So now I'm getting lectured by stans because I dared to say that I am... is one of my least favorite Ayu albumsY? :'D I'm not sorry when I say that CREA compositions after I am... are million times better imo. They're more creative and more experimental which is what I like very much, thank you.

I have now officially been proven that Final Fantasy and Ayu fandoms are exactly the same. You get lectured when you dare to say something negative about I am... (=FF7) and if you even DARE to say you like her new albums, you get told that your taste is s*it (=the basic response if you say that FFXII or FFXIII is your favorite).

^ Stop being a drama queen and move on.

I love I am... but I don't listen to it often. From her past albums, the one I appreciate the most is LOVEppears, I love its cover art, the atmosphere, the songs, etc. :yes

I wouldn't call what Baernash wrote a "lecture" and no one here said your taste is sh*t. I think you might be overreacting a little bit? :think

RAINBOW, Memorial address, Rock'n'Roll Circus, and Love songs IMO could probably be released at any time and do fine as well. (including other smaller minis, potentially LOVE/again/FIVE too)

And I guess that's just where personal taste comes in. I love RAINBOW, but I think it sounds so deeply early 2000s. Love Songs is one of my favorite albums from her in recent years, but I get such a nostalgic feeling from it -- not something that's current, it appeals to a sense of the past for me. RNRC is so misguided to me, and one of my least favorite albums from her, despite not necessarily hating anything on it.

LOVE/again are good enough to me, with some strong standouts, and some songs that would still do really well -- but they're also fairly recent, so hard to compare them when talking about sounding fresh or current. FIVE is blah to me, and such a forgettable release in her discography.

I thought a lot of the songs on FIVE were really fresh feeling, especially for Ayu. A bit muddled as far as image went (What was it supposed to be?) but the music was fine.

Why won't people let I Am... be great. Kets not act like its not Ayu's greatest artistic achievement and allowed Ayu to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Utada Hikaru and Shiina Ringo in terms of artistic merit.

I definitely feel that out of her older albums, Duty and LOVEppears are her best, but I do feel that I am... has some of her best songs on it.

LOVEppears is just so fantastic to me. I never understood the loyalty people felt towards that album until I bought it about a year or two ago and I have been in LOVE since (XD). I have always felt, however, Duty is simply one of the best albums she's done. It has such a powerful mood to it and has some of my favorite songs of hers. Plus, Starting Over is my favorite intro of hers.

I am... is ok for me but that's it. maybe it's because i like ayu's upbeat songs more but i find myself listening to it really rarely, same goes with (miss)understood and MY STORY. i only listen some of the songs every now and then (usually only Connected, INSPIRE and fairyland). i don't see them as bad albums, but albums that don't have songs i desire to listen :no it's funny since everyone seems to say them when we are talking about best albums, i'm more of a Colours, sixxxxxx & now M(A)DE IN JAPAN-kinda person :D i fell in love with ayu on 2008 and maybe that's why i prefer her recent discography over the pre-2008

i totally agree with this :yes people won't say it in your face but i read very often comments that are kinda 'your taste is shit mine is THE ayu-fan taste'

maybe it's finnish way to feel this way :D

"Bye bye island
Time to go back to work
#ROSANTICA #Jimmychoo"
http://i.imgur.com/RNDEgiDl.jpg

"Tokyo, I'm home︎
Home sweet home #AHKAH #TOKYO ring #fork ring"
http://i.imgur.com/EHy2qrHl.jpg

omg I need that TOKYO ring

Well, in my opinion it's not. Sorry :P

IMO her first great album from an artistic point of view was RAINBOW, having a strong concept that goes all the way through and songs that maintain a cohesive aestheitc between each other.

I Am.. have some pretty strong tracks, but they don't add much to eachother nor they form a coherent theme. Being about her world view on loneliness, insecurity and hope isn't enough considering that can be said about pretty much her whole discography, and even more about everything she had already released at the time.

Also, when I Am... was released she was already seen as someone on the same league as Utada and Shiina.

Personally, I think My Story is Ayu's greatest artistic achievement. An argument can be made for Duty as well. I Am... is less an album and more like a collection of great songs. I do think her greatest songs are in that album though.

I have to disagree that Rainbow sounds entirely early 2000s. Some songs on it, perhaps (We Wish, Everywhere Nowhere), and not that that's a bad thing. But Free & Easy, Independent, Voyage, + sound fresher than anything Ayu has released in the past five years

Recent Ayu, honestly, I don't give a hang much. I haven't bought an album since Love Songs (skipped Rock n Roll Circus). I was expecting something new with Made in Japan, some interesting use of traditional Japanese music and pushing her music forward, but again she played it safe and we have another dull late period Ayu album.

Oh well, 10 great albums plus 1 mini is nothing to sneeze at. That's more than Madonna at least.

PS. FFVII is good but nowhere near top tier FF. 4, 6, and 10 are way ahead of it.

I think she's slowly evolving as she progresses during this 'reset'.

A ONE and sixxxxxx were basically quintessential Ayu and M(A)DE IN JAPAN experimented a bit more for a few tracks than those two did, but still aren't pushing boundaries as much as she tends to. Seeing as how the 'reset' was just last year, I think we're in a good place.

I still love Ayu, and she still offers up very worthwhile music to me, for the most part. My love of I Am... in no way diminishes the fact that she is still capable of putting out great music.

I do think that people have been drawn to her for different reasons and at different times, and she has eras that reflect those things more or less. She's also just done so much at this point in her career that some songs which would've been nice album filler earlier in her career become more forgettable to someone who has followed her for a long time.

And it's also worth mentioning that her voice has changed. To me, I most loved her voice during the I Am... period. Her live performances during her promotion of Dearest are fantastic. Since then, her range has decreased a bit, and her overall voice has become more deep and full sounding. I think that works really well for more rock-tinged songs like Sorrows or Tell All, which wouldn't have been as good if she released earlier in her career. Whereas I loved her ballads and power ballads from earlier in her career, a lot of her new ballads are "light ballads" with airy vocals that draw me in less (though there are still some that I really, really love).

I had mentioned once in another thread that being a longtime fan of Ayu (and probably older than some members of this forum in general), I think I sometimes have a different mentality. I feel like Ayu and I have grown up together throughout the course of her career. There have been times we've moved in the same direction and had similar ups and downs, and there are times that our paths have really diverged more. But at the end of the day, we always come back together at some point. And we're never so far apart that we can't see one another. I can listen to older songs from emo-Ayu and be transported back to being a whiny teenager when they came out, and I can also listen to a song like Feel the Love and just want to have a good time and not be serious.

lol the conversations are so deep right now. I just popped in to say her rings are cute.

I would say tracks on "RAINBOW" are more various. For me both "I am..." and "RAINBOW" are strong albums but "I am..." was beginning of something new in her career, a moment when she started to put even more heart into her music. I think it's worth to remember and I believe a lot of "old" fans have sentiment to this album because of that.

If I'd like to force my opinion I would use "must" form. "Should" is the right word for suggestion/advice and that's what I expressed. Let's keep the forum a place without political correctness :)

I didn't insult you or rated your taste so could you please not overreacting? What you prefer is your personal matter and I'm not trying to judge it. We are here to exchange opinions not lecture each other.

http://i.imgur.com/NO20GiRl.jpg

video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BHUY3naBXs3/

Fine then, maybe I overreacted a bit but my opinion on I am... is still the same - I honestly don't care that it was the album that defined Ayu as a artist/songwriter. I'm done trying to pretend that I worship a album that's in my top 5 least fav Ayu albums. I tried to like it, I really did. I tried to do so for years, but that had to end. True, it has some gems on it but overall it's not special in any way to me. She has so many better albums for me to like and listen to - like (miss)understood for example. I also think they should have kept Endless sorrow's original mix and replace the rock version of Daybreak with HAL's Mix 2002. And cut taskinlude (and replace it with Dome Tour's intro for M) and A Song is born out. And flower garden shouldn't be a hidden track. Then I might find the album more enjoyable.

There. I said my truly honest opinion on I am... even if it goes against my own rule about never letting any Ayu fan know what I truly feel about her releases. In worst scenario, I'll get bullied because apparently to some people I'm a traitor who betrayed the fandom by jumping into Koda Kumi fandom in 2008 lol.

:luv2 She's so incredibly cute in that video clip. That little giggling :love:love