Single Collection, Vol. 1

Artist: Utada
Label: Toshiba EMI Japan
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988006190931
ASIN: B0001GASQO

Release Date: 2004-04-08

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Listmania:

The Best Overseas

Tracks:

Time Will Tell
Automatic
Movin On Without You
First Love
Addicted To You (Up-in Heaven Mix)
Wait And See
For You
Can You Keep A Secret
Final Distance
Traveling
Sakura
Letters
Colors

Customer Reviews:

Do not let $56.99 keep you from getting this........2004-07-27

The average CD in Japan costs more than $35 new. To get all the songs on this one album, you'd need to buy "First Love", "Distance", "Deep River", and "Colors" as a single. This CD is well worth its cover price. Here is why:

Ever since the days of a young school girl in New York performing under the pseudonym CubicU (see her English-language album Precious, recorded 1996, released 1998 I think), it has been apparent that Utada Hikaru is a gifted artist and performer.

What I have said in previous reviews (see my single reviews of "First Love", "Colors" and "Hikari" for more info) is that very few solo female artists in Japan have a real singing ability. She is one of the few that can pierce the fuzz of Japanese pop culture; which we experienced in the late-80s/early-90s -- bands and singers that were famous not for their ability but for their act. In live performances of hers that I've seen on TV, she seldom does little more than sing -- but the entire country of Japan stops to listen every single time she does, because currently there are very few Japanese singers who are half as talented. (others with talented voices that come to mind are Tori Amos-esque Bonnie Pink and maybe Hamasaki Ayumi though she is overly melodramatic and sings out of tune live)

This album spans her career (in Japan) to date. Other works of note not on the album are "Blow My Whistle" from Rush Hour 2, and "Simple and Clean" which appears as the title track on PS2's Kingdom Hearts game. Incidentally, this song is to the tune of "Hikari" though the lyrics are not a direct translation (see my review of "Hikari" for the Japanese translation). I must say that I am disappointed in not seeing "Hikari" on this collection album. It is a wonderful song released at a poignant time in her life (battling public media scrutiny over marrying at a young age).

I recommend this album to anyone who wants to explore Japanese music and needs somewhere to begin. I compare her style and expression to a much-more-mature Britney Spears without the dancing or even to an even keel Jessica Simpson.

Looking forward, I expect her English album "Exodus" to be the best selling English album in the history of Japan, surpassing even the Beatles.

Classy J-Pop, but the price ain't right.......2004-07-17

Hikaru Utada is something of a phenomenon in her native Japan. At the tender age of 16, she clocked sales of in excess of 6.5 million for her debut album, "First Love", and has since gone on to become one of the best-selling artists the country has ever seen. Aside from the Neptunes-produced Foxy Brown collaboration 'Blow My Whistle' (featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack), though, she's yet to make any waves abroad. This all may or may not change with the forthcoming release of "Exodus", her first solely English-language effort (featuring productions by Timbaland); for now, though, this collection serves as a timely primer.
First things first: there's nothing new here. Most recent single 'Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro' doesn't get a look-in and, apart from 'Colors', all of the songs included have featured on previous albums. Diehard fans might appreciate the fact that the tracks have been remastered, but to this reviewer's ears there's not much difference.

Still, for the uninitiated, this is the perfect place to start. J-Pop (as the genre is known) is something of an acquired taste but, if you dig it, Utada is one of the music's finest proponents. She runs the gamut from pumping dance-lite ('Traveling') to emotive ballads ('First Love', 'Final Distance'), by way of dalliances in R&B ('Addicted to You') and swooning synth-led epics ('Sakura Drops', 'Colors'). Even if you don't understand Japanese, you'll struggle to get some of these tunes out of your head for days; whether or not this is a good thing remains a moot point.
All in all, this is as good a summary of Utada's output as you'll get. From a strictly financial point of view, however, anyone interested would probably be better served by snapping up one or two of the lady's albums proper and working from there. Hey, you do the math. I'll just relish belting out a few of these numbers the next time I hit my local karaoke emporium.

Single Collection Vol-1.......2004-06-02

I'm a very dedicated and loyal Utada Hikaru fan and I've bought all of her albums- first love, distance, deep river and of course the latest Single Collection Vol One.
This album is basically, a summary of the past three albums, choosing the best songs out of them. If you are a crazy fan, even if you have gotten the three albums, you must buy it, coz it's really a nice album. I recommend First love, final distance and colours.
If you have just started hooking on to Hikaru's songs, this is a must buy album! It includes all the finest works of this talented artiste of the century!

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

A Prince Among Thieves ~ Prince Paul

Turn It On Again: The Hits ~ Genesis

Still Not Getting Any... ~ Simple Plan

Code Orange ~ Davis Redford Triad

JAM ~ Professor Louie & the Crowmatix

Red and Clear ~ Giant's Chair

Pilot County Suite ~ The Model Rockets

Reconnected: Live & More ~ Gary Numan

Best of Inuyasha OP & ED Song ~ Original Soundtrack

Ride ~ Heilbronn Matthias