Release Date: March 10, 1999
Tracklist:
1. Automatic -Album Edit-
2. Movin’ on without you
3. In My Room
4. First Love
5. Amai Wana ~Paint It, Black
6. Time Will Tell
7. Never Let Go
8. B&C -Album Version-
9. Another Chance
10. Interlude
11. Give Me A Reason
12. Automatic -Johnny Vicious Remix- (Bonus Track)
13. First Love (John Luongo Remix) (Vinyl Bonus Track)
Woot~ Hikki’s debut album is finally mine to review! Sold over 2 million copies on the first week, charted the Oricon for 84 weeks, #1 album of 1999, and most sold album in Japanese history! There’s nothing this album didn’t shatter. Over 7 million copies up to date are sold in Japan, and 10 million+ worldwide!
The album starts off with her debut single, Automatic! What a nice way to start a debut album. When I first listened to this, it seemed a bit different from the single, so I went to Wikipedia and looked it up. Turns out this is the album edit, and it is shortened and slightly arranged to flow better in the album. It’s pretty much the same, so I won’t review this.
Second up is her second single, Movin’ on without you. A contrasting transition; quite suitable.
Movin’ on without you fades into the next track, In My Room. Doesn’t that sound suggestive..? Some synth, and a guy saying some English starts off the song before Hikki kicks in. The album calms down with this song, as only a backbeat and Hikki’s layered vocals are present in the verses and chorus. Some DJ-ish sound provides the transition. Rather uninteresting after two great singles.
Yay! It’s First Love, the title track, and my favourite track from the album. First Love is a ballad (one of Hikki’s first in the style) accompanied by a keyboard. The lyrics are sad and deep, for someone that was 15 when writing this. This song tests both high and lower registers in the voice, and STILL proves to be a really popular karaoke song in Japan.
A mysterious sounds makes a deep contrast from First Love as Amai Wana ~Paint It, Black comes in. The lyrics are quickly sung/spoken. Hikki falls back into R&B after a ballad that seems to early in her career. An infectious beat pulses through this entire song, and Hikki almost raps this song (note: close, but not actually). It slows down halfway through, and then speeds up again. Not my cup of tea, I guess, but pretty good.
A B-side making it on an album? Hikki does defy everything. Next up we have Time Will Tell, from the Automatic single. A start contrast from the last track, but nothing interesting.
Keyboards and a soft beat start off the next original track, Never Let Go. Hikki’s vocals are softer, and less agressive in this song. It’s like an R&B ballad. She seems to be straining on the higher notes though (disappointed mega-fan). The tracks proves to be nothing interesting to me.
Happy beats and bubble gum happiness begin the next song, B&C from the single Movin’ on without you. This is the album version apparently, though I don’t hear much of a difference.
More R&B like music from Hikki. Another Chance, another original track, sounds like Never Let Go to me. I’m starting to get bored of this style already.
The Interlude sounded like chorale music for a second, and then fades out with everyday sounds.
Give Me A Reason also gives me a hope of revival. The beginning is slow and beautiful. This song is one of the more pop-like songs in the album, and also the last track of the album before the remixes (which I don’t review). I feel that this song will grow on me in the near future.
Overall Rating:
4.5/5
Some uninteresting tracks that disappointed me in this album, but other than that, First Love deserved its records and standing. The Japanese must have been shocked to hear this new style of music written by an unknown, young girl from nowhere.
2 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Kuma Korner 
Ohhhhh….I’m doing this album tomorrow!
Yay for Hikki’s debut album! =D