Released at the same time as the hit-and-miss Western pop-cover album
Cover All Yo!,
Cover All Ho! is another cover album from
Masayoshi Yamazaki, the singer/songwriter du jour of the Office Augusta roster. However, this time around, the covers are of classic Japanese pop works. The pace tends toward the slower end of the spectrum here, fitting along with the general singer/songwriter aesthetic that
Yamazaki has fostered over the years. At the same time, though, the compositions tend toward the simpler sort technically, not taking advantage of his formidable vocal abilities. A few high points let him use his emotive abilities to a slightly greater degree (such as on the sublime "Tsuki," originally a Keisuke Kuwata song), while others continue to fall just a little flat (the drowsy doo wop of "Sweet Memories").
Yamazaki is closer to his element here vocally than in
Cover All Yo!, but the styles tend to veer wildly away from his better-trained domain of authentic, acoustic, singer/songwriter balladry. ~ Adam Greenberg