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#22
21st March 2009, 09:15 PM
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Also, whats up with the random 25 seconds of rollin's intro...?!? Its like marionette prelude but in the same song as rollin' but still separets the intro from the song with like 5 seconds...
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#23
21st March 2009, 09:17 PM
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It's beautiful and fantastic.I'll write a bigger review soon XD!
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#24
21st March 2009, 09:29 PM
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My post vanished? o.0
Well, here we go again: I FREAKKIN LOVE THIS ALBUM Its on the same level GUILTY and Memorial Address are for me, maybe even higher, theres not a single track that I really hate(GUILTY had glitter, Memorial Address hat Greatful Days) Bridge to the Sky 4/5 Beautiful introduction to a... NEXT LEVEL 4,5/5 ...beautiful song Disco-munication 4/5 I finally figured out the titles meaning(Im so dumb xD) and i think its great, flows perfectly EnergizE 4/5 I expected myself to hate it, but I really like it, a new staple maybe? Sparkle 5/5 First song that deserves the full 5 points, its just... rollin' 5/5 AMAZING and the music box is in it^^ and it sounds like a old 8 or 16-Bit game GREEN 4,5/5 out of place, but amazing song Load of the SHUGYO 5/5 Breathtaking identity 4/5 overall really good, but something disturbes me about it, I like how it steps in decisions footsteps(which are really, really big) Rule 3,5/5 Really loved it at first, but that decreased, and decreased........and decreased LOVE 'n' HATE 5,5/5(xDDD) It may become my favourite Ayu songs, it just so epic! I want it to be the big song or opening for her tour(big-screen-ayu singing the beginning, then ayus spectacular entrance...) Pieces of SEVEN 4,5/5 I really like it, but it doesnt do its job, it doesnt lead into Days, but I think its Days' fault xD Its really long for an interlude Days 3/5 Curtain call 4,5/5 I LOVE IT, its a little bit like Pride and I really like Pride, especially live, I think we will see a choir performance on her CDL0910
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#25
21st March 2009, 09:43 PM
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I was disappointed with it, I am beginning to agree with some of the people who said this is level down for Ayu. I just don't like electronic music, it's cold and emotionless to me, and generally gives me a thumping headache. The reason it's a level down for me is that Ayu has always written lyrics and had music with emotion, something I could identify with, and to me the first part of the album in general doesn't make me feel anything, or seem like Ayu's work, they just didn't seem to suit her very well. I did like the second half of it from GREEN onwards, it seems more like the familiar Ayu. The songs I liked were identity and LOVE 'n' HATE out of the ones we haven't heard, the other ones were: NEXT LEVEL (after hearing the rest of the album I find this one soothing), GREEN, Rule, Days and Curtain call.
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#26
21st March 2009, 09:44 PM
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After listening to the album for couple of times, I must say it's a pretty good album (but not her best album of course). The only thing that this album is missing is a strong ballad song like Together When... or HEAVEN. Right now my favorite non-single is LOVE 'n' HATE and NEXT LEVEL. NEXT LEVEL is a nice stress reliever song. LOVE 'n' HATE has a really nice beat it sounds really refreshing plus different from her other songs.
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#27
21st March 2009, 09:58 PM
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Quote:
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#28
21st March 2009, 09:59 PM
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TRACK-BY-TRACK RATING SCALE:
1. Bridge to the Sky - 9/10 2. Next Level - 8.5/10 3. Disco-munication - 8/10 4. EnergizE - 10/10 5. Sparkle - 10/10 6. Rollin' - 8.5/10 7. GREEN - 10/10 8. Load of the SHUGYO - 10/10 9. Identity - 10/10 10. Rule - 10/10 11. LOVE 'n' HATE - 20/10--------BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM, period. 12. Pieces of SEVEN - 10/10 13. Days - 10/10 14. Curtain Call - 5/10
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#29
21st March 2009, 10:01 PM
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I haven't been able to listen to the whole album yet, but so far these are my initial impressions.
I really love the music and the arrangements so far. The weak points of this album are that the singles don't mix and her vocals. Her vocals really sound strained I think and they are often overpowered by the music. Also her vocals are very processed, much more than any other album, they also use tons of filters on this album. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence for what her vocals will be like on the tour (and that's assuming that she actually attempts to sing these songs live.) I'll give a track by track review and rating once I've been able to digest it all.
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#30
21st March 2009, 10:02 PM
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I really really really love this album!!! especially EnergizE, it is my favourite, and next one is NEXT LEVEL.
I was so disappointed with Guilty.. so this is a great great step up for me.. I love the electronic sounds of it, it gives a great uplifting and emotion life to it!!!!!~ There really isnt anything depressing on the album.. I am so happy~~ (except Sparkle.. ahaha) All the tracks are great.. I love the NEXT LEVEL of Ayumi Hamasaki~~ I wish the song NEXT LEVEL was in the end or so.. it would be a better relief to the hard and fast songs.. ahaha I think it's a bit wasted at the beginning.. So yeah, all I have to say, I wish that the track order was a bit different. But that's it!!!! The intro to rollin' reminds me of all those other useless intros. Like Free & Easy intro.. ahaha. But it's still a great song~ Also, I dont think Pieces of SEVEN is supposed to be an intro to Days. I think it's supposed to be an exit for LOVE 'n' HATE.. that's all. I love actually the transition from Pieces of SEVEN and Days.. At least now we know why pieces of seven is called that... "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...0?" ahahaha
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#31
21st March 2009, 10:02 PM
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Well I'm still listening to this album over and over and appreciating the new style. Personally I must admit it's quite different from the traditional Ayu style which means that I understand why a lot of fans will dislike this album. It's quite experimental (for Ayu anyway) and veers away from her typical album formula. I love it and I think it's a solid album with a lot of interesting things to discover. Seems like the type of album which grows on you and you can enjoy it for a long time.
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#32
21st March 2009, 10:12 PM
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My Review of the album:
Bridge to the Sky: I really love the intro!! very beautiful! NEXT LEVEL: the song is ok...not that great not that bad Disco-munication: love the interlude...too bad its not a full song EnergizE: My fav album track...I don't normally like cute songs or cute vocals and I tend to skip them but I absolutely love this song...makes me want to work out! Sparkle: love the song already! rollin': I love the 30sec intro...reminds me of marionette! I like the song itself too! My second fav album track. It'll be interesting to see if she performs this song. GREEN: love the song already! Load of the SHUGYO: another excellent interlude...makes me wanna lift some weights and play the guitar after...XD identity: reminds me of decision but not as good...I do like the bridge part though Rule: love the song already! LOVE 'n' HATE: very different for ayu...I like the song...too bad the song itself is a bit short Pieces of SEVEN: another great interlude...it would be a better transition to days if the slower part was at the end instead but its still great the way it is. Days: Not my fav ballad but its not bad...I do like it. Curtain call: its a good ballad and smoothing to my ears after all the upbeat tracks. Great way to end the album Overall its a great album...not her best but it was a nice change after 2 'dark' albums. I've been wanting a upbeat album from ayu and she released NEXT LEVEL. =D The album would of been even better if the ballads are better though. GUILTY had better ballads...but NEXT LEVEL have better singles and don't have songs like GUILTY and glitter which I always skip. For those who don't like the album, atleast she's doing something different...I remembered some ppl here complained about how she's in her safe zone and all that. NEXT LEVEL- 9/10
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#33
21st March 2009, 10:26 PM
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I LOVE this album!
It has everything pretty nice ballads, great rock-songs, cute pop and electro-music! "NEXT LEVEL" is as good as (miss)understood and GUILTY in my opinion. And these are my favorite Ayu-albums! Ok, now my ranking: 01. Bridge to the sky - 8/10 - amazing intro! but it's still only a interlude so just 8^^ 02. NEXT LEVEL - 10/10 - cute sommer-pop-song like BLUE BIRD! I love this kind of songs! and the lyrics are great! 03. Disco-munication - 7/10 - very electronic^^ 04. EnergizE - 10/10 - it's a great dance-song! It's fun! I wish it would be playing in my club here 05. Sparkle - 10/10 - again a very good dance-song! I love its beat! 06. rollin' - 7/10 - the beginning reminds me of WONDERLAND... The song has its moments... but there are several better tracks on this album... 07. GREEN - 5/10 - I never liked this song... I think it's odd... 08. Load of the SHUGYO - 7/10 - I like the mix of rock and electro 09. identity - 10/10 - great rock song! I love the attitude of this song! 10. Rule - 8/10 - fantastic rock-song! But Ayu already did so much better ones... 11. LOVE 'n' HATE - 10/10 - I LOVE the violins! This is so great! I want to see this live^^ 12. Pieces of SEVEN - 7/10 - the song has a smooth feeling. I like the change in it but it's nothing special 13. Days - 10/10 - super cute! a beautiful love-song full of emotions 14. Curtain call - 9/10 - great ballad. I love its simple piano sound So all in all: 8 out of 10 Points^
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#34
21st March 2009, 10:31 PM
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she has taken it to the next level, a variety of mixes from rock,rnb, 80',tech etc. i loved all of the songs..the least for me would be energize. i think ill love it later like i did for beautiful fighters. but its indeed a great album.
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#35
21st March 2009, 10:32 PM
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Bridge to the sky - Sounds like Not yet, just not as good, I also think this is her worst intro track :/ It didn’t set up any mood like “Mirror” or “Catcher In The Light” did, it felt like it was just there
NEXT LEVEL - Some parts remind me too much of BLUE BIRD, but at least the chorus was a tad catchy Disco-munication - Disco-munication could have been something good, but instead it was a boring filler interlude EnergizE - The beat and the catchy English saved this song from being too boring for my likes Sparkle - Love the beginning intro, the chorus, and the instrumental bridge. That’s about it rollin' - This track wasn’t all that interesting, it’s nice background music if you’re folding clothes or something GREEN - GREEN was magical and so awesome at first, but it’s lost its magic in my opinion Load of the SHUGYO - Pretty good interlude, not all that interesting, but transitioned well into identity identity - Some parts of the song remind me too much of 1 LOVE Rule - I hated this song at first, but it’s grew onto me a lot LOVE 'n' HATE - The best song on the album, nuff said. The music was great, the vocals were excellent, and it was just so damn catchy <3 Pieces of SEVEN - The beginning reminds me of Donkey Kong Country 2 music (mainly Bramble Blast for people who’ve played the game =P) which is good, the transition into techno was strange, but a nice welcome. Best interlude on the album IMO Days - Didn’t like this song at first, also grew onto me. Curtain call - I hate the beginning, but at least the song gets interesting with the choir that enters, but then the ending is like the beginning. Not the best way for her to end the album, but whatever. NEXT LEVEL was average for me. The interludes were filler (minus Pieces of SEVEN) while most of the tracks were boring and uninteresting. FAVORITE TRACKS = LOVE ‘n’ HATE, Pieces of SEVEN, Rule, Days LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS = Bridge to the sky, Disco-munication, rollin’, identity, Curtain call AVERAGE TRACKS = NEXT LEVEL, EnergizE, Sparkle, Load of the SHUGYO, GREEN
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#36
21st March 2009, 10:48 PM
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My thoughts:
-Bridge to the sky/NEXT LEVEL is a GREAT pairing. NEXT LEVEL is definitely my favorite song on the album. -GREEN is in the wrong spot. It feels REALLY out of place, as do the other ballads, but considering Pieces of SEVEN has a slightly oriental feel, I think GREEN would do much better after it, with Days and Curtain call to slow down and end the album. -I can't help but think of Curtain call and it's title, like Ayu's saying goodbye or something... Favorite new songs: NEXT LEVEL, LOVE 'n' HATE, Curtain call Favorite new interludes: Bridge to the sky, Pieces of SEVEN
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#38
21st March 2009, 11:33 PM
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TEN/10!
to me, it is. *album on repeat* i think im spoiling it for myself lol.. Quote:
[EDIT] Bridge to the sky seems like an instrumental of a song.. =o Last edited by L1aRx; 22nd March 2009 at 12:14 AM.
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#39
21st March 2009, 11:39 PM
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okay soo...I wrote my review while I listened to the songs for the first time...so it's kinda lengthy lol no one's going to read it anyway! So la~~
Spoiler:
Sooo ANYWAY...long story short: the album is filled with wierd compositions and interesting melodies, that could either be like genius...or the fact that everything else has been done already lol. The arrangements really carry a lot of the songs, and some of them are really awesome...in fact...the only arrangement I don't like was Load of the SHUGYO...but that song was wrong in all aspects. Worst single - GREEN/Days - Not only are the songs boring and bland, they don't really fit in their respective places. In fact the flow of the album is really odd to begin with...throw in GREEN and Days...MESS...although Days helps flow into the train wreck that is Curtain Call. Overall...the album is better in ways than I expected...but also fails in many ways as well. I think it's really fun and cool, and it's entertaining....but I think that some things were sacrificed in being so. I can't really put my finger on what though. Rating - hmm... 7/10. hmm...I think maybe that...the album is just kinda messy messy. It's like Ayu wants to do these styles, but she doesn't know how...I don't know...the album is just okay for the moment.
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#40
21st March 2009, 11:48 PM
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^^Don't worry Emiko - I read it! Mine will be lengthy too. lol.
Ok, now that I've listened a couple of times: This album is really like candy. Tastes great at first and is fun, but it'll get stale soon. And if you eat too much, you'll get sick. I see a lot of people giving out 10s easily, but I rarely will rate a song a 10, because that is like you are saying the song is just as good as Surreal, Evolution, Boys & Girls etc. Only if a song really truly deserves such a high ranking will I give it. I also agree with those that say this album is lacking an emotional connection. Most of the tracks are interchangeable with each other and don't have an emotional core, which is usually Ayu's main draw. I definitely notice a lack of "Ayu-ness" - any other artist could be doing these same tracks; they are not that unique. But at the same time, its nice that Ayu did something she doesn't normally do, even if what she's doing isn't really unique. Bottom line, this album is fun but I don't picture it having any kind of lasting effect. 1. Bridge to the Sky - This track really had me at first. Very beautiful, but then it suddenly goes crazy at the end. Which makes zero sense since the track it is going into is very soothing. So while it is a nice stand alone track, as an interlude to the album it kinda fails. the rest of it is still strong though. 8/10 2. Next Level - Really love the music in this one. The vocal melody does seem to borrow a little too much from both Blue Bird and Beautiful Fighters though. It gets repetitive, but I like the calming feeling. 8.5/10 3. Discomunnication - umm ok. As a transitional track it really kind of fails. It doesn't match Next Level at all at the begining but then gets much better at the end. (basically the opposite problem of Bridge to the Sky). I like the funky guitar in the background of this one. 7/10 4. EnergizE - Strange opening.  Overall though, I like this song more than I thought I would. It has some great moments, especially the vocal bridge into the chorus. But then there are other parts that I don't really think fit. 8/105. Sparkle - Never got the big deal about this song. Just average for me at best. 7/10 6. rollin' - I like the kind of random opening. Has some interesting vocal melody moments but by this point in the album, I'm already feeling like everything is sounding the same. 6.5/10 7. Green - Very nice song, but totally doesn't fit on this album. I actually was going to give this song an 8 but then I realized that I have hardly listened to it at all since its release. 7.5/10 8. Load of the Shugyo - I was actually expecting it to be better, like 10.0 material. I agree with Emiko that at parts this sounds too messy. 7/10 9. identity - One of the best new album tracks. Like the kinda creepy opening. Could do without the Yeah yeah yeahs. Otherwise I quite like it. 8.5/10 10. Rule - This song is begining to get a bit stale, but I still like it a lot. 9/10 11. Love'n'Hate - Very interesting track. It starts great. I like it a lot, but it is missing a really strong pump your fists chorus. It keeps building, but it never really gets anywhere. 8/10 12. Pieces of Seven - Nice one that would be great as a stand alone track but once again as an interlude it fails. The first half is way better than the second and it totally doesn't transition into Days. If I were to rate it just as stand alone though, it would get 8/10 13. Days - Sweet and beautiful. 9/10 14. Curtain Call - Sounds better now that it is in high quality though her vibrato is often regrettable in it. Pretty, but doesn't hugely stand out either. I'd prefer if there was no choir and just Ayu slowly building her vocals alone in the song. 8.5/10 Overall, 7.0-8.0 Not too bad of a score. But I see this album getting really old, really fast and as I mentioned before, I don't like how processed her vocals sound. It's also the first Ayu album where I did not give any of the tracks a 10/10. Also the interludes were some of the worst actually on any Ayu album I think - very rarely do I give her interludes anything less than a 9 or 10. This album is very short at only 52 minutes, even Guilty was actually 56. Duty was 52 as well, but that album was absolute genius from start to finish. Last edited by SunshineSlayer; 21st March 2009 at 11:57 PM.
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um yeah...I never really care for Ayu's rock songs...except the ones on Secret and before...I don't really like this one either...and there are parts that sound recycled...and other parts that don't work as well as something else might have...It's alright though I guess. Nice feelings...oh **** it just broke into like a groove like a kuu song 
So here she goes...it's a nice little melody I guess. A typical Ayu song, where her vocals carry the song. Here we come into the chorus...I really dislike the composition for the chorus...seems like it never climaxes correctly...but I really don't know how else you would do it...so meh. It seems that the ENTIRE song builds with the arrangement, not with the comp. Yeah...I just...don't like this song lol And then the little musical break is a bit too long and boring...soft ayu vocal main part...It's soo mushy...and here's the climax in the lacking composition...and OMG THERES STILL A MINUTE LEFT OF THE SONG?! Okay thank god it's all musical...Not my type of song. Oh well.
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