宇多田ヒカル – First Love

Posted by Alvy on 2012.01.09 · 11 Comments 

Artist: 宇多田ヒカル (Utada Hikaru)
Album: First Love
Release Date: 03.10.1999

To begin 2012 with something fresh and different, I’m going to initiate a special one-week project solely dedicated to Japanese urban culture! This doesn’t limit itself solely to music, though! I want to look at street fashion as well and introduce all that rich, beautiful Japanese culture to anyone who may be new to this art and/or curious about what each style represents, the meaning and characteristics behind each. Since there are countless styles behind Japanese street fashion, I’ll focus on some main ones in detail throughout the week and end the week with a potpourri that briefly introduces other styles through harajuku fashion.

I really try not to review too much Utada Hikaru around here because she is my absolute favorite singer and if any of you find my Maki Goto posts a bit too biased, you haven’t heard me talk about Utada! But I think it’s impossible not to write about her when the subject is Japanese urban culture. In the mid-90s, Japanese street culture was really manifesting itself through fashion and music in a hybrid between Japanese extravagance and an admiration for western culture, and when Utada came out with her debut album, First Love, it was truly different from anything else on the market and sales sky-rocketed. First Love still holds its title as the best-selling Asian album in history (selling over 10 million copies worldwide) and it introduced a western take on R&B to a mainstream Japanese audience, which has definitely contributed to Japan’s urban culture. If you’re new to Japanese music and culture, I would really recommend checking this album out because it has some really classic J-Pop songs in it!

First Love begins with the classic Automatic. This is pure 90s R&B of the best kind! I really love it how mellow the midtempo instrumentals are but still have that R&B punch and it’s just a very relaxing track with a classic western R&B flavor to it. The chorus is addicting and it’s no wonder it was such a big hit!

Movin’ on without you is one of my favorites on First Love and another one of Utada’s classics! It’s a lot more uptempo than Automatic, with some striking electric guitar riffs that escalate it to another level! Utada covers the song with strong beats, melodic piano keys, beautiful backing vocals and synth for days to create this fast-paced masterpiece and she nails it with her trademark R&B sound. This song really stands out because it’s a really well-rounded uptempo in an album where midtempos are more prominent and its energy is fantastic!

In My Room is very sweet in its simplicity. The melodic synthesizers that kick off the song are really striking and I really enjoy the intimate feel of this song. It feels like the piano and the synth sing with Utada and it really sounds like somewhat of a relaxing, personal reflection of Utada’s. I also like it how during live performances of this song, Utada incorporates Japanese manners (such as taking off one’s shoes out of respect for the other’s home) in the lyrics as she’s adlibbing to the song, it’s quite playful and refreshing. The sounds present in this track are very relevant to its theme and I really like it for that! Just like Automatic, it’s very mellow and delicious to enjoy and chill to.

First Love is a song that so many Japanese music fans hold dear! It’s a gorgeous ballad that holds a lot of emotion in its sentimental simplicity. What makes it so endearing and special is how innocent and timeless it is. Utada sounds flawless and the feeling in her voice is so touching, it’s impossible not to feel how heartfelt this track is! It’s just a very sweet track worth checking out.

甘いワナ ～Paint It, Black is a very interesting track that samples The Rolling Stones‘ Paint it Black in a completely different way. It’s an uptempo that doesn’t feature that dark tension from the original song, but rather converts it into a fast-paced R&B track with beautiful vocals. I really like the break in this song, where it slows down and Hikki’s vocals soften before the song slowly starts getting fast-paced again and its melody begins to reform. Another big highlight of the album, it’s certainly very interesting, fun and enjoyable!

time will tell is by far one of the sweetest songs of all time! Just like First Love, it has that innocent simplicity to it, but this time it has a stronger R&B punch and melody and a happier midtempo feel. I really hold this song dear to my heart because it takes me back in Utada’s career to those early days when she was just starting out so I’m sure it’s really special to every fan! It’s a hidden jewel in First Love since it’s not as obviously popular as some of the other a-sides, but its equal in quality and lovability.

Never Let Go samples Sting‘s Shape of my Heart very clearly throughout the whole song. Being a huge fan of The Police and Sting, Utada must have been really happy to include a sample of his in her own music, and I really love this song! Utada sings in a softer way this time, and it’s sort of reminiscent of In My Room, but a bit simpler in its composition since the focus is turned more to the strings sampled from Shape of my Heart and Utada’s soft vocals. Though it’s not a big highlight, it’s definitely a gem in the album and I really admire Hikki for bringing her own musical culture into her music!

B&C, which is an abbreviation of Bonnie & Clyde, is a sweet, happy song about love at first sight and going crazy about something just like the duo that grace the song with their names! B&C stands out in the album because it’s the happiest song on First Love though it holds many of the same sweet and innocent elements as other songs. The guitar at the end of the song gives it a very classic feel, especially when Utada sings it at encores for her concerts! It’s a lovely album track!

Another Chance is a favorite of mine in First Love because it’s so melodic and delicious to listen to. In the chorus Utada brings it with her beautiful vocal range and hits those notes in her beautiful vibrato-equipped voice. I like this song because even though it’s a very laid-back delicious R&B song, it has feeling enough to it to take it away from an ‘ambient music’ label. Utada takes advantage of the backing vocals and makes it a true western-influenced R&B masterpiece!

I love the Interlude in this album because all we hear is Utada’s gorgeous voice and her vibrato, which was so strong at this time, I love it! This track is really short (only 18 seconds in length), but I’m happy it was turned into a full track in her sophomore album, Distance because it’s very different from the rest of her material!

Give Me A Reason is a gorgeous gorgeous ballad that is even strong enough to have been a single for the album! The instrumentals are incredibly interesting because of their strength and Utada sounds fantastic, as always! Though the track is long, it’s very enjoyable and sweet, really wrapping up the album in a sentimental note that does justice to the album!

First Love is a really special album, very homogeneous and striking because of its clear western influences from the 90s even though it’s geared towards a Japanese audience. I think that’s the secret behind its success, even though it’s very western, (with some hints of Japanese flavor) it’s geared towards a Japanese audience, and because it’s so western, it’s still relevant to many listeners all over the world! This album marked a revolution in Japanese R&B and it’s no wonder it’s still the #1 best-selling album in Asia!

Final Score:

100 / A+

宇多田ヒカル – First Love

Filed under Utada Hikaru · Tagged with J-MUSIC, Utada Hikaru