JASMINE - My One...And Only

You guys, I love "ONE." This is a great song. The more I hear it, the more I love it. It's bassy, strong, bold, perfectly performed, gorgeously produced, and the lyrics are even good. Add to this incredible song the beautifully constructed PV - easily one of my very favorites of the year, and likely to become one of my favorite of all time - and... Well, I mean, god-DYAM. Listen to it. Listen to it now! Here: I'll pause the review so you can listen/watch/be impressed.

So now that you see what I mean, I have a question:

How?! How did this incredible song become the A-side to such an otherwise lame single? There's the Mighty Crown remix of "dear my friend" - it's a decent song, and the remix imbues it with a ska sort of vibe that's pretty "different" - and "DREAMIN'" is a good song, though I dislike the choice to include a live version rather than a studio version. Both are just mediocre songs that neither drag down nor pull up the single. But the "ONE" acoustic live version is a sin against the song. Let's not mince words. It would be better if this version of the song had never been born. I like the concept - a capella plus bongo. Ooh! Artsy! But instead of being avant-garde, it's bad in a "hipsters drinking cigarette-tasting coffee" way. The backup singers make Jasmine sound off-key half the time and force her off-key the other half. The drums doesn't suit the feeling of the song and are flatly performed, playing the same rhythm over and over with little variation that would contribute to a better performance. It's like the studio version somehow died and Jasmine tried to resurrect it from the far side of the Black Gate, foolishly thinking that Equivalent Trade and strong alchemy powers would be enough. Well guess what, Jasmine? IT'S NOT ENOUGH. Now you've turned the song into a freaking homunculus. Good going.

Sum up: this album would be so worth it...if the studio version of "ONE" was the only track. As it is, just don't look at those other tracks and maybe you'll be able to get away alive.