“SPEED’s first best album featuring their hit CD single tracks from the 90’s including some of the awesome coupling songs and for SPEED fans at that time, this was just simply a fantastic album worth owning!â€
GROUP: SPEED
ALBUM: MOMENT – THE BEST ALBUM
LABEL: Toy’s Factory
CATALOG #: TFCC-88136
DURATION: 1:05:55
RELEASE DATE: December 16, 1998
- White Love
- ALL MY TRUE LOVE
- STEADY
- Wake Me Up! (growin’ up! mix)
- ALIVE
- Body & Soul
- ナマイ゠(愛▽▽▽ヴァージョン)
- Go! Go! Heaven
- 熱帯夜
- Luv Vibration
- my graduation
- White Love (christmas standard)
- White Love (karaoke)
I can remember when I first saw SPEED. It was actually before the quartet released their first album and it was on the karaoke variety show “Yoru no Hit Parade” which starred fellow Okinawa Actors School artists Amuro Namie and MAX.
The ladies brought the next talent from the school which consisted of vocalist Imai Eriko and Shimabukuro Hiro and background dancers and vocals Uehara Takako and Arakaki Hitoe.
The quartet when they debuted were quite young with Hiro only 12-years-old and the others around 14 and 15 and here they are coming out in Japan which at the time was dominated by the TK family and here were these young spunky girls singing and showcasing choreography.
While fellow Okinawan friends Amuro Namie and MAX have been in the scene for several years, it was a surprise because they simply came out of nowhere and dominated the mid-to-late 90s.
Then the girls released their first CD single “Body & Soul” in 1996 and I just remember how the song just took off on the charts and the ladies were just dominating the airwaves, magazines and CM’s not long after.
In Jan. 1999, I could remember being in Shibuya and “ALL MY TRUE LOVE” playing on the big screen and walking into HMV and picking up that latest CD single and their best album which was released a month prior.
SPEED’s “MOMENT – THE BEST ALBUM” was the quartet’s first best album and it would feature 8 CD singles and coupling songs and a song from an album that would become fan favorites for years to come.
The album would start off with the group’s beautiful ballad “White Love” (their fifth CD single released back in 1997). I was just in love with this song. The lyrics were utterly sad of wanting to be with a love one during the Winter time and promises broken. Each time I listen to this song, I can literally feel the sadness through the vocals. An excellent song!
The second track “ALL MY TRUE LOVE” would be the eighth CD single from SPEED (rel. 1998) and another CD single that would sell over a million copies. An upbeat track that was just fun and energetic to listen to.
The third track “STEADY” is the group’s second CD single released back in 1996. After the group’s first CD single, I was definitely going to buy the second CD single and I could easily remember watching Uehara Takako and Arakaki Hitoe’s dancing and how it caught my eye. The song was used for a drama titled “Itazura na Kiss” and is a fast-paced, energetic song which the group featured cool vocals and cool choreography. Just awesome!
The fourth track “Wake Me Up!” features a “Growin’ Up Mix” on this best album and was the group’s fourth CD single released in 1997. My memories of this CD single was actually the music video which was shot in the Philippines and the group performing in a tropical area. Another cool, energetic track!
The fifth track “ALIVE” (rel. in 1998) is a song that was used for their film “ANDROMEDIA” and if you watched the film and know how the lyrics relate, you just literally want to cry. Because it’s quite sad. The song just really made an impression on me and demonstrates how love is truly alive. A wonderful ballad and a song that I consider my favorite SPEED song of all time.
Just these lyrics alone made an impression on me:
Tooku hanaretemo asu ga mienakutemo
Ai wo tomenaide
Kono umi no hate wa yagate aoi sora e tsuzuiteru
Hitori ja nai
Kono mune ni zutto ai wa ikiteru
Ikite yukou
Ai wa ikiteru
Love is alive
The sixth track is the group’s first CD single “Body & Soul” (rel. 1996) and I can remember these girl’s with so much energy in their basketball jersey’s in Los Angeles and just dancing. That was quite interesting. The CD single was fun and it was definitely an eye-opener of having these girls come out of nowhere and really doing something different at that time that was not TK-related.
The seventh track “Namaiki” and ninth track “Nettaiya” were coupling tracks. “Namaiki” for “White Love” and “Nettaiya” for “Wake Me Up!”. “Nettaiya” is actually another favorite song of mine by the group and had an actual music video for it. The song was a bit controversial because it was about loving someone so much, wanting to be with them, sleep with them and they are not there. And of course, the controversy was that these young girls in their early teens were singing such a song.
The eighth track “Go! Go! Heaven” was the group’s third CD single (rel. 1998) and I just remembered the girl’s trying to be dangerous with their dance choreography but yet retaining that sweetness. Of course, tabloids had a different interpretation of the song’s title to have a different, implied meaning but overall, the song was fun, energetic and enjoyed the choreography for the song.
The tenth track “Luv Vibration” was a song from the first album “Starting Over” and featured as a music video in their first VHS release. The song featured the girls rehearsing and having fun in what looks to be Saipan. All in all, it was a fun, upbeat track that I enjoyed listening to a zillion times.
The eleventh track “my graduation” was another powerful ballad and the group’s sixth CD single that would continue their trend of selling over a million copies. It was a powerful song that I will remember for hiro’s vocals but also the lyrics for those graduating from school and eventually separating from the person they love as they begin the next stage of their lives.
The twelfth track features a “Christmas Standard” version of “White Love” and feature more of a string arrangement and the thirteenth track is the karaoke version of their hit song.
The CD insert booklet would feature lyrics to every track but also include a lot of pictures of the group in the snow, riding on a sled and having fun.
The packaging was quite interesting as the cardboard box opened up on all four sides and fit into a plastic sleeve.
At the time of this release, this best album was just incredible because it featured all of their chart topping hits from 1996-1998 and those tracks, even listening to it over a decade later still sounds fresh and doesn’t even show its age at all.
There are simply too many awesome hits on this album to ignore and before they broke up and released “DEAR FRIENDS 1 and 2”, this was simply the album to get and if you can still find this album for a great price, it’s highly recommended!
In fact, I even recommend “MOMENT – THE BEST ALBUM” because it strictly features SPEED songs during their peak and these songs were just fun, sad, passionate and overall enjoyable.
It’s nearly ten years since the release of this album and hearing it again and knowing that SPEED has announced their return is just a great feeling!
All in all, this best album is highly recommended!
BUY THIS ALBUM: