Anyone who has been paying proper attention to pop over the last few years should already know that Exodus by Utada Hikaru is one of the finest albums of the decade so far. However, when the record is discussed, there's always someone who says "oh, it's pretty good but her earlier Japanese stuff was so much better". To be honest though, i've never seen the appeal of the songs that made her, along with Ayumi Hamasaki, the biggest star in the J-Pop industry. With a few exceptions, they're pleasant but slightly mediocre soul-pop-by-numbers that give few hints to the greatness that was to come. That said, some of those exceptions are superb - this remix of Simple And Clean being the finest. The original was a passable, low-key track that formed part of the soundtrack to a computer game called Kingdom Hearts, the remix however, is banging.



Buy Hikki stuff