Unboxing #3 - Brown Eyed Girls' Leave Ms. Kim and Narsha's NARSHA

WHEE!  So my order for Narsha's album and Brown Eyed Girls' second album arrived today!  Happy happy.

First up is Brown Eyed Girls' second album, titled 떠나라 미스김 (Leave Ms. Kim).  Their second album was released in 2007.  The songs on the album are primarily slower paced songs with lots of vocal pyrotechnics.  The title track for this album is "너에게 속았다, (I Got Fooled By You)".  A really powerful song with impressive harmonies and vocals.  As per usual.  The packaging for this album isn't too fancy, but puts a little spin on a typical jewel case/booklet/CD format.  The case isn't a typical clear plastic case...at least not on the outside.  Instead of describing it poorly, just take a looksie at the pictures below!  Like I've said before, this baby has been out of print for a few years, so I'm really impressed that I could get my hands on it.  Yay for quirks of fate.

All the way from South Korea!

Side view

Lots of bubble wrap.  I love it.

Top view

Wasn't kidding about the bubble wrap.  That's two long strips.

The lovelies!

NEW and all shrink wrapped.  Apparently this version of the album is a second press print or reissue.  The first press of the album comes in a plastic case and is twice as long with the booklet on one side and the CD on the other.  At least, that's what I've heard.

Shrink wrapped removed.  This is what I meant about it not being a typical plastic jewel case.

The back of the album.  As good of a shot as I could take.  Because of the material, flash makes it all glare-y and closer shots make it blurry.

Side view

The booklet is attached to the CD case, so it flips open like a book.  Listening to the CD as I'm typing this up! :D

That concludes this album!  Next up is Narsha's mini-album and first solo project...NARSHA.  Fantastically quirky music and interesting packaging.  Bought it for a friend as a Christmas gift maybe two years ago.  Glad to finally get my hands on my own copy! :D

Shrink wrap has never looked so good.

I love the slipcover.  That's so clever.

The back of the album and track list.  Loving the green feathers.

Side view

The slipcover removed.  Gorgeous cover art.

A snapshot of the slipcover alone.

You would not believe the odd contorting I had to do to get this picture.

I love how the title NARSHA is raised on the slipcover.  Neat.

I love how it folds out.  Under the CD is the lyrics sheet (gold) and photo booklet (black outline).  Then the credits are printed on the case underneath the photo booklet.

Kinda wish the CD wasn't held in by those flaps.  They make the CD kind of hard to remove and put back in.  A little tricky, but it just takes a little caution to put the CD back in the flaps without damaging them.  I also wish the DVD of the music video was included in this mini-album.  The photos are gorgeous.  I know that Narsha said that her makeup and costume for EACH live stage ran about $3,000.  I wonder how much it cost to make a single copy of her mini-album, considering all the bells and whistles.

Anywho, her title track is "삐리빠빠, (BBI RI BBA BBA)".  A quirky, fantastic song.  The first time I heard it, I was like...huh.  That's different.  Interesting.  And REALLY different.  Then after, I thought,  huh.  That's AWESOME.  This mini-album revealed what we all already know: Narsha. Is. Such. A. Badass.  She's in your face and makes no apologies for it.  The songs are well executed, all laced with essence of Narsha.  I hope that didn't sound too weird.  I only wish the mini-album included the DVD for the music video.  But oh well.

Narsha  has such a lilting, girly, sweet voice in comparison to JeA, the resident diva belt-er of the group and Ga-In, the one with the sexy, husky vocals.  I love how all three vocalists of the band have their own unique, distinguishable sound.  I think that's what makes them able to approach such a wide variety of genres and what enables them to do it so well.  Even Miryo, the fantastically awesome rapper, can hold her own.  Check it out.

Overall, I'm quite happy with my purchase.  Expected to get Ga-In's step 2/4, but got Leave Ms. Kim in its place.  Ecstatic.  It's not like this CD is being produced anymore.  I do plan on buying step 2/4 though.  Maybe if I perform well on my midterms, I will. :P

While you're praying for a copy of Leave Ms. Kim to fall on your lap like it did mine, please know that NARSHA is still in print.  You can grab your own copy at KpopHeaven/whatever your preferred retailer is.

Anywho, I'm expecting Alexz Johnson's Skipping Stone EP soon, so I'll probably post an unboxing for that when it arrives.  Yay!