[Kouyou]

Originally Posted by Rae Noir

Hello! I'm new to this forum and this is my first post, what a shame what I'm about to say isn't too happy...

I didn't buy Love or Again, as right from the very beginning something about the whole thing seemed rather pointless to me, though at the time I wasn't quite sure why. But I still feel disappointed. Not so much because the songs are on this record as well, but rather, I personally don't think any of these new songs sound that exciting. "Song 4 U", "Wake Me Up", and "Snowy Kiss" were all good efforts, but not even these have truly grabbed out at me yet. And I really didn't warm to "You And Me" at all. Perhaps I've become so used to Ayumi bringing out such astounding songs, that I've come to expect too much from her. These new tracks could have been considered really good if coming from a lesser quality artist, but from Ayumi I just don't think they can compare to the rest of her vast back catalogue. But then again, who knows what the rest of the album will sound like...

But most of all I'm annoyed by the album title and covers. Loveppears and Love Songs were fine, but she really doesn't need another album title with "love" in it for a very long time. It just seems so unimaginative and uninspired. And as for the covers, well, yes, they're pretty and all, but they're just going to remind most of us of Love Songs all of the time, and the album won't stand alone as a record in its own right. Neither Ayumi as an artist, nor we as listeners to her music, need so much to be recycled in one sitting. Ayumi's better than that, it just disappoints me that she hasn't seemed to notice that fact this time around.

And I know it's incredibly childish, but knowing me, I might just end up trying to pretend that this particular album and all of the other 15th anniversary releases never happened. It's all been just a bit too messy and lazy, I think.

I'm sad to hear that you feel this way, especially since you're new to the forum. I felt that there were some really strong tracks on LOVE and again but I can understand how you'd feel differently. I definitely agree about the album title. It makes sense in the context of the preceding two mini albums but considering the fact that the covers look like they came from the shoot for Love songs it makes the albums appear quite similar. However, I'm still hopeful that LOVE again will be a stand out album.