Deep Dive: Utada Hikaru Part Six (Heart Station)

    Heart Station is without a doubt my favorite Utada Hikaru release. She did everything perfectly here. The production is immaculate, the songwriting is very strong, and her vocals are perhaps her best so far. The musical direction of this album is so unique. I have yet to find an album that has these types of songs in this Utada-esque genre. They're pop. R&B at times. They're light and airy. They're hard hitting and alluring. They're more commercial, but they don't sell out. It continues her experimentation without overcomplicating things when compared with her previous effort, Ultra Blue. Utada herself said she was going for simplicity this time, both in music and message. But if this is her version of simplicity, it's other artists' version of complexity. 

    This album satisfies about any need you have. There's upbeat songs, there's ballads, and there's that Utada brand of triumph that we came to love with past singles "Hikari," "COLORS," and "Passion." Without further ado, tune your radio and let's deep dive!

    This album is packed with hits. All except for 4 songs and an interlude were taken as singles in some form or fashion. Utada, herself, wrote and produced every track here as we've come to know of her. She teamed up once again with her father, Utada Teruzane, and long-time collaborator, Akira Miyake. She worked on this album alongside her seventh studio album and second English album, This Is The One. Which was released the following year. 

    Heart Station opens with the first track, "Fight the Blues." It's a sexy number with saxophone and city-pop influences. The lyrics are catchy all throughout. It's a "feel good" song. Like the rest of the album, the singability is high. It's a good first taste of what the rest of the album has to offer.

    The title track continues the energy. So many songs on this album make me think of a Tokyo cityscape at different times of day. The music video of this song features Utada on a train. The lyrics are about a radio station. Do you see what she did there? Two meanings of "station" from the song's title! Genius. The beat here hits your ears very pleasantly. Her vocals feel right at home here as she sings the title, "Heart Station," so pleasing. The lyrics are very smart. 

    "Beautiful World" is probably the closest you will come to a "Hikari" or "Passion" here. She broke her formula up a bit with this album that we discussed previously on Ultra Blue and Deep River. It's a certified fresh endless jam. It's breathtaking. I'd argue it is a perfect song. The "beautiful world/beautiful boy" hook is very nice. She did not play around with this one. Utada will revisit this song occasionally to switch it up. She did it once on Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.2 and again on her One Last Kiss EP. Where she remixed it. The one on Vol. 2 transforms the track and makes it even more dramatic. Though the original is the far superior version with its signature Heart Station sound that hits like a speeding car into a brick wall. 

    The ballad version of "Flavor of Life" comes next. Both versions are good and each have their moods. This one is timeless and will always age better than the original version. It features a giant orchestra to grand results. Her vocals here are tender yet have strength. She really sells the song. Of course, this song was a smash hit that remains one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. The different versions of the songs show off its lyrics and Utada in multiple ways. It shows she's multifaceted and capable of creating compelling and engaging ballads as well as danceable, pop tunes. Both with original and inspired lyrics and strong vocal performances.

    "Stay Gold" features a piano that just sounds golden. This song screams autumn to me, and I always revisit it during that season. She shows off her lower range here during the voices and it's just stunning. The chorus is catchy. The production is like gold itself. Like many of her songs, this song features two different chorus that completely flesh out the story. The outro has nice vocal effects that complete the beauty of it. 

    "Kiss & Cry" is one of my favorite Utada songs. It doesn't get enough recognition. It is among the top 3 songs here. It was featured in an ad for cup noodles, and it just casually mentions the brand, Nissin, in it without making it feel like an ad. The verses are probably my favorites for an Utada song the beginning where she says (and I translate) "delinquents/honor students/teachers/they're all the same when they fall in love, right?" Then in the second verse "dad was laid off/big brother's on the internet/mom's on a diet." It just feels so relatable and real. Like it's about normal people in normal lives doing normal things like 98% of us are. The music is thumping. The brass horn sample at the beginning can be a jump scare at times. It's so unique it's aged perfectly. The chorus makes you feel like you've seen God himself. I am eternally in love with it.

    We then come to the album's interlude "Gentle Beast (Interlude)" which self-samples "Heart Station." It sounds more dreamy. It also sets us up perfectly for the following track "Celebrate."

    I should have mentioned it earlier, so I will take the opportunity to have an interlude myself here. This album was released as part of Utada's 10th anniversary promotions in 2008. We've already covered a decade of her material. It's interesting to see where she's gone in 10 years from polished R&B to her own genre of pop that stays in her own lane. Utada did nothing but grow as an artist and grow into her own in a decade and it was beautiful to see. 

    "Celebrate" is the first non-single song! Though I wish it was because it's great. It's fun. She's shaken up all of her themes so far with this one being like a party and how you should (and I translate again) "feel like a queen." It's about going out and having fun. Which I don't think Utada had covered this lyric wise on a Japanese album previously. The melody of this song is groovy and disco-esque. Her English here makes the song even more catchy.

    "Prisoner of Love" was the theme song for a drama and a recut single from the album. Which was weird for 2008 but it still charted extremely well. This was purely due to how great of a song it is. Dramatic. Emotive. Chilling. It also possesses one of her best bridges and probably the best on the album. Her vocal performance is as wide as the sky. And the vocal production is just as amazing as the rest of the album but really flexed here.

    We continue the drama we started with "Prisoner of Love" on the next track, "Take 5." It's poignant and wistful. I've always found the song the most interesting on the album due to it abruptly ending. Which many have taken as a symbol for an unexpected and abrupt passing. The song is also the most "busy" which it takes advantage of to great effect. It's definitely the most complex song of the set. Utada's vocals are icy and ghostly here which fit along with the lyrics. The opening lyrics give me chills every time. The chorus provides us with rush of adrenaline after the heavy verses. 

   

    The drama immediately ends as we come to the song Utada wrote for children, "Boku wa Kuma." Which translates to "I'm a bear." If you've followed or been a fan of Utada for any given amount of time, you're probably aware of Kuma-chang who is the protagonist for the song. Lyrically, the song is a misfit amongst the mature and adult songs. Musically, it's just as fanciful and offbeat as "Nijiiro Bus." It's kinda nice to lighten things up after the seriousness of "Take 5" and "Prisoner of Love" which is pretty typical of Utada. Some people say the song should have been a non-album single, but I still cherish the song for it being fun and funny. Kuma-chang's rival is a fried shrimp, after al.

    "Nijiiro Bus" is a rainbow of a song which is fitting giving the title. It starts winding us down for the album's end on a cheerful and optimistic note. The production differs slightly from other tracks as it's slightly more psychedelic, I think? Probably not the right word, but the song feels like a blue sky with white fluffy clouds. We're all really in this thing called life together, guys. The slight chanting of the chorus makes it fun to sing along to.

    Then finally, we come to the original version of "Flavor of Life" to end things on an epic note. This is my favorite version of the song. It's a perfect amalgamation of the themes and musicality displayed on the album in one song. I'd also describe this song as a perfect song from everything to singing to infectious beat. 

    The remastered re-release of this album has her cover of "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" featured on it which has been a featured B-side on a couple of singles but most recently for the "Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry" single where it got a 2007 version. Her cover is nice and sonically fits right in with the rest of the album. Vocally, she sounds great here, and you can tell this is one of her favorite songs. It provides the album with a touch of R&B.

    Overall, the strength of this album probably comes from the fact that so many songs were singles and have single potential. It makes this Utada's best album to revisit from time to time (or if you're like me, yearly). She really displays in full force everything that makes her Utada Hikaru down to the musicality, lyrics, overall personality, and absolute artistry that has made her a legendary master. If you're a new listener, I would recommend you start here!

Rank: S Rank. It's Utada's "Beautiful World" and we're all just living in it.

Recommendation: I used to have this album on loop when I played video games regularly. Try it for that!

Standouts:

    Every single track. But I'm biased.