NEXT LEVEL album tracks now available on dwango.jp! (interludes revealed)

[inspire_rmx]

those interludes are exactly what i expected based on the titles.. 4 interludes and 6 new songs are fine with me. interludes always makes the album flows better, esp this time round with many diff genres. GUILTY was great overall as an ablum.

to those who think this album is going to be a flop, or planning to cancel their preorder.. things could have been worst. should be glad that ayu did leave out mirrorcle world, life and even mirrorcle world PV. we could have end up with 4 new songs and 2 new PVs.. but we didn't ^^

personally i'm still realli excited abt this new album. i trust ayu

[TerryXX]

Originally Posted by ArchangelLegend

I'm canceling my order right now. I'm very disappointed in Ayu and will put full unadulterated blame on her even though I don't think it's her fault. Being an interlude fan, I was expecting at least 7 of them, but we only have a measly 4. Pathetic. I'm going to continue listening to Morning Musume.


By the way, I am very retarded.

XD

the interludes dont really affect me, i mean cmon have you all forgotten ayu's ear?
she really need a rest, or vacation =P

[Kazeyomi]

I'm canceling my order right now. I'm very disappointed in Ayu and will put full unadulterated blame on her even though I don't think it's her fault. Being an interlude fan, I was expecting at least 7 of them, but we only have a measly 4. Pathetic. I'm going to continue listening to Morning Musume.


By the way, I am very retarded.

ROFL

BTW great post waterballoon

now I'm not so disappointed I'm still excited

[Ayumi27]

I don't get the dramatic reactions about the interludes, I mean, you are judging something you haven't heard yet, and in two weeks time you'll be probably saying "OMG, best Ayu album ever". I haven't ordered NL but I was just waiting for the PV's and covers to know which version buy, and the 4-interlude thing has not made me change my mind about buying this record... I was expecting this after GUILTY anyway

Personally, I'm glad she did not over-recorded like she did for Secret, fewer songs mean greatest ones, like Memorial address, and also more time for Ayu to rest or at least focus in other projects like PV's and tour rehersals

[love in music]

Originally Posted by ArchangelLegend

I'm canceling my order right now. I'm very disappointed in Ayu and will put full unadulterated blame on her even though I don't think it's her fault. Being an interlude fan, I was expecting at least 7 of them, but we only have a measly 4. Pathetic. I'm going to continue listening to Morning Musume.


By the way, I am very retarded.

i love all of your posts~

@waterballoon that's the longest post i've read on here that i didn't regret reading. nice one

[KarenPang]

Originally Posted by Ayumi27

Personally, I'm glad she did not over-recorded like she did for Secret, fewer songs mean greatest ones, like Memorial address, and also more time for Ayu to rest or at least focus in other projects like PV's and tour rehersals

Secret should have been kept as a mini album imo , I didn't like the fact that she extended it to a full album because you can sense that the sound consistency's not really there & it's quite shaky unlike GUILTY

well since that's that for NEXT LEVEL , I guess I can't do anything about it . I will still get the OS press / CD + DVD when it's out in due time

[erika_ayu]

i hope the interludes are long and awesome like Mirror too!! XD
all the same, my enthusiasm for the new album hasnt faltered yet!!!

[AMANDABYNES]

I'm a bit worried, the reviews for the new songs seem very bad so far.

[mcluva420]

WATTT?!!! 2 interludes in a row??!!! i was dreaming about that yesterday, thinking how ridiculous my idea was!!! >:O

what can i say, ayu is the queen of interludes -,-
i hope she actually sings in at least one of them

[Max_ZZZ]

i love these negative reviews LOL

whenever people don't like songs by her i usually gobble them up...
sometimes

btw im sad at the 4 interludes...
not a hater, but i still like new songs
secret track ftw

[Rurutia]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

All right! Let's do some math shall we?

A Song For xx:
Hana
FRIEND II
Wishing
As if...
POWDER SNOW
SIGNAL
from your letter
Present

Total NEW album tracks: 8

LOVEppears:
Fly high (re-cut single later)
And Then
PS II
LOVE ~refrain~ (which was like a remix of LOVE~Destiny~)
Who...
kanariya (re-cut later)

Total NEW album tracks: 6, 5 if you exclude LOVE ~refrain~

Duty:
Duty
End of the World
SCAR
AUDIENCE (re-cut single later)
teddy bear
Key ~eternal tie ver.~
girlish

Total NEW album tracks: 7

I am...:
I am...
Connected
Naturally
still alone
Daybreak (re-cut single later)
no more words
Endless sorrow ~gone with the wind ver.~ (remix of Endless sorrow)
flower garden

Total NEW album tracks: 8, 7 if you exclude Endless sorrow ~gone with the wind ver.~

RAINBOW:
WE WISH
Real me
Heartplace
Over
everywhere nowhere
Dolls
Close to you
+

Total NEW album tracks: 8

Memorial address:
ANGEL'S SONG
Because of you
Memorial address

Total NEW album tracks: 3 (but this is a mini-album so whatever)

MY STORY:
About You
my name's WOMEN
Liar
HOPE or PAIN
HAPPY ENDING
walking proud
HONEY
Replace
winding road
Humming 7/4

Total NEW album tracks: 10

(miss)understood:
Ladies Night
(miss)understood
In The Corner
criminal
Beautiful Day
rainy day

Total NEW album tracks: 6

Secret:
until that Day...
1 LOVE
It was
JEWEL
momentum
kiss o' kill
Secret

Total NEW album tracks: 7

GUILTY:
(don't) Leave me alone
GUILTY
Marionette
MY ALL
untitled ~for her~

Total NEW album tracks: 5 (Together When... excluded cos it WAS released before the album)

So, we can see that her album tracks have usually been ranging from 6-8... NEXT LEVEL has 6 new album tracks, so I hope that whoever who's feeling ripped out or pissed of the 4 interludes to please calm down and at least wait for some preview to decide if you want to cancel your pre-order!

On the topic of her 'classics', when she performed Mirrorcle World and SURREAL at some TV live last year, you can see that the audience, including the hosts were all singing along to SURREAL. I know SURREAL is a classic, and I can't deny that A LOT of her older songs are true classics.

I respect her work ever since 1998, and songs like SEASONS and M are really gems of her career. However, I don't think it's right to keep using these 'classics' as a yardstick to judge her newer work.

For example, SunshineSlayer (I'm not picking on you, just that you made a lot of good points here. ), said she LIKES Days, while still liking the past classics. So of course, it means her newer songs still have an appeal.

To a fan of Ayu who say started in the Secret era, it's obvious that the newer songs would be more appealing to them. I'm an Ayu fan since like Secret, but I discovered NOT through the new songs, but through ourselves actually (well if ourselves is not considered an older song, then never mind)... and before I came to this forum, my iTunes was filled with songs like:

Trauma
YOU
evolution
M

Yeah you get the gist. Old songs. Her older songs are awesome, but it's not fair to think that her newer songs "lack in quality" or whatever just because they are being compared to the Classics. IMO, evolution can NEVER EVER be replaced, because it sounds so damn unique and yeah SPECIAL! So I don't bother hearing to new songs and trying to compare them to her older works and thinking she has gotten worse or something.

I think for NEXT LEVEL, all these new things (EnergizE sound like a mesh of HONEY & ANGEL'S SONG; cool by the way, Curtain call being a 'gospel ballad', Sparkle's "shallow/thoughtless" lyrics)... are really new things she's trying. She has already mentioned that she's taking lyrics, music style and all that to a NEXT LEVEL in the official site, so I suppose when listening to the previews, we should be "prepared" for like something new/fresh/different? Hahaha.

Ayu is the one singer (besides Madonna IMO) who constantly re-invents herself. She doesn't it every album ala Madonna, but at least she changes things up. I would be yawning if NEXT LEVEL contains songs that are similar to M and SEASONS and what have you. The fact that she's changing and all that... I think it's quite cool.

Sure, the new songs MAY not be as good as the older works, but I don't know what to expect either. I think if I were Ayu, I wouldn't be able to produce songs half as good as evolution (lol). So yeah... we should still be grateful; the fact that she's already deaf in her left ear... going to LA frequently (suffering from jet lags and all that even)... and still working hard for an album!

Since we can't do anything anymore to change anything, why not just sit back, and take a listen to the previews (when they are leaked)? For one, Days is her best song to me (whether that is a biased opinion is uh... oh well) but I don't go thinking 'Days is the God, evolution suxxxxx!!!111'! It's unfair to her if anyone thinks like that.

What I'm saying, embrace change, especially for Ayu, since she's so apt at it.

And lastly, Ayu is the only artist who I've ever heard who had interludes in her albums, so embrace it.

---

Er anyone who has heard the previews, what kind of genre is LOVE n' HATE? Rock?

I totally agree, when people can see things in perspective, it doesn't look so different or bad.

I have always embraced her change and loved it in the process.

[Larisa-chan]

Meh, 4 interludes again? So pointless in a 10-track album. Well, I'm asking my boyfriend to get me this for my birthday, so I'm not worried about losing my money over it. =x

But... the reviews for this album sound so bad. I'm dreading hearing EnergizE. Curtain Call seems like it'll bore the hell out of me (I don't like Teddy Bear at all... piano ballads tend to bore me). And the album is full of English? Whatever.

4 interludes and all, at least GUILTY was a damn solid album. I'm now VERY, very interested to hear how NEXT LEVEL sounds.

[czh_genesis]

I'm cool with 4 interludes
if and only if they sound like Mirror or Catcher in the Light
ho ho ho~

[mcluva420]

can someone upload the leaked previews or smthin?

[perfectodub]

i think this album is done really fast, just in order to reach a deadline
(she need new material for her planed 2009 tour)
so She didn't have more time in order to compose more songs and made a longer album

is very predictable that only a couple of songs are truly "THE NEW LEVEL"...the rest just the same 1LOVE/talking.../decision fairyland/BLUE BIRD/STEP you ....

well...are just suppositions

[pop909]

It seems like more people are crying about other people cancelling their orders than the people who are actually cancelling the orders themselves..
and some people say others are ignorant...

I dont get why people think that the people who cancelled are doing something wrong. If people are using their money id assume that they can do what they want with it. Like honestly, saying how people arent even ayu fans because they cancel their preorder? seriously? there are millions of ayu fans who dont even own a cd, but no one judges them.

[prussian blue]

this is a disaster 4 interludes is sucks!!! cmon ayu! you know what to do for us!

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by maikaru

Honestly, what the mishidabo guy is saying about this album, and what everyone else on 2 channel are saying about these songs, they are completely different comments.

How can it sound like a copy of Secret and Guilty with a gospel flair, when they describe songs like a mesh of Honey and Angel's Song?
Or Close to you and Teddy bear?
Or Days, which sounds nothing like any track on those two albums, but more like the old albums?
And GREEN, which is an entirely new sound.
Or Sparkle, which sounds really, NOTHING like Guilty or Secret..

I think you totally misinterpreted. They are saying that CURTAIN CALL is like a mixture of Close to You and Teddy Bear with a gospel sound - not the whole album. Same thing with Energize (very bright and happy sounding like Honey) etc etc.

Mishibado is saying that at least in their opinion, the album sounds like her previous two with more techno sounds thrown in.

But yes, you are are right. We can all be friendly together.

Originally Posted by mcluva420

can someone upload the leaked previews or smthin?

Often times these previews don't leak unfortunately (or if they do, they are bad quality). That is because you can only get them through your cell phone and only if you live in Japan.

[Aozora]

At this point I don't care how many interludes the album has... I just want to hear the album xD.

6 new songs is still good too. It's the average amount of new songs. Some artists have albums with only like... 4 new songs. So as long as Ayu doesn't go below 6 I'm happy .

Although I'm a little bit peeved that the entire album was basically released in parts :p. It was bad enough with the singles! At least they aren't leaking here or I'd ruin the album for myself xD. But chorus previews would be nice .

[yoshino]

Thanks for the news.

But.... y 4 interludes again? NO! I don't want this..... ar......!!!!