Caramel Milk: The Best of Chara

Caramel Milk: The Best of Chara
Greatest hits album by Chara
Released November 11, 2000
Recorded 1996-2000
Genre Trip hop, downtempo, alternative pop
Length 1:05:01
Label Sony Music Japan
Chara chronology

Live 97-99 Mood
(2000)		 Caramel Milk: The Best of Chara
(2000)		 Madrigal
(2001)
Singles from Caramel Milk
  1. "Tsuki to Amai Namida"
    Released: August 23, 2000
  2. "Taisetsu o Kizuku Mono"
    Released: October 12, 2000

Caramel Milk: The Best of Chara (キャラメル・ミルク・ザ・ベスト・オブ・チャラ Kyarameru Miruku za Besuto obu Chara) is the second greatest hits album of Chara, which was released on November 11, 2000.[1] It features material from her most commercially successful studio albums: Montage, Junior Sweet and Strange Fruits. It debuted at #2 on the Japanese Oricon album charts, and charted in the top 200 for 12 weeks.[2] It eventually sold a total of 520,000 copies.

Two singles were released prior to the album. Tsuki to Amai Namida (月と甘い涙 The Moon and Sweet Tears), the first, was used as the theme song for the drama Limit: Moshimo, Wagako ga... (リミット もしも、わが子が...). This was the first time that Chara was offered to perform the theme song for a drama. Taisetsu o Kizuku Mono (大切をきずくもの Things That Make You Mean More to Me) was used in a Kirin commercial advertising black tea drinks. The music video and the booklet illustrations were done in collaboration with Chara's then husband, Tadanobu Asano.[3]

The album features all of Chara's solo singles released in the 1996-2000 period, however, it does not feature Chara's collaboration song with Yuki of the band Judy and Mary, Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange (愛の火 3つ オレンジ Fire of Love, Three, Orange). This single was extremely successful, selling over 200,000 units in 1999 and 2000.

A song titled Caramel Milk would later appear on Chara's forthcoming 2001 studio album, Madrigal.

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s) Length
1. "Yasashii Kimochi (やさしい気持ち Kind Feelings)"  CharaCharaZentarō Watanabe 3:30
2. "Taisetsu o Kizuku Mono (大切をきずくもの Things That Make You Mean More to Me)"  CharaCharaYukio Nagoshi 4:50
3. "Tsuki to Amai Namida (月と甘い涙 The Moon and Sweet Tears)"  CharaCharaZentarō Watanabe 4:58
4. "Junior Sweet"  CharaChara, Shinichi OsawaShinichi Osawa 6:27
5. "Time Machine (タイムマシーン)"  CharaChara, Yukio Nagoshi, Hideki YoshimuraHoppy Kamiyama, Yukio Nagoshi 6:07
6. "Atashi wa Koko yo (あたしはここよ I'm Here)"  CharaCharaTowa Tei, Ayumi Obinata 3:32
7. "70% (Yūgure no Uta) (70%—夕暮れのうた 70% (Evening Song))"  CharaChara, Zentarō WatanabeZentarō Watanabe 4:11
8. "Milk (ミルク)"  CharaChara, Ashley IngramAshley Ingram 3:52
9. "Shimashima no Bambi (しましまのバンビ Striped Bambi)"  CharaCharaTowa Tei 3:30
10. "Doko ni Itta n darō? Ano Baka wa (どこに行ったんだろう? あのバカは Where'd He Go? That Idiot)"  Chara, Kohey TsuchiyaChara, Kohey TsuchiyaKohey Tsuchiya 4:16
11. "Duca"  CharaChara, Shinichi IgarashiAnrora Band 4:00
12. "Hikari to Watashi (光と私 The Light and Me)"  CharaChara, Tomoyuki IshikawaAnrora Band 5:45
13. "Shanghai Baby (上海ベイベ)" (Yen Town Band)CharaCharaTakeshi Kobayashi 4:59
14. "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta) (あいのうた Love Song)" (Yen Town Band)Chara, Shunji Iwai, Takeshi KobayashiTakeshi KobayashiTakeshi Kobayashi 4:49

Singles

Date Title Peak position Weeks Sales
August 23, 2000 "Tsuki to Amai Namida" 12 (Oricon) 5 58,910
October 12, 2000 "Taisetsu o Kizuku Mono" 14 (Oricon) 5 51,150

Japan Sales Rankings

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
November 11, 2000 Oricon Daily Albums Chart
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 2 216,970 520,000 12 weeks
Oricon Yearly Albums Chart 51

References