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THE introduction: oh lord...i think this is her weakest intro to date. it's just so flat...i think it would've worked later in the album, maybe?, but definitely not as an introduction.
Microphone: ahhhh, it sounds great in HQ!! it's just so powerful and filled with high energy. and the video is great! definitely one of the standout tracks in this album, for sure.
count down: it reminds me of a modernized GUILTY (the song, obvs), but i think this is heaps better than that song. while this is slower than Microphone, i really think it can match the "power" factor. i like it a lot! (...i thought this would be an interlude, lol)
Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~: hmmm...i'm not sure if this song fits in this spot (or if the song fits in the album at all?) but i guess if it needed be somewhere it would be in this section. but i think BALLAD would've been better here? i'm not sure, maybe after a couple listens to the album, aha. but i always thought this song was the weakest of the single tracks. (weakest track in the album, even...imo)
BALLAD: i love BALLAD and i always will. it's so gorgeous! it's my favorite single track of this era.
Last Links: oh i love the beginning! it's great. the arrangement of the song is very strong, imo. there's something very Ayu about it, but there's something new about it as well. i can't pick it out.
montage: i think it's tons better than THE introduction, but it's still very odd to me. thus far, all the interludes/instrumentals in this album are very weak. probably her weakest in an album to date. but at least the actual songs are awesome. XD
Don't look back: I. LOVE. THIS. SONG. along with Microphone, i think this is one of the strongest album tracks. it's just so...GREAT. i love the music. it's the modern INSPIRE/vogue (music-wise) of this album.
Jump!: hmmm....i kinda like it, ahahaha. why? because this interlude actually makes sense to me from the transition from Don't look back to Lady Dynamite.
Lady Dynamite: yay! while i'm enjoying the seriousness of the music in the first half, it's great to have some fun too. the song is so much fun in HQ! & the PV running in my mind makes me enjoy it more, LOL. HAY AYU, HAY~
Sexy little things: probably the most innovative & unique track of the album. (the Sparkle of the album for me!) it's something new for Ayu and i LOVE it. it's cute, but not....at the same time. i just love the little details you listen to throughout the song. i love the video too. FIERCE AYU~
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~: i like this song. but that's it. aha. i do think the two songs (Sunset/Sunrise) are an odd bunch compared with the rest of the album.
meaning of Love: i think this is the weakest out of the album tracks, but i don't think it's bad, you know. i think i even prefer it to Sunset...
You were...: i like this song too. it's got a powerful chorus. it's the Hamasaki winter ballad of the album. every album needs one, LOL.
RED LINE ~for TA~ [album version]: while i never really got into this song when it was released, i do have to say it's a really nice ending song. definitely better than Curtain Call, for sure. i love the ending. it's so sweet! it definitely reminds me why i stan for Ayu. haha.
OVERALL: while it's probably too early to say...i do think Rock'n'Roll Circus is much better than GUILTY & NEXT LEVEL on a initial listen (...i even think the flow is stronger than that of Secret, even though i adore that album, lol). it's not the most perfect album (nothing can really top Duty IMHO), but a solid effort. the arrangements are stronger than her previous recent efforts. i love that there's that always distinctive Ayu sound, but it still has a modern edge in it (and it is executed better than the "modern sound" that was supposed to come out of NEXT LEVEL). the only real disappointment to me are the interludes/instrumental songs. i usually LAHV LAHV LAHV one, if not all, of them, but at least the songs are top notch. while i did enjoy NEXT LEVEL & GUILTY, the album tracks were weak...but in this album, i thought the singles were (some of) the weakest!
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