SES fans should be feeling pretty happy right now. SES 3 is still going strong (if you missed their comeback on MBC, you can watch the live Love [MPEG] performance online, provided you have the patience to download 89MB) with hits like Twilight Zone [MPEG] (another 89MB download). And now, after a year's delay, the most recent Japanese release of SES was made available worldwide, things are looking good for this trio.

Many songs from the J-pop release Prime -- SES The Best should sound familiar to fans, since this is album is really a compilation of previous hits. For instance, the CD includes Twilight Zone [MP3]. This leading single off the K-pop SES 3 has gone up the K-pop charts and back down already, in all its various forms. Likewise, I've Been Waiting For You [MP3], the third track on Prime is also taken from SES 3, which probably saves the girls a lot of work.

Even more past tense is Shy Boy [MP3], the big single off SES 2, Sea, Eugene and Shoo. The song really doesn't change much as a Japanese release. As old as that song is, however, it is still young and fresh compared to Oh1x My Love [MPEG], which comes from SES 1. I know we're talking about releasing hits in a different country, and SES does change over at least some lyrics from Korean to Japanese, but surely the group could come up with more new material and just let their original songs rest.

Also on this album are singles previously released in Japan such as Unh ~ Happy Day, Shining Star [MP3] and T.O.P. (Twinkling of Paradise) [MP3]. Don't get me wrong, I like T.O.P. [MP3] (although I like Shinhwa's version better), but why do they need to release it again? Sign of Love [RealAudio] and Miracle [RealAudio] were also just released as singles under separate cover.

My point isn't to complain about SES (again), but unless you're really interested in the few songs that SES does specifically for a Japanese audience, I'm not sure spending the extra money for these releases is worth it. The dedicated fan probably has all the songs on other albums already. For instance, if you buy Prime, you get Aiddoiu Nano Hokkori [MPEG], but if you already splurged for the SES Japanese-release Reach Out, you already have it.

On a related topic, m-flo's latest album, Planet Shining, is out on the Korean market right now. If you're wondering who m-flo is, they did the rapping on the Japanese SES releases. As some of their earlier songs (Too Much Sense [MP3], for instance) indicate, m-flo is doing some of the hardest rap in Japan right now. From this CD, Hands [MP3] and L.O.T. (Love or Truth) [RealAudio] should find appreciative audiences the minute they start getting airtime.

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