Deep Dive: Utada Hikaru Part Two (Distance)

    The album that held the record for highest first week sales before Adele's 25 was this polished slice of R&B right here. This is Utada Hikaru's second studio album, Distance. It almost needs no introduction. It's Japan's second best-selling album, after all. The follow-up to her omniscient debut, First Love, Distance sees Utada grow into her own with new American producers while also exploring a sound that would eventually become experimental and lead into her third studio album, Deep River. Though we're going to dive into this amazing album right now!

    Distance is very much the product of 2001. We have all stars that worked here and made a new holy ground, folks. Utada enlisted Rodney Jerkins of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson fame. Along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who also extensively worked with Janet. Their influences are all over this piece of work. And at times, Distance feels like the Japanese pen pal of Janet's mega-smash All For You. Though it is entirely its own thing. 

    

    So, as many of us know, this album was released in an intense week with it competing against fellow superstar, Ayumi Hamasaki's, best-of album, A BEST. It beat out the competition for the first week and overall debuting at number one on the Oricon charts eventually selling over 4 million copies and becoming the second best-selling album in Japan of all time. Expectations for the album were high, and I say that this record meets the high demand. There's a lot of good stuff going on that has made timeless bops.

    Opening track, "Wait & See ~Risk~," opens with an aggressive, triumphant belt that sets the mood for the album. "Wait & See" is an absolute thrill. The chorus is dramatic. It's rock-tinged R&B at its finest. It's got it going on. This song was also a hit single for Utada where it peaked at number one and sold over a million copies. 

    We then go into the album's final single and second track, "Can You Keep A Secret?," which is arguably the album's most fun song. It's sooo fun to sing along to. The chorus satisfies just about any itch. Utada's vocals here are top notch. I think the song has held up pretty good and is one of her most memorable hits. I honestly watched Kimura Takuya's drama just to hear this song as it was the ending theme song.

    Utada's husband at the time, Kazuaki Kiriya, was responsible for the album artwork and he directed all of her music videos at this time. I feel like this heavily influenced even the sound and direction of the album as I think each of them drove each other to be creative in their respective fields. The third track, "Distance," feels like 2001 R&B seen through a Japanese pop lens. It's bouncy and jovial. It helps us wind down and drop the excitement a bit to get into the album's more serious notes. Which start with the next track, "Sunglasses."

    "Sunglasses" is an R&B jam through and through. Utada's vocals are so layered and well-thought out on this album. They are just gorgeous. The multi-layering is on great display here during the chorus. Beautiful. This is a practice that would stay with Utada up through the release of her sixth studio effort and comeback album, Fantôme, honestly. She started it with her debut, but expanded on this practice here. It's stunning. Her voice sounds so good like this.

    "Drama" is pop-rock tinged with the album's signature R&B. It's pretty experimental with various vocal effects in English. The hook is cinematic and indie and a thrill. We would see this style carry on to the next album in various shapes. 

    The next track, "Eternally," actually ended up being recut as a digital single years after this album's release. It was used as a drama theme song, and I think that speaks to how influential this album was to the Japan music scene at the time. It's a nice ballad with strings. Kinda a slower "Time Will Tell" from First Love. Maybe "Time Will Tell" mixed with "First Love." 

    We bring the fun and hype back with "Addicted To You (Up-In-Heaven Mix)." This song has an alternative mix that was a B-side released back as the lead single called "(Underwater Mix)." This is the superior mix by far. This was the perfect follow up to First Love. It's a great single. It's very romantic sounding. And a perfect showcase for that signature Utada polished R&B that we all fell in love with. I think this is one of my favorite Utada songs just because the chorus sounds so pleading and the instrumental sounds so heavenly. The pre-chorus has nice multi-layered vocals along with the chorus. It's pretty much everything you love about Utada showcased in one song. Vocally, she sounds great and comfortable here and like she has grown. 

    "For You" is R&B perfection. And it's definitely American R&B as seen through a Japanese lens. And it's perfect! Utada absolutely finds her own identity in a sound that was everywhere and was the trend during this time. It's Utada's own. Vocally, Utada dominates here and showcases off her fiery pipes. 

    We come back to a bit of a pop-rock moment with "Kettobase!" And this song is so quirky, bizarre, and a downright pleasure. The chorus is made to be shouted to. But... It also features some grown up lyrics from Utada. The "I want your baby" part made me tilt my head in confusion during the first listen. I've listened to this album for almost 2 decades and yet I still remember the moment. I was like "did she really just sing that?!" Iconic. I think it's lyrical moments like this on this album where Utada was saying "I'm not going to be an idol. I'm not going to be a pop sensation. I am what I am. I'm an artist that makes art in their own vision." And that is what made everything such a breath of fresh air that exploded into a phenomenon that's still celebrated to this very day. "Kettobase!" is one of the album's best songs. Hands down.

    Showcasing a maturity that her peers lacked or wasn't full-fledged in wasn't anything new for Utada either. She wrote and composed "First Love" at just 16 years old. She was married during this album and for almost all of her early career even though she was so young. This gave her multi-generational appeal which was necessary and critical for her commercial success with audiences and critics. We see these instances like with the lyrics of "Parody."

    But we also see sound maturity with songs like "Parody" which is lush with instrumentation and twists and turns. We also see this with "Time Limit." Which "Parody" references in the lyrics, by the way. "Time Limit" features a chorus that is irresistible and gets caught in your head immediately upon the first listen. It's so memorable. The chorus of Utadas singing "I know what you're going through" is just pure candy to the ears. It feels familiar to American listeners probably due to its producers and yet it's still enthralling to listen to. 

    If "Kotoba ni Naranai Kimochi" sounds familiar that's because it is. We first got a taste of this track on First Love with that "Interlude" right before the last song. It's nice and slides right in here. It wasn't added to the previous album due to time constraints, so we get the whole bite here on the Distance sandwich. 

    We then come to the final track of the 13 song set with "Hayatochi-Remix" which is a play of words with the original title and the word "remix." The original "Hayatochiri" was featured as a b-side on one of the album's singles. But! If you have streaming services or a copy of the 2018 remastered version, we also get the original version as the final track. Bringing the track list up to 14 songs. The remix is a cool way to end the album. It kinda has an outer-space feel during the intro. The piano is nifty. Then we get Utada repeating "you, you said" over and over against a backdrop of radio sounds. It's exciting yet also winds us down to a satisfying conclusion. It shows us how she has matured in every aspect as an artist over the last album in one song. 

    Both versions of this song are ecstasy, but they each accomplish their own respective jobs. The remix is a good album ender. The original is a good song that accompanies the others well while doing its own thing. Its instrumentation is also lush and unique. And the vocal arrangements are to die for as usual.

    Overall, I have to say that Distance is still a satisfying listen. I actually appreciate it more through this listen while reviewing it. I have good headphones on and my nostalgia glasses. I'm also not singing over all of it. I'm also far enough removed away from 2001 that the blue jean dresses and mid-drift baring ladies and dudes who wore jeans and flip flops can't hurt me. And I'm so thankful for that. 

    Back to the album, it's a great and solid effort that any artist would have been proud to release as a part of their discography, so to think that this was just Utada's second album is nuts because it scratches every itch without pulling into too many different directions. It has the catchy up-tempo songs you can dance and jam out to. Great for singing in the shower. It also has the ballads and mid-tempos for when you feel sad and moody.

    I think it's interesting seeing this album's legacy and how fans see it because the long-time fans stayed for and absolutely love when Utada gets more experimental. Her next album, Deep River, is often seen and cited as her best. And we'll get into that. But it's beloved for its electronic experimentation and uniqueness that became synonymous with Utada through and through. The beginnings for this change are here on Distance, but they're so nuanced and held back by commercial appeal that fans often rank this album towards the bottom of their rankings even though it was such a success during its heyday. These things often don't usually go hand in hand as an artist's high sellers are normally seen and toted as their bread and butter. But I guess that just speaks to Utada's genius.

    If her follow ups didn't happen, this album would still be noted for its success and what it does right and well. It's great. No questions asked. However, Utada, being the fine wine that she is, just got better and better. And she managed to keep her high sales and still speak to her artistic soul. Which isn't something a lot of artists get to do. She definitely has The Ear. Her innovation and new perspective are still what rakes in accolades even now, twenty years post-Distance. I, for one, certainly can't wait to see where she goes and what she does next!

Ranking: A Rank. We can't keep this great record a secret, Hikki!

Recommendation: Like I said earlier, sing it in the shower!

Standouts:

    All the singles. They're classics and love them as such.

    Distance

    Kettobase! 🔥

    Hayatochiri (in all of its forms!)