“Rainbow 7” Album Review

The Songs for Rainbow 7

1. How do you like Japan?
2. The Manpower!!
3. Let the Future be one where the blue sky extends forever!
4. Osaka Love Song
5. Indigo Blue Love
6. Rainbow Pink
7. Sexy Impatience
8. In a Colorless, Transparent State
9. Purple Wind
10. See You Again… BYE BYE
11. The Story of Noisy Girls 3
12. The Fish that got away was big! (That’s Right Totally Remix)

Pop music group Morning Musume entered 2006 still in their 8^th year of existence. On February 15, 2006, their 7^th studio album Rainbow 7 was released. This was the first Morning Musume album that I bought. I wrote all the song titles in English to make it easier for readers to follow along. The album did very well in Japan, reaching #7 on the Oricon music charts. It would stay on the charts for five weeks and sell 44,714 copies.

Analyzing the Songs for Morning Musume’s 7th Album

The album opens up with “How do you like Japan?” It is one of the weakest songs in Morning Musume’s career. Or is it really that weak? It may be just different than what listeners may be used to from this group. It sounds like the kind of song that a rap artist would write. It definitely has a pop kind of feel to it. The Manpower!! is certainly an improvement from the first track. The chanting style of singing makes this one an interesting song. Morning Musume would use this vocal style later in songs such as Password is 0. The first half of the album was average at best when I first analyzed it in 2016. The first song has quite a bit of male grunts and it is slow.

But then with Rainbow Pink, the band starts to show some of their singing and songwriting prowess. The song was performed LIVE with lots of narration involved. The song talks about someone that has fallen in love. The next song called Sexy Impatience has some classical guitar in it and sounds like an upbeat Gipsy Kings style song. This song would be followed by the one called In a Transparent, Colorless State. The song is soft and soothing to the ears. You can relax in a chair and listen to this one. However, I don’t think that there are any songs on this album as good as the one called (Wagamama ki no Mama Ai no Joke). That’s just fine because these girls know how to sing and express their talents. See You Again… BYE BYE is a repetitive song that can lose its appeal after a while, so this one might be skipped over by some of us.

Analyzing Rainbow 7’s Album Cover

Of all the discussion that Rainbow 7 has received, we did not really address what is on the album’s cover. The cover shows all the participating members dressed in charming white dresses, similar to what we would have seen movie stars such as Audrey Hepburn wear back in the day.  I am sure she would have been proud of Morning Musume had she been alive to even know of this group. Hepburn died in 1993 due to cancer but it’s worth mentioning that the Morning Musume members’ style of dress is similar to what she would have been wearing. On this analysis in 2019, Rainbow 7 is definitely a stronger release than initially thought.

SEE ALSO: “First Time” Album Review

How Does the Album Rainbow 7 Sound In 2019 – Present

On this analysis with the last update in 2019, Rainbow 7 is definitely a stronger release than initially thought. Even though How Do You Like Japan repeats constantly, it is not a turn off but a high energy start to the group’s 7th studio release. The song Osaka Koi no Uta or Osaka Love Song has a beginning similar to the group’s 15th single called Do It! Now. Rainbow 7 is the first Morning Musume album that I bought so it is also memorable for that reason. Initially after the first review and analysis of Rainbow 7, I only gave it about 70 points out of 100 but this is one of those albums that could grow on you after a long time of listening. Rainbow 7 does not have the electronic sound that we would hear on the group’s later albums but it is one of those albums with quite a few outstanding tracks. These include the first song which I didn’t really like that much for the longest time, Osaka Love Song, Rainbow Pink, Sexy Impatience and Purple Wind. Rainbow Pink is one of those songs that is just oh so upbeat and cute in a funny sort of way. After some noises by the audience and some dialogue there is the famous line of “I just fall in love” as this is one of the best songs in the history of Morning Musume. Sexy Impatience which is the next song has some very soft whispers and the classical guitar is heard playing. This song stylistically sounds like a more modern version of the Gipsy Kings. In a Colorless, Transparent State then begins in such a beautiful way that it has the power to leave you wanting more of this song. Other than the final three songs on Rainbow 7, the album is a solid pop album for fans of this group and AKB48. Rainbow 7 represents a period of growth for the group in spite of the fact that former member Mari Yaguchi became scandalized. Is Rainbow 7 a better album than 10 MY ME? It is a close call since both of these albums are very good. As of 2020 Rainbow 7 gets no less than 85 points out of 100.