Secret ALBUM: Discussion

[zeroshin888]

Wow, I noticed the alteration of Startin' but not Born to Be.. at all. haha
It's so true that the album tracks are SO much better than the single tracks. This album is ever so amazing. I think I'm going to have to order a copy of my own soon! SECRET is LOVE!!!!

[freedreamer]

Originally Posted by zeroshin888

Wow, I noticed the alteration of Startin' but not Born to Be.. at all. haha
It's so true that the album tracks are SO much better than the single tracks. This album is ever so amazing. I think I'm going to have to order a copy of my own soon! SECRET is LOVE!!!!

mind saying where?...i wanna noe what they changed

[PURIN]

why do so many people hate beautiful fighters!! i love it
its my favorite song on the album!

[WillofDusk]

Ayu never made me feel bore of her.This time the same.All of the tracks are sooo POWERFULL and lively,everything is just soo great that I keep listening to it all the time

[SunshineSlayer]

Overall albums ratings: (I went through all the albums, rated each song and then averaged them - no, I don't have too much time on my hands. lol)

Rainbow - 9.6
I Am - 9.6
Loveppears - 9.5
Memorial Address - 9.4
Secret - 9.3
Duty - 9.3
(miss) Understood - 9.1 (odd cause I thought I liked My Story better.^_^)
My Story - 9.0
A Song for Xx - 8.6

[truehappiness]

Wow; RAINBOW got crazy high.
You must've liked all her dreamy-like melodies during that period, hm? :O

[Raleigh]

To be honest I'm still digesting this album and getting over the initial excitement but this album sounds like a hybrid of MY STORY and Rainbow which is a a pretty good thing.

[DA1SUK1DAY01691]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Overall albums ratings: (I went through all the albums, rated each song and then averaged them - no, I don't have too much time on my hands. lol)

Rainbow - 9.6
I Am - 9.6
Loveppears - 9.5
Memorial Address - 9.4
Secret - 9.3
Duty - 9.3
(miss) Understood - 9.1 (odd cause I thought I liked My Story better.^_^)
My Story - 9.0
A Song for Xx - 8.6

Wow, your drop between A Song for XX and MY STORY is as big as RAINBOW to (miss)understood. But you must LOVE her songs to give it all around 9s.

If I were to rank her studio albums up to now...

1. I am...
2. LOVEppears
3. Secret
4. MY STORY
5. Memorial Address (May be if this was a full album, it would have knocked everything below LOVEppears down)
6. (miss)understood
7. Duty
8. A Song for XX

Secret has the potential to sell a million copies by the end of the year. I believe it'll at least sell 750 000 by the end of the year, at least. I think "momentum" and "1LOVE" will attract buyers, so the PV airings can't come at a better time. I view momentum as a second M, may be not as dynamic, but the lyrics really fit as a epilogue, which I hope others view it as too.

[AyUmIXx]

gosh..
what happen to the other threads?
too many threads that talk about this album..
why don't they just make it into one thread like this?

anyway..
i truly love this album..
so rockkkkkk and really ayu-ish!
ayu's voice is so POWERFUL!!!
love it..especially on 1 LOVE!

Not yet -> quite ok..just the trance tune on it, i don't really like trance music anyway..but quite good

until that Day... -> the least favorite track on this album, even though the reff sounds so good! but the music is just weird~

1 LOVE --> This song is so gooooood!!!! ayu'svoice is extremely powerful on this one and i can feel the strength on this one!

it was --> same type of music like (miss)understood, but it's good enough!

LABYRINTH -> the interlude's title is good, but not the music, very plain~ just the old kaleidoscope

JEWEL --> this is the best!!!!!!!!!

momentum --> quite catchy and fun song, remind me of one of morning musume kind of song.

taskinst --> one of the best tasuku's interlude after tasking!

kiss o' kill --> i don't feel that the song has something special..just same old same old..

Secret --> yea finally!!! the ultimate! the best ballad ever!!!!

that's all for my comments

[lotusoka]

I am very pleased with this album... It definitely blows (miss)understood and MY STORY out of the water.

Way to go, Ayumi.

[Peachilicious]

In terms of interludes, this is definitely Ayu's best album. Not yet is by far my favorite album opener. Labyrinth is wonderful, a definite improvement over the last interlude that HAL did for Ayu (Kaleidoscope). And taskinst is great, just like everything tasuku does (although I did like tasking from MU a little more).

I was really looking forward to hearing the full version of 1 LOVE, I was expecting it to be my favorite track on the album. So I was confused when I found myself a little underwhelmed by it. Still a really good song though, can't wait to see the PV. (I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when she sang "just one love" in English, it was actually intelligible. I'm so glad it didn't end up like "JASUTO WAN RABU!!" or something. )

I think my favorite on the album is kiss o' kill. Which is strange, because I didn't like it that much from the 30 second preview. But I guess I just couldn't resist that organ.

It was and momentum are alright, although I don't see myself listening to them all that much. For It was, I think the chorus brings it down, but the verses are nice. And momentum, I'm hoping the PV will be really outstanding to make me like the song more (just like Jewel).

I'm still wrapping my head around until that day, and I haven't listened to Secret yet.

So as for my Ayu album ranking:

1. Duty
2. LOVEppears
3. (miss)understood
4. Secret? Just maybe.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Demure_Dusk

To be honest I'm still digesting this album and getting over the initial excitement but this album sounds like a hybrid of MY STORY and Rainbow which is a a pretty good thing.

Yup, that's the conclusion I've come to too. It's got the rockiness of My Story mixed with the dreaminess of Rainbow.

Originally Posted by DA1SUK1DAY01691

Wow, your drop between A Song for XX and MY STORY is as big as RAINBOW to (miss)understood. But you must LOVE her songs to give it all around 9s.

Yup, that's why she is my favorite artist. She's never released a song that I outright hate, just a few I dislike. I didn't rate any songs below a 7.5 I don't think.

[explodingbird]

At the moment, my thoughts:

Not yet: Love how dreamy it stays, even when kicking into a thumping techno melody. Sets up the darkness of the album perfectly. 4.5/5

until that Day...: Love the transitions in here. The acoustic guitar "oooh ooh" sections are AWESOME. It feels like a return to evolution, almost. It's definitely intense, driving, maybe not breakneck but it really nails you and takes you along for a ride. 5/5

Startin': Okay track, but it seemed too plain to me. Never did care much for it. 3/5

1 LOVE: Sucks. Shrill, obnoxious, grating. Goes nowhere. Does nothing. Monotonous. 1/5

It was: Love the wistful feel, and that it reminds me of the awesome monochrome. Feels very stormy and autumnal, for some reason. 4.5/5

LABYRINTH: Very dark, snowy, and wintery. Very surreal. 5/5

JEWEL Beautiful, cold, lonely, misty. 5/5

momentum: Like a sequel to M, musically. Very great winter song - a bit of loneliness, but not in a sense complete isolation like JEWEL was, if that makes any sense. 5/5

taskinst: Awesomely dark. Love how suddenly the gears shift. 5/5

Born To Be...: Well, that wasn't an awkward transition at all, was it? Always did love the driving, Olympic, inspiring, uplifting feel of this song even with its sucky PV. 5/5

Beautiful Fighters: Really fits nowhere on the album, but that doesn't demean the song's value any. I love how cute and fun it is, and really don't see everyone's problem with it. Then again, I notice the three B's are happy/inspiring-sounding songs, and I guess people have a problem with those sorts of things for some reason. It boggles me. But this track is definitely a favorite. 5/5

BLUE BIRD: Also sticks out like a sore thumb. It's like the album went...

>=| >=) |=/ =( =| ;_; <=( >=[ ^______________^.

That being said? A GREAT, nostalgic, uplifting, sunny summer song. I do love her summer pop songs, from July 1st to this. I just wish there was better transition/placement of the songs around the album (maybe a few more transitional tracks?) to not make it seem so JARRING. Startin' fit. This didn't. 5/5

kiss o' kill: Very powerful, dark, and tense. Great stuff. 5/5

Secret: Almost... enka? Gorgeous, melancholy, feels almost sad, like you're leaving something behind. 5/5


Damn good album, for its sequencing issues. 1 LOVE and Startin' are weak links. I just wish the transition from dark to light to dark again (and from spring to summer to fall to winter) had been handled better. Maybe keep the single songs aorund the beginning and gradually edge towards the darker songs? Or make the start darker and gradually edge towards the light?


Anyway, my as of now Ayu album rankings (with ties because she has some very equally strong albums):

1. MY STORY/(miss)understood
2. I am.../Secret/RAINBOW
3. Memorial address
4. Duty
5. A Song for XX
6. LOVEppears (Meh)

[AyUmIXx]

monochrome?
should be momentum, i suppose??

[explodingbird]

Whoopsies. I would've expected myself to accidentally mislabel It was as monochrome, not momentum (which I'd have probably mislabelled as M if I'd done it properly).

[hana_sanctuary]

*sitting here impatiently for the DL*

I know I shouldn't have started reading this thread or else I'd become a bit emo waiting for my copy to DL!

[immel]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

Well, I did have a weird feeling after I finished listening to the album. I adore all the new tracks and I love the single tracks as well. However, even though we get 7 new songs + 3 interludes, I had the feeling the album had very few tracks.

It does indeed feel short. The albums total length is 55 minutes, most of her other albums are over 70, with the exception of MA which is around 40 minutes. 55 minutes is short for an album, I think more or less anything lasting for under an hour comes across as short.

It's weird, once I finished listening to it, I was like, wow I've already finished it, there are no more new tracks to listen to?

I had the same sensation, but in another way, I knew that listening through the album would be easy because it was so short, and I wrote reviews, or thoughts, while I was listening to it the first time. I felt it flowed very well, and it ended where it should have ended. But it was quickly done, it was over so fast. Yeah, the album is short, compared to her last few. (MS 74 min, (m)u 66 min).

I had completely differnt feelings with both (miss)understood and MY STORY. I guess it's because the previous had more "genre" variety, since Secret seems to focus more on songs loaded with guitar sounds.

I agree. To me that makes the album flow so extraordinarily well, gives it a feeling of ending a little quickly, even though I feel it's finished when it's over.

Not mentioning this is a negative point though, it's just that songs in Secret seems to flow more in a certain pattern while the other 2 albums seemed to flow in graduation.

Ah, you mention the flowing, too. Not at all a negative point to me either.

That said, I don't really critize the existance of the 3 Bs (BTB, BB and BF). I think a bit of cheery pop adds a little more variety to the album.

It does add variety, and it's definitely the part of the album that sticks out the most, especially as Born To Be... really beats a hole in the emotional feeling that's been accumulating up till then. It goes all cheery, and then there's... there just is kiss o' kill. Oh my.

[~X2RADialbomber~]

Lol I never realised how good Born To Be... is!

I'd have to say some of the Rock tracks sound generic, but they sound so good that way. I love 1 LOVE and momentum

[Eu-Kun]

this album has greater rock songs than (m)u

but the ballads in the album will never beat HEAVEN ;o

[kournikova]

Not yet... - ordinary
until that day - OK song
Startin' - good track.. i still love the lyrics
It was - OK
1LOVE: the best song in a while since my name's WOMEN i think.... it is so marvellous.....
LABYRINTH - Kawaii interlude
JEWEL - a setereotypo of ayu's ballads
momentum - kewl song.. the winter presence of that love song... it is not like usual icy winter...
taskinst - OMG the best interlude in a while...
Born To be... - it is much better when we listen to the song after listening to taskinst
Beautiful fighters and blue bird - ordinary summer song
kiss o kill - OK
Secret - Best ballad since heaven... so emotionally kewl!