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Old 17th August 2012, 01:32 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2003
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Yeah let's give a review for Duty .

starting over: My first impression for this intro was ok, since I was thrilled with Introduction in LOVEppears, but it does it work for showing what the album would sound like. 8.5/10

Duty: I can never forget the Takanoyuri cm... Wait I should talk about the song. I still think it's one of the most power title songs from ayu, and the arrangement is fantastic. 10/10

vogue: I used to prefer this song over Far away in the trilogy, but somehow it is not as durable compared to the other two. Nonetheless, comparing with other newer songs, it's still a classic. 8.5/10

End of the World: I guess this song defines the beginning of the rock side of ayu. I always connect this song with Duty in the album (probly both have that strong edgy arrangement), somehow this song sounds more despair. 9/10
PS: again it reminds me how beautiful she was in colour TU-KA cm....

SCAR: This is probly the weakest song in the album. By that I mean it cannot portray enough feeling compared to the others. It doesn't sound dark enough. But I guess ayu can't shout out her despair in every single song. Even tho I don't listen to this song as much as the others, I don't usually skip this one whenever I listen to the whole album. 7/10

Far away: Probly the weakest song in the trilogy in the beginning (I guess the sales figure agrees with me), somehow it withstands the test of time and actually I favour this song over vogue. 9/10

SURREAL: I was confused by the arrangement of the song in the beginning, because it sounded so different compared to any fast song in LOVEppers (yes, it's the first fast song you heard after lots of fast songs from the last album). I couldn't define which is verse which is chorus when I first listen a couple of times. I would say this probly is one of the unique songs in ayu discography. I also love how the transition from piano to electric. 10/10

AUDIENCE: I dunno why ayu didn't put the Dave Ford Mix into this album. It's just practically the same arrangement except DFM is must cleaner (and better). This is probly the song that I would skip when listening to the album, and now I just replace this with DFM on iTunes. 7.5/10 (9/10 for DFM)

SEASONS: It was very powerful when I first the pv. I dunno why but when I first saw the pv, I was like, "this is what she should have released in the beginning. I can ignore the previous two (singles)..." Of course now I think it should stick with the other two songs since the trilogy has been imprinted in my heart for 12 years. But even with itself, it is one of the most powerful classic ayu songs. 10/10
PS: I remember how happy I was when it got no. 1 on oricon, selling 500K on the first week... Oh also oricon changed it interface during that week. (I know I'm so random lol).

teddy bear: I love it's piano driven. It doesn't really connects me somehow because probly I'm a guy and I dun really like teddy bear. Also, probly because it's written for her father and I have no connection with it. Still it's a really good song and can't deny the sad feeling from it. 8.5/10

Key~eternal tie ver.~: It's a mystery... This one is ~eternal tie ver.~, so where is the original version? Don't tell me the one on ayu-mi-x III AO is the original version... Anyway, my brother and I used to debate whether this one or teddy bear was the better song. I preferred this one while he loved the other one. It could be a strong single if it's goes further. It seems it's too short and she could actually write more, but I guess like what she wrote, she would sing her feeling instead of write a lot. 9/10

girlish: I admit that when I first heard the intro music of the song, I didn't like it and just skipped the song without hearing her voice. But then I finally gave it a try and surprisingly it was a good song. It might sound too happy to be in Duty, but I guess it serves as a bright exit after hearing lots of blue. 8.5/10

Duty is still her strongest album to date. When I first heard the album it sounded too different from her previous one (I was imagining for another techno), but after a year of listen I declared it as a better album compared to LOVEppears. Don't get me wrong tho, LOVEppears is still in the top 3. It's just that nothing can beat Duty at all.
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