｢Party Queen｣ Thoughts on album?

[xLuna&1LOVE]

Party Queen: Enjoyed to hear it in full and high quality.

NaNaNa: From the preview it sounded messy but I really like the full version! & Timmy's rap didn't bother me. Allthough it felt a bit out of place.

Shake it♥ Hmm. Not a favourite but not terribly bad. But I can't help it to sing along with the chorus. ~ ♥♥♥

call Absolutely wonderful! Standard & beautiful.

Letter Yeah, it's a good one. It reminds me a lot of Last Links .

reminds me I was surprised. I didn't like the song from the preview, but in full it was absolutely gorgeous.

Return Road I got musicgasm. But I had to repeat the "bridge" at 3:00 because it sounded weird to me. What was happening? Where there some instruments breaking?

Tell me Why I thought I was going to love this one, but I got bored really fast. Still it's a nice song.

the next LOVE This is so... different. But still, the song is pretty overdramatic. I had the feeling I was listening to the soundtrack of Chicago.

Eyes, Smoke, Magic Well... what do you want me to say? What the hell was going on here? Is Circus Du Soleil here?

[Deep snow]

The album is amazing. The music is so diverse and every song sounds good! My favorite right now is Return Road (I totally didn't see D.A.I coming back as a composer! And BOUNCEBACK ZOMG). Too bad some songs are rather short for ayu's standard (3 minutes-ish), and the transition from the jazz part to how beautiful you are is a bit off, I think, just like how Pieces of SEVEN suddenly turns into Days and Curtain call.

SHE SOUNDS FANTASTIC IN Return Road GUYS. I'm going to love that song for a while now.

[Sirea]

My face is melting you guys.
Melting.

It's so... effing... GOOD.

And I feel like it's the opposite of Love songs in some ways. For instance, Love songs was very cohesive. It felt like one solid unit and was best listened to that way. PQ is very diverse and each song can and should be treated as a separate entity. But it works just as well as Love songs!!

This album is just way too good. I'm not gonna bother reviewing individual songs cause I'd just be like "I LOVE THIS SONG. THIS ONE TOO. OMG THIS SONG IS AUDIOPORN."

Just... pure awesome. I love ayu. This work is glorious. Plain and simple.

[Yumsushi]

I thought Timmy said he wouldnt be singing in all the songs. He was in almost every single one! and he ruined Return road for me, which I would have thought was the best track but because of him I think Tell me why is my favourite track.
Reminds me had such a jarring guitar mess I still think the title track is horrendous because of the Kampai and the other nonsense, but the album is surprisingly solid. A few listens and reading the lyrics will probably make me appreciate it even more. Even HBYA sounds good to me now (until he starts singing that is).

So despite the hideous covers, I can't wait to buy the album! Ayu thank you for restoring my faith in you after FIVE!!

Edit: so now I've listened to the album about 3 times and I would say its very similar to RnR circus but much better. I don't know if Im loving the songs as much as I was on the initial listen, but again its hard to do worse than Five and RnR circus for me. Honestly, someone send Timmy to a desert Island the nest time she starts working on an album.

[sanzo2011]

Return Road - DAI !
The only track that stands out to me and it's composed by DAI! my all time favorite Ayu's composer!
btw, The album's pretty good! i don't have to skip any track but also not really like any except for Return road and How beautiful you are!

[gogirlanime]

An opinion is always an opinion and none is wrong ever I'm just so surprised that so many people love this album when (so far) I hate it so much. My tastes always seem to be the opposite of Ayu fans I loved FIVE and Love Songs but a lot / most people hated it. I know this album will grow on me more but my first thought for this album over all is 5/10 pretty bad. But I went from scoring Love Songs from 6/10 to I think 8.5/10 so I know my score will go up with this album.

[Zeke.]

Ok I listened to the trashier half of the album (from a cup of tea onward) and really, thank God I listened to the previews of these few songs because they were exactly what I expected. Ayu's vocals are terrible in these and I mean terrible. The subject of Ayu's vocals now-a-days is nothing new, but this is a whole new level of terrible-ness. The songs themselves are awkward and just... not something she should attempt. I am not one of those people who scream around "I WANT SOMETHING NEW/DIFFERENT" - no, I would be happy if Ayu kept on making replications of her best works. I don't need some failed attempt at some off-the-wall genre of music.

But honestly, What. The. Hell. This will be the first time I ever completely delete an Ayu song from an album on my iPod (a cup of tea through Eyes, Smoke, Magic). Never again. Just, ... no.

Hopefully the other half of the album will be to my satisfaction.

It's funny how every song Timmy composed besides BRILLANTE is just gross. Hbya is ok, the composition isn't what makes it a bad song. I am just not a fan of the awkward English and the ending where she starts belting it out and screaming... it's anything but "beautiful" imo. Timmy's chanting takes away from that bridge at the end there too. It's not like if anyone here on AHS had disliked Timmy and hadn't praised him over and over that he wouldn't have produced these songs - either way he would have - but for some reason I feel angry at everyone for jumping the gun. Lol.

Looks like I'm still waiting for that one album where I can sit back, completely blown away and say... "Wow, she's still got it." But right now, looks like yet again, this won't be that album.

Looking forward to listening to the other songs after work.

[stickyrice]

Just out of curiosity...is it confirmed it's Timmy who's rapping in NaNaNa....

Anywho - album is definitely a step up from her last 3 attempts.

I don't really have anything bad to say except fot Eyes, Smoke, Magic. It's not necessarily "bad"...just not something I would listen to.

the next LOVE is just amazing to listen to. I love this sultry/jazz thing going on. I can just picture myself in a lounge with a drink and the scent of smoke. <3

[Ayusan]

Originally Posted by Yumsushi

I thought Timmy said he wouldnt be singing in all the songs. He was in almost every single one! and he ruined Return road for me, which I would have thought was the best track but because of him I think Tell me why is my favourite track.
Reminds me had such a jarring guitar mess I still think the title track is horrendous because of the Kampai and the other nonsense, but the album is surprisingly solid. A few listens and reading the lyrics will probably make me appreciate it even more. Even HBYA sounds good to me now (until he starts singing that is).

Same for me, NaNaNa, and Return Road are ruined for me because of his damn voice ! I don't like HBYA and ESM so I don't care for his voice here or not.
I wonder why he feels the need to sing, in another forum where he is registered, he said he was glad he could be able to sing, etc, etc, yeah do a solo thing if you really want to sing guy but don't ruin other people's work! Come on it's Ayumi Hamasaki the singer not him! NaNaNa doesn't even sound as an Ayu song but a Wellard feat Ayumi Hamasaki!
I hope she will get tired of him rather quickly! I would rather prefer to see Peco, Shuya and Maro everywhere than to see him a single time. Sorry but I just can't.

Except those tracks that I will surely always skip now, it's not a bad album but not the greatest of all time either.

[rainbow_smile]

OH MY OH MY THIS ALBUM IS SO SO SO EPIC!!!

Sorry, I'm waay too excited haha

[LEOyumi]

LOL i wrote a very long post, but I closed the page and lost it all, dammit.
Anyways, Party Queen was simply an unique experience as far as ayu music goes. It's very different and innovative, although shestays true to her roots most of the time. All the segment that goes from call to Tell me why is probably the best she ever did in an album, and it's really, really hard to top that ballad segment in MY STORY.
It's an album that surprised me a lot on first listen, since (miss)understood I wasn't this impressed with a new album. And I think it can grow even more on me. It can definetely be one of my favorite ayu albums ever!

[Deep snow]

The album is amazing; the music is so diverse and she sounds amazing in each of them. Timmy composed really good songs here. And the album indeed isn't very party-esque as everything turns somewhat darker right after Party Queen, melodically at least, as I don't understand the lyrics.

My favorite is right now Return Road oh my GOD she sounds flawless there; I mean I daresay she was pitch-perfect. The song itself is all kinds of kickass, as well, and she totally nailed it. I so didn't see D.A.I coming back as a composer! And BOUNCEBACK too OH GOD

My individual song review:

1. Party Queen: I've always liked this song (this kind of song, in fact), but I was hoping that it would start like how it did in the CDL; the intro was longer there and it was great, but oh well. This should do.
2. NaNaNa: I think she went off pitch here and there on the chorus, but the song itself is great; I don't mind the Timmy-rap (I think he's good at it) and it's just ridiculously catchy.
3. Shake It♥: Flows amazingly right after NaNaNa. I can't decide which one of them I like the best, as they kind of soundalike. I like the low-key verses, which I hope she'll perform well live so help me God.
4. taskebab: Eh. I like it.
5. call: I really like the Yui-esque atmosphere this song exudes; it reminds me (LOL) of Last Links, but I think I like this much better.
6. Letter: Pretty similar-sounding to call, and equally as wonderful.
7. reminds me: This, too, I think runs in similar veins with the previous two songs, but with more dramatic ballad touch. Kind of like a more uptempo HOPE or PAIN. Love.
8. Return Road: Perfection. Perfec-fxcking-tion. Faith in ayumi hamasaki doubled.
9. Tell me why: A good cover. It involves quite an amazing vocal play, too, I think.
10. a cup of tea: I don't think this interlude knows where it's going. If there was any qualm I have with this album, it's with this song being in it. A totally confused filler.
11. the next LOVE: Really playful, and she did a great job singing it. And that little skit in the middle (I don't know "the correct term" for it) is really interesting. I like it.
12. Eyes, Smoke, Magic: albeit similar to the next LOVE, I can say that I like this one better. I think it's like the swing-ey, playful version of Sexy little things (which I so love)
13. Serenade in A minor: Indeed like a background music playing in a dramatic scene (or in an ironic fashion, like when a gruesome murder is being committed - good God), however, I think it doesn't transition well into the next song
14. how beautiful you are: I think the song begins rather abruptly, as opposed to how it did in CDL - which I had been hoping to be how the song would be included in the album. I never really like this song; I think her voice is too shaky, and therefore is off here and there. But oh well.

There you go. All in all, I felt really good after listening to this album; all of the songs 'click' - unlike Love songs, in which I find quite a few songs disagreeable (Like a doll, insomnia, Thank U, Aria, overture, even November in certain regards) or FIVE, where there aren't too many songs to begin with, and 2 out of 5 (ANother song & beloved) are not my cup of tea. This album is very likeable. GREAT JOB, PARTY QUEEN.

And, oh

Originally Posted by neokyotodragon

It is from Daft Punk's Aerodynamic

Youtube Link

Tasuku phoned that interlude in. How lazy and disappointing. I hope he actually got permission though and isn't just ripping it off.

He did? And he's done this before? Wow I wonder if ayu knew. Respect in tasuku depleted

[jewelbox]

Party Queen ~ Flat/empty sound still bothers me, but it's pretty okay.
NaNaNa~ Okay,I hate autotune, she sounds like Akon and TOO much Timmy rap. I dont mind it, but it's just too much.. It would have been Perfect song without autotune and less rap.
Shake it~ Way better than NaNaNa. Thank god. Her voice is good. Not much to say,
taskebab~ It's still boring but maybe best tasuku interlude. So..still not that good, but ehm I let this slip through my fingers for nao. ^^''
call~ not bad, boring. maybe it will grow on me.
Letter~ her voice is not that good in this.
reminds me ~ Yep, this is my Ayu!
Return Road ~ PERFECT SONG. But is it timmy choir on the background again...........WHY..Well I dont care.
Tell me why~PERFECT SONG AGAIN. And I'm glad that it's now confirmed it's a cover.
cup of tea~ better than taskebab
the next LOVE very interesting. One of the best pieces on this album.
Eyes,Smoke,Magic~ Cool
serenade in A minor~ touching, it's okay.
HBYA~ Nothing new here.
Overall; this album is really catchy and is really her best since GUILTY. I love it!

[jkm444]

Party Queen - Love it when I first heard it on CDL 11-12
NaNaNa- This song is addicting it's stuck in my head! (My most favorite song on this album)
Shake it- Sounds better then the preview!
call, and Letter- These songs are okay, I think they will grow on me!
reminds me- There is to much Lalala in this song.
Return Road-My 2nd favorite song from this album!
Tell me why-Sounds very ayuish! Love the beginning!
the next LOVE and Eyes,Smoke,Magic- No comment... I am unfortunately not into jazz..but I do give credit for ayu trying jazz! Something new!
HBYA - Beautiful song!
Rate this album 7/10

[SKYia]

Party Queen: I like it, not best Ayu song but my feelings didn't change since cdl, I like it almst equally to live version but I loved watching it with that dance moves 8/10

NaNaNa: I like the chorus a lot but there's too much Timmy in between, still, it's like Ladies night's rhytm and rap x Until that day's bass x identity's 3,2,1 ending 9/10

Shake it♥: I don't like it, it's not like I cannot stand it but it's not a song I want to hear over and over again, stanzas are ok, but the chorus and lailai part are bad to me 4/10

taskebab: sorry tasuku, this didn't move me, it's just ok, doesn't move me 4/10

call: very cheerful and nice, reminds me a lot of Kuu's Love Holic (the mecha mecha part in Kuu's song) 8/10

Letter: I like it but it doesn't stay in my head (meaning I don't remember the chorus right after it ends), same feelings about it as in call, very nice and cheerful (the melody, don't know the lyrics yet) 8,5/10

reminds me: I kinda think this is my favourite song of this album, I love the instrumental at the beginning, the slow beginning and strong chorus, but the best part is the lalala part, the ending is crazy, want to sing it as loud as I can (but I can't, my poor soar throat :p) how did this happen... 10/10

Return Road: Amazing, loved it even from the small preview, didn't change my mind. It's really powerful (though I didn't notice Timmy's howling until sb noticed, now it gets on my nerves :p) 10/10

Tell me Why: I knew and loved the original so it's weird listening to cover, it's a great song, I just guess my sentiment for the original is too big 9,5/10

a cup of tea: I expected sth more peacefull, it starts nice and I didn't even mind the techno things, but at the point when all the machine sounds start it gets bad and then there are some nice sounds and it's ok, I've got really mixed feelings, I'd remove this dubstep or whatever it is and it'd make a nice piece 5/10

the next LOVE: I didn't expect this from the title, but I can really imagine Ayu sitting on a piano in some club singing this song, I really like it, and I guess it'll grow on me even more soon 9/10

Eyes, Smoke, Magic: Oh dear, I don't like any Chicago style music but this was so O_o not for me, at some poit I didn't know if it's jazz or country music, it definitely isn't SLT 2 2/10

Serenade in A minor: I love classical music, I play the piano myself, but this is somehow awfull to me, tried to listen to it few times but it's really boring, I can't see anything beautiful in it, it's not a nice transition between the songs either :V 2/10

how beautiful you are: I thought I don't really like this song but it kinda fits as a closing piece 7/10

Overall, I cannot decide how to judge this album, I definitely like it but I just played Identity and Rule out of nowhere and comparing to just that song this new album somehow lacks music, however weird that sounds.

reminds me and return road save this album

the next love, tell me why and maybe nanana keep it on high level

call and letter do a good job

party queen and how beautiful you are are right behind call and letter, maybe because I knew them already and they aren't new

but interludes, shake it and eyes smoke magic are on the edge of getting deleted from my list, I may get to shake it, I really like stanzas but this lailai chorus is just so getting on my nerves

[channy]

Loving it so far! I am on track 10 now. It seems to be more electro than "NEXT LEVEL" which is kind of confusing, because NEXT LEVEL was meant to be elctro-driven but had only three (?) tracks, that were electro-pop (Disco-munication, Sparkle, rollin').

Let's see how this whole thing will develop from now on =)

Edit: One thing I don't feel is major sadness/depression on this album, but this may be the case because I don't read lyrics.

[Bad Wolf]

****ing gorgeous. Surprisingly dark, too. It's very ominous and... angry. It's like the Queen goes back into her cage and is furious.

[SheFliesHigher]

So far, I would describe this album as Next Level part 2. It feels much more similar to that album than Rock 'n' Roll Circus and Love Songs. Some of her vocals aren't so great, some are pretty good. I need to run through the album again to make a more informed post.

[Benikari47]

AMAZING ALBUM! and i love how it brings something from all her albums yet sounds so different.

Party Queen was my jam from the moment it leaked, it sounds even better in HQ.
NaNaNa is just beyond FLAWLESS! it's Connected, Until That Day & Ladies Night all mixed into one song, it wish it was longer.. but omfg.
Shake It was one of the songs i was most eager to hear, sadly the chorus has to grow on me a bit more. The verses are epic though, great track.
Taskebab is one of the albums best interludes imo, and i usually don't like Tasuku's interludes that much. I love how loud it is, the almost eletronic sound it gets in the end is AMAZING.
Call reminds me so much of a early Jojo song, it's one of her most western sounding songs imo. I love it.. <'3
Letter is pure Ayu, so i was bound to love it from the start. It's very Rock 'N' Roll Circus and the intro is beautiful.
Reminds Me is extremely beautiful.. again it reminds me a lot of RNRC, but actually a bit of My Story too. Stunning track.
Return Road is definitely the heart of the album, the verses are indescribably beautiful. It does remind me of a rockier Virgin Road.
This >>>>>> Virgin Road by a mile though.
I was pleasantly surprised by Tell Me Why, it was one of the previews i didn't really care for but it's a lot better than i expected.
I especially liked it's intro, very beautiful.
A Cup Of Tea is.. wow, a very mixed cocktail LOL. I love it though, it has so many elements that it's impossible not to be interested! It reminds me a lot of Koda Kumi's Japonesque interlude too.
The Next LOVE is properly the song that surprised me the most.. i ADORE the jazzy felling, Ayu does it so amazingly well.. it's so entertaining and stunning at the same time, one of my favorites on this album.
Eyes, Smoke, Magic OMG. THAT INTRO! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
But then that whole Burlesque theme began, eh.. it like it, and actually really love the track cause it's so different. But that intro should have build up into some killer electronic banger.
Serenade In A Minor The.. best.. interlude.. omfg, i almost began crying when it came on.. it reminds me so *******ing much of Neon Genesis Evangelion, thank you so much for this Ayu.. it may even be tied with Pieces Of Seven for being my favorite interlude.

All in all, AMAZING ALBUM! <'3 Ayu did it again..

[Kanzaki]

Party Queen - More bass (srsly, listen to this on a decent surround system!) for the win . I felt like her vocals were just on the edge of strained, but I might be wrong. A decent dance track. 6/10

NaNaNa - Fun, slightly quirky. Liked the purposeful use of Autotune, it was used just right. The song had lots of good transitions, liked every bit of it. The rap, I can live with. Would've been more awesome if he'd rapped in japanese, I think! 8/10

Shake it♥ - Felt like a less awesome NaNaNa, plain and simple. I don't think I'll be playing this a whole lot. 5/10

taskebab - Might've had some potential if more polished and used in a full song. Also; Daft Punk? Always loved that bit, but didn't fit here. 4/10

call - Kinda DAI-esque? She did well vocally through the choruses, but when she attempts to do more quick vibratos...Not sure if gusta! The song itself is a very nice ballady-rock song. 6/10

Letter - Somehow, her voice just sounds so much more relaxed at most points here. It makes the song that much more enjoyable than call. The song itself, I think is also better in terms of arrangement than call. Her voice in this one is a huge improvement from previous songs on this album. 8.5/10

reminds me - Very gorgeous instrumental opening. Nice buildup, lovely chorus. Surprisingly good arrangement, although it does sound slightly 'messy' at times. A bit less 'lalala's would've done it. Lovely ending. I absolutely adore this song. 9/10

Return Road - Brilliant decision to put a track this epic and goosebump-inducing right after reminds me; it's one of the only tracks on the album possibly even more fantastic than reminds me. Absolutely amazing, amazing, AMAZING chorus. Organ sounds, violins, piano, it's just too gorgeous A true Ayu-ballad with that little extra that makes the hair on your neck stand up. And holy f- that little hiccup-ish 'YEAH-YEA' near the end? All the awards, Ayu 10/10

Tell me why - Her voice here is extremely good at times. A much more quiet and slightly mysterious song, it has a nice tempo. It could use a bit more variety to it to make it really stand out, but on its own it's still a very solid track. 7.5/10

a cup of tea - I appreciate what they tried to do here, but for me it's not working out. Too messy, noisy and not enjoyable enough. Sounds kinda like dubstep at times, which I am not a fan of. 2/10

the next LOVE - Holy effin crap, what is up with these completely awesome/lovely/gorgeous etc. melodic, openings to the tracks? This is very jazzy/blue-eyed soul-ish. Ayu with a 40's updo, tight sparkly gown on the stage of a jazz club looking hot? Yes please. Debatable how this fits in with the rest of the flow or if it breaks some sort of flow, but honestly I don't give a noodle. Sexy and wonderful arrangement. I love how she did jazz, finally and made it completely epic. Thanks Ayu. 10/10

Eyes, Smoke, Magic - My immediate thought when hearing this what that it perhaps should've been placed on the album right before tnL. I loved this sort of playfulness and for me, this worked out. Just the right kind of retro and quirky. I just wonder what the inspiration was behind this. 6.5/10

Serenade in A Minor - A nice melody, but I would've enjoyed it a whole lot more with Ayu humming along a bit - as an interlude/instrumental it's lacking a bit. For those who appreciate classical instrumentals on their own. It's placement makes sense though, as a prelude to Hbya. 6/10

How beautiful you are - I gave this like, 3/6 before I think, in my Itunes library. However, as an ending to this album? Possibly a bit more. Divine ballad, although with little variety it's a beautiful song. 6.5/10

Overall score: 6.5/10 - A very new and exciting album, with some really high ups and unfortunately also a few really low downs, that pulls down a lot from the overall score. I must say I was really positively surprised by most songs.