A ONE thoughts and reviews

[gogirlanime]

Now that it's not 2:00 a.m. for me and I can think more in detail about this album.

In a simple summary statement: She has stuck to what is Ayumi Hamasaki but has intensified it ten fold, it's like Ayu going Super Seiyan or Super Sailor Moon. I can honestly say that this album is the best she has done in YEARS, that doesn't mean I feel like everything else before this was crap, but my personal opinion is this is her best since her I am.../RAINBOW days. I was afraid that after Party Queen she wasn't going to give us golden tracks like Return Road ever again or uplifting and simple songs like call or Letter. I do agree this song doesn't push boundaries or break trends in Ayu's style but I do agree when she says this is a reboot of her career and that she put her whole heart into this. This is the first album in years where songs didn't have to grow on me I just loved them all instantly. Listening to this album lifts my heart and reminds me of my teen years and how happy I was to have discovered her incredible music in 2002 it brings back my love for Ayu. The sounds of this album range greatly mostly comparing to Memorial Address, Love Songs, I am... and RAINBOW. Almost every song brings tears to my eyes. This is the first album I have been able to listen to beginning to end without feeling the itch to skip a song since NEXT LEVEL.

Song ratings average: 8.18 Album rating: 9/10 <------ best ratings I've given since Memorial address and Love Songs.

a Bell 9/10
A beautiful opening song and I'm so glad it's the only interlude in the album. It's so pleasant to listen to, it's an interlude I would actually crave to listen to on it's own and not just with the album. My favorite since RAINBOW's

WARNING 9/10
WOW this song is so good, the layers of music. The guitar is just the best thing ever, this song is so fierce! My favorite rock song since Microphone. I can't really comment specifically but all I can say is this song is extremely addicting and awesome!

NO FUTURE 9/10
This song is like if you put Love Song (the song) and WHATEVER together, I really love this song! Her vocals are a bit sub par but the mixing oooooooh the mixing and the change in tempo near the end. It just builds and builds it's so exiting it's like an anime opening song! Then the lovely slow bit at the end This reminds me of progress a bit, and I feel it's just as good or maybe even a bit better (so sue me).

Anything for You 9/10
The background vocals really add to the depth of this song giving an almost eerie but lifting sound. This song is incredible near the end with the intensity building. The melody is lovely with hints of sadness, it sounds like something out of a tragic love story movie. I totally didn't expect this, this is Angel II but twice as good! It brings me back to feelings of Who...

Last minute 8/10
Her vocals in the opening are a bit hard to listen to but then the droooooooooooooooooop This song gets stuck in my head often and the PV was so cool my favorite since BRILLANTE and the essence of Daybreak (yes, I liked Daybreak I thought it was beautiful because it was so simple).

Zutto... 6.5/10
This song is the weakest on the album in my opinion, it's very stagnant to me and sounds like the reject song of Love Songs they decided to throw in now. Her high note vocals are annoying and not even in the cute annoying Ayu way we know and love, just annoying. It's still an O.K. song, I like it enough to not have to feel the need to skip it. There isn't really anything special that stands out to me that I can comment on, it's just a B-list Ayu song, she can't always give us a 10/10.

Out of control 7.5/10
This song isn't really that unique but it is easy listening, happy, and classic Ayu. It brings me back to her "H" single feeling with July 1st and independent only better. It's very call and Letter-like. The musical break is awesome with the synth guitars. Not an instant classic but it's better than 80% of Love again (sorry, sue me)

Story 7/10
Like most of the album she didn't branch out too far from her classic "Ayu style" and this song is a prime example. Probably the most boring song on the album but not my least favorite, I found this song much more enjoyable than Zutto... it reminds me of Tuxedo Mirage the Sailor Moon S ending theme song which I love, just reminds me of classical love songs in Japan in the mid 90's in a good way.

The GIFT 7.5/10
I'm not quite as in love with it a Ayu is but it is still very lovely. Her vocals are very nice and the piano melody at the beginning and end are sooooo lovely I can see why some people find this song boring. Even though this is one of my less-liked songs from the album I tend to find that this song gets stuck in my head more than any of the others (along with Last minute). The soft drop near the end is so nice. The key thing about this song that makes it so nice is the layering, when they decide to intensify and drop the melodies and music, very lovely.

The Show Must Go On 7.5/10
While I loved snowy kiss this is not nearly as good to me. The reason I loved snowy kiss so much is because of how sad and raw it was and the PV really added to it with the fighting scenes. The vocals are just terrible in the opening of the song but I love the drop and the song is much better after the first part. The second half is really good. The song somehow reminds me of Sparkle a bit.

Walk 10/10
I LOVED this song when it first came out, it seems is a bit boring but if you really listen, it's so mystical, it sounds like Ayu singing a bedtime story. The lyrics are the saving grace for me. I guess I love this song so much because of how strong of a personal connection is has to me. I walk to work everyday and have a lot of people in my life who judge the choices I have made in my life so this song lifts me when I walk to work to stand proud by the choices I have made. The song just builds and builds and then the end is just so amazing. I really wish this sound would have had a PV, I would have had it be Ayu walking in snow and a storm intensifies through the whole thing until Ayu has to walk faster and faster and then on the last note of the song she bursts with a magic ball of light pushing the storm away from herself in all directions. This song always brings tears to my eyes, it gives me the same feeling when she did crossroad and Key.

[Max_ZZZ]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

These are my exact thoughts! Like, verbatim what runs through my mind.

Im glad someone agrees with me!!

But honestly im glad people are into this album so much. I dont think I can never be pleased so I hope I get an album like that from her again

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Max_ZZZ

Im glad someone agrees with me!!

But honestly im glad people are into this album so much. I dont think I can never be pleased so I hope I get an album like that from her again

I feel this album is, if anything, a step in that direction? It's far from being there, but it's definitely more hopeful than CoLOURS and LOVE again were for me.

Still haven't listened to the album cause the links that are uploaded sound atrocious. I'm hoping it's the quality of the mp3s and not the mixing.

[Chiharo]

I'm enjoying the album so far. I mean, it's definitely not as good as most of her older works, but it's better than I thought it'd be.

Although none of the songs have good mastering, really. It's actually pretty awful, but it's nothing surprising in this age. There's also some audible distortion in those highs, especially her vocals, most noticeable in "Anything for You". WARNING was especially shrill to my ears.

Anyway, I really like the mentioned songs, plus NO FUTURE and Out of control doesn't sound that bad. Haven't listened to anything after that yet.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Originally Posted by Chiharo

Although none of the songs have good mastering, really. It's actually pretty awful, but it's nothing surprising in this age. There's also some audible distortion in those highs, especially her vocals, most noticeable in "Anything for You". WARNING was especially shrill to my ears.

Yeah the mixing on this album is dreadful. Last minute was a preview for the mixing though so I'm not even surprised lol.

[Delicious n Bold]

It's actually so disheartening to hear that ALL the mixing is bad. I guess you can say that the single did its job for once: letting you know the theme of the album (but in the most unconventional way. Leave it to ayu.).

[Coelacanth]

The mixing sounds pretty decent this time around imo, considering it's the same mixer who totally fucked up LOVE again. Mastering isn't the same as mixing btw!

[truehappiness]

First I've heard of it being bad. Before all I heard was that it seemed better than Zutto... -shrug-.

[TeddyGrahams]

Yeah, the mixing is great considering these past few years. It might be the low quality mp3s ppl are previewing.

[HarukaKamiya]

This album is even more perfection hearing it in FLAC, honestly.

[Chiharo]

What I'm talking about is mastering, because I think that's where the things usually get screwed up with the abuse of compressors (although I'm sure none of us can know whether the person who mixed or the person who mastered screwed up (in relation to use of compression/EQ), or both).

Mixing is basically where you have everything at disposal and you put "pieces" of music/effects together. You decide where will sound come from in relation to space, and you make sure that everything is "in place" by controlling the volume of each separated recorded track (whether its vocals, instruments, etc). Mastering is more of a finishing polish that prepares all the tracks of the album for the final CD release. But it's as important as good mixing. If the mixing is bad, little can the mastering engineer do to save it. But the mastering engineer can screw up a good mix, too. So there is room that in the chain of production things could go wrong, especially if more people are involved.

All the bad things I hear in A ONE is nothing surprising to me at all, seeing as this is jpop we are talking about. By the way, I was listening to the album in the 24 bit FLAC from mora.jp. Just to be clear, I am listening through dedicated DAC and Amp + Sennheiser HD 600 (which are pretty revealing headphones, although still more musical than analytic as compared to its brother HD 700) And let me tell you that with this kind of music production you don't even need 24 bit FLAC, or even 320 kbps. Why? It doesn't really matter. You DON'T need to spend ridiculous amount of money on good audio gear if all you're listening to is (most of) Jpop. If the source material is crap, then the output is almost always going to be crap whether you listen to it at 192 kbps, 320 kbps or even FLAC. What little you can lose with lossy compression is almost negligible. Any difference you hear is most likely imagined. Especially if you listen to it straight from your computer on a pair of cheap earphones. (Let's not argue about this here; it's really just my opinion which I stand by.)

Mixing and mastering are very subjective fields, and no one can really tell you what's right or wrong. After all, music is art. BUT if you abuse something too much sonically just for the sake of wanting things to be louder than everyone else's is where there's a problem. And that's what's going on here, and in most of Jpop really, if not most of Ayumi's albums anyway. But in "A ONE", for the first time I can actually clearly hear the distortion. If all you listen to is (most) pop/R'n'b/Hip Hop/etc from 00's then you most likely have never heard what a good mixed/mastered song sounds like. Music is going downhill dynamic range wise.

Wow, okay, I really didn't want to get into this so much, but it's something that really does bother me; especially the fact that people can't even tell that something has the living sound squashed out of it (I think people not caring about sound is exactly what continues the trend of awful production in music today).

The bottom line is, in my opinion (I'm by no means a professional), A ONE sounds very unpleasant to the ears, seeing as I can't even turn the volume up without having those distorted highs attacking my ears (not on all songs, but on some yes), is unnecessarily too loud and is not how an album should sound like IMO. But keep in mind that most Ayumi's albums, or most Jpop albums in general are not to be considered as standards of good music production. Although it's nowhere near as bad as whole lecca's discography for example. So there's that.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by orbitalaspect

I'm curious what you all think would be a good direction for Ayu that would not only revitalize her career but draw in old and new fans alike?

As I mentioned, I thought Colours was pretty good and a step in the right direction. I don't hear Ayu returning to her "roots" in this album at all - This is a retread of Love Again. IMO, probably because it sold better than Colours did but I also think that Colours didn't do very well because people were bored to tears by Love Again....

That said, the album is nice. But after 1 or 2 listens I think I'll be using the skip button a lot.

[truehappiness]

LOVE again was pretty classic Ayu with a few things that were unique for her in the mini albums at least.

While I liked Colours, I don't think I want her to ever do that again.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

I agree, and it scares me a little that AHS loves this so much because it's just... such a bland direction to encourage Ayu in? I guess I just don't get why everyone is praising it SO much, I mean do we REALLY want her to continue in this direction of albums bloated to the brim with schmaltzy soundalike ballads and rehashes of that one non-ballad track from Love songs for the umpteenth time? IDK, I just really don't get the hype. Not because I don't like the album (though I don't), but because musically it sounds like a retread of Love songs, LOVE again, and even LOVEppears at parts. Maybe I just didn't realize that so many people preferred this late 90s anime music sound for Ayu. I've always seen Ayu's distinct sound as the big pop stuff she did from RAINBOW through Rock'n'Roll Circus (and Party Queen). To me, this is not at all Ayu's sound or style. But I guess it is to AHS and that's why we disagree?

I agree with you for the most part except with Love Songs. Love Songs I thought was a great mix between experimental and classical (or safe) Ayu. It had a pretty good mixture of songs and styles. This album for the most part is the same style from start to finish; most of the songs sound like they could easily be mashed into one track. I don't mind that the sound it dated, because that's not always a bad thing - but these songs are just really bland. Listened individualyl some of them are good, but all together it just becomes one long run on sentence. And then the upbeat tracks on the album just come off as out of place and lets be honest, not one of the upbeat tracks really holds a candle to other similar tracks from previous albums.

One of her weaker album releases, but usually that means the next one will be really good.

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

It's not a good sign when one of the best tracks on the album is a cover of someone else's song.

Giving me Ayaka rainbow road album vibes tbh


Anyway I read what Tom Punks said and personally from the previews I've heard I'm not too impressed at all. The only reason I like the album is because of the theory I have of the album in my head and that she's trying to tell a personal story of her two halves. It's the only time the lyrics override the music for me so far...

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I could do without all of those first couple of songs you mentioned. Except maybe progress, none of those are Ayumi Hamasaki to me. She never used to make SO MUCH of that shit. For me, Lelio and Shake It and NaNaNa are actually more on par with how I see her and how nice always seen her.

Exactly. Most of Ayu's early career and what made her famous were not safe sounding, pedestrian, mid-tempo ballads. Duty, I Am, Rainbow, Loveappears....all of those albums are actually quite diverse. There was nothing safe about those albums IMO. So, I don't get how songs like Gift, Anything for You etc etc are a return to her roots.

[Zeke.]

Right? I guess it depends on what you're definition of ayu is. There's nothing "classic" ayu about pedestrian ballads.

[truehappiness]

The arrangements feel very Ayu.

Of course those albums seem diverse from way back when, they were like 60% singles if not more. Unfortunately we're sort of in a different age of Ayu post-2006 and post-2010.

Most of Ayu's early career and what made her famous were not safe sounding, pedestrian, mid-tempo ballads.

Just which songs are you thinking of?

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Exactly. Most of Ayu's early career and what made her famous were not safe sounding, pedestrian, mid-tempo ballads. Duty, I Am, Rainbow, Loveappears....all of those albums are actually quite diverse. There was nothing safe about those albums IMO. So, I don't get how songs like Gift, Anything for You etc etc are a return to her roots.

I will disagree with you over here....

Love~Destiny, To Be, Seasons, Far Way, Dearest, Voyage, No Way to Say, Hanabi, Moments, Carols, Heaven, Together When, Days
You Were

Take off Ayu's vocal delivery (that even if flawed, always had a very well done emotional work on them) and what you have on most of those tracks is some random anime ending song, some minnor Disney movie theme or something anyone could release.

Most of the time, her biggest hits were very safe, radiophonic, mainstream and overproduced. And and may be wrong here because I don't live in Japan, but (tracks like M, evolution or Surreal aside) those are the songs they play when she appears on TV, or some up-beat jpop by the numbers thing she released as a summer single, not the ones where she actually took some risk.

That being said, I agree that the album doesn't sound like "Classic Ayu" to me... I don't even find it all that similar with Love again or Love songs, because even if all of them are ballad heavy, they all differ on the aesthetic influences those ballads have. Love songs has a lot of orchestral elements going through them, Love again take a lot from the 90's jpop ballads, while A ONE is pretty much Ayu doing what people are doing with their ballads right now... It's a very... up to date album on this sense.