The official thread for your thoughts for "Rock'n'Roll Circus" (Anything!)

[~StarCatcher~]

I like the album like any Ayu album.
Maybe not as much as NEXT LEVEL that was an awesome album for me.
But I will wait a little longer to judge definitely!

I looo~~ve how she speaks English in the new making-ofs *-*

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by AyuGAME

^believe me...you are too hard on your expectation and you are too hard on ayu as well...
you put to much expectation on her...that's why you feel dissapointed and unsatisfied

that is not true

I'm one of the ones that is not asking ayu to go back to how she was before... and I just want her to be happy :/

you cannot judge me for just one comment on one album. If you go and read other of my comments you will see that I am not too hard on ayu or whatever you said

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by SURREAL__RAINBOW

that is not true

I'm one of the ones that is not asking ayu to go back to how she was before... and I just want her to be happy :/

she's happy making music .

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by GRACE

she's happy making music .

[tinka69]

I am still quite iffy about this album still (despite the fact that I bought the 1st Press DVD, CD & Booklet from ebay in a heartbeat). Here's my track Ranking:

1. Red Line
2. Don't Look Back
3. Sexy Little Things
4. Microphone
5. Sunrise
6. Lady Dynamite
7. You Were

But apart from these songs the remainder of tracks and interludes kind of flop for me.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Favorite Tracks
1. Sexy little things
2. BALLAD
3. montage
4. Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
5. count down
Least Favorite Tracks
1. Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
2. You were...
3. meaning of Love
4. Jump!

Finally got my favorite/least favorite tracks figured out (:

[AyuGAME]

Originally Posted by SURREAL__RAINBOW

that is not true

I'm one of the ones that is not asking ayu to go back to how she was before... and I just want her to be happy :/

you cannot judge me for just one comment on one album. If you go and read other of my comments you will see that I am not too hard on ayu or whatever you said

i think she is happy now, in fact she is very proud with this album....so why we aren't proud too?

[chocopockymaster]

Originally Posted by AyuGAME

i think she is happy now, in fact she is very proud with this album....so why we aren't proud too?

...because some of it isn't exactly material that one should be proud of.

[waterballoon]

after listening to the album a few more times, I think I grew more accustomed to meaning of Love, it's growing on me! But my despise and hatred for Sunset grows even more.

EDIT: Like when Sunset starts, my first thought was, "wtf is this. I want to listen to BALLAD now. *NEXT*"

[love in music]

Originally Posted by chocopockymaster

...because some of it isn't exactly material that one should be proud of.

I think it definitely is. I'm glad she's proud of every track.
Obviously the music in the album is the type of music she loves making and is EXTREMELY proud of, so we'll probably be getting more songs like these. That's bad news for the people who don't like it, very good news for us who love it.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by AyuGAME

i think she is happy now, in fact she is very proud with this album....so why we aren't proud too?

ohh I do like the album, don't get me wrong... but I like it less than NEXT LEVEL atm, for example.

I'm sure it will grow on me though, and as I said before, I just don't feel the single tracks atm... the only one I can actually listen to is BALLAD, for now.



I lovee lovee count down... this song is becoming one of my favorites

[jbrat2219]

I still haven't gotten my copy yet and it's driving me CRAZY! But as far as I what I've heard I think this album doesn't offer anything she hasn't done before. Rock, pop-rock, standard winter ballad, typical summer song, love songs, feminist songs, oriental songs, old-school-Ayu songs, even arabian/indian influenced songs have ALL been done before. But what is different about this album is everything is AMPLIFIED. It's like she's taken gems from her past and put a new perspective on it and enhanced it. And I love how she kept her word with this album. It is simply amazing! And I haven't even heard the whole thing xD;.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I still haven't gotten my copy yet and it's driving me CRAZY! But as far as I what I've heard I think this album doesn't offer anything she hasn't done before. Rock, pop-rock, standard winter ballad, typical summer song, love songs, feminist songs, oriental songs, old-school-Ayu songs, even arabian/indian influenced songs have ALL been done before. But what is different about this album is everything is AMPLIFIED. It's like she's taken gems from her past and put a new perspective on it and enhanced it. And I love how she kept her word with this album. It is simply amazing! And I haven't even heard the whole thing xD;.

you put it soo beautifully love I hope u get your copy soon so you can enjoy it!!

[jbrat2219]

^ Omg, "it" should be "them"! I don't know what's wrong with my English lately, it's getting worse!!! I need to stop studying a million other languages lol! And I hope I get mine soon, too!

[chocopockymaster]

Okay. Album review time. If you don't like what I have to say and just reply to call me a troll/Ayu-hater/whatever, save yourself the energy and don't bother. That being said...

THE introduction
It kind of starts out with a dark feel, like you're in the middle of some sinister forest. I like when the synth kicks in about halfway through, and then again when the drums come in at about 1:00. I remember this seeming particularly epic at the concert, but even now I still think it's a little strange when the mood suddenly gets lighter/happier with about 15 seconds left to go, but the ending is nice. I still feel like it's lacking a little something. 5/10

Microphone
The beginning of the song is veeeeery reminiscent of kiss o' kill for me, but the way it kind of EXPLODES! surprised me at first. I don't particularly care for the melody of the verse, but I absolutely cannot deny that the arrangement and the production of this track are brilliant. It sounds extremely full and not lacking in any way. The first time I heard the chorus I didn't like it too much, but it's starting to grow on me the more I listen to it. My favorite part of the song is when it lightens up and Ayu sings "moshi kanpeki na melody ga aru nara, watashi wa mada deaitakunai", though I wish the electric guitar wasn't wailing so much when it first goes soft. It makes the contrast between the softness of that section and the EXPLOSION! of the final chorus that much more powerful. Microphone is slowly but surely growing on me. 7/10

count down
Upon hearing this at AT2010, I was completely blown away. Sadly, the studio version doesn't have the same effect on me. I have a feeling once the tour is released on DVD and I can have a 320kb audio rip, I'll never be listening to the studio version again. My main problem with the studio version is the chorus. While listening through headphones, the production sounds fine and dandy, and the bridge is lovely. But the chorus is just...oh man, it's missing something. I don't know what it is. But when I listen to count down through speakers, it makes me cringe. Every time. It sounds even more muddled after the first chorus, and then I kind of just sigh, give up, and move on to the next track. I even feel like her vocals are lacking during the chorus, like there's just not enough oomph behind it. They're lovely during the bridge, but once the chorus hits, everything seems to fall apart. Good idea, flawed execution. 5/10 (mind you, I'd probably give the live version an 8 or 9.)

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
In the Sunrise/Sunset wars, I've always been a Sunrise supporter. This album hasn't changed that, and I don't know that I'm all that fond of the transition between count down and Sunset. My feelings toward Sunset are much the same as they've ever been in that it's very much a 'mood piece' for me. I have to be in a certain mood or setting to listen to it. When done correctly, like it was at AT09, it can bring me to tears. But ultimately, I still prefer Sunrise. It's a shame that I'll never be able to see Sunset as its own song. 6/10

BALLAD
I was feeling fairly lukewarm towards BALLAD when "You were.../BALLAD" came out last year, but AT10 completely revamped my opinion of this song. The vocals aren't Ayu's best, but I love that she still gets the chance to show them off here, even if there is a bit too much vibrato for my taste. The whole song has a sweeping, grand feel, as though it should be the theme song to some epic Japanese movie. I'm a sucker for anything Ayu does that's oriental-sounding to this extent and has lots of strings. <3 The second chorus is my favorite part~ Also totally love the drums that are so prominent in the last chorus. 7.5/10

Last Links
Actually, I wasn't such a big fan of this song when I first heard it. I went to the concert, it was the first song she performed during the encore, I was kind of like, "yawn...whatever." Funnily enough, I woke up the next day and already had it stuck in my head. I enjoyed it much more at the concert that night. Sadly, IMO it's another victim of the count down curse. Amazing live, but the studio version is just not up to par. I love the fact that for the first few seconds, you can only hear through the right speaker. (A glimpse at what Ayu's life must be like, no matter how small.) I really hate the drums (are they snare drums?) that are used throughout the studio version. It gives the instrumentation a metallic kind of sound, which I hate. Another song that I'll listen to like crazy once the tour DVD is released, but until then I think I'll give it a miss. 5/10

montage
I don't actually know what to say about this track, other than the fact that it's my least favorite interlude she's ever done. It actually reminds me a lot of some music I've heard in Sailormoon...like, I'm thinking of scenes from the very beginning of 'Stars' when Nehelenia is going crazy trying to make Usagi's life a living hell. ANYWAY. This interlude really doesn't do it for me, and I don't see myself listening to it, like, ever. 3/10

Don't look back
I was one of the people that didn't think too much of this song when we first heard it in the Panasonic commercial, but I think the studio version is a massive improvement over the CM version. For some reason, this song has a very 80's vibe to me. Maybe it's the synth. My main complaint with this song is that it's too repetitive and gets old really quickly. (2 minutes into the song we're already hearing the chorus for the third time...are you kidding me?) The PV made me like it a bit more, but I don't think it's a track I'll be listening to very often. But like Microphone, it's an excellently produced and arranged track. I particularly like the instrumental bit that starts up around 2:40 or so. 5/10

Jump!
I think I'm in the minority here, but I looooove this interlude. It actually makes me want to get up and jump. tasking is my favorite interlude and I don't think Jump! quite lives up to it, but I still love it a lot for some inexplicable reason. 8/10

Lady Dynamite
This song...oh god, this mess of a song. Where do I begin? The only part I can listen to without visibly cringing is the bridge. Everything else about this song is so so so wrong to me. When I first heard it I thought it sounded more like something out of TRF's discography rather than Ayu's, but now I'm convinced that even they wouldn't release a piece of crap like this. Quite possibly tied with GUILTY for my least favorite Ayu song ever. 2/10

Sexy little things
I was pleasantly surprised by this song. The first time I heard a clip of it was when I was sitting at Saitama waiting for the concert to start, and they started playing the commercial for the new album...I tried SO HARD to cover my ears, but the volume was so loud that I could hear it no matter what I did, so I gave up. xD I hadn't been expecting something like that at all, so when she performed it during the concert I still didn't know what to think. But I ended up absolutely loving it! The arrangement and the effects are kind of all over the place, but I don't care. It works, somehow. I think that when you consider the album as a whole, this is the most original song on it. 9/10

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
GAAAH. I always have, and I always will, love this song. I have no words. 10/10

meaning of Love
I find this song so incredibly mundane, boring, cliche, etc. It puts me to sleep, and not in a good way. I'm trying to come up with other things to say. And failing. 4 minutes left, still?!? Noooooo damn it I want this song to be over. Tied with Lady Dynamite for the biggest fail on this album. 2/10

You were...
Since the weather today is so nice and I'm sitting here with my window open letting the gorgeous breeze flow through, I cannot listen to this song right now. Skip~ 6/10

RED LINE ~for TA~ [album version]
I love this song. I love it a lot. I've seen it compared to MY ALL by a lot of people, but to me they're not really the same. I see where the comparisons are coming from and everything, but this song is so much more than that to me, largely due to some personal things I was going through when the song was first released as part of YW.../B. And because of that, it will always be cemented in my memory as one of my favorite Ayu songs. Not so sure I like the arrangement of the album version, it sounds quite muddled in some places, but I do quite like the acapella at the end. Yay Ayu. <3 9/10

OVERALL: 6/10 (gulp)
This album really didn't live up to my expectations. When Ayu comes out and says this is her best work ever (though I suppose she would say that about every release, wouldn't she?) and then puts out an album like this...something doesn't add up. Especially when she's included tracks that are so badly produced (count down, Last Links)...these songs have real potential, but that potential wasn't explored here. On the whole, it's a step up from NEXT LEVEL, but I want more! Better! More better! And I know she's capable of it; she just didn't give it to us with this album.

[PEARL]

The only song i will skip on this album is You were...
i think this album is 99% perfect but at least its still quite good compared to her previous album, at least for me. :/
i love montage <3

[the angel song]

I must say...that there is definitely a circus of emotions in this album, just as ayu said.

I made a playlist of all her studio albums and re-visited her past music. After listening to the album, running away to her older works, and being wow'd over MY STORY again, it appeared to me that once (miss)understood began to play, I could not skip a single track! That was when it occurred to me that what seems to captivate me allll the way to the very end, is the variety of music she puts out in each album.

Rock & Roll Circus has it all for me. <3 Raw passionate lyrics, voice, and the strong character in each track!

My review is weird, but it's the only way I can explain why I love this album as much as I do. :p

"Introduction" is unlike any intro she's ever had, and I only think it was put in place to give off that "circus" vibe, without being too lengthy.
"Microphone" brings me back to "talkin' 2 myself", and her voice is so powerful here!
"countdown" was sorrowful and heartfelt like "still alone"...the intro when it goes sharp, made me think of the noise she said she heard when first losing her hearing. I cried...
"sunset" uplifts my mood like a lullaby and makes me think of "Voyage". It is sweet and loving, especially when the chorus comes in.
"BALLAD" reminds me of "Dolls" and "Theme of A-Nation" because it is so epic...the whole track is a journey with beginning, middle, and end.
"Last Links" oh god oh god so beautiful and catchy and the violins and the lyrics...it is the new "Endless Sorrow" for me.
"montage" is soooo Miyazaki at the end! The beginning is absolutely haunting though...I love this interlude. Nothing really compares to it for me.
"Don't look back" had the ethnic charm of "vogue" with a kick. The instruments really bring this track to life.
"Jump!" is incredibly energizing holy crap. I love it...she is sooo fierce here, and it reminds me of the introduction before "Fly High".
So when "Lady Dynamite" came on, it felt like "And Then..." and "Naturally" episode II and I was soooo excited that she greenlighted this track, because the beats are so funky. ;D PLEASE MAKE MORE OF THIS AYU -shot-.
"Sexy little things" is fresh, unique, cute, and catchy...this was how I felt when I first heard "STEP you". <3 <3
"Sunrise" is rowdy and fun like "July 1st"/"flowergarden"....love it even more on this album against the other tracks.
"meaning of Love" made me tear up...the melody is so touching and grew on me instantly. This could have been a single. It reminds me of "Key" oh goodness...
"You were..." is the latest "walking proud"
and the best album ender....
"RED LINE" woooo! I mean, wow! The good vibes in her voice, the melody, the lyrics, I can't stop smiling. Playing this song with "Replace" makes me so giddy with happiness. I love it. And the ending is beautiful...

I guess what I mean to say is, the fact that ayu has so many facets to her music makes me enjoy her albums all the more. The more that I can feel like "this reminds me of this track" and hear how it's even better than that, makes me excited to be her fan for so many years...

She just continues to amaze me .

[Earth_maiden]

Has anyone opened their "Ayu tea" yet? I want to but I'm not sure if I should...

[nanomi]

I don't know what to say. It's like a mixture of the old Ayu + more mature. It's sad/happy/hopeful/optimistic at the same time. I don't know. I'm loving this.

[jbrat2219]

TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO WRITE THIS SO READ IT LOL

So I FINALLY got my copy of RnRC and I just finished listening to it the whole way through! And I'm not really good at reviewing things but here are my thoughts.

THE introduction: laugh out loud. That's how weird it is, I had to spell out exactly what I did when I first heard it. I know a lot of people do NOT like it and I have to admit my first listen I didn't like it either (especially after hearing montage!). However, I've grown very quickly to like its weirdness and how it was surprising not as explosive as I thought it was going to be. I love how it is called THE introduction and it has to be the weakest piece of **** I've ever heard lol. It's almost like Ayu was making fun of it. Some might argue it doesn't have a place on this album - or any album for that matter - but I like it. Although I can definitely see why most hate it.

Microphone: What else more can be said about this song to be honest? It's amazing! But what I love the MOST about it is how it is the yang to Sexy little things ying. Not only are the PVs polar opposites, the songs themselves represent the album's polar opposites. Microphone being the rock 'n' roll and Sexy little things DEFINITELY being the circus. It also is more apparent by the fact that they both sound the most like what they're suppose to represent.

count down: I absolutely LOVE this song. I love the arrangement and I adore the chorus. This is easily my favorite non-single, non-PV accompanying track on the album lol. It's so dark, creepy and somber. It's like the GUILTY track of the album. I think I heard some say that it also sounds Western? Well I don't listen to a lot of Western music but I can actually hear it. I don't think it makes it any less amazing though.

Sunset ~LOVE is BORING~: Is boring. xD; To put it in better terms, it is one of those songs that only sounds good in certain situations. A nice quiet evening at home, relaxing, reading a book with a glass of wine just before bed kind of song. Not something I'll find myself listening to all the time. But it does have its place to me.

BALLAD: Beautiful, I love the arrangement. Bad point against this song, it sounds the LEAST unique to Ayu to me. It sounds like an alan song to be more specific and if alan had sung it herself it probably wouldn't make a bit of difference to me. Of course alan has her own share of songs that sound "Ayu-ish" well this song sounds "alan-ish." I love this song so obviously the bad doesn't bother me.

Last Links: I was pretty excited to hear this song after all the praise it got but I wasn't really captivated by it really... It felt like it was constantly moving and despite it being over 4 minutes long it sounds like it was only 2 minutes. It is a nice song and I certainly enjoy it but I find count down to be much better. I also don't enjoy the chorus that much but maybe it will grow on me. One thing I DO like about it though is how the song starts off with only the right ear being audible symbolizing her left ear issues I suppose that would have been better suited for count down yet it was only used for Last Links. Very interesting twist there Ayu!

montage: I was disappointed this wasn't a full song and after hearing it I'm even more disappointed! I love orchestra music so if Ayu makes another orchestra album it'll make up for this not being a full track lol. I also love how this should have TOTALLY been the intro yet was not. Further accenting the "circus" theme of the album in how everything is mixed to hell.

Don't look back: I LOVE THIS SONG! I ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT LOVE THIS SONG. By far my favorite song not only on this album but of hers in general in forever (technically since Sparkle). Since GUILTY, Ayu has had that ONE song on an album that totally stands out and outshines everything else (GUILTY - Marionette, NEXT LEVEL - Sparkle, RnRC - DLB). No wonder it's sandwiched!!! Not only does the song stand out, the PV does to. A lot of people argue that this song isn't that great because it feels like its missing something or there's no climax or it's flat whatever. But I think that's what makes this song even better because it truly doesn't need it. I think over producing it would have hindered the song instead of helped. Not gonna lie, much like BALLAD the song depends heavily on the arrangement. But think about it, isn't that what makes both songs so great?

Jump!: Thanks Ayu for having another interlude with the "needs to be a full track syndrome." Like her past two albums, she includes interludes that actually has us wanting an "interlude turned full track" compilation lmao. Ever since what happened to Mirror I have been HOPING AND PRAYING SO HARD YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW for tracks like The Judgement Day and Disco-munication to be transformed into full masterpieces. UNLIKE her past two albums, she has TWO interludes that need to be full tracks this time.

Lady Dynamite: I love this song! It's such a fun song. I always feel like dancing when I hear it and I love how Ayu had so much sass in the PV. It's not a club thumper like Sparkle but it's still pretty good! Yay Lady D ;D

Sexy little things: It's no secret I was not as impressed with this song as everyone and their moms seem to be. However, I luckily found out the source of indifference to this track - the PV. This is the first time I heard the song without watching the PV and I am absolutely IN LOVE. It's strange how a PV can make or break a song for you. I won't be watching the PV again for a while but I'll definitely be jamming to this song for days to come.

Sunrise ~LOVE is GREAT~: I don't want to offend anyone but I think people who think this sounds like "just another Ayu summer song" needs to go back and relisten to Ayu's earlier summer jams. It was almost like she was practically telling you this song is different by putting a mesh up of her old summer songs together on the single!!! In my opinion it is far superior to her old summer songs which seem to be continuations of each other. It has reminiscent of independent but still remains independent of all her summer tracks.

meaning of Love: Not a bad song, but I don't care for it. It is my least favorite song on the album next to Sunset (but still better than Sunset). I think the reason I can't get into it is because everyone said if I like Days I'd like this. NOT TRUE. Not true at all. Days is far better than this to me but I can see DEFINITELY see why the Japanese love it. Drama/Anime ending song anyone??? This song seriously should have had a tie in. I think it would have been a better pick than Last Links. Seriously, whoever her PR person is should be fired for not figuring that **** out. All in all, a very sweet song! Maybe after a few more listens I'll love it.

You were...: You were... gets a lot of flack from people but I really LOVE this song. It's probably my favorite ballad on this album and has my second favorite PV on the album. It's just so appealing to me. This song reminds me of No way to say the most and I absolutely adore that song. I also like the guitar in this song, gives it a rock n roll feel.

RED LINE ~for Jorge~ [album version]: Not much difference from the single is there? The acapella at the end is GORGEOUS. Outside of that I don't really see too much going on with this version. Definitely beats out MY ALL (hope it replaces it too!) and it is definitely a song made for FANS. You can tell, it has everything us fans love in it.

Overall, I've heard a lot of mixed reviews from a lot of people. On one side people say it's not really bringing too much new to the table outside of SLT and on the other side people saying it's the best album since MY STORY. I've come to the conclusion that both sides are absolutely correct. No side more than the other. I think people who are looking for the "revolutionary Ayu" are kind of deluding themselves. I think at this point in Ayu's career, it's not about what songs sound revolutionary or not so much as do you enjoy them? Ayu seems to be making "enjoyable" songs with this album. Not too much stands out because they all stand together much like with NEXT LEVEL. I think that's scary for some fans because they want Ayu to be pushing boundaries constantly and I think she's kind of done with all that. I wish I could find the source, but I remember her saying she use to make music for herself and now she's making music for fans. And it's totally obvious. Look at the recochoku charts? Days is practically immortal, Sunrise is widely accepted, meaning of Love is climbing the charts, Microphone debuted #1 and the PV is still #1 etc etc. I'm not saying it's the first time this has ever happened, but these songs aren't that "revolutionary" and yet they still appeal to the masses.

Another thing I want to point out is how everything is so mirrored and random and out of place in this album it's mind blowing. Microphone/Sexy little things, Sunrise/Sunset, count down/Last Links (with the ear issue mentioned above). Also with that wack ass introduction versus the should-be-introduction montage. The fact that all the dark songs are at the beginning and light (non-dark) songs at the end. With the EPIC and probably best song of the whole album being SMACK in the middle of the two sides of the album. Even more oddly enough having a dark and light interludes to accompany it. The "flow" is non-existent in this album and nothing is where it should be which really does make it like a circus. I personally think some people don't appreciate this being the point of it all and why some things are the way they are.

I don't believe in grading albums or whatever because I'm really really not good at that. But I definitely love this album and I can definitely see - now much than before - why some people don't like it. But then again it goes along with my point: love vs. hate. Ayu has us mirrored. I bet you didn't even notice.