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JAPONESQUE has everything there to make a great album, but failed. The title was perfect. The image and covers were fantastic. The instrumentation/arrangements were really great, but the compositions were really dull. Songs like ESCALATE and Lay Down had a lot of potential, but are just boring to listen to. The melodies are lacking. Almost everything on that album was just short of being something great due to weak melody / composition. The only songs that really hit the nail on the head for the sound they were going for is LOVE TECHNIQUE, No Man's Land (even this could have been a little better), and of course the flawless IN THE AIR. But honestly, JAPONESQUE is really dull overall. You can hear the potential in almost all of those songs, but that's what makes listening to it so darn frustrating.
I loved Beach Mix. It gets a little muddy and dull half way through but it succeeded in taking some of the songs I really hate by Kumi and making them not only listenable, but insanely enjoyable. She always does that with her remix works which is really refreshing for me. I still love listening to this and DH4 while doing weight-lifting workouts! And Whatchu' Waitin' On was just PERFECT!!
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