Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
J-Pop's Brightest Lite/Light, April 11, 2005
In the obsessive, inward-looking world of JPop, the Holy Grail is to make it big in the US. Many have attempted, and to date all have failed. Language problems, talent issues, and lack of interest in US producers have all been cited. With Sony now actively promoting Japanese artists in the US, it would seem to be a matter of time before the Great Japanese Hope will make it.
Hikaru Utada may just be the one. Her parents are both musicians, she grew up in New York, was educated at international schools in Japan and (briefly) at Columbia University, is attractive-and can really sing. Her English is flawless, her range more than enough for the demands of a pop diva, and her phrasing clever and ironic and smooth. She manages soul and love ballads equally well. Songs such as "Time Will Tell," "Automatic," "Can You Keep A Secret" are featured on this compilation. Following up First Love, this is a must-have CD. Time will tell, but this reviewer expects her to be the One.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible, December 10, 2004
Incredible. The only word I can think of to describe this CD. Hikaru's voice is so amazing. There isn't a single song on here I don't love. (Please excuse me if my typing is bad, I'm not used to this keyboard, it skips letters sometimes, so please forgive me)
Time Will Tell was my favorite for a while. It has some 7-Club-7'y melodies, but that's a good tihng.
Automatic is awesome. It's a gret feel-good song. It's really upbeat and sort of techno-ish then slowly goes into pop.
Movin' On Without You isn't my favorite song... It's a good song, but I prefer the songs she does with a higher voice than this with her low voice.
First Love is a beautiful song that really shows off Hikaru's voice. It's another 7-Club-7'y song, but this one's slow, unlike Time Will Tell.
Addicted To You is still my favorite. It's a lot of fun. Chika chika uh!
Wait and See has a reall hot beginning. It's really cool becuase it goes between muted and regular and multiple voces and a bunch of stuff. It's upbeat and fun, definately a good dance song.
For You is a cool song, too. It's sort of Hip-Hop, R&B. It's another really fun song that makes you want to get up and dance even though you run the risk of all your friends thinking ur weird.
Time Limit is also my favorite (I have several). It's another hip-hop song. It's awesome. I'm pretty sure at the beginning the guy says "Ja Rule" which would be incredible considering the song isn't even in English. All I ever talk about is JPop and it's cool being able to say that my favorite artist did a song with Ja Rule. It's even Dark Child!
Can You Keep A Secret? is more dramatic, another 7-club-7'y song. If you're ever fortunate enough to see the video, it's so cool. I won't ruin it for you, but let's just say things aren't the way they seem.
Final Distance is probably the most serious, most beautiful song on the CD. I love the chorus ging "ah ah ah" it's just so heavenly. The video's really cool as well.
Traveling. Fun, uplifting, and crazy. It's about how she never gets to relax and now she finally wants a day off and she wants to spend it with her man (it's still in Japanese). It's extremely upbeat and crazy. A good dance song if your friends don't mind it being Japanese. I think this song has my favorit video on the CD.
Hikari is the reason I bought this CD. I heard Simple and Clean, Kingdom Heart's theme song by her. It's this song but in English, with completely different words. It's another beautiful song and it's easy to get the words down. The video, or at least an extra clip I've seen, is so dumb it's hilarious. It's just her washing dishes for 2:30! They cut the song short for what I've seen but I doubt that's the whole video.
Sakura Drops was my favorite after Time Will Tell. It's kind of epic and mystic. It's really Asian with all the little tinny noises in the background it's a really pretty song. The video's weird though. I can't even describe it.
Letters is currently my favorite of all my favorites. I'm listneing to it right now, actually. It's fairly upbeat, but not really a dance song. It's more the kind of song that makes you bob your head. It's another song that really shows off her incredible voice.
Colors is up there with my favorites as well. Another very Asian, tinny backgrounded song. It's a bit of a dance song at certain points but not for long. It's a very downbeat, high strung song. Shows off her voice well.
I hope my review has pursuaded you to buy this CD. It truly is one of my favorite song of all time, even as cheesy as that sounds.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Utada did in Japan, November 7, 2005
I first heard Utada Hikaru sing on the commercials for the video game Kingdom Hearts. I was immediately hooked to her voice and did all I could to get copies of both versions of Simple and Clean. When I heard she had a English language album I bought it instantly and loved it.
Latter I was interested in what this "Jpop" queen had done in Japan so I bought this album. I was not disappointed. There is a "Pop" feel to much of this album but it's so different that it won't seem tired. Her songs are done primarily in Japanese but she throws a line or two in here and there that's English (and almost all the track titles are in English too). Her voice is just magical, the woman can sing! You can really feel the energy of the songs even without know exactly what she is saying.
I recommend this CD if you have heard Utada sing before. If you are interested in Utada but don't know Japanese, buy her Exodus album first to see if you like her.
Warning: this CD will make you want to learn Japanese, her voice is just that good.
FYI: Track 12 sounds like Simple and Clean done in Japanese!
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