10 My Me is the highly anticipated 10th album from Morning Musume and the first since the graduation of Kusumi Koharu. With C-ute basically ruining the what was a good start to H!P/UFA album releases this year (anyone still remember Melon's Not Dead?) the questions I have are can Morning Musume continue their streak of solid albums and is the lack of Koharu (with the exception of Nanchatte Renai, Shouganai Yumeoibito and Kimagure Princess) a good or bad thing?
Excluding the single releases there are 7 new songs and one remake from their Platinum 9 Disc. Which I guess could count as new so let's make the total count 8. This material is a different beast from what was on P9D. Where P9D was a dip into the Urban contemporary pool, MM10 is more of a return to the groups vocal group based pop roots.
What I noticed when I was listening to this album was the lack of any overly genki, hyper and/or super happy type of songs. Normally those kind of songs would go to Koharu and well, she ain't here no more. Instead the productions mostly stick to the more mature type of pop songs that emphasize a lot of harmonies.
That right there answers one of my questions. As much as I adore Koha her presence here would have brought group down vocally. Speaking of that, there is Osaka Oishiinen performed by Mistui Aika, Jun Jun and Lin Lin. It's the one song on this album I would equate to being almost as bad (yet somehow still better) as anything on the aforementioned Shocking 5.
It's the closest to a Koha type song on this album but unfortunately this group of 3 don't convincingly get away with the craziness. Nice try though. Otherwise it's smooth sailing. Ookii Hitomi is a dance track that features the 6th generation members (Sayu, Eri & Reina) and is an excellent example of vocal effects used tastefully (instead of as a crutch or gimmick). I found it funny that only Sayu's vocals were given the effect.
A return to the R&B sound from P9D can be heard on Ano Hi ni Modoritai featuring Ai and Risa. Personally I was hoping for more songs like this on the album but I guess no luck this time. Oh well. I'm glad that at least one was included and that the two strongest singers were chosen to work their magic on this track.
Of most interest was the Chinese version of Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou. The acoustic intro and arrangement changes were sweet and it was cool to hear Jun Jun & Lin Lin take the leads (Who else would?). What did the rest of the group do though? Perhaps they sung the harmony parts but did they do any of the actual background vocals in Chinese? I wonder.
Lastly what I believe is the best example of Morning Musume going back to their vocal group roots is Loving You Forever. Even Sayu (who is arguably now the default weak link vocally) sounds good. If they are truly going to continue in this direction I'm all for it.
Overall this was great album and a worthy follow up to P9D and puts H!P/UFA back on the right track.