Petit Best (Pucchi Best) 10

I've previously reviewed the Petit Best 10 DVD and, when I learned that some key songs on the Petit Best 10 CD were not on the DVD, I immediately purchased the CD. Six of the tracks on the CD are not on the DVD, while only two of the tracks on the DVD are not included here. Of the six new tracks on this CD, four are by new units (actually revivals of old units), Pucchimoni V, Tanpopo#, Aa!, and Shin Minimoni. One is by Berryz Kobo and one is by High-King. The BK and HK tracks, "Seishun Bus Guide" and "Destiny Love," are both highly recommended, but the real find on this album and one of my favorite Hello! Project songs in years is "Pira! Otome no Negai," by Pucchimoni V (also spelled Petitmoni V). It's performed by a trio consisting of solo artist Erina Mano and two members of C-ute, Saki Nakajima, and Mai Hagiwara. I first heard the song on last summer's concert DVD, "Hello! Project 2009 Summer Kakumei Gannen - Hello! Champloo." Mai Hagiwara had been sick for that performance, so the song was performed only by Erina and Saki. It's a fast-paced, high-energy number that required them to dance around the stage singing lots of tongue-twisting nonsense syllables within the lyrics and holding their mikes as if they were playing flutes. It was utterly delightful. Too bad Mai wasn't there for it. But she's here on this recording, the highlight of this album and the main reason to purchase it. (And she's there when they perform it onstage at the "Hello! Project 2010 Winter Kacho Fugetsu Shuffle Date" concert, which I'll also get around to reviewing.) Other noteworthy tracks include Morning Musume's "Shouganai Yume Oibito," Buono's "My Boy," Erina Mano's "Otome no Inori," and contributions from a slender sampling of the Elder Club, Natsumi Abe, Aya Matsuura, and, in a welcome return to Petit Best after an absence of four years, Mari Yaguchi, performing solo. A revived Aa! sings "Yume to Genjitsu," which reunites Berryz' Miyabi Natsuyaki and C-ute's Airi Suzuki, who'd performed as Aa! seven years ago with MM's Reina Tanaka. Other performers represented here include C-ute, Guardians 4, Shugo Chara Egg and Koharu Kusumi. I'm really not crazy about the anime songs included, although I'll give "Hapi*Hapi Sunday" a pass since it's Koharu's last appearance on a Petit Best album, thanks to her decision to graduate from Morning Musume to go into modeling. I will miss her.