[News] LOVEppears / appears -20th Anniversary Edition-

[mi|kshake]

^I'm in!

[ExodusUK]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

Me too. Even though they were originally released 2+ years apart O_O

lol i guess it would be more appropriate to say let's play the remasters of FF8 or more accurately FF9 (which is the closest in release loveppears) but let's face it LOVEPPEARS is the Jpop album equivalent of FF7 in terms of capturing a moment/zeitgeist and the most revered article in Japanese popular culture in the mid to late nineties. Both FF7 and loveppears quite cold and industrialist in motifs/feel.

[Deep snow]

Originally Posted by visionfactory

This is the quality of demos we can look forward to


Avex NEVER released this song, though it surfaced on YouTube

holy shit this song is beautiful!

Originally Posted by Toniayu123

Actually pretty realistic imo. I’ve also started to think this “time off” she’s been taking is intencional, to create some kind of hype, as well as a legend kind of aura around her, making her discography seem more iconic. It has worked in my case, I perceive her past albums differently than I used to. As I said, more iconic.

the absence of new music has definitely taken this effect on me, too. it makes my heart of hearts want to believe that she's building up to a new release that is worth the hype, you know? like a good mid-tempo ballad single with a good-looking video clip. my bar is so low at this point

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

lol i guess it would be more appropriate to say let's play the remasters of FF8 or more accurately FF9 (which is the closest in release loveppears) but let's face it LOVEPPEARS is the Jpop album equivalent of FF7 in terms of capturing a moment/zeitgeist and the most revered article in Japanese popular culture in the mid to late nineties. Both FF7 and loveppears quite cold and industrialist in motifs/feel.

I can agree with this xD However I will forever stan FFVIII and I will never understand people who prefer VII

I wouldn’t mind an unreleased/demo mix tape album, however that’s what usually happens when an artists dies or retires (though sweetbox have done this while Jade was still active). So a bonus cd/TA-only release would make more sense.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by ayuinh.k?

Should've added the 1999 secret live as a bonus disc
http://eneabba.net/ayu/video/other/0...et_live_99.htm

This. I was excited until I read the actual description of the content. I thought for sure one of her early unreleased lives would get packaged with it (ala Utada's First Luv Live being included with the First Love rerelease). Video does exist, hence the news footage, ugh.

Instead, this is just a really expensive repackage of things that have been released and bought before.

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I was listening to it today and I really think it is one of her most unique albums as far as music style. Her discography is so massive and each album has its own charm but LOVEppears stands out. What other albums do you think compare in style?

It's definitely one of her best albums in terms of theme and has a unique sound that runs throughout it. It's always been in my top 3 albums. I don't think she really has another that stays so true from start to finish to a theme and atmosphere.

It also makes sense to me that A Song For Xx was skipped over. It really wasn't until Loveappears that she really became "Ayumi Hamasaki", the huge, mega superstar.

[Andrenekoi]

^The track A Song for XX for sure is way bigger than the album. Was it actually released as a single, it would be nice having an anniversary edition.

[Party_King]

Did anybody realized that we’ll get the second re-master of TO BE, Boys & Girls, Trauma, End roll, appears, Fly high and Who... within three years? They were all re-mastered for A BEST -15th Anniversary Edition- and now they’ll get a new re-master for LOVEppears/appears -20th Anniversary Edition-.

[hud]

Boys & Girls has different vocals in this album though.

[visionfactory]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^The track A Song for XX for sure is way bigger than the album. Was it actually released as a single, it would be nice having an anniversary edition.

The track A Song for XX (MILLENIUM MIX) btw I never understood where is the millenium part, it sounds same as original for me

[Party_King]

Originally Posted by hud

Boys & Girls has different vocals in this album though.

IIRC End roll on A BEST has different vocals too...

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by visionfactory

The track A Song for XX (MILLENIUM MIX) btw I never understood where is the millenium part, it sounds same as original for me

I think it’s just a remaster lmao. So in that case this would be a remaster of a remaster.

[jean-baptiste]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I don't think she really has another that stays so true from start to finish to a theme and atmosphere.

This is something I always felt but was never able to articulate. Well said! However, I would also throw in I am... to being consistent in theme with every song. But when it comes to atmosphere, it's not as consistent as LOVEppears for sure.

Originally Posted by hud

Boys & Girls has different vocals in this album though.

Boys & Girls has the same vocals in A BEST and LOVEppears, but has a slightly different mixing. A Song for, Trust, Depend on you and End roll all have the updated vocals.

Originally Posted by visionfactory

The track A Song for XX (MILLENIUM MIX) btw I never understood where is the millenium part, it sounds same as original for me

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the MILLENIUM MIX of A Song for has a piano that's present in the second verse (after the first chorus), same instrumental as the one used on the A BEST version. That one small detail is the only noticeable change for me, but it makes that part of the song a bit more dramatic for me, so I prefer it lol.

[EndOfTheWorld]

[hud]

Originally Posted by jean-baptiste

Boys & Girls has the same vocals in A BEST and LOVEppears, but has a slightly different mixing. A Song for, Trust, Depend on you and End roll all have the updated vocals.

oh true! I got it mixed with rearrangement.

[Deep snow]

Originally Posted by visionfactory

The track A Song for XX (MILLENIUM MIX) btw I never understood where is the millenium part, it sounds same as original for me

I don't know how to describe this but the MILLENIUM MIX sounds much weaker than the Album Mix; I feel this most noticeably in the instrumental part following the line 未来には期待出来るのか分からずに. the percussions, at least, sound noticeably less ...pronounced.

I hope the remaster for this release sounds noticeable to my amateur ears, like the difference between the original mixes and the remaster for A BEST 2. meanwhile, even with headphones on, I couldn't tell the difference between the 2001 A BEST and the 15th Anniversary A BEST

[hud]

Originally Posted by Deep snow

meanwhile, even with headphones on, I couldn't tell the difference between the 2001 A BEST and the 15th Anniversary A BEST

omg, those remasters are the most noticeable for me. the songs gained a new spark for me.

[Party_King]

Originally Posted by hud

omg, those remasters are the most noticeable for me. the songs gained a new spark for me.

Same! The balance and dynamics are way better, so the sound is much clearer and cleaner...

[EndOfTheWorld]

To me all of the remastered tracks sound about the same as the original releases when it comes to Ayu. Remastering recordings from the late 90s or 2000s won't provide much improvement. Most of the time remastering is about analogue and digital. Taking old recordings from the vinyl analogue era and giving them a new high quality 21st century digital remaster. But since the term "original master tapes" was used perhaps it is not a 100% digital recording and master. Maybe digital tape was used for the master? It's hard to know.
The best thing that they could do to her music is increase the dynamic range. But they have not done that on previous remasters so I don't have high hopes for this one.

[Deep snow]

Originally Posted by hud

omg, those remasters are the most noticeable for me. the songs gained a new spark for me.

Originally Posted by Party_King

Same! The balance and dynamics are way better, so the sound is much clearer and cleaner...

I'm pretty confident with the quality of my headphones, so ......it must be my hearing then how lucky you are for being able to notice the difference!

[mi|kshake]

I prefer the Millennium Mix of ASFXX - I find it's got a lot more oomph in the build up to the second chorus.