Innocent Blue ~chi hate umi tsukiru made~ is the fourth single from Korean-born artist mink (née Mi Kyung Lee). The single, which peaked at #39 on Japan's Oricon charts, charted for seven weeks and is currently mink's second-best selling single.

The disc's title track begins as an instrumentally-sparse ballad (utilizing only some moody, haunting background effects, a simple synth-guitar line, and piano) that brings mink's powerful voice to the forefront. Beginning the song a cappella, mink carefully makes her way toward the chorus, always mindful of the lack of instruments behind her, and never succumbs to over-singing. As the instrumentation builds and the song hits the chorus -- which adds a more complicated piano part than that of the build-up, as well as some backing strings -- one might think that mink would add some more power to her voice, and she doesn't, choosing instead to remain soft and understated, like the song. (She does, however, clear up her pronunciation a bit, as some of the words during the verses are a bit slurred together due to her manner of singing.)

At least, not until the second chorus hits. During the verse, a light drum beat is added, and at the pre-chorus, it takes a stronger role in the instrumentation, becoming a major factor in the chorus. Due to this, mink, too, steps up and belts out her lines in that voice of hers, an instrument that, while not as powerful as, say, Whitney or Mariah, has plenty of strength and ability (surpassing that of many of her Asian contemporaries). It's predictable -- mink's got that voice, and she tends to love using it in this sort of manner -- but it adds so much more to the song; one of the biggest complaints I have is that while the track makes good use of a quieter atmosphere and mink's softer side, it doesn't really go anywhere for the first three minutes (given that the second verse follows the same formula as the first) and comes across as a tad boring. While it's a good track and isn't one of mink's weaker overall, it's probably the weakest track here.

The first of the B-sides, aoi ookami is a more-standard pop ballad than Innocent Blue, opening with a solo from one of the woodwinds that is backed by a wonderfully-beautiful piano solo and underscored by a string section (as well as a drums and synth backing effects later on). Although it doesn't allow mink's voice the room to breathe that the previous track does, the instrumentation here adds an element of enjoyability that is lacking there (including a flute-and-piano solo during the song's bridge that is absolutely lovely). Vocally, mink is superb here, using her softer, straighforward singing voice in a much better manner during the verses and navigating the song's melody -- which is far more memorable than that of Innocent Blue -- well. While she does belt during the chorus and near the end, it's far less gratuitious than normal and again demonstrates her vocal control. Of the three tracks here, I like this one the best.

BLESSING OF LOVE, then, must fall in the middle. Given the song's lyrical content -- talking about sailing away on a journey, the song's instrumentation is befitting, sounding like something one would hear when doing such a thing: a simple, repeating keyboard line and booming, bass-like drums (although not that loud), and a typical pop-ballad drum beat later on. I suppose the best word to describe it would be "epic-sounding". mink's performance of the song -- which is completely in English -- is, much like her others here, quite good, again combining her softer side with the diva belting. Unfortunately, while her pronunciation is still good, there are points here where mink's accent is thick and makes some words hard to understand without the aid of printed lyrics (which contain a number of grammatical errors, which is odd since they were written by someone -- I'm assuming, by the name -- that speaks the language natively). This is a good track, and I like the lyrical message, but I think mink can do a lot better.

Innocent Blue, as a single, gets a solid four-star rating. The three tracks here are decently done, but they seem to be rather-safe choices for an artist as talented as mink, and none of them possess the qualities of some of her other tracks (see everything on 4 Love) that would make them all-that-memorable. Still recommended, though.

mink: "Innocent Blue ~chi hate umi tsukiru made~"
[ CDS | RZCD-45484 | ¥1,050 | 2007.01.01 ]
[ CD DVD | RZCD-45483/B | ¥1,680 | 2007.01.01 ]

01. Innocent Blue ~chi hate umi tsukiru made~ [ 5:24 ]
02. aoi ookami [ 4:48 ]
03. BLESSING OF LOVE [ 4:29 ]
04. Innocent Blue ~chi hate umi tsukiru made~ (Instrumental) [ 5:23 ]
05. aoi ookami (Instrumental) [ 4:48 ]
06. BlESSING OF LOVE (Instrumental) [ 4:27 ]

[ http://www.mink.cc/index.html ]

Other mink Reviews:

e motion (2005)
4 Love (Single) (2006)

Recommended: Yes