4 Akogare MY STAR -℃-ute New Album

[Shoujo Q]

4 Akogare My STAR comes out on 1/28 (Which is technically a few hours from now in Japan, but considering all the songs have been Radio played, I didn't think it was a bad idea to make a thread.)



Be a Rebel and Download the Album from H!O





Or if not, here are Links are to YouTube (Radio)Rips! \<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ohyeah.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> C-ute showed all their hands early by having all the songs put on the Radio. Which I guess could be a good or bad thing.

1. ★Akogare My STAR★

2. One’s LIFE --(Erika Umeda, Chisato Okai, Mai Hagiwara)

3. Yes! All my family -- (Airi Suzuki)

4. Namida no Iro

5. Aishiteru Aishiteru -- (Saki Nakajima, Kanna Arihara)

6. Seishun Song -- (Maimi Yajima)

7. Big Dreams

8. SHINES

9. Yakusoku wa tokuni shinai wa

10. FOREVER LOVE

11. Edo no Temari Uta II



Or Be Helpful and Buy C-ute's New Album if you already haven't?

Regular Edition

Limited Edition

_____________________



I had this big review written out, then I hit the wrong button and lost it all. So here's a shorter review. I've only listened to the radio rips, and if man were to live on radio rips alone, there would be no need for this album. It's an okay album, but it isn't the greatest thing either. I might buy it in the future. I tend to collect the albums anyway.



1. ★Akogare My STAR★ - It lost its appeal after a few listens and I could care less about this single.

2. One’s LIFE --(Erika Umeda, Chisato Okai, Mai Hagiwara) - Way to much Mai. If you liked The Possible's new single, Shiawase no Katachi, anything by EEJump, you'll hate this. I'm still sad about the to much Mai thing. Wasting Erika and Chisato's voices like that. SHAME!

3. Yes! All my family -- (Airi Suzuki) - I only heard the radio rip and it was basically a sample. It's typical Airi music I think, unless she wows me in the second part of the song, who knows.

4. Namida no Iro - Single Track. Not my favorite single either. xD

5. Aishiteru Aishiteru -- (Saki Nakajima, Kanna Arihara) - This song is slow, I think it would be a great song to give a more mature singer as it ends up sounding to childish when Saki and Kanna sing it.

6. Seishun Song -- (Maimi Yajima) - Maimi surprised me greatly with giving me one of the few songs on this album that I liked. I think it fits her perfectly and hope she keeps going in THIS direction. My one problem. I kept thinking she was going to break into Blitz Krieg Bop at any moment.

7. Big dreams - WAY to much Maimi in this. She was doing so well and then she comes back and kicks me in the head for thinking she actually improved. BOO! The end of the song is a little better then the beginning, maybe because they are reduced to Lala's.

8. SHINES - I liked this song! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Maybe it was the singers, The big girls take a back seat here and for that I'm greatful (Maimi's been thrown into Back Vocals). This was one of my favorites and I can see myself playing it a few times.

9. Yakusoku wa tokuni shinai wa - It's a slow song, don't all H!P albums get a slow song? This a song they would sing at the end of a concert. I think that's the only reason this is hear. It isn't bad. C-ute can handle a slow song rather well compared to Berryz. (My Opinion!)

10. FOREVER LOVE - They couldn't throw this into the middle of all the new songs? Oh well, another Single Track. Better then Namida no Iro but my heart will always belong to...

11. Edo no Temari Uta II - Great way to end an album. I love this song maybe a little too much.



This album has more songs on it then previous C-ute albums. With only 3 singles and 8 Original songs, it's their BIGGEST album yet. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':joyful:' /> Tsunku must have been pretty bored.



I noticed, a total side-comment; that Tsunku uses just his name when it's in Japanese now, but in English he adds his Male symbol. Hmm.

[AEUGNewtype]

I guess I didn't have much of an expectation from this, though the 3rd album was extremely good, I'm not holding that against this.



Akogare My Star - This is really boring.



One's LIFE - How fucking weird, haha. It makes me want to laugh, its so weird, and the AKIRA arrangement is pretty awesome. The fast rapping parts are just hilarious, Chisa and Erika tear it up. I actually like this song quite a bit. By the end it develops a really catchy beat with the chorus that sticks in your head. AKIRA again, for the win.



All my Family - This really isn't a good song, even though the chorus and vocal performance are good.



Aishiteru Aishiteru - I love both of these girls to death, as well as their voices. I think the song lends itself to being pretty cute, unlike PQ just said, and it does well with that. I really like the song even though the vocal parts can be kind annoying because of repetitiveness at a slow speed, Saki doesn't handle that very well. This is basically like a slightly slower version of Country Musume's Shining Itoshiki, and with way less doo-wop backup vocals.



Seishun Song - A cool, upbeat song, pretty reminiscent of a few of C-ute's b-sides. The backup vocals in the chorus part are a little too high in the mix and it sounds weird. Otherwise, a pretty awesome song. She's singing in a kinda typical, fairly low Maimi-style voice, which makes it kinda unique, but not very unique for her. The arrangement is super win.



Big Dreams - A slower, more quiet version of Dekkai Uchuu, arrangement-wise. The chorus is VERY VERY VERY close to being an exact copy of Tanpopo's I&YOU&I&YOU&I chorus. I think it actually is a copy, with note duration length, they're just slightly different tones, but the structure is the same. Pretty cool song, but a little too slow to be terribly entertaining.



SHINES - Dance/trance with high techno synths opening the song. Not exactly my cup of tea. I think that might be AKIRA's voice in there. There's a shit-ton of male vocal backups throughout the whole song.



Yakusoku - The opening melody is one note off from being a copy of Pachabel's Canon. The chorus really makes the song sound depressing. Doesn't do much for me, but its a nice song.



God, Airi is adorable in the jacket shots. Such a simple thing as letting her hair down and getting rid of her childish bangs did such wonders for her looks. Overall an OK album, but not something I could see myself revisiting really often, aside from 2 or 3 songs. I felt that way about their 3rd album at first, but after seeing them perform those songs live, it made them better, though I can't see that happening with these ones, there just isn't enough character in most of the group songs to have much room for improvement.

[Madara]

I saw this in Asahiya Books in Manhattan last night and picked up the Limited Edition with the DVD. The new MM "Resonant Live" concert DVD was there also and I picked that up as well. Pretty damned expensive, but I finally figured out that buying two or more items at Asahiya was cheaper than ordering them from CDJapan. There's a price difference of three dollars per item, with Asahiya being more expensive, but the sales tax comes out cheaper enough than the shipping charges to make it better to just buy it at the store. Plus I have these two items now and don't have to wait. I was quite pleasantly surprised to find them in the store only a day after their official release.



I haven't listened to the C-ute CD yet, but I put in the DVD that came with it to see what was on it. I was surprised to note that the DVD contains 62 min. of material. I was hoping there'd be concert clips or something. Unfortunately, 46 min. of it is the girls interviewing each other in a series of staged interviews, with no subtitles, of course. The last 15 min. includes the "Making of" part, which is only about 10 min., followed by some skit or dramatic sketch.



I checked out the first few numbers of the MM concert and it looks to be pretty damned good.

[Madara]

So I listened to the CD while doing banking stuff and getting ready for work this morning. Trouble is, I tend to like C-ute numbers better in videos or in concert, because their greatest strength is in their dance routines. And I already have the best song, "Edo no Temari Uta II," on a CD single. Berryz CD's are better to listen to. For some reason they get better songs than C-ute does. C-ute may have the best singer (Airi, although Momoko's a close second), but C-ute also has some weak links, while Berryz has a much better ensemble overall, with no weak links. I recently picked up the new Berryz Special Best CD/DVD edition. The CD has got 18 songs and I haven't had a chance to listen to it all the way through. But I like what I've heard so far, a mix of old and new.

[peachgirldb]

[quote name='Madara' post='58328' date='Jan 30 2009, 01:24 PM']C-ute may have the best singer (Airi, although Momoko's a close second)[/quote]

Sometimes you just confirm how deaf you are. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' />

[Madara]

[quote name=':Peach' post='58353' date='Jan 31 2009, 05:43 AM'][quote name='Madara' post='58328' date='Jan 30 2009, 01:24 PM']C-ute may have the best singer (Airi, although Momoko's a close second)[/quote]

Sometimes you just confirm how deaf you are. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' />

[/quote]



Instead of calling me deaf, why don't you enlighten me? Who from C-ute and Berryz do you consider better singers than the ones I name? I'd be interested to know what others think. I think Maimi's good under some circumstances and in certain types of songs (I like her duet with Nacchi a lot, the video where the two are on line together for a ramen shop), but not in others. One of the problems with assessing the voices of all of these girls is that their voices keep changing.

[ozu]

I love Momoko's voice. (Airi's, too, but I don't think that's who Peach was ribbing you about.)



Pitch perfect vocals are not a priority for me with idol music. I prefer that each girl's individual quirks and charms resonate through their performances. Having said that, though, Momo still gets a bad rap -- she's improved a lot in the last couple of years (listen to some of the slower album tracks).



As far as other quality voices go, keep an eye on Chisato. As she matures I think she'll develop into a strong singer.

[peachgirldb]

Momoko's an okay singer, but I wouldn't call her second best by far. That's all.

[freezingkiss]

Airi is good, second best would be Chisato, when she sings its always amazing, but in Berryz I think probably Yurina has the best voice. Of course it's always just a matter of opinion.





I had a dream last night I took C-ute to a bra fitting O_o

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='Madara' post='58359' date='Jan 30 2009, 05:25 PM'][quote name=':Peach' post='58353' date='Jan 31 2009, 05:43 AM'][quote name='Madara' post='58328' date='Jan 30 2009, 01:24 PM']C-ute may have the best singer (Airi, although Momoko's a close second)[/quote]

Sometimes you just confirm how deaf you are. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[/quote]



Instead of calling me deaf, why don't you enlighten me? Who from C-ute and Berryz do you consider better singers than the ones I name? I'd be interested to know what others think. I think Maimi's good under some circumstances and in certain types of songs (I like her duet with Nacchi a lot, the video where the two are on line together for a ramen shop), but not in others. One of the problems with assessing the voices of all of these girls is that their voices keep changing.

[/quote]

I agree with Peach but I'll explain more on why. She has always had a very grating and nasal quality to her voice, on top of it sounding way too forced and squeaky, especially since when you hear her talk and she's not talking with her fake idol voice, her voice is somewhat deep. She has also always been VERY bad at being on key, especially live. Even as of a year or two ago, her voice was still extremely annoying and off-key sometimes even in the studio. Not to say she (or the technology correcting the pitch in her voice..) hasn't made improvements in the last year or so, but she's still very far off from being a good singer.

[Shoujo Q]

[quote name='ozu' post='58363' date='Jan 30 2009, 05:09 PM']I love Momoko's voice. (Airi's, too, but I don't think that's who Peach was ribbing you about.)



Pitch perfect vocals are not a priority for me with idol music. I prefer that each girl's individual quirks and charms resonate through their performances. Having said that, though, Momo still gets a bad rap -- she's improved a lot in the last couple of years (listen to some of the slower album tracks).



As far as other quality voices go, keep an eye on Chisato. As she matures I think she'll develop into a strong singer.[/quote]



That is, if they let her sing. She's not front girl material so I see her ending up like a Kei, Makoto, or Kago. They were good singers but they never got to sing much in the group.



Each girl has their own quality of singing, and sometimes they force their voice which makes them sound pretty horrible. Koharu can even sound good if she's given the right type of song to sing. Same with Risako and pretty much all of Berryz. I don't think there's a member in Berryz I like singing anything, except maybe Momoko, or Miyabi but then that's my Buono showing so I guess that really doesn't count.