Besides Dr., all I would get from Finally that sounds really good for me is: the 90's disc and maybe FUNKY TOWN, ROCK STEADY and WHAT A FEELING.. and maybe, just maybe, Say the word... the rest... ew :dead2
I remember that documentary that shows Namie recording the song Finally and her vocals there are flawless... so I really don't know.. maybe she's just preserving her voice so it can last more. And I agree 100% with her.. but she could AT LEAST release a new version of the whole past<FUTURE album. Dr. sounded SO GOOD and I can't even think about the perfection would the other tracks sound like :luv2

And yes, it's a shame Avex don't prioritize their vocalists. I will not say any names but I saw the latest tour from two ex-rivals of Namie (NOT Ayumi) and their voice sounds... bad? Avex should pay more attention on what they have ;-;

Lol personally I like the original P<F album. But a remixed P<F could have potential. The new version of Dr...I don't know, I have to really be in the mood for it. I don't hate it, but I prefer the original. I do love the 90's songs on Finally though, and maybe the new version of Break It. There are a few rearrangements I like post-90's stuff, but the vocals on the other songs sound...hollow? emotionless?

I totally understand Namie not wanting to push herself at this point. But as I said before, there are ways to sing with resonance and volume that don't put much strain, if any, on the vocal chords. It's just a matter of re-learning the technique, and I totally understand if she doesn't want to at this point because breaking 30 year old habits is really hard. I come from experience with this, though not quite so long as Namie doing it with strain, and I still default to that way of singing when I'm stressed or nervous, so I totally get that Namie would just rather not bother with it. She had a successful run and if she's happy, we have plenty to enjoy from her. It's just a shame that she won't be making new material because we've come to like her and her work. And yes, totally agree, maybe Avex should be paying attention to things like that, but I think they kind of were just trying to get as much music out there as soon as possible, not really thinking about the physical effects.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the 90s disc sounding better. :) I believe the original recordings had much more personality and layers to the vocals.

And I'm not saying she sounds bad in her recent tours, especially on the DVDs, she sounds quite good; just I noticed a difference as compared to the past. Also, the backtrack is turned up so loudly that it really is difficult to differentiate her real vocals from the track, so you don't always know what it is you're actually hearing.

When I saw the Finally tour at the Tokyo Dome (one of the May dates) it was easier to notice the difference between what was the backing track and her vocals (I'm sure they smooth it all out for the DVD) and she was struggling; particularly with the older songs.

past<FUTURE is probably my fave Jpop album ever... what I loved about the new Dr. version is that it sounds even darker than the original.. so I would love to hear the other songs getting a darker version... tho it already sounds pretty dark for me.. a new version of Steal My Night, Defend Love and WILD would be amazing :luv2

Some songs like Tayo no Season, Mr.USA, PARADISE TRAIN and Try Me are so much better on Finally for me.. I can hear just the new version of it.. the original kinda falls flat '-'
And those recent tours (2012-2018) we can pretty much notice when she is using playback only or singing live.. some sounds really obvious o.O
And the May show is probably her best vocals from all those DVD's from Finally Tour :P

I love the first disc of her 90's songs on Finally, but I've also always stanned for SuperMonkeys era music. The quality between the first disc and the others sounds drastically different for me though, like they were mastered by completely different people.

I also still partially think that the re-recordings sound like the audio from her 20th Anniversary Dome Tour...and maybe even the Finally Tour. I half wonder if she had to re-record vocals for a lot of songs to tour anyway, and they just used those vocals, re-mastered the tracks, and called it a day. Like I wonder how deliberate the choice was to actually re-record her songs just for an album.

I actually only have this issue with her Hip_pop era songs on these discs.

I just re-listened to the new Dr. and I like that it's darker, I like most of how the new arrangement is for the song, but for some reason it sounds to me like they made it sound more dance-poppy rather than hip hop, I think they did something different with the drums in certain parts. If they had just made it darker without changing up the rhythm vibe for me, then yeah I'd love to see other P<F songs like it. I feel like they achieved the darker sound I like with the Do Me More version from Finally Tour, definitely one of my favorite songs from the tour.

I like her original 90's, they had more character and attitude, plus her singing sounded strong and effortless on them. I just re-listened to some of the other songs on finally and I noticed something I previously didn't with the 90's songs on it. I think I like how they sound on Finally as compared to most of the other Finally songs because of the mixing, but these songs also have the doubling/filtered sound that bothers me on the rest of the cd. I didn't notice it before and it really annoys me. It's a problem on the whole cd for me. She sounds great with her low notes, nice and full, but where she's in the transition part of her voice, whatever filter they used is so in your face it really doesn't sound good, in my opinion. In terms of the tours, I think it was either FEEL tour 2013 or Live Style 2014, the backing track with the backing vocals totally takes over her live vocals and most of the show you really can't hear her live voice very well. I'm sure it's a problem on other tours as well, but it was most obvious to me on one of those two (haven't seen them in a while so I forget which one I noticed it on more).

I saw her in February for the Finally tour and she sounded ok, even great for some songs as far as I can remember but I was really into it so I could be misremembering or idealizing, but also it's hard to tell because the venue acoustics generally help with masking some of the imperfections, and she has always been skilled at playing to those acoustics. She definitely was singing live, at least at the beginning of the show because there were problems with the reverb levels and feedback on her mic.

Made a new thread so that Namie lives on! :D

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124466