Thursday, 4 June 2009

Utada // This Is The One (Japanese Version)

You may be familiar with the name if you’re a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series as she wrote and sang both the Japanese and English theme songs for the last two games. This Is The One is the second English language from her and as the title of the album says, this could be the one that does it for Utada.
The album has been produced by Tricky and by Stargate so already you can have an idea of what it’s going to be. The previews that were heard before the album’s release does not do the album any justice! The opening song [On & On] is upbeat and easily danceable and sets the scene for the rest of the album. There’s an nice sampling of the piece Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence in track 2 [Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI] something a little unexpected, however, the sampling is done perfectly and doesn’t ruin the original piece as sampling can do. There are a few ballads thrown into the mix [Apple & Cinnamon, This One (Crying Like A Child) & Come Back To Me (The first single from the album)] which breaks up the more upbeat songs. Tracks 7 & 8 [Dirty Desire & Poppin’] provide the kind of song that you would expect from their titles and may their lyrics may take some fans by surprise. To round the album off we have the latino sounding Me Muero which brings the album to a close on a high.
Many people have compared the album to her previous release Exodus, however, the two should be viewed in their own lights. It’s obvious that there has been some learning curves since that release and this album is possibly what fans were hoping for from the start. Overall, it’s a well put together album should hopefully make the american market sit up and take notice of one of Japan’s most successful female artists.
Rating: 4/5

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