Lipstick/Ichiban Boshi

sentiment: great!
harmony: "Lipstick" by Sachi Tainaka

Now what do we have here? It'll be the first time I'll be making a review for Sachi Tainaka's single... haha! Well, I wasn't able to do some reviewing with her Itoshii Hito e single because I don't know what to say about the single. It was extremely good even if it didn't do a good job in the Oricon. If you must know, it only reached #67 with only approximately 2,000 copies sold. Oh such a letdown but I still like the single. The cover was hot and superb and I don't know why it didn't touched the hearts of the listeners. Or maybe because it was a very sad song... but it's B-side Begin was pretty good! A sort of rock and roll with the combination of her oh-so-powerful vocals.

And now moving into the review proper, Lipstick/Ichiban Boshi is Sachi Tainaka's 6th maxi single under Sistus Records (a subsidiary of Geneon Entertainment). Songs and lyrics are all produced by Sachi Tainaka herself (which is a great thing because she really never fails to amaze with her music writing and composing skills). Ichiban Boshi was used as the theme song for the J-movie entitled Persona. Here's the tracklisting for the single:

1. Lipstick (4:45)
2. Ichiban Boshi (4:50)
3. Lipstick -instrumental- (4:43)
4. Ichiban Boshi -instrumental- (4:48)

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Lipstick is I think one of Sachi Tainaka's upbeat songs that has a really nice tune. And another point, I think this is one of her singles in which the A-side song is not a ballad compared to her last singles Saikou no Kataomoi, Aitai yo./Kimi to no Ashita, and Itoshii Hito e which are all ballad but the corresponding B-side songs are upbeat (except for Aitai yo./Kimi to no Ashita since this is a double-A single) and most likely perky. This song has the mixture of ska (because of the trumpets) and rock which is a good combination, IMO. It's kind of similar to Hitomi Shimatani's summer-ish single Neva Eva and it's a little perky as well. The song starts with a very dramatic matter but after a couple of seconds, it changes your mood into a very different and complex way. Then the next few lines, it will be slow and a bit dull but before the chorus starts, it will give you a thrill because Sachi's voice will be powerful again and will give a supreme feeling overall.

Ichiban Boshi, on the other hand, is actually what I have been expecting -- B-A-L-L-A-D. Of course, it'll have a ballad song because IMO, this is where Sachi is good at. And with her high-pitched and powerful voice, it blends well with any ballad but I still prefer Lipstick over this. With the usual blend of power ballad, it has a natural sad tone and an "almost-crying" voice of Sachi similar to her Aitai yo. song but I like the latter more. Not that very special, I should say but still a good performance, I should say. Tis just making my day, a little dull and emo so I'd still go for Lipstick!

Overall, I can rate this single a 4/5 score because I really like Lipstick very much and a bit let down with Ichiban Boshi.