[] Galaxy Angel Album Best 1 - Ichibanshibori (BRCF-3043)

1. Angel Rock 'N Roll
2. Sorry!
3. You Get a Chance!
4. Hanamaru Wonderful (Nijyuumaru Vers.)
5. Fortune Love
6. Wake Me Up!
7. Kimama ni a la Mode!
8. B-B-Love
9. Masshigura
10. Crystal Door
11. Yume Mitai Angel Tai
12. 6th Angel Chitose
13. Angel Wasshoi!
14. Eternal Love
15. Doubi Doubi Secret (Chitose/Vanilla Version, Live)

As far as Galaxy Angel vocal albums go, I'm completely amazed at the overall selection here. Of the 15 songs present, there is only one single song I would regard as poor and two I would regard as mediocre...Everything else has stood the test of time (at least as far as I'm concerned) and should be considered must-listens for anyone who likes the sound of well-done hyper-cute bubblegum jpop. Many songs tend to feature groups within the Angel Tai or even the entire group at once and my personal favorite (Ryoko Shintani, Milfuelle Sakuraba's seiyuu) is spotlighted in the vast majority of songs.

The album wastes no time in starting off with Angel Rock'N'Roll. This song is the opening for the 4th season of the show and by this time, the song writers have completely figured out how to utilize their talented vocal cast. Overtopping an absolutely rockin' guitar line, the five singers trade off sections of melody with the greatest of ease before joining together for the main chorus and sending home the song's overall message. I imagine this being next to impossible to pull off live, with the amount of singers and their ever-changing roles involved. The solo in the middle is great too, with both a sick guitar solo and the high-pitched cast members in the background over Forte's "speaking/singing" part. This song stands high atop my favorite Galaxy Angel songs (with the possible exception of Angel Ukki) and it deserves to lead off such an all-star selection.

Angel Tai classics like Sorry!, B-B-love, Angel Wasshoi!, Eternal Love and Yume Mitai Angel Tai follow, showcasing the teamwork involved with the different seiyuu involved. These songs are simply not easy to pull off and it's rare to hear the rapid volley of exchanges that often crowd the melody lines in the songs, period. None quite as effective as Angel Rock'N'Roll, mind you, but still I largely consider all of the songs listed above to be the centerpieces of their respective vocal albums they were originally released on (aside from Angel Wasshoi, which was originally only released as a single). Having them all lumped together makes quite a statement about the overall quality of this compilation.

Once we get down into the tracks featuring the individual Angel Tai members, the quality refuses to take a dip. For starters, Wake Me Up (an exceptionally rare song) features both Milfeulle and Ranpha's seiyuu and both are going full blast through this one, answering each other's melody lines with their own one second and then synching up for some sickeningly cute line deliveries the next. If the "Sha La La La Fall in Love!" hook at the start doesn't get you, you might want to check for a pulse. It's quite amazing how good this one is, even by the standards of the rest of the series. Another cool surprise was a remixed version of Hanamaru Wonderful (at least as compared to the version from the Galaxy Angel de Shout! vocal album I'm familiar with). I definitely prefer the stronger beat and guitar of this one, no question. This is Milfuelle again paired with Mint's seiyuu Miyuki Sawashiro and the song is actually a vocalization of one of the recurring themes from the show. The middle section is great...I have it dubbed the 'whine solo', as it's basically a quick dialogue with both seiyuu dropping their singing voices and going into character and ending with a loud line of whining from Shintani before the song continues. It's odd, but it fits incredibly well.

And of course, each seiyuu needs their own song. I'm pleased with the selection here. Rather, I'm ecstatic they decided to include Chitose's seiyuu, Gotou Saori, for this and included "6th Angel-Chitose". A break from the onslaught of bubblegum j-pop, this is actually a heartwarming ballad and Saori's calming voice puts the melody on a completely different level than others of a similar ilk. Chitose was a newer character and usually isn't included with the main cast (though oddly, she did take part in B-B-Love, something I picked up from reading the cast list), so her songs are somewhat harder to come by. Milfuelle and Ranpha both have solid picks: Shintani handles "You Get a Chance!" a little too easily, with it's repetitive, but catchy "You get a chance...JAM!" line and Fortune Love is my favorite song from Yukari Tamura, who often ventures into over-cute mode in her singing enough to detract from the overall effect. Forte's song can be considered an ensemble one, but it mostly features the gun-toting angel's voice in one of the few pure hard rock songs of the series, with the Milfuelle/Ranpha combo handling back-up duties. This was one of the few songs that took time to grow on me (Forte has one of the most unusual voices for a female seiyuu I've heard), but it's definitely among my top 10 or so now. The songs from Mint/Miyuki Sawashiro (Kimama Ni A La Mode) and Vanilla/Mika Kanai (Crystal Door) are okay, but far below the best either has put forward...Okay, that's a lie: This probably IS the best Kanai has done individually, but it's still an average ballad at best. Kimama Ni a La Mode is just a straight pop song with Sawashiro in slow-ballad mode and does nothing interesting. Even though both provide the same break from the rest that "6th Angel Chitose" does, the quality gap between 6AC and the other songs is quite huge.

The last track is regarded as a bonus track and for good reason: It's a live arrangement of Doubi Doubi Secret, a nice song originally done by Shintani and Sawashiro (the original shows up in Vol. 2). The problem: This version is done by Saori and Kanai and they don't seem to know the words...But never fear: The audience does! Ugh...I assume this one is more of a gag track than anything, because I can't imagine those two wanting that particular performance on CD.

While Vol. 2 is a great pick-up, Vol. 1 is simply essential if you're looking to get the best collection from the series. Sticking Angel Rock N'Roll, Masshigura, 6AC, and Wake Me Up on the same CD basically puts it into the elite of anime vocal albums in my mind. Surrounding those with no less than 8 amazing other songs gives it "must-have" status. Be warned: You HAVE to not only be able to tolerate high-pitched cutesy Japanese singing to get anything out of this collection, but you have to enjoy it a huge deal. Otherwise, it might be a bit too much to handle and would serve better as interrogation music for folks not well-acquanited with the Galaxy Angel style.

5/5

Jam it back in, in the dark.