Album Battle: Love Enhanced Single Collection vs Best! Morning Musume 1

It's a J-Pop Album Battle two-fer this week! Today, two greatest hits albums from around the same time are pit against each other. Both were found in the Y100 bin at a used CD store.

Namie Amuro debuted in 1992 as a member of girl group Super Monkey's. She went solo in 1995 with “BodyFeels Exit,” which is worth a listen. Love Enhanced Single Collection was released in 2002 and includes Amuro's singles from 1998 to that date. All of the tracks are rearranged, remixed, or rerecorded from the original single release.

Morning Musume is a girl group launched in 1997. The group members' average age remains about the same since its original formation because of its “school-like” system for line-up changes as older members graduate and newer members selected from auditions are admitted to the group annually. The group has also produced several splinter groups. They had the record for most number one singles by a female group in Japan until 2012, when they were beaten by the similar but larger AKB48. Best! Morning Musume 1 was released in 2001 and is Morning Musume's first of six best of compilations. It contains their first eleven singles, other fan favorites, and a new song.

INTRODUCTION FINISH

Track 1:
“Love Machine” is a classic and is Morning Musume's highest selling single. It also has a hilariously turn-of-the-millennium video. Cheap looking greenscreens, long fur-trimmed coats, goofy line dances. As this uploader says, “I love this video. If you don't;you're an idiot.”“Say the Word” was written by Thomas Johansson and Ronald Malmberg, who are most notable for producing A-Teens' first album.

WINNER: Morning Musume

Track 2:
“Daite, Hold On Me” sounds like a typical dance-pop song of the mid-1990s. It has some surprisingly un-awkward rapping bits. “RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE” is more mellow but has a catchy chorus. The capitalization in the song title looks awkward but it's actually the emphasis on the words used in the song.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 3:

“Koi No Dance Site” has some Dschinghis Khan-like “Hoo! Hah!” In fact, it gets dangerously close to being a ripoff of “Dschinghis Khan” in the verses. Berryz Koubou, another girl group with the same producer, actually covered“Dschinghis Khan” in 2008. “NEVER END” is a calm but uninteresting ballad.

WINNER: Morning Musume

Track 4:

“Summer Night Town” is pretty similar to “Daite, Hold On Me” and was actually the single that preceded it. “LOVE 2000” is edgier and definitely sounds like 2000. It was co-written by Sheila E. and Lynn Mabry.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 5:

“Happy Summer Wedding” is a fun summer singalong. “PLEASE SMILE AGAIN” is a dance-pop song with heavy synth in the chorus. Both are fine but the latter aged a little better.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 6:

“I Wish” was used in Japanese commercials for the 2000 Olympics, but it's kind of bland and lacking in “inspiring” feel. They can't all be “One Moment In Time.” “think of me” was cowritten by Dallas Austin, who has written and produced hundreds of pop songs. This is an emotional pop ballad.

WINNER: Namie Amuro.

Track 7:
“Renai Revolution 21” has an amazing music video that rips off TLC's “No Scrubs.” This is a classic upbeat party song. Chou chou chou ii kanji! “SOMETHING 'BOUT THE KISS” sounds a little like Jennifer Lopez' work or other pop-R&B artists of the time.

WINNER: Morning Musume

Track 8:
“Memory Seisyun No Hikari” is a calm, easygoing midtempo song. “Lovin' It” is a duet with Verbal from M-Flo, and definitely aged better.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 9:

“Manatsu no Kousen” has some 70s pop and disco influence, but not much of a hook and it doesn't sound like a single. “I Have Never Seen” is an understated and delicate ballad.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 10:

“Morning Coffee” is a folky acoustic guitar song with a catchy singalong chorus. “HimAWAri” is a slightly less catchy midtempo pop song.

WINNER: Morning Musume

Track 11:

“Furusato” is a sentimental pop ballad about hometowns. “no more tears” has a more mature, almost Madonna feel somehow.

WINNER: Namie Amuro

Track 12:

“Say Yeah! Motto Miracle Night” is completely bonkers like my other favorite songs from this album.

“I Will” is an orchestral ballad that was released on Valentine's Day. It's beautiful, but craziness wins out this time. Despite what Wikipedia says, the backing vocalist is Will Wheaton Jr the soul singer, not the actor.

WINNER: Morning Musume

Tracks 13-15

Love Enhanced Single Collection ends at 12 tracks, but Best! Morning Musume 1 still has 3 more songs. “Dance Suru no Da!” and “Never Forget” aren't particularly remarkable. “Ai No Tane” is the group's unofficial debut single and sounds really dated.

WINNER: Love Enhanced Single Collection