G
Galaxy
GuestALBUM REVIEW: SUPER JUNIOR – “TIMELESS”
Written by: Galaxy
In October 2019, Super Junior made their first comeback as a full group (or almost) in ten years, with their ninth full album titled "Time Slip". In the past couple of years, the members have been quite active in the music industry and dropped numerous solo and sub-unit songs, along with an EP that was recorded with eight members in 2018. After successfully experimenting Latin sounds ("Lo Siento", "One More Time"), it was assumed that Super Junior would go back to their roots — and with more than 400,000 physical copies sold, "Time Slip" proved that idols can never be considered too old to release a successful K-pop album. When their music shows' promotions ended, the group went back to their studio and recorded four additional songs to feature on the album's repackage titled "Timeless". After writing my opinion on the four pre-releases of "Time Slip", this time I'm back with a complete review of this repackage. Whether you agree with my thoughts or not, I hope you will enjoy this article and find some Super Junior songs to add to your playlist!
'2YA2YAO!'(NEW SONG)
For this repackage, Super Junior decided to surprise fans by collaborating with Zico, who produced the main track "2YA2YAO!" — and from the moment they dropped the news, it immediately became clear that the song would be related to the hip-hop genre. The group has always been known for their ability to change concepts with every comeback, but I must admit that this one got me worried as they had never tried anything similar for a main track. The teaser proved itself to be promising: I found the beat quite unique and catchy, even though it wasn't anything revolutionary. Kyuhyun's vocals in the chorus were as strong as ever and, after being deprived of his vocals in "Super Clap" a few months ago, it felt amazing to hear him sing such an important part of the song. However, when I first gave a listen to the whole track, I couldn't help but be disappointed. I was waiting for the members' strong vocals to compliment the amazing background music and give the whole song that unique "Super Junior" sound, but it didn't happen. I really don't understand the need to alter the members' vocals in the most important parts of the song, and among Yesung, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun (the main singers), only the latter's voice will remain 100% recognisable to the casual listener. Because of its autotuned chorus, "2YA2YAO!" almost sounds like something that SM could have released a decade ago. This "new-but-old" feeling gets even stronger when we analyse the set of music video - we are more or less back to the "box" sets that were SM's pride and joy in the late 2000's-early 2010's. This being said, the song remains powerful and the group dealt with the concept with skills and cleverness, and after a few listens, my initial disappointment slowly faded away. If you found it difficult to stop shouting "Ayayayaya" everytime you listened to "Mamacita" (2014), the "iyaiyao" line which starts every chorus will remain stuck in your head for a long time. The members also know how to make a performance look good despite having only a few strong dancers, and Eunhyuk and Shindong's moves are definitely the highlight of the choreography. All in all, "2YA2YAO!" will immediately be considered a banger by many casual listeners, but fans may spend more time analysing details and end up either loving or hating the song, depending on what they wanted for this comeback and their opinion on autotune.
8/10
'THE CROWN'(PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'악몽 TICKY TOCKY' (NEW SONG)
"Ticky Tocky" is less fast-paced than the first two tracks of this repackage, which allows the listener to breathe a little. In terms of genre, it isn't as funky-sounding as most of their recent b-sides, but it isn't as unsettling as you'd expect it to be. "Ticky Tocky" tells us the story of a man who wanders through the darkness of the night, and his nightmare ends thanks to someone who manages to "seduce" him. However, it isn't necessary to read the lyrics to understand the feelings that the song tries to convey — the slow beat, instrumentals, smooth vocals and the repetition of "ticky tocky" in the chorus and bridge, almost like a ticking clock, managed to make me feel like I was longing for something, anything, to happen and wake me up from some kind of trance. All vocalists and rappers get to use their abilities at the right time and, even though we can hear some more than others, it seems like they spent time matching each line with the member who would sing it best. Surprisingly, Eunhyuk is the member we can hear the most in the main line of the song — his voice, which is way softer than most of the others' (he's the group's rapper) fits the atmosphere perfectly. Our usual vocalists are still very much present nonetheless, and their harmonies and adlibs sound like heaven to my ears as they counterbalance the chorus' chill vibe. After listening to the four new songs of this repackage a few times, "Ticky Tocky" is that one track I can sing along with ease, and it's now officially on repeat in my music library.
9.75/10
'Shadow (赤霞)' (NEW SONG)
"Shadow" is the fourth song of this repackage and, once again, it sounds nothing like the previous track and brings a completely different mood... or so I thought when I first listened to it. When the song started, my mind just went back to the b-sides Super Junior-M used to release back in the days, and I could perfectly imagine Henry's vocals sing the first line (0:10-0:15). That feeling stuck with me through the whole track and, even though I love SJ-M's discography, "Shadow" kinda felt out of place in an album that starts with "2YA2YAO", "The Crown" and "Ticky Tocky". It took me some time to stop focusing on the cheerful, almost summer-ish vibes of the verses and chorus to catch the song's subtle hints at a more gloomy atmosphere — which was, in the end, perfectly visible in its title. The members don't push their voice as much as they usually do when they're singing lighthearted stories, and only Yesung's soulful vocals get to explode louder than the rest in the bridge, definitely sounding darker than the first minutes of the song. The lyrics finally gave me the explanation I needed, and they are surprisingly similar to the ones written for "Ticky Tocky" — they only replaced their alluring savior with an oppressive presence they can't get rid of. To me, "Shadow" is full of contradictions, enjoyable but not that memorable, and the perfect example of a track that needs a few listens to be fully appreciated.
6.75/10
'SUPER Clap' (PREVIOUS TITLE TRACK)
"SUPER Clap" served as the title track for the first edition of this 9th album, "Time Slip", released in October. It was the first time the members of Super Junior got to promote as a "full group" after ten years of military enlistments, so this comeback was highly anticipated by their fans — and, let's be honest, by all their detractors who think that a group should disband once the members turn 30 years old. With "SUPER Clap", the nine men prove that you don't need to be a teenager to sing about having fun, and I felt the hype from the very first time I heard it. The song follows the recipe that can make any K-pop song successful: it has a catchy chorus, a gimmick that you'll be sure to remember (you can follow the beat by clapping, just like the title invites you to do), nice vocals, a fun music video, and a simple choreography you can learn after a few viewings. The song is all one needs to feel contented but, as an ELF, I'll allow myself to be picky and share one complaint: Kyuhyun, who was the last member to return after his discharge in May 2019, was given a total of two solo lines — and had to share the few others he got with Ryeowook and Leeteuk. Even the choreographer took pity on him and gave him a dance part at the end of the music video, but it isn't really what we'd expect to see from a main vocalist (and arguably the best in the industry, on top of that) for his grand comeback.
9.5/10
'I Think I' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'Game'
A few weeks before their October comeback, Super Junior started teasing "Time Slip" with their V-Live show "SJ Returns 3". We quickly discovered that the group was first keen on choosing "Game" instead of "SUPER Clap" as the album's title track — and when fans got to listen to the whole song, many of them immediately praised Ryeowook for speaking against it. "Game" appears to be the successor of "Scene Stealer", a song from Super Junior's eighth album "Play" (2017) that was supposed to be promoted on music shows before they decided to replace it with "Black Suit". Just like its predecessor, "Game" tries to mix hip-hop and funky vibes with verses mostly made of rap parts, and a chorus sung by the group's strongest vocalists. Even though we are used to hear K-pop songs blend several music genres, "Game" fails at being as groundbreaking as it intended to be, instead it makes me skip to the next track everytime I listen to the album. While the chorus is full of great vocals and will definitely get you hooked, the verses fall flat and show the limits of the rappers in the group. Out of those numerous rap parts, only Eunhyuk's are more or less pleasant to my ears — the worst being Leeteuk's, who proves how much a solid sub-vocalist (2:30 to 2:40) can be done dirty when given a line that doesn't suit his abilities (1:54 to 1:58). Now that all members of Super Junior have become skilled singers (yes, dancers and rappers included), I want to see them use their talent and hear them sing, not waste their time on never-ending chaotic rap parts.
3/10
'Somebody New' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'Skydive'
The ninth song of this repackage manages to bring the album back on tracks with its unique way to tackle the concept of time. In "Skydive", there is no ticking clock or never-ending fall into darkness; its title is an invitation to leave all worries behind us and go fly over the clouds, and I was ready to do just that as soon as I reached the end of the first verse. Actually, there is no need to read the lyrics to understand what the song is about: its fast-paced beat makes us feel the thrill of diving into the sky and it almost seems like we're gliding above earth with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun whenever they tell us to "fly" with them (0:53 to 1:05, 2:28 to 2:40, 3:31 to 3:43). The rest of the song is a little less impressive at times but I don't see it as a flaw, as it allows the listener to breathe a little between amazing high notes. Shindong and Leeteuk smoothly build the anticipation for the main vocalists' parts, while the chorus and bridge make a good use of Donghae's abilities — he is now the only "official" lead vocalist left in the group but, up until this ninth track, he didn't get any real opportunity to shine as a singer. "Skydive" makes me feel like I'm following the members in a new adventure, and lifts my mood up everytime I listen to it.
9/10
'Heads Up'
There is no Super Junior album without a sexy song and "Heads Up", the tenth track of this repackage, is here to fulfill that duty. If you're curious enough to go search for the lyrics, you will see that they leave little to no place for imagination — the members describe mature interactions between them and a girl with lips dyed "wine read". This game of seduction gets a perfect start with Yesung singing the first line and getting many more later, his raspy voice being amazing to hear on such a song. Just like with "Ticky Tocky", the group knows how to distribute parts cleverly between all members. Aside from Yesung's ones, I especially enjoy the choruses — Kyuhyun, Siwon and Ryeowook brought a unique flavour to them — and Eunhyuk's smoother vocals at the beginning of the second verse. Still, if I had to compare similar Super Junior songs with "Heads Up", my preference wouldn't go to the latter. The pre-chorus sounds a little too "cliché" to me, as if it just followed instructions on which instrumentals to use to make a song sexier, making me lose focus for a few seconds before the next part thankfully gets me hooked again. No matter the mentioned small flaw, "Heads Up" definitely remains one of the best b-sides of "Timeless". I just wish the group had created a special stage with dancers and props during their Super Show tour, instead of a simple choreography that doesn't do the song justice.
8.5/10
'Stay With Me'
"Stay With Me" was given the difficult task to succeed "Skydive" and "Heads Up", and this soft-pop/RnB song has a quality that needs to be mentioned first and foremost. Given its genre, there is no need for goosebumps-inducing vocals or prodigious adlibs, which puts all members on equal ground — it allows our sub-vocalists Shindong and Leeteuk to snatch some chorus parts and sing them with ease, making me anticipate them whenever I listen to the song. However, "Stay With Me" is the eleventh track of this repackage and, at this point, I was waiting for what I'd consider to be the first filler to appear. Unfortunately my expectations became reality and the song didn't have as much impact on me as the rest, in fact I feel like it lacks of identity: it fits perfectly in Super Junior's recent discography but it could have been featured on "Devil" (2015), or "Play" (2017), and it wouldn't have added any more value to those albums than it does to "Timeless". Even the lyrics don't bring anything new to the table, they just describe the attraction a person can feel for another with no real poetry whatsoever. Overall, "Stay With Me" leaves me quite emotionless, and I don't care enough about it to either replay or skip it.
5/10
'Rock Your Body' (NEW SONG)
"Rock Your Body", the twelfth track of this repackage, was written by Donghae. The group's lead singer and dancer has been making songs for the group for a few years already but, until the release of the album, we didn't know what this new one would sound like — and we were left to guess its genre with few hints posted here and there. The title of the song quickly made it clear that we shouldn't be expecting anything similar to "One More Chance" (the amazing ballad that he had composed for "Play" in 2017) and we were told it would only feature Eunhyuk, Ryeowook, Yesung and Donghae himself. With such information, "Rock Your Body" was definitely the repackage track I was curious about the most, and even though the song is quite messy at times, I wasn't disappointed. From the very first seconds it was catchy enough to make me focus entirely on what I was hearing (a blessing, since it comes right after "Stay With Me"). For those who are familiar with Super Junior-D&E's discography, "Rock Your Body" holds the same power as "Danger" (2019) but it definitely does better by slowing down the pace of the raps, using less noisy instrumentals and adding powerful vocals at the right moments. Donghae's vocals can be heard the most through the song, but he cleverly let Yesung and Ryeowook take over when their skills were needed. Making two members of the "performance" unit record with two main vocalists was definitely a great idea, and as much as I can't help missing the ones who didn't participate (it's still a Super Junior album after all), the song itself does not suffer from their absence. I know "Rock Your Body" is too chaotic to suit everyone's taste, but I can't help enjoying it and singing along its chorus everytime I listen to it.
8/10
'No Drama'
For the thirteenth track of the album titled "No Drama", our usual trio of main vocalists (Yesung, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun) unite their forces with the group's main rapper (Eunhyuk) and their leader (Leeteuk) while the rest of the members are nowhere to be seen. When I first listened to this mid-tempo song I was quite perplexed and didn't really know what to think. On one hand, I was entirely content with its slower pace and the emotions it was trying to convey, as the laid-back instrumentals made me want to close my eyes and forget everything else. The lyrics, which are full of pleas for the boys' significant others not to leave them, are more wistful than I expected them to be, but they are still sung in a very smooth tone. Once more, I have little to no criticism to give on the vocals — all members adapted their singing/rapping to the mood of the song, and a few lines (especially Kyuhyun and Yesung's ones) sound like heaven to my ears. On the other hand, I felt that the song was lacking something that I couldn't identify and which would have made the whole thing more memorable. I was going to give it as much consideration as "Stay With Me" and call it a filler that could be replaced with any other random song, however, the track still has many qualities and it ended up growing on me after a few listens. I feel like "No Drama" can fully show a true potential because of its new position in this repackage (in "Time Slip" it was placed after "Stay With Me", a filler to me) — it gives us a much-needed break between the powerful "Rock Your Body" and the festive "Show".
6,25/10
'Show' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
To conclude this long review I'd like to say that I'm very pleased with this album and its repackage as a whole. Only one of the songs ("Game") has been banned from entering my music library, and the new songs that dropped a few weeks ago give a new dimension to the original album. "Timeless" has officially become one of my favorite Super Junior repackages, and I've been listening to it on repeat in the past few weeks . However, even though it remains a very solid record which perfectly showcases all members' abilities, I don't think "Timeless" is better than its predecessor, "Replay" (2018). Now that the members are getting used to work with a fixed lineup, I can only hope that they will feel comfortable enough to get involved even more in the writing of their releases — almost fifteen years after their debut there is no doubt that they are skilled enough to make it happen, and that would be the release that could finally exceed all expectations.
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Artistic Creativity: 8,75/10
Vocal Quality: 10/10
Music: 7,4/10
8,7/10
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Written by: Galaxy
In October 2019, Super Junior made their first comeback as a full group (or almost) in ten years, with their ninth full album titled "Time Slip". In the past couple of years, the members have been quite active in the music industry and dropped numerous solo and sub-unit songs, along with an EP that was recorded with eight members in 2018. After successfully experimenting Latin sounds ("Lo Siento", "One More Time"), it was assumed that Super Junior would go back to their roots — and with more than 400,000 physical copies sold, "Time Slip" proved that idols can never be considered too old to release a successful K-pop album. When their music shows' promotions ended, the group went back to their studio and recorded four additional songs to feature on the album's repackage titled "Timeless". After writing my opinion on the four pre-releases of "Time Slip", this time I'm back with a complete review of this repackage. Whether you agree with my thoughts or not, I hope you will enjoy this article and find some Super Junior songs to add to your playlist!
'2YA2YAO!'(NEW SONG)
For this repackage, Super Junior decided to surprise fans by collaborating with Zico, who produced the main track "2YA2YAO!" — and from the moment they dropped the news, it immediately became clear that the song would be related to the hip-hop genre. The group has always been known for their ability to change concepts with every comeback, but I must admit that this one got me worried as they had never tried anything similar for a main track. The teaser proved itself to be promising: I found the beat quite unique and catchy, even though it wasn't anything revolutionary. Kyuhyun's vocals in the chorus were as strong as ever and, after being deprived of his vocals in "Super Clap" a few months ago, it felt amazing to hear him sing such an important part of the song. However, when I first gave a listen to the whole track, I couldn't help but be disappointed. I was waiting for the members' strong vocals to compliment the amazing background music and give the whole song that unique "Super Junior" sound, but it didn't happen. I really don't understand the need to alter the members' vocals in the most important parts of the song, and among Yesung, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun (the main singers), only the latter's voice will remain 100% recognisable to the casual listener. Because of its autotuned chorus, "2YA2YAO!" almost sounds like something that SM could have released a decade ago. This "new-but-old" feeling gets even stronger when we analyse the set of music video - we are more or less back to the "box" sets that were SM's pride and joy in the late 2000's-early 2010's. This being said, the song remains powerful and the group dealt with the concept with skills and cleverness, and after a few listens, my initial disappointment slowly faded away. If you found it difficult to stop shouting "Ayayayaya" everytime you listened to "Mamacita" (2014), the "iyaiyao" line which starts every chorus will remain stuck in your head for a long time. The members also know how to make a performance look good despite having only a few strong dancers, and Eunhyuk and Shindong's moves are definitely the highlight of the choreography. All in all, "2YA2YAO!" will immediately be considered a banger by many casual listeners, but fans may spend more time analysing details and end up either loving or hating the song, depending on what they wanted for this comeback and their opinion on autotune.
8/10
'THE CROWN'(PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'악몽 TICKY TOCKY' (NEW SONG)
"Ticky Tocky" is less fast-paced than the first two tracks of this repackage, which allows the listener to breathe a little. In terms of genre, it isn't as funky-sounding as most of their recent b-sides, but it isn't as unsettling as you'd expect it to be. "Ticky Tocky" tells us the story of a man who wanders through the darkness of the night, and his nightmare ends thanks to someone who manages to "seduce" him. However, it isn't necessary to read the lyrics to understand the feelings that the song tries to convey — the slow beat, instrumentals, smooth vocals and the repetition of "ticky tocky" in the chorus and bridge, almost like a ticking clock, managed to make me feel like I was longing for something, anything, to happen and wake me up from some kind of trance. All vocalists and rappers get to use their abilities at the right time and, even though we can hear some more than others, it seems like they spent time matching each line with the member who would sing it best. Surprisingly, Eunhyuk is the member we can hear the most in the main line of the song — his voice, which is way softer than most of the others' (he's the group's rapper) fits the atmosphere perfectly. Our usual vocalists are still very much present nonetheless, and their harmonies and adlibs sound like heaven to my ears as they counterbalance the chorus' chill vibe. After listening to the four new songs of this repackage a few times, "Ticky Tocky" is that one track I can sing along with ease, and it's now officially on repeat in my music library.
9.75/10
'Shadow (赤霞)' (NEW SONG)
"Shadow" is the fourth song of this repackage and, once again, it sounds nothing like the previous track and brings a completely different mood... or so I thought when I first listened to it. When the song started, my mind just went back to the b-sides Super Junior-M used to release back in the days, and I could perfectly imagine Henry's vocals sing the first line (0:10-0:15). That feeling stuck with me through the whole track and, even though I love SJ-M's discography, "Shadow" kinda felt out of place in an album that starts with "2YA2YAO", "The Crown" and "Ticky Tocky". It took me some time to stop focusing on the cheerful, almost summer-ish vibes of the verses and chorus to catch the song's subtle hints at a more gloomy atmosphere — which was, in the end, perfectly visible in its title. The members don't push their voice as much as they usually do when they're singing lighthearted stories, and only Yesung's soulful vocals get to explode louder than the rest in the bridge, definitely sounding darker than the first minutes of the song. The lyrics finally gave me the explanation I needed, and they are surprisingly similar to the ones written for "Ticky Tocky" — they only replaced their alluring savior with an oppressive presence they can't get rid of. To me, "Shadow" is full of contradictions, enjoyable but not that memorable, and the perfect example of a track that needs a few listens to be fully appreciated.
6.75/10
'SUPER Clap' (PREVIOUS TITLE TRACK)
"SUPER Clap" served as the title track for the first edition of this 9th album, "Time Slip", released in October. It was the first time the members of Super Junior got to promote as a "full group" after ten years of military enlistments, so this comeback was highly anticipated by their fans — and, let's be honest, by all their detractors who think that a group should disband once the members turn 30 years old. With "SUPER Clap", the nine men prove that you don't need to be a teenager to sing about having fun, and I felt the hype from the very first time I heard it. The song follows the recipe that can make any K-pop song successful: it has a catchy chorus, a gimmick that you'll be sure to remember (you can follow the beat by clapping, just like the title invites you to do), nice vocals, a fun music video, and a simple choreography you can learn after a few viewings. The song is all one needs to feel contented but, as an ELF, I'll allow myself to be picky and share one complaint: Kyuhyun, who was the last member to return after his discharge in May 2019, was given a total of two solo lines — and had to share the few others he got with Ryeowook and Leeteuk. Even the choreographer took pity on him and gave him a dance part at the end of the music video, but it isn't really what we'd expect to see from a main vocalist (and arguably the best in the industry, on top of that) for his grand comeback.
9.5/10
'I Think I' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'Game'
A few weeks before their October comeback, Super Junior started teasing "Time Slip" with their V-Live show "SJ Returns 3". We quickly discovered that the group was first keen on choosing "Game" instead of "SUPER Clap" as the album's title track — and when fans got to listen to the whole song, many of them immediately praised Ryeowook for speaking against it. "Game" appears to be the successor of "Scene Stealer", a song from Super Junior's eighth album "Play" (2017) that was supposed to be promoted on music shows before they decided to replace it with "Black Suit". Just like its predecessor, "Game" tries to mix hip-hop and funky vibes with verses mostly made of rap parts, and a chorus sung by the group's strongest vocalists. Even though we are used to hear K-pop songs blend several music genres, "Game" fails at being as groundbreaking as it intended to be, instead it makes me skip to the next track everytime I listen to the album. While the chorus is full of great vocals and will definitely get you hooked, the verses fall flat and show the limits of the rappers in the group. Out of those numerous rap parts, only Eunhyuk's are more or less pleasant to my ears — the worst being Leeteuk's, who proves how much a solid sub-vocalist (2:30 to 2:40) can be done dirty when given a line that doesn't suit his abilities (1:54 to 1:58). Now that all members of Super Junior have become skilled singers (yes, dancers and rappers included), I want to see them use their talent and hear them sing, not waste their time on never-ending chaotic rap parts.
3/10
'Somebody New' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
'Skydive'
The ninth song of this repackage manages to bring the album back on tracks with its unique way to tackle the concept of time. In "Skydive", there is no ticking clock or never-ending fall into darkness; its title is an invitation to leave all worries behind us and go fly over the clouds, and I was ready to do just that as soon as I reached the end of the first verse. Actually, there is no need to read the lyrics to understand what the song is about: its fast-paced beat makes us feel the thrill of diving into the sky and it almost seems like we're gliding above earth with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun whenever they tell us to "fly" with them (0:53 to 1:05, 2:28 to 2:40, 3:31 to 3:43). The rest of the song is a little less impressive at times but I don't see it as a flaw, as it allows the listener to breathe a little between amazing high notes. Shindong and Leeteuk smoothly build the anticipation for the main vocalists' parts, while the chorus and bridge make a good use of Donghae's abilities — he is now the only "official" lead vocalist left in the group but, up until this ninth track, he didn't get any real opportunity to shine as a singer. "Skydive" makes me feel like I'm following the members in a new adventure, and lifts my mood up everytime I listen to it.
9/10
'Heads Up'
There is no Super Junior album without a sexy song and "Heads Up", the tenth track of this repackage, is here to fulfill that duty. If you're curious enough to go search for the lyrics, you will see that they leave little to no place for imagination — the members describe mature interactions between them and a girl with lips dyed "wine read". This game of seduction gets a perfect start with Yesung singing the first line and getting many more later, his raspy voice being amazing to hear on such a song. Just like with "Ticky Tocky", the group knows how to distribute parts cleverly between all members. Aside from Yesung's ones, I especially enjoy the choruses — Kyuhyun, Siwon and Ryeowook brought a unique flavour to them — and Eunhyuk's smoother vocals at the beginning of the second verse. Still, if I had to compare similar Super Junior songs with "Heads Up", my preference wouldn't go to the latter. The pre-chorus sounds a little too "cliché" to me, as if it just followed instructions on which instrumentals to use to make a song sexier, making me lose focus for a few seconds before the next part thankfully gets me hooked again. No matter the mentioned small flaw, "Heads Up" definitely remains one of the best b-sides of "Timeless". I just wish the group had created a special stage with dancers and props during their Super Show tour, instead of a simple choreography that doesn't do the song justice.
8.5/10
'Stay With Me'
"Stay With Me" was given the difficult task to succeed "Skydive" and "Heads Up", and this soft-pop/RnB song has a quality that needs to be mentioned first and foremost. Given its genre, there is no need for goosebumps-inducing vocals or prodigious adlibs, which puts all members on equal ground — it allows our sub-vocalists Shindong and Leeteuk to snatch some chorus parts and sing them with ease, making me anticipate them whenever I listen to the song. However, "Stay With Me" is the eleventh track of this repackage and, at this point, I was waiting for what I'd consider to be the first filler to appear. Unfortunately my expectations became reality and the song didn't have as much impact on me as the rest, in fact I feel like it lacks of identity: it fits perfectly in Super Junior's recent discography but it could have been featured on "Devil" (2015), or "Play" (2017), and it wouldn't have added any more value to those albums than it does to "Timeless". Even the lyrics don't bring anything new to the table, they just describe the attraction a person can feel for another with no real poetry whatsoever. Overall, "Stay With Me" leaves me quite emotionless, and I don't care enough about it to either replay or skip it.
5/10
'Rock Your Body' (NEW SONG)
"Rock Your Body", the twelfth track of this repackage, was written by Donghae. The group's lead singer and dancer has been making songs for the group for a few years already but, until the release of the album, we didn't know what this new one would sound like — and we were left to guess its genre with few hints posted here and there. The title of the song quickly made it clear that we shouldn't be expecting anything similar to "One More Chance" (the amazing ballad that he had composed for "Play" in 2017) and we were told it would only feature Eunhyuk, Ryeowook, Yesung and Donghae himself. With such information, "Rock Your Body" was definitely the repackage track I was curious about the most, and even though the song is quite messy at times, I wasn't disappointed. From the very first seconds it was catchy enough to make me focus entirely on what I was hearing (a blessing, since it comes right after "Stay With Me"). For those who are familiar with Super Junior-D&E's discography, "Rock Your Body" holds the same power as "Danger" (2019) but it definitely does better by slowing down the pace of the raps, using less noisy instrumentals and adding powerful vocals at the right moments. Donghae's vocals can be heard the most through the song, but he cleverly let Yesung and Ryeowook take over when their skills were needed. Making two members of the "performance" unit record with two main vocalists was definitely a great idea, and as much as I can't help missing the ones who didn't participate (it's still a Super Junior album after all), the song itself does not suffer from their absence. I know "Rock Your Body" is too chaotic to suit everyone's taste, but I can't help enjoying it and singing along its chorus everytime I listen to it.
8/10
'No Drama'
For the thirteenth track of the album titled "No Drama", our usual trio of main vocalists (Yesung, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun) unite their forces with the group's main rapper (Eunhyuk) and their leader (Leeteuk) while the rest of the members are nowhere to be seen. When I first listened to this mid-tempo song I was quite perplexed and didn't really know what to think. On one hand, I was entirely content with its slower pace and the emotions it was trying to convey, as the laid-back instrumentals made me want to close my eyes and forget everything else. The lyrics, which are full of pleas for the boys' significant others not to leave them, are more wistful than I expected them to be, but they are still sung in a very smooth tone. Once more, I have little to no criticism to give on the vocals — all members adapted their singing/rapping to the mood of the song, and a few lines (especially Kyuhyun and Yesung's ones) sound like heaven to my ears. On the other hand, I felt that the song was lacking something that I couldn't identify and which would have made the whole thing more memorable. I was going to give it as much consideration as "Stay With Me" and call it a filler that could be replaced with any other random song, however, the track still has many qualities and it ended up growing on me after a few listens. I feel like "No Drama" can fully show a true potential because of its new position in this repackage (in "Time Slip" it was placed after "Stay With Me", a filler to me) — it gives us a much-needed break between the powerful "Rock Your Body" and the festive "Show".
6,25/10
'Show' (PRE-RELEASED TRACK)
My review of the song is available in this article posted in October 2019.
To conclude this long review I'd like to say that I'm very pleased with this album and its repackage as a whole. Only one of the songs ("Game") has been banned from entering my music library, and the new songs that dropped a few weeks ago give a new dimension to the original album. "Timeless" has officially become one of my favorite Super Junior repackages, and I've been listening to it on repeat in the past few weeks . However, even though it remains a very solid record which perfectly showcases all members' abilities, I don't think "Timeless" is better than its predecessor, "Replay" (2018). Now that the members are getting used to work with a fixed lineup, I can only hope that they will feel comfortable enough to get involved even more in the writing of their releases — almost fifteen years after their debut there is no doubt that they are skilled enough to make it happen, and that would be the release that could finally exceed all expectations.
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Artistic Creativity: 8,75/10
Vocal Quality: 10/10
Music: 7,4/10
8,7/10
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Still went with that, for a lack of a better description lmao
