Utada - Exodus
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Free Music Notes for Exodus
Free Music Review: Not Many People Can Do It Like This
Hit: 5 Stars
Utada Hikaru is a Japanese singing-sensation. She's had sky-rocketing album sales and even broke the record for biggest sales for an album in Japan. But when she recorded a U.S. album, it didn't fair so well. However, I believe this material was strong enough to make an impact if she had built up a bit of a name for herself here. Anyway, the album did very well in Japan (as expected) even if it was an all English album. While the lyrics are more sexual than Utada's previous albums, she pulls it off very well.
The Album Jewels: "Animato," "The Workout," "Tippy Toe, "Easy Breezy," "Kremlin Dusk," and "About Me," "Hotel Lobby"
The album's best offer is without a doubt is track number 8, "Animato." While the song does not have the word of the title anywhere in it, Utada doesn't really focus on one subject in the song. In fact, this song is where the title of my review comes from. The song is so cool because it is intercut with these little music sections that sound like radio-transmissions but in a really cool way. It ends with Utada talking about Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin. It's kind of weird but it's also cool. "The Workout" emerges as the second best track as Utada talks about when she went to the club. She dances with a dirty blonde Texan and talks with a born-again Christian. The hook is infectious as she tells her dance partner to "push it up, push it down, pull it up, pull it down, keep it up and keep it down" and then to put her down, calling it a workout. Another catchy part of the song as she counts "one life, two times, three girls, four guys, five ripples going up and down [her] spine, six, oh..." "Tippy Toe" is about a man having an affair with Utada. She tells him to dance on his tippy toe and to pray that his family doesn't hear him. I don't think I've ever heard someone take this position so she gets points for originality. Another point she gets is her vocal abilities are showcased on this one. Utada has such a range in her voice and it really comes out in this one. "Easy Breezy" was released as the album's first single and it was used in a commercial for the Nintendo DS. This song is about a man she used to date who just doesn't care about her. The music video is really cool, especially at the end where she is driving the car. Anyway, the hook is probably my favorite part of the song but the chorus is catchy too as she says the most memorable line from the album (to most people): "you're easy breezy and I'm Japanesey." Kremlin Dusk" is an amazing track that shows off the true power of Utada's vocal ablities. She even makes references to Edgar Ellen Poe's "The Raven." It beings off as a beautiful ballad but it changes gears near the half-way mark. It starts to incorporate a rock-sound and then soon enough, it changes into a rock-influenced song. Then at the end, it comes back to the ballad part and ends off nicely. Although it changes its structure, "Kremlin Dusk" is still a great song. "About Me" ends the album on a nice note. On a mid-tempo/up-tempo track, Utada asks her husband if he's really ready to no more about her. An impressive fact about the song is Utada plays the guitar herself during the verses (I never knew she could play). Anyway, my favorite parts of the song where the music changes for like a second as she says "up and down and down, etc." This is definitely the right way to end the album. "Hotel Lobby" deserves a place as an album gem since the beat is so different. It sounds so futuristic, yo'll instantly fall in love with it. It's also cool since it talks about something most don't talk about: prostitution and the hard life these girls face. It's very interesting and my favorite part is the last line "Catch me cause I think I'm falling/ I'll be waiting in the mirrors of the hotel lobby." The note on "lobby" is so amazing.
"Devil Inside" is another song where Utada shows us she can sing and this time it's about not being the nice person everybody thinks you are. If you're a nice person, you can relate to this song. She also says that there is a "jealous angel" inside of her. The beats are great and I can see why this song (when released as the second single), peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay chart. "You Make Me Want To Be A Man" is a dance oriented track that although having a strange title, has a cute message in it. It finds Utada wanting to be a guy so that she can better understand her husband. She states that she "wants to tell [him] something but she can't" and "this is just the way [she is]." With a cute message and a beat to dance to, what more could you ask for. She made a good decision in making this a single. "Hotel Lobby" takes Utada in another direction that is unfamiliar to most in the music scene (relating to music not behind the scenes): prostitution. She takes a different approach with her vocals as well. Instead of using her amazing range, she does a rapping sort of things, which suprisingly suits the song very well. It has a bit of a futuristic theme to it and that's one of the reasons it's so cool. "Wonder About" has the element that I can't put my finger on. I'm not sure what to call it but I like it. The chorus features some strange and funny sounds (but they work in the song). It just goes to show you that Utada can make anything work. She's singing but it doesn't sound like she usually does when she's singing so the song's a bit of a mystery. Despite this, it's still a good song that is worth getting. "Exodus '04" talks about Utada running way with someone to paradise. She tells her mother and father not to worry and why should they, she's with the person she loves. Utada is cute when she talks about her husband and the love they have for each other. I'm very happy for them. "Let Me Give You My Love" has Utada exploring the sexuality this album gears to. She talks about "mixing gene pool (Eastern, Western)" and getting "multi-lingual." I love how she's using geography and culture to talk about sex instead of being blunt about it and acting promiscuous. While it's not the strongest material on the album, the message comes across clear and it's pretty good. The beat is focused on J-pop and shows Utada can really master any genre.
Exodus is Utada's only U.S.A. release and one of the two English albums she has released (the other under the name Cubic U, which went under the radar of most). Since I'm not Japanese, I cannot understand what she is saying on her other albums, which may lead to my opinion. But this material is so strong that I know that this has the potential to be her strongest album. The beats are hot and Utada shows emotion and strength in her vocal range. As my favorite J-pop singer, this is naturally my favorite J-pop album. Exodus is a collection of Utada's emotions, experiences and it came out amazingly. I really hope she makes another all English album cause I'll definitely buy it.
Free Music Review: Devil Outside
Hit: 4 Stars
Ms. Utada came out with this CD some time ago and this is my first time hearing it. Well I got it almost 3 months ago but anyway, I think this is a very colorful CD. Some of the songs that stuck with me were Kremlin Dusk, Animato, and About me. This is interesting since I bought this CD because of 2 other songs: You Make Me Want To Be A Man and Easy Breezy. Still, I like the tempo on this Cd and it works for those who enjoy a good song. Free Music Review: Utada Hikaru got Soul
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a big fan of Utada Hikaru for years and I have really loved her prior work, but none of it had the soul of this album. It is very different from her previous albums, but not in a bad way. This album fills me with emotion in a way her others never did. Don't let people who say that it's too different from her past work scare you off.Free Music Review: No Deep River
Hit: 4 Stars
This is no "Deep River," but as this cd is aimed toward an American demographic, I understand why Hikki's sound is different on this album. However, that is not to say that this isn't a great cd. I actually believe it is. However, I don't perceive much depth in the lyrics; but it is amazing that she wrote them all, just like she writes her own lyrics in japanese--a true testament to her bilingualism. A lot of the songs are about romantic relations between West (americans) and East (japanese, or asians in general), and I'm not really sure if that's such a worthy topic. In listening to her japanese songs, I have the advantage of not knowing what she's saying. I can sit back and enjoy melody and harmony and the tone of her voice and not worry about what she's singing about, all the while hoping against hope that what she is singing about is important, a message that needs to get out. "Exodus" motivates me to go back to Hikaru's other songs and seek translations to see what really going on. Other than that, I really like "Kremlin Dusk," "Animato," and "Hotel Lobby." In spite of all I've written I still think it's a great cd overall and I enjoy it even today.Free Music Review: Something New and Interesting
Hit: 3 Stars
Utada Hikaru has conquered Japan. Her first three albums have sold millions of copies and she has a large devoted fanbase. So, what's the next step? The US music scene of course. Utada used Exodus as a way to reinvent herself and her music, as marked by abbreviating her name to just "Utada." She has dropped the mainstream r&b feel of First Love and Distance, and the personal pop feel of Deep River. Instead we are presented with fourteen tracks of experimental r&b and some pop tunes. Utada has really used this CD to let her hair down, to take risks that she could never take in the Japanese market. After listening to the CD, you appreciate that risk taking, but almost wish that she could have spent more time polishing a few of the tracks.
The first track on the album is a brief "Opening" and it's, rather awkward. Utada's voice bounces around without much logic or direction. This unique style of singing will be used and perfected a couple years later in "Passion" but for the "Opening," it just seems strange. The next two songs are perhaps the most straightforward of the album. "Devil Inisde" and "Exodus `04" are both well written likable pop tunes that make use of Asian instruments to give them a unique edge. Utada is strong here lyrically, although that is not always the case for the rest of the album. The Japanese style of writing lyrics, where more is based on meaning then how they sound, is so different from the American style that at time she struggles. That is not the case here. After these two strong tracks are the two weakest tracks of the album. "The Workout," an experimental dance track, had so much potential. It could have been Bjork-esque if it she had just polished off the arrangements, melody, and lyrics a little more. Instead it appears sloppy, the verses and chorus haphazardly sliced together and the lyrics almost laughable. "Easy Breezy," the next track, is also weak lyrically, but more due to the fact that it's too cutesy at times. The song itself, a rather straightforward if unremarkable pop tune, isn't that bad, but ends up looking ridiculous when Utada starts singing about how she has "a new microphone." At this point in the song the vocals are weak and it takes any goodness that this track could have offered and erases it.
Next we have two rather strong experimental r&b tracks "Tippy Toe" and "Hotel Lobby." Both of them have really unique beats and stories, infidelity and prostitution. After that we get "Animato" a unique ambient track that shows Utada at her strongest and weakest lyrically. Some of the verses have brilliant lyrics but the chorus "I need some one who's true/someone who does the laundry too" does not really achieve the desired effect and ends up looking a little cheesy. After this we get "Crossover Interlude," another version of the opening that comes off a little more organized than its predecessor. "Kremlin Dusk" is the track that this album is BEST known for because it is the best one musically. Starting out soft and quiet it eventually grows and grows until you're hit with an explosion of sound. Very powerful. The only thing that holds this track back is its occasional nonsensical lyrics.
"You Make me Want to Be a Man" is a strong dance track. The use of Asian instruments really makes is something special and lyrically it is quiet strong. The next two songs "Wonder'bout" and "Let me give you my Love" are both r&b songs but they don't pack the emotional pack that "Tippy Toe" and "Hotel Lobby" did. They're not bad, but they don't really stand out in any way. The closing track "About me" is a great, stripped down ballad with a unique twist in the chorus.
"Exodus" is a good album. It has some incredibly strong tracks and songs that will remain Hikki classics for a long time. Still, one can't help wondering when comparing it to albums like "Deep River" and "Ultra Blue" that it could have been better if a little more effort was put into it lyrically and musically. The album is weighted down by a few weak tracks and some of the strongest tracks are hindered by weak lyrics. Still, I hope Utada doesn't completely abandon her American career. There is real creativity here and potential for something incredible.