I love Morning Musume's All Singles Coupling Collection!

Following on from my post on Abe Natsumi's mini album '25 ~Vingt-Cinq~' is this overview style post all about Momusu's delightful b-sides collection.

The front of the box case shows each girl's first photo as a musume. The front of the actual cd case shows their last/most recent photo. Unfortunately I myself forgot to take a photo of this. Oops.

The back of the box has a rather cute picture of everyone's favourite super 9.

The track listing goes like this. From 'Ai no Tane' Morning Musume's demo single and the b-side to their debut 'Morning Coffee' right up to the second b-side of the 40th single 'Nanchatte Rennai', 'Subete wa Ai no Chikara'.

Disc 1

1. Ai no Tane (愛の種; Seeds of Love)
2. A MEMORY OF SUMMER '98
3. Tatoeba (例えば; If)
4. Happy Night
5. Never Forget
6. Koi no Shihatsu Ressha (恋の始発列車; Love's First Train)
7. Wasurerannai (忘れらんない; I Won't Be Able to Forget)
8. 21seiki (21世紀; 21st Century)
9. Koi wa Rock n' Roll (恋はロケンロ－; Love is Rock n' Roll)
10. Tsuugaku Ressha (通学列車; Commuter Train)
11. Akogare My Boy (あこがれ My Boy; My Admirable Boy)
12. Inspiration! (インスピレ－ション!)
13. Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru (でっかい宇宙に愛がある; There's Love in This Great Big World)
14. Popcorn Love! (ポップコーンラブ!)

Disc 2 

1. Morning Coffee (2002 version) (モーニングコーヒー (2002 version))
2. Chotto Ikashita PURE BOY (ちょっとイカした PURE BOY; Slightly Stylish Pure Boy)
3. Jun LOVER (純LOVER; Pure Lover)
4. Housekibako (宝石箱; Jewelry Box)
5. Never Forget (Rock Ver.)
6. Namida ni wa Shitakunai (涙にはしたくない; I Don't Want This to Cause Tears)
7. KoiING (恋ING; Loving)
8. Dekiru Onna (出来る女; Able Girl)
9. Fine Emotion! (ファインエモーション!)
10. Ganbare Nippon Soccer Fight! (がんばれ 日本 サッカー ファイト!; Good Luck, Japan Soccer Fight!)
11. Nebou Desu. Date na no ni... (寝坊です。デートなのに...; I Slept In. Even Though I Have a Date...)
12. Love & Pea~ce! HERO ga Yattekita. (ラヴ&ピィ~ス! HEROがやって来たっ。; Love & Peace! The Hero's Arrived.)
13. NATURE IS GOOD!
14. Ai to Taiyou ni Tsutsumarete (愛と太陽に包まれて; Enveloped by Love and the Sun)

Disc 3

1. Koi wa Hassou Do The Hustle! (恋は発想 Do The Hustle!; Love is an Idea, Do the Hustle!)
2. Chance Chance Boogie (チャンス チャンス ブギ)
3. Watashi ga Tsuiteru. (わたしがついてる。; I'm With You.)
4. Odore! Morning Curry (踊れ! モーニングカレー; Dance! Morning Curry)
5. Sayonara no Kawari ni (サヨナラのかわりに; Instead of Goodbye)
6. Hand made CITY
7. Please! Jiyuu no Tobira (Please! 自由の扉; Please! Freedom's Door)
8. Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! BOMB GIRL (ボン キュッ! ボン キュッ! BOMB GIRL)
9. Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai jan! (その場面でビビっちゃいけないじゃん!; You Can't Be Surprised Then!)
10. Romance (ロマンス)
11. Yowamushi (弱虫; Coward)
12. 3, 2, 1 BREAKIN' OUT!
13. Aki Urara (秋麗; Autumn Beauty)
14. Subete wa Ai no Chikara (すべては愛の力; The Power of Love is Everything) 

The 3 discs look like this. Sadly, due to the colours the 'B' pattern doesn't really stand out on disc 3

As some of you may already know, the limited edition of this release comes with a rather nice little hardback photobook.

Simple but tasteful cover. Sorry folks, this book was never going to go on the scanner right so you'll have to make do with photos featuring my (not so) lovely hands.

The opening pages inform us that this is 'The Story of Morning Musume.'

Some comprehensible English for once and a great expression courtesy of Koha.

Aichan looking dreamy~

Just to clarify, there is another couple of pics of each member but I am not going to photograph cover to cover.

Riding the train with the first gen.

Eri, Sayu be careful! Sayaka's looking like she might just push you in!

This feels like Goto's died or something.

All aboard H.M.S 4ki.

It surely can't take that much effort to push Renai and a cardboard Miki.

Everyone's together!

Not a great arrangement as far as height goes (putting Koharu in the centre is rather emphasising a certain someones lack of height) but I love these outfits a lot!

'Idols with Craft Knifes'. New horror anyone?

 Following this is a picture of every member in their last single's outfit with info telling us their name, D.O.B. and place of birth. I didn't bother taking any pics of this section.

Finally, the Morning Musume timeline. It's great to see all the member additions and graduations down on paper like this.

Now for Kath's recommended songs!!!

A MEMORY OF SUMMER '98 
The strings, oh the strings. This song is great for an orchestration junkie like myself. 1st gen fans will love this as well as they take all the solos.

Tatoeba 
Great arrangement, sincere melody, raw but pleasant delivery. What more could one want from an early Momusu b-side.

Wasurerannai 
Think a less ballady 'Memory Seishun no Hikari' but just as depressing. Criminally underrated track.

21 Seiki
A great song about dreams for the 21st Century, a perfect b-side for love machine. Most of the vocals are in unison and have a very full sound (I love you Ayappe). The instrumental break is almost eargasm worthy and the girl's dreams are really just too cute.

Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru
I assume most fans will know this one. It's a classic and never fails to put a smile of my face! :D

Never Forget (Rock Version)
This was sung originally by first gen Fukuda Asuka but this version is sung by Yasuda Kei. I apologize to any Asuka fans/first gen purists but I honestly feel Kei does the better job with this song. Asuka has a great voice but she always sounded much stronger in her lower register and so parts of this song were just a bit high for her. Kei has a very versatile voice and pulled this of brilliantly. And as a bonus the re-arrangement is amazing.

Koi ING
Everyting about this song is just to sweet. Read the lyrics if you can.
Anyway, the optimistic melody flows perfectly and Ai, Miki and Eri do a fine job in the vocals department. Also you should check out this version of the song from some AiGaki dinner show a while back. They are both top notch vocally.

Dekiru Onna
Morning Musume at their most Queen-esque. I love Rika's lines in this song. Even though her voice isn't technically great it always leaves my wanting more.

Odore! Morning Curry
This song is bonkers but in a really good way. And I can't be the only one to get a kick out of these lyrics.
"It's fun, but
kind of bitter
It feels good, but
it's definitely painful
Morning Curry (HI!)
Morning Curry (HI!)
Morning Curry Morning Curry
Morning Curry Morning Curry"

Hand Made City
More Queen influence here, this time in the 'We Will Rock You' Style beat. And you know, it's a concert staple this one. Although they might be a bit more challenged with the loss of Ai and her growl. 


Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! BOMB GIRL
I love this song far too much. It sounds like a cheesy old tv theme but the brass, guitar and general energy make it so much more.


Yowamushi
This song is sang by Gaki and Sayu. Odd combination but it kinda works. I was really hoping to hear the two of theme sing it live but I guess the chance is gone. *sigh* I love the old school Momusu song of this song.


3, 2, 1 BREAKIN' OUT 
I wish this could've been an a-side. The combo of that riff and the 8-bit sounds was just too flawless. Luckily, I did get a music video and was theme for the girl's trip to Anime Expo over in the States.


Aki Urara
I really dig the guitar intro and then the transfer into a more synthy sound. The vocal harmonies are pretty nice too.




Overall, I would say this is a must have for any Morning Musume fan. If you're worried about price then find an overseas version. I got the Taiwan version from Yesasia for about £18. Not half bad for 3 cds and a photobook. For the record, I much prefer the presentation of this to the A-sides collection with it's annoying dvd. Four performances of Do it! Now was 3 too many (and two of them were the same!!). If you've made it the far then thanks. Your award shall be in heaven. XD 

The regular edition can be bought here: