Your Love Songs reviews!!!

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by gogirlanime

This album still remains one of my favorites and probably my favorite since (miss) understood. It took awhile to grow on me at first, but now I love it and am still listening to it frequently.

Well there are a lot of songs on albums since (miss)understood that I love more than most of the songs on Love Songs. But I can't help but feel the same way - overall as an album, this one has to be my favorite since (m)u. Although I never listen to Love song or Thank U because I chose to not include them on the CD when I burned them (I needed room to include Hikki's new songs as well).

[gogirlanime]

Originally Posted by all.night.raver

Well there are a lot of songs on albums since (miss)understood that I love more than most of the songs on Love Songs. But I can't help but feel the same way - overall as an album, this one has to be my favorite since (m)u. Although I never listen to Love song or Thank U because I chose to not include them on the CD when I burned them (I needed room to include Hikki's new songs as well).

I totally agree for example Microphone has got to be one of my top ten maybe even top 5 favorite Ayumi songs ever same with identity and Sparkle, but as an album as a whole, it's very unified and well-done.

[oneheart]

In my opinion, this album, could've been SO much stronger, if all the songs between Aria and overture. The album has an overall Mature feel, and I really liked that. Then blossom, Sweet Disaster and Thank U come on and it's just like . Even though I really like blossom, that whole section is to Love Songs what glitter was to Guilty. Out of place. This could have easily been in my top 3 favourite Ayu albums if that whole section wasn't there.

All the other songs however, are dripping with awesome. Serious gems on this album are Love Song and do it again. I really applaud Ayu on these musical masterpieces.

[Zeke.]

No way, I didn't include any of the interludes (or Love song and Thank U) on the CD I burned and it flows effortlessly. The transitions between the songs are unbelievable.

[NintendoHTF1242]

So, it's been a few months since the album came out...I still don't like it that much...

Like a doll, Virgin Road and MOON are still my favorite songs though. November is...not that good to me anymore lol. Her voice just sounds so weird with the instrumentation (I think I stated this already, I should stop repeating myself).

As of right now, I think this is her worst album overall for me.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by oneheart

In my opinion, this album, could've been SO much stronger, if all the songs between Aria and overture. The album has an overall Mature feel, and I really liked that. Then blossom, Sweet Disaster and Thank U come on and it's just like . Even though I really like blossom, that whole section is to Love Songs what glitter was to Guilty. Out of place. This could have easily been in my top 3 favourite Ayu albums if that whole section wasn't there.

All the other songs however, are dripping with awesome. Serious gems on this album are Love Song and do it again. I really applaud Ayu on these musical masterpieces.

I'd love to see her make a song with that title!

[NintendoHTF1242]

LOL! Sweet Season is wonderful. Better than that awful Last angel.

[Picaflor 7/4]

last angel is the best song on the album. better than that god aweful MOON. kthxbye

[gogirlanime]

Originally Posted by oneheart

In my opinion, this album, could've been SO much stronger, if all the songs between Aria and overture. The album has an overall Mature feel, and I really liked that. Then blossom, Sweet Disaster and Thank U come on and it's just like . Even though I really like blossom, that whole section is to Love Songs what glitter was to Guilty. Out of place. This could have easily been in my top 3 favourite Ayu albums if that whole section wasn't there.

All the other songs however, are dripping with awesome. Serious gems on this album are Love Song and do it again. I really applaud Ayu on these musical masterpieces.

I kind of understand what you're saying I mildly feel the same. She hasn't made an album that truly sticks to one theme the whole way through while still giving us ballads and up beat songs. The last album she did like that in my opinion was RAINBOW.

Although this album still flows very well to me, it's MUCH better than the flow of Rock'nRoll Circus, that album was all over the place!! It went from fast to ballad, to rock, to crazy techno, no unison.

Originally Posted by Picaflor 7/4

better than that god aweful MOON. kthxbye

Agreed, I skip it every time, I even like Thank U more than MOON haha. It's just so bland and a very J-pop typical ballad.

THOUGH I RESPECT THOSE WHO DO LIKE MOON & THANK U, I JUST DON'T LIKE IT. Everyone floats to their own boat.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Originally Posted by Picaflor 7/4

last angel is the best song on the album. better than that god aweful MOON. kthxbye

Oooh gurl do not start with me on MOON. That song is amazin' woman.

[sxesven]

As I just wrote in my review for Party Queen I'm catching up with what I've missed, which is more or less everything from GUILTY onwards. I'm listening to everything I haven't heard in reverse chronological order, so I started with Party Queen, which was a major disappointment.

As I described in that review, the whole listening experience was alienating. My Ayu was gone and had been replaced by some woman with a different voice who seemed all to keen to jump on poppy bandwagons. Diving into Love songs headfirst is a decidedly more pleasant experience. Just loading the thing into my MP3 player already invokes feelings of old. The album is 74 minutes in all, just like all the good ol' albums used to be. You got 74 minutes of space you better fill it out boy! I've never really felt it was a necessity myself, but at least there apparently was enough material that was felt to be good enough to fill 74 minutes, which is reassuring.

The opening song immediately strikes the right chord. The hurp and heee singing is back (or rather, it wasn't gone yet), and while I do perceive some change in pitch it's nothing dramatic yet. The song itself also seems classic Ayu. Great drive, sweet arrangement. Goodness, I couldn't have been more positively surprised. crossroad continues in a similarly awesome vein. Again, this song breathes vintage Ayu. It has everything that makes Ayu songs stand out. Good composition, great arrangement, the occasional vocal ayucrobatics. Boy oh boy. Two songs in and I'm in love. Suitably so, yes. Keenly observed, young Ayupan. MOON is ace, too. I get the feeling I'm listening to some lost material from 2006. Not the worst of experiences, seeing my partiality to Secret. Cool, epic, impressive song.

Sending Mail is where Love songs takes a turn for the worse. Too sappily poppy for my tastes, especially in its first minute, which is when I swear I was turning gray and then going bald from sheer annoyance. Thanks, Ayu, now how will I pick up the ladies. When it breaks out in the chorus I guess it's kinda decent, but overall, this isn't too good. On a quirky sidenote, I always used to discuss with a friend of mine how cool it was Jpop could be about such trivial topics like your dead canary or taking the cab home from work. But sending the mail? Really? If there ever was a chore... What's next, then - WASHING UP? Doing the LAUNDRY? Puh-leez sis.

I already said Love songs feels like vintage Ayu here and there. As the dance beat in Last Angel kicks in it suddenly feels like nineteen-ninety-LOVEppears. Whut. Compelling track with its tapping into so many different styles and moods - strings, dance beats, slow parts - that is quite alright indeed. A decent interlude follows. Nothing spectacular. Like A Doll seems to pick up where Last Angel left off a bit, both songs working mainly in the up tempo range and being fairly idiosyncratic takes on classic Ayu dance tunes. Another track I'd call quite alright - it certainly intrigues, though it doesn't move, unfortunately. Still, this is far from bad.

Another interlude, and a nice one at that, before we move on. I love strings. ME LOVE THE STRINGS. Yes. Okay. So. blossom. Sup wit dat. Nothing spectacular, in my book. Fairly standard Ayu, something I'd hesitate to call filler for the simple fact that it's enjoyable but which doesn't stand out really. Personally, I'm not too into these sort of mid-tempo choruses. Okayish. Thank U reminds me of quite a few other similar Ayu songs - there's probably a template for this sort of thing, somewhere, that gets dragged out every once in a while. Do I care? No. I like it. It has this excellent unifying, let's-get-together feeling that you can't help but dig. The nananana-ing can get on my nerves a bit (there's only so many times you can do it and pull it off, and I think Ayu has done enough of that - and yes, NaNaNa was definitely too much; plus, whose nananana is ever going to be as memorable Katamari Damashii's? That's right, no one's ever going to be...).

Sweet Season is slightly too sappy for my tastes, and by slightly I mean way. It lacks any particular drive or anything memorable or anything that really stands out. At 5 minutes, it really drags, too. Boring. Another interlude, an okay one. Moving on. Alright, so I am in a good mood, but Do It Again very nearly ruins it for me. The first minute must be one of the annoying minutes of music I've heard ever, and I sure listen to some annoying music on a regular basis (don't believe me? Go on YouTube and search Incapacitants, or Hijokaidan. I dare you. Double dare you.). Terrible arrangement with the vocals way too loud in the mix (seriously - there is promise of good arrangement waaaaaaaaaaaaay underneath but we'll never know if it really is good stuff - couldn't hear, she was DO DO DO DOING IT AGAIN). Awful text and delivery. Somewhere around 3:30 the song bursts into an epic string section sequence the song doesn't warrant or deserve. What a mess. Honestly.

Thirteen down, three to go. November is decent but quite sappy, too. Compared to Do It Again it's pretty much magic, but it just doesn't play at the level achieved at points in the first half of Love songs. Again I'm missing some power, some drive. Too MOR. Virgin Road is a very pleasant surprise. Great, subtle arrangement, wonderful melodies with some great twists and turns, and a slightly melancholy mood to it that is just right. Truly wonderful song that wouldn't have misstood on I am..., I think. Brilliant! Seven Days War (a bonus track? not available on all versions then?) is okay but unnecessary. Virgin Road is a perfect closing song. This isn't really. The vocal delivery annoys me a bit. Not bad, but not the best ending you could wish for.

In all, Love songs took me by very positive surprise. I love this album. I do. There's some weaker moments, here and there, but it's easy to get over them when there's such great material elsewhere. Solid, solid, solid album. Totally restores my faith. Would've made a worthy follow-up to Secret. Kudos!

[susiowong]

Originally Posted by sxesven

November is decent but quite sappy, too. Compared to Do It Again it's pretty much magic

LIES.

[Delicious n Bold]

Seeing as I have yet to write a review on my most listened to Ayu album, I shall write one.

First off, let me say that the album STINKS of old. This works in Ayu's favour because I am a nostalgia-crazed person. Most of the album is tacky, old, awful and feels like grandma music. But I love it.

Love song
I love this song. One of my favourite songs ever. I love the lyrics, arrangement, and even Ayu's voice. This song IS the album. 10/10

crossroad
I wasn't a huge fan of the song at first, but I grew to appreciate it. The 'breakdown' after the 2nd chorus is crack. It MAKES me want to listen to the song (nostalgia). If it weren't for my rampant nostalgia craving, this song would be tossed into a bin like the (few) weaves this album was able to snatch 7.5/10

MOON
The opening of the song is crack, which is why I like it. It melts me every time I listen to it. I love the chorus, too. I love how the song is a rock ballad with emotion. Ah, yes. The song does tend to drag after the first chorus. But I'll let it slide with the emotion in Ayu's voice. 9/10

sending mail
The chorus is amazing! The opening is weird. The versus are alright. The melody of the versus are alright. That's all I can say about the song. That, and the end of the song is the best part, with Ayu repeating the chorus. In a nutshell, the chorus is the song.8/10

Last angel
Somebody posted that this song reeks of LOVEppears. That couldn't be more true. It works well, however. I love how the song has 2 climaxes and how the song sounds like it's fresh from the 90s bandwagon. Kinda like You & Me, but this song snatches You & Me's weave and burns it. This song doesn't want that weave. 9.5/10

insomnia
It's fairly dark and dance-y. I liked it from the first time I listened to it. But it's nothing to get crazy about. 7.5/10

Like a doll
My friend says that, when Ayu says "like a doll", it sounds like "raikou (pokemon) doll". Funny. Besides that, I don't have much to say about this song other than 'alright'. But, there's this synth part that comes around 2:35-2:36 and 2:39-2:40 that I LOVE.7/10

Aria
Very cute. Not the bad kind of cute. The good kind. The one that Koda Kumi dreams of achieving. The kind that Perfume/Tommy february6 can pull off flawlessly. 8/10

blossom
I don't know why I like this song, but I do. It's got this OOMPH that draws me in. And I love the 3rd chorus. The way the song builds from the breakdown to the 3rd chorus and then finishes always gets me. I love the melody at the end. I don't know why. This song makes no sense to me. It should be basic and dry like Perfume's lyrics, but it isn't. It's the nostalgia again. The intro is nostalgic fodder. 9/10

Thank U
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I'd rather listen to You & Me. 3/10
*Note: 3/10 means the song has merits, but they're few and far between. Also, The song is so bad that a review isn't worth my time. I wasted enough just writing this*

Sweet Season
The only reason I like this song is because of the PV. This is my Sweet Season listening habit:
- Before I watched PV: total of 9 plays from January-June.
- After I watched PV: skyrockets to 63 plays in 2 weeks.
It's sappy, old, and sounds like grandma music. But I like it. That PV, man. That PV.9/10

overture
I was NEVER a fan of this intro. It is alright, nothing special. It really does sound like Ayu snatched the overworld theme of a rejected video game. 6/10

do it again
I like how the song builds up and then explodes. There are many interpretations as to how both the title and how the song builds up can be related. But that's not appropriate for this forum and it takes away time from the review. It's a really nice song. The instrumentation when Ayu sings in Japanese is great. The end of the song is like sending mail. Better and better. 9/10

November
Sappy, old sounding and a sound that ONLY Ayu would do. Koda Kumi wouldn't touch this song with a 10 foot pole. But that's okay. The song is great. The harmonica, which I HATE, is used so well in this song that I ain't even mad. 9.5/10

Virgin Road
Ugh. I don't even wanna review this song. But I guess I should for the 2 people who are actually gonna read this review. It's boring. It's too long. The lyrics don't do much for me. Overall sound is okay, though.6/10

I ain't even gonna review SEVEN DAYS WAR. Ayu sounds like shiz in the live version. I don't even wanna touch the studio version.
Overall, the album is one of her best 'new' albums. There are a few blips (Thank U and Virgin Road), but I know for a fact that there are people on this form who like that/those song(s). So if you like those 2 songs, or even 1, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with this album. NOW, if you aren't a nostalgia-addict and you're reviewing the album without nostalgia flowing through you, then this album is gonna be a bit lower than other Ayu albums. It's still worth it for Love song and November, though. Those songs are better than the entirety of Namie's latest single collection/Ayu's latest best and Koda's latest flop Remix (which I like). Even my semi-eternal jam, In the Spotlight, doesn't hold a candle to Love song and November.
9/10