That Was Then, This Is Now
Over the past weeks, as I've kept up with my daily reading of various j-pop and H!P related blogs, it's been hard to avoid the announcement of Morning Musume's new single collection. As a new sacrificial lamb to Tsunku's unholy altar MM fan, thanks to recent single "onna ni sachi are" which I briefly wrote about last month, this new compilation has me interested. Of course, with the announcement also comes the much-discussed cover photo. In case you haven't seen it:
I've heard all the comments, rumors, hatred, adulation, and most other things in between with regards to this cover, so I'll keep my own observations brief (plus, you know, I have a real entry to start at some point):
1) Yes, it's just like the "LOVE MACHINE" cover. I don't really mind.
2) Risa Niigaki (top row, second from left) does not look happy. Not that I can blame her, with that hair. Woof.
There's obviously been quite a number of comparisons drawn to the "golden age" of Morning Musume, both in the composition of the photo and with regards to the actual group members. I've been reading them all with interest, but the fact is that I have next to no knowledge when it comes to MoMusu of days gone by. I've heard "LOVE MACHINE," as well as a couple other songs from that general period such as "koi no DANCE SITE" and "renai REVOLUTION 21," but I only know them out of context; the best comment I've been able to make about those songs has been "wow, they sure sounded different back then!" I've decided to be a good little wota-in-training and go about changing that, by rolling up my sleeves and starting from the beginning. Enter First Time, the group's debut album, released waaaay back in 1998.
First Time
zetima
Released July 8, 1998
01. Good Morning
02. Summer Night Town
03. dou ni ka shite doyoubi
04. Morning Coffee
05. yume no naka
06. ai no tane
07. wagamama
08. mirai no tobira
09. usotsuki anta
10. samishii hi
The ten songs collected on First Time are very, very far removed from the no-nonsense electronic production of the group's later works; instead, the sound is based on acoustic instruments and is generally much quieter, even laid-back in places. Most of all, the album feels surprisingly open, accessible, with songs that have space to breathe. As comparison, I love "onna ni sachi are," for example, but that song is encased head-to-toe in Tsunku's slick production values: I can listen but I can't touch, if that makes any sense. But on First Time, I can hear someone strumming a guitar under the main melody of "Morning Coffee." This is revolutionary! That said, though, there are a number of little sonic elements in these songs that I can only assume to be Tsunku's magical(?) touch: listen to the weird little cackle that pops up in one of the tracks, or the exotic synth touches in "wagamama," or the way "Good Morning" opens the album with a sampled voice saying "oh yeah?" followed by an enthusiastic "YAY!" from the Musumes themselves. These little flourishes don't define the songs like they would later efforts such as "LOVE MACHINE;" instead they stay in the background and help to keep things interesting.
Contributing to the accessibility are the vocalists. Just five members at the group's inception, with three more added on shortly afterward, none of the members on this album are with the group anymore. Thus I'm hearing many of these voices and forming impressions - and yes, attachments - for the first time. Yuko Nakazawa, wow, she was my age when this album came out. Kaori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, and Kei Yasuda I know vaguely, thanks to YouTube and a healthy dose of Ayaka's Surprise English Lessons (watch these, they are hilarious!), but never like this. Asuka Fukuda, Sayaka Ichii, and Aya Ishiguro are completely new to me. Natsumi Abe, well, even I knew who she was beforehand, but I've paid so little attention to her solo work that she might as well be new. The vocal performances are uneven in places - even Nacchi, who doesn't sound like she's fully developed vocally, has some off parts - and to be perfectly honest, even at their best, these girls don't really rise above, say, the level of a really good karaoke performance. But the ultimate charm of this album is that the vocals work together. Highlights for me include the breezy "usotsuki anta" with its relaxed two-person harmonies, the wonderful call-and-response in "yume no naka," and the infectious "daikirai, daikirai, daikirai, daisuki!" in the chorus of "Summer Night Town." These eight girls sound like a cohesive group, and that's an achievement: it takes them a step away from being simple throwaway pop and helps to give the album a more lasting appeal. It's also not something I can confidently say applies to the present-day group, either, although I would need to hear more to really make a solid judgement.
Bottom line? Color me impressed - very impressed - by this debut. It has me entertaining thoughts of buying the group's discography (albums, anyway) in one fell swoop, were it not for my wallet and the fact that the older stuff may well be out of print now (I have no idea). I'm extra excited for the singles collection, and I can't wait to delve further into the group's back catalog, now that I've heard them at their start. I feel like I know the basics, but there's still more ground to cover that I might better understand just how Morning Musume arrived at "LOVE MACHINE" - and where they chose to go afterward.
