"Classical with a full orchestra" is not the same as "Acoustic Orchestra" which is why they can be sooooooo different.

True, but there were also some tracks on MSC that I could take or leave. Moments, winding road, Walking proud...

i am happy that this is more of a classical album then the AO album...
all those instruments... :love

^I think I agree...I just hope I enjoy the tracks! These tend to be the types of tracks I like the least...

I want to hold all judgement till i see a track list... and then when i get over that madness I will see how well they turn out to be, lol.

^Track list might be jaw-dropping, but then the arrangements will absolutely suck. SO for me, I have to wait until we get a leak. lol

Wow I'm actually excited to buy this :yes

OH MY GOD I CAN'T EVEN

walking proud on MSC is THE BEST thing on there!! The performance on POWER of MUSIC totally proved that!

RAINBOW please!!!!

Hmmmm LOVE again A CLASSICAL .....maybe next release STYLE, who knows? Just my thought hahaha

I need a song is born
With new vocals

Wow that would be so cool, because her PoM performance was amazing:luv2

i thought you didnt like a song is born?
Also, i could sit here and give a list of what I want, but why be disappointed? lol.. im just gonna wait.

This is off-topic but does anyone know if she recorded new vocals for MY STORY Classical? I'm wondering if she ever met the Orchestre Lamoureux for its production.

i second this a lot. walking proud (classical) is so amazing. :yes

I dont :P

what i suggested may be the only way to save the song lol
TK's original arrangement must die in fiery pits.
And Ayu's voice needs to be less dreary.

Edit: as much a pain it is to listen to the song (ASfXX album is better), the lyrics are actually nice. But lyrics alone can't save a song.
It's sad that such nice lyrics had to be butchered by one of the most monotonous, boring, bland and dry compositions I have ever heard in my 19+ years of existence.

Lmfao!!! :roflmao

I have to disagree about WHATEVER though - LOVE that song and when she performed it at CDL 04-05 it was rad!

My wishes:
A CLASSICAL~singles~
1. evolution (with acoustic intro)
2. HANABI~episode II~
3. YOU
4. CAROLS
5. a song is born
6. Free & Easy
7. fairyland
8. BALLAD
9. monochrome
10. BLUE BIRD
11. Together When...
12. Born to Be...


A CLASSICAL~others~
1. RAINBOW
2. End of the World
3. BRILLANTE
4. Marionette
5. still alone
6. Song 4 U
7. November
8. rainy day
9. Dolls
10. Don't Look Back
11. JEWEL
12. Who...

Did she re-sung any song for My Story Classical ?

No.

Ok, then we can't expect to have any new vocals on A CLASSICAL ...
(bye bye evolution ~ASIA TOUR 2007~)

Well, MY STORY Classical was only a few months after MY STORY's release so it's not like the new vocals would have been that different... but this time around we -could- get new vocals since the songs could be from 1998 onward so that it doesn't simply seem like a remix/rearrangement album in this "5 releases in 5 months" project, especially after two minis with 7 brand new tracks.

new vocals would be nice but is not going to happen

it doesnt bother me one way or another... I like her vocals on the songs and dont care for new ones.

update
全10曲予定=_=
only 10 tracks but 3255yen

Money money


MONEEEEEEEY

Wow, where was that? TeamAyu?

I read it was 10 tracks on a Japanese BBS two days ago but I didn't think it was true... weird.

Maybe the slipcase or whatever will have real gold in it.

Probable tracklist with this new development if TA's vote decides the tracklist:
evolution
M
Boys&Girls
walking proud
Dearest
BLUE BIRD
CAROLS
Fly high
SEASONS
NEVER EVER

Though I'd hope to see Memorial address at the very least. (highly unlikely though) Nothing that was already on MY STORY Classical, if possible. I think some TA members wanted to know what the heck the poll was for before voting because they don't seem to have liked what they initially voted for.

Hopefully the tracklist DOESN'T look like this though and we're all surprised by the inclusion of very interesting songs.

Even the Japanese agree with me:
The album, as 10 tracks and 3200 yen, is not worth it.

10曲収録って、書いてありましたよ。だから、CD1枚かもです。しかし、クラシックアルバム1枚 で320 0円は高いと思いません？


My super dee duper translation:

(It has been written that)* 10 tracks will be on the album. So it might be one cd. But, dont you think that 1 classical album cd at 3200 yen is expensive?
-Implying that if its not a 'real' album, the price shouldnt be that of a real album. That's how I see it anyway.

* that's a bit... Well, te-arimasu is hard to translate.

only 10??? Man that sucks...
But Blue Bird and Evolution and M... classical... :love

amazon updated 10 tracks
the price sucks

Hmm, why is it that a ton of sites have it listed as "TO BE ANNOUNCED" with no title yet?

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%BF%E3...t_mus_ep_dpi_2

Oh well... 10 tracks should be interesting. Maybe they'll add more tracks later on?

all preorders page said title to be announced
whatever
it is not worth 3255yen unless it comes with 2 Discs
an original album with 14+ Tracks is less than 3255yen

i wonder if they are planning on adding another disk?

Oh no
The meltdowns will begin from here on out.
I'm just gonna bookmark this thread.

I'll still buy the album...
Lol wat
It's Christmas so I'll ask for it as a present.
Even if the tracklist is arse.
I can smell a bad tracklist already.

wow only 10 tracks?
so little..

well, at least the top 10 is usually pretty nice so even if it is only 10, that would be a great track listing...
I guess the price could also come from the 'real' gold being used?

wow..thats really little :(

It says disc 1... Would it list what number disc it's on if its only one disc?

The BBS I was looking at was thinking they could do a two disc deal, but why only put 10 on one disc? Why not a few more at least?

Anyway, we'll see when more details come out but it doesn't look good for now.

10 and 10 instead of 11 and 9 or 12 and 8? Lol

I would have loved it if she made a PV for one of the songs lol. Just her and an orchestra :love

11 and 11 or 12 and 12 would be better, haha.

There's also this...

^ boooo all hopes gone haha

Maybe it's a requirement to only update for as much info as they're given :) I'm just trying to stay positive lol. I was hopping for so many more tracks.

Maybe we could get some really long tracks that smash songs together, haha. (7-8 minutes per track to max out the CD capacity) So it'd be like a classical orchestral 'medley' of two or more somewhat full songs per track?

Then they could theme it like an "*~A Symphony~*" of sorts with each track being a different movement.

HIGHLY unlikely (aka not going to happen) but it could make things interesting and it would explain the 10 tracks.

payment for "gift" =)

i think it sucks that there are only 10...
were getting more stuff on her mini's and being charged less...
hmp.

Well uhhhh... this album might have been expensive to produce, especially if she's bringing in the Lamoureux Orchestra again. MY STORY Classical sold 82,000 copies... you think this album will sell even a fraction of that, considering her diminished fanbase and the state of record sales? These kinds of albums are meant for die-hard fans anyway, not the general public.

And second of all, who cares if there's only 10 tracks? Am I the only one who doesn't ever listen to remixed songs? I play them once or twice and say "this is nice..." and that's the end of it.

10 tracks is fine as long as they all are good

I think it's the price. If this were 2000yen or 2500yen, people'd be totally fine with just 10 tracks (well maybe not) but unfortunately, it costs more than a CD only version of her original albums!

It's highly unlikely this will do well sales-wise, but it's something people have wanted for a while since MY STORY Classical and now we have it.

I personally don't listen to most of Ayu's remixes all that often, but the well-done orchestral (including the HARMONY MEETS J-POP series) and trance-type ones are always worth repeating imo. She has a TON of remixes though so it's not like every single one is great, but the good ones are reaaalllly good.

LOl we have shrunken mini albums and a shrunken 'remix' album now too

I'll be happy if half of my choice is included in the album =D

Mirrorcle world
Because of You
alterna
Wake me up
Virgin Road
Return Road
Microphone
how beautiful you are
Days
Song 4 u/progress

Party queen
NaNaNa
Shake It
rollin'
Sparkle
Sexy little thngs
Ladies Night
STEP you
everywhere nowhere
1 LOVE
lol selection
made by me XD

Wow, only 10 songs. I hope they're all good.

Maybe they are all 8 min long tracks.:mischief

I really hope some of the tracks are plain instrumental. This worked really well for the flow of MY STORY Classical.

This :roflmao

I was expecting at least 15 tracks but then... I prefer 10 AMAZING tracks over 15 mid-okay-alright-hum-quite-good tracks, so I hope this wont be a let down.

Still I see no reason for this price. Any chances it'll have a special package?

No reason for this price? An entire symphonic orchestra is recording on every track - possibly even a prestigious one. The production of this album is more expensive than that of a normal Pop album and it will most likely sell far elss than a normal album would. I expect 25k at best.

BAHAHA. A jazz album...like that would ever happen...(cough-wouldn't put it past avex honestly)

But seriously, am I one of the only few who aren't excited about this release? I was kind of hoping for some new material. Instead we get more remixes. :grumpy

Ugh; and was that Rule preview supposed to get me psyched? :no

I was about to write the same.

Imagine if that's not the case.
This place'll be worse than Black Friday in the USA.

Maybe it only has 10 tracks because of artistic reasons, we should wait to understand Ayu's vision.

My "story classical" was recorded by an entire symphonic orchestra too, and was less expensive (2800 yens) with more tracks '__'

You missed my point. MY STORY Classical was released when Ayumi was still selling 5 times as much as she sells today. They were able to lower the price because of the sheer number of copies sold. But A CLASSICAL will be lucky to reach 25k -> a higher price may be necessary to afford the orchestra. This is possibly HUNDREDS of people that have to be paid in addition to those normally paid for an album release - people who all make respectable amounts of money if the orchestra is prestigious.

Oh, well, I hadnt seen it from this point. Probably you're right about it, about costs and everything. Still I hope for a gorgeous package otherwise I dont think I myself will be much tempt on buying it :(

Rearranging pop songs into tracks for a full orchestra is more than just 'remixing'. I think there's a whole lot more effort and manpower involved (you need to get an ENTIRE ORCHESTRA as opposed to just like a few string players and one or two other musicians), especially for songs that are not originally somewhat orchestral-in-nature.

I hope we can remove that Rule video from the first post since it doesn't really do anything but confuse people.

Using the word 'rushed' with Ayu is so redundant. What's so bad about her not spending 2 years on making new tracks? She's a procrastinator like most people and she tends to work on things up until the very last moment. There are artists out there who take two to three times as long as Ayu to make new releases and quite frankly, the end results aren't even that great. Keep in mind that this is a release project that she hasn't really undertaken in a long time (5 new releases in 5 months) and it's rather amazing considering in 2011 we only really got one new release + remixes from her.

And really, if you're 'starting to erase Ayu from your top artists because you don't like anything since 2010', why not just stop listening to her then? It's not like anyone is forcing you to still try to enjoy what you don't like so I really do not see why anyone would even bring that up here unless they wanted some sort of reaction like 'Oh, I feel the same way, she sucks!' or 'No!!! Don't leave!'. I find this happens a lot with Ayu more than any other J-Pop act. People who have already checked out long ago -still- stick around and I never really understood why. Is it the difficulty of letting go?

*cough Leona Lewis Nelly Furtado cough*

^ Leona holds a special place in my heart although I didn't receive Glassheart too well. I agree, production took way too long for less than mediocre results but she is fantastic and should look to work with others in the future.

I'm okay with ten tracks but I hope the track list is released soon.

The Spirit Indestructible was one of the best 2012 Pop albums though.
But Loose was quite awful, so I guess she has an example of spending years on an album and releasing something forgettable.

Oh lord, people get so affected if anyone says anything bad about their queen. Just because I don't love the more recent stuff does not mean I've stopped listening or caring, I still give it a go with the new stuff, because maybe at some point she'll finally release something that will catch my attention. People in this forum sometimes are so rude and jump to conclusions just because ayumi might stop loving them or something if they don't protect her.

In any case I'll still listen to this album, because as some people pointed, if it ends up being something like MY STORY CLASSICAL I'll end up liking it.

Do we know for how long she has been working on A CLASSICAL, anyways? There is a chance that this album has been in preparation for a far longer period of time than most of us would expect.

Ayu does not necessarily have to travel France and stay there for one week, either. Even MY STORY Classical had international and domestical compositions, therefore it apparently won't depend upon a french prestige orchestra to create this new album.

A part of A CLASSICAL was possibly already created in Japan. Alas we have no insight into that yet, hence no possibility to tell when the project might have originally started.

The very first description we got in the very first post and first announcement was...

"The long-awaited first classical album since MY STORY Classical will be released!" (or something)

I think that's telling enough that this will not be like ayu-mi-x Acoustic Orchestra.

And oh please, no one is jumping to conclusions. What else are people suppose to think when you say things like the following?

I think you're contradicting yourself here. You went from "completely dislike her work since Rock'n'Roll Circus" to "I do not completely hate it or love it". Which is it? Perhaps it was just word choice? Anyway, if you say such things in such a way, you're going to have to expect some reactions.

(Though for some reason, even when you're positive and looking forward to something that's coming out, you get reamed for that too because it's 'being too happy about what's coming' or something)

I'm really looking forward to this album because I LOVED MY STORY Classical and since then I've wanted (miss)understood Classical and so on but we haven't had anything like that since 2005. They really should have tried to do classical versions of (m)u, Secret, and GUILTY at the very least imo.

It is hard to accept the fact that your favorite artist (or who once was), and not just any artist but that of Ayumi Hamasaki, is not creating masterpieces that used to floor you. That music that you couldn't quite find ANYWHERE else. The fact that she continues to release, and every once in a while hits the nail HEAD ON, while all the other while bubbling under and just coming short of breaking that surface, creates hope. You think "well, maybe the next release... ok, well maybe the next one... ok well a new album is coming out, I'll at least like one new song" ... It is not so simple as to walk away. You might be one of the lucky few who love everything she does, but imagine the emotions you would have if everything you were so passionate about before just wasn't doing it for you anymore... That type of frustration is understandable and people will continue to hold on.

And it's not like she's making absolute crap. It's just a lot of 'nothing special' with hints of garbage on Party Queen. But like I said, you still see that glimmer of hope, you still hear the potential in songs that might have fallen flat for you - that just needed that extra 10-15%... Prime example for me that have shown me Ayu still has got it when doubts began to surface in my mind are songs such as (don't) Leave me alone, Sparkle, Days, Microphone, BRILLANTE, reminds me. It's hard to accept the fact that they may never release something you totally love again when she breaks through that barrier every now and then... and you don't want to miss that the next time she does.

I think some people refuse to accept that she's changed which is why a lot of this happens. They want tracks like X or Y that she released way back when (I remember back when a ton of people wanted her to recreate I am... basically otherwise she was trash to them)

Ayu's not exactly the same as she was before and every year she's a bit different from the year before or the year before that, but at the same time, this is still "Hamasaki Ayumi" we're talking about. I find that she manages to maintain her usual vibe every year while also changing slightly. She arguably a happier person (and has been imo since 2009-2010 or so) now and it's reflected in most of her songs though most would say they prefer when she's 'depressed' because it makes her create more profound lyrics and interesting tracks which is nice, but then what about her?

Anyway, I feel as though there are enough people out there that still love what Ayu puts out lately to say that she still has that appeal, it's just not as 'general' of an appeal as she had before with previous releases.

ONLY TEN (10) SONGS!?

:thud

Okay, so I have a feeling JEWEL could - or COULD NOT - make the "shortlist"...

Sorry but the orchestra argument is not valid for me to accept this price for only 10 songs. Most of metal bands use orchestras and their albums are way cheaper. Like Nightwish. Their last album, Imaginaerum, it's completely orchestral. It has 13 tracks (most of them long), comes with 2 cds (Normal + whole album instrumental) in a beautiful package and it costs no more than 18-19€ so...

Just mentioning this because I looked it up... that album was also available in SIXTEEN different versions. Granted, most of them are also limited but I think their release is a separate type of deal since they're using the orchestra as part of their studio album which they probably have the budget for as opposed to creating tracks 'on the side' that would not go on a typical original album and instead have a standalone release of their own. Do many artists even have a similar type of release with only orchestral reinterpretations?

I for one am excited for this classical album. The tracklist better be good lol...

Ayu's fanbase is so diverse, some will make excuses for her regardless and the other half will find a fault in anything. I love it!

I'm curious how they'll promote A CLASSICAL, if at all.

A performance of a classical version of -insert song here- somewhere like that one awesome A song is born performance at that one event where she was 'nature goddess of Japan'? Magazines? A crossfade of all the tracks on YouTube? Please at least, do the crossfade. (They need to do that for all releases imo)

Whatever the case is, I hope it gets promoted SOMEHOW.

I wwould love a classical piece at the end of the year show!!

Also, I think your thinking about the Emperor's Birthday? or is that a different performance?

although I'm always generally happy with ayu's music,

the fact that (don't) leave me alone and reminds me and Days are a couple of your examples of glimmers of hope are ironic to me because especially (don't) leave me alone is so lackluster compared to some of GUILTY lol BRILLANTE and Microphone were great though so I can understand that.

I really dont have probs with ayu's latest releases. The songs that I don't care for as much are scattered throughout her career.

Lucky me.

I can understand fans have trouble giving up. But they sure can complain a lot in their lack of being impressed lol. So I think that's why the general reaction for those of us who like her sometimes tends to be "well, just leave then".

It was Aichi Expo.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI3OTMzNzQw.html

This video isn't on YouTube probably due to being removed by avex, blah.

Interestingly enough, this was AROUND THE TIME THAT MY STORY CLASSICAL CAME OUT IN 2005.

About the promo, I think the only promotion will be a perfomance with an orchestra @ FNS, a short version for evolution on YT and thats all~

FNS will probably have Song 4 u + some old track. However, it's been ballad central there so maybe she'll do how beautiful you are or something. I think her last one was SEASONS + Days? GORGEOUS. I don't think it will have anything to do with A CLASSICAL since the release will be in January and FNS is in the first week of December.

Recap of her FNS performances:
1999 - appears
2000 - M
2001 - Dearest
2002 - Voyage
2003 - No way to say
2004 - Moments
2005 - Pride <-- she looked awesome here
2006 - JEWEL <-- this was amazing
2007 - Together When...
2008 - SEASONS + Days

As for YouTube, remember the ayu-mi-x 7 discs? They all got their own crossfades of the CD contents.

FNS is a taped show? Isn't FNS the big gala thing? I thought Hey!Hey!Hey! was taped already.

@th: I hope they do that eventually for A CLASSICAL

Naw, I mixed them up in my head unfortunately. It's been too long since we had more than one TV performance in a period of 6 months. Last year it was a 6 month gap after the quakes and all that before she had MUSIC STATION again (and then she missed the beloved performance due to being stuck in the US... how that happened, I have no idea) then three months until Kouhaku and then 8 months until the first TV live this year. Aie!

2011
■3/25 MUSIC STATION
♪Life
■9/2 MUSIC STATION
♪ANother song feat.URATA NAOYA
♪Why... feat.JUNO
■12/31 紅白歌合戦
♪progress

2012
■8/8 FNSうたの夏まつり
♪You&Me
♪Greatful days

reminds me has that absolutely devestating intro - it was enough to move you to tears. That is a prime example of how emotion can be portrayed through a song. The lyrics for reminds me are heart-wrenching and you can totally feel that in the composition of this piece of work.
As far as (don't) Leave me alone, the reason why I loved it is because it had that "fierce, in your face" power to it that my name's WOMEN had and I love that most about her POWER tracks.
Days, I will always worship that song. I had given up hope on a somewhat cheesy, all-out "winter" ballad similar to No way to say. Together when... wasn't full out "WINTER" ballad. But, here comes Days with such a simple melody, and nothing seemed FORCED in this song. It was as if it all came together so easily - both composition and arrangement. That song was born to be that way, and Ayu herself felt the same way (I remember her talking about a song 'from God' prior to release). I love it when a song comes off effortlessly, rather than falling short of being the best that it can be.

the beginning of reminds me is a gorgeous thing I admit and the song is good. I just dont feel it's one of her masterpieces (who knows, maybe sometime next year, I'll appreciate it more, since that always happens lol). and lol &hearts; I was just listening to my name's WOMEN and noticing how powerful it is. I do like that when ayu does that. but never got that from (don't) leave me alone.....and I'm picky with what ballads are masterpieces. I liked You were... more

In fact, I'd appreciate that being on this classical album lol. So many songs I want to be on this album that most likely won't be which will probably make it a disappointing release lol

It's a masterpiece among other material released around and that time. It was that song that gave me "hope" that I spoke about in my earlier post. You were... I absolutely hate, lol. I love the verses but the chorus goes about trying to give you POWER but the composition just doesn't work there. It's just like a lot of shouting to me. No way to say had it worked out perfectly - the chorus comes in with a BANG and it's perfect. You were... just ... :no for me, sorry. As I said, I have a huge appreciation and admiration for songs that get it 100%, and You were... for me, is not one of them.

Oh I love Days

And I would love a classical version of it.

^^I didn't hear that. You were... is powerful and godly :P

need classical. so badly now.

I want a classical version of NOTHING FROM NOTHING and Gut-it Pez.

^ OMG. you must be on something... lol
I wonder who owns those songs?

i hope somebody has lost that master tapes

I'm quite happy with 10 tracks tbh. But I'm expecting the tracklist to contain her staple songs rather than any newer stuff or album tracks.

mi|kshake~

it actually hasnt been confirmed that these are remixes right??

What if they are all brand new tracks? Like a brand new album with classical music?

^That would be pretty cool actually. But I'm still hoping for talkin' 2 myself or Mirrorcle World orchestrated.