me whom sing first or second part of the song every line is important but the most important thing is whom can bring the emotion of the song most like Blue Tuesday jin wasn’t the first one whom sing but i like Jin voice in this song… But i’m happy that this album everyone can step forward for some song and Jin help sing for some part that make song more lively such distance.
PUH-LEASE celestia-san! Have mercy on us who are a hundred miles away from Japan, who can’t grab a copy of that album! PUH-LEASE upload those songs! I am so intruigued by your review.
Celestia-san onegaishimasu! Thanks,
^check the next post hon
nice review…
I love Jin’s voice, even if didn’t sing at all…
One of the best voice i’ve ever heard…
But I love others’ voice too, because every voice has their own style…
Something about KAT-TUN songs that I never bored, I dunno, but for me Jin and Kame as the main singer is the best, because their voice match each other and have wild, sexy, and emotional feel… That’s why I like most of the reffrain part of their songs…
yo~ Jin has a diversified voice in all KAT-TUN, i agree with that, i would even say and swear to all the sides of this universe that he has the best singing voice in JE…but saying that Cartoon KAT-TUN II You album suffers from lackluster mode because Jin was not part of it is somewhat a little biased. and the songs seems so uninspired? how come? so you mean you don’t like CtKT II You because your favorite is not there? is it really the voice or the owner? and everything KAT-TUN doesn’t have to just evolve around Jin, thus this review gave me the impression that you are giving this review to only show how Jin is special to you.
“The Cartoon KAT-TUN II U album really suffered from lackluster song composition, but the absence of Jin’s voice was the nail in the coffin for me.”
^nail in the coffin only for YOU.
anyways, its your own opinion. but on giving reviews my dear, all must be layed properly. being biased is one big no-no…
ah, I think you misunderstood. What I meant is that I thought the songs were poorly composed regardless of who was singing them, and regardless of Jin’s presence or absence. I wouldn’t have liked that album much even if Jin were there, but having him gone made it even worse.
i agree with eri, hate to say this but i happen to study music, also giving my own reviews to the songs, aside from being an obvious jin fan…i can see that you like rock songs? you gave high scores to those songs that had a rock feeling to it, or the wilder songs in the album, i think…still cant agree with you for saying that cktkt 2 u is the least among the three kt albums, you just seem to hate it or not like it because jin is not there so admit it….incase you dont know, those songs that you think were poorly composed were actually better, adventurous and had substance….again, its your opinion, just cant agree with you….and don’t be biased
how can i not be biased in giving my opinion?? it’s my opinion for goodness sake. And I don’t hate the album, i just like it the least out of the three.
“I wouldn’t have liked that album much even if Jin were there, but having him gone made it even worse.” — oh dear, what made you say that having him gone made it worse? is it like because kt-tun made it even though he’s stuck in LA? pardon to all Jin fans, no offense, I am also a Jin fan, but the album is a solid and living proof that they can make it! the kt-tun! maybe, and a probability of a 86% of not having Jin on the album is what made you list it as the least out of the three…
and another thing. the rap section on mother/father is not out of place. it fits just right. and for nan nen tatte mo? had you ever listened to it carefully? is it because it has this 70 disco feeling?
i like disco, just not the song. also, I’m tired of this argument, so I’m through here.
hey celestia…after reading your blog for a while and came across this review several times but never leave a reply…gomen-ne This time, i have time to read those arguments…maybe a bit laggard but wanna share sth..
Go…Girl…I think people is entitled to their own opinion…needless to say, this is your blog, do whatever you feel like it…
I also love this QOP album after Best of KT…CKTIIU was lacking sth indeed..
Keep writing and posting…I’m waiting for your con report though..
Have a great time in JP
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