^ That's all him? I'm impressed, I love that section of Return Road.

:roflmao
I couldn't have said it better myself

It's so strange to me that everyone thinks call and Letter are "signature" Ayu styles. To me, they are so strange and out there unlike anything she's done and I hate them. reminds me is the only song that feels signature "Ayumi Hamasaki" and the "Oh-lai-la" parts in Shake It are my favorite of the entire song! Mixed opinions just baffle me, lol.

I thought Letter was a little more "raw" ayu from rnrc, meaning the Last Links and count down section...

which I didn't feel was typical ayu back then, and I don't now. In fact, I liked them cause they weren't typical Ayu.


And call lol call still reminds me of a song koda would sing.

i found this album really disappointing to be honest. im a big fan of ayu and i loved everything she ever released until FIVE. i didnt really like FIVE because it was too urban/pop and my favourite ayu is tragic/epic ayu, with songs like M, free & easy, voyage, hanabi episdoe 2, etc. even when she went rock it was still acceptable because boy can she rock. microphone, etc. and the best part of this album combined both of it, and that song is return road, one of her best songs ever made. but the rest are just soooo not her. i dont know if there are any longtime fans on this forum but i cant imagine anyone who would say party queen and five are as good as her albums I am and my story. but i rather focus on the positive, and say that return road shows that ayu still has it in her, but for some reason shes trying to keep up with the time and try sounding more like today. but ayu needs to remember that she was the biggest artist of her era for so long because shes didnt sound like anyone else. i dont know if im making any sense, but i hope somebody understands me.

I received my copy of Party Queen today and I'm about to listen to it! I've only listened to how beautiful you are and the live version of the title track. I haven't been this excited about a CD since Destiny Child's Survivor lol.

I didn't listen to any previews so I was pretty excited to get the album yesterday. I wasn't disappointed, I just LOVE the concept!! Excellent album!

ugh people took the "sad queen" and "tabloid" thing way too literally and just ran with it.

Awesome! What are your favorite tracks?

I am still seeking for the sad diva on "Party Queen". Cant' find it anywhere xD Same goes for the tabloid parody.

Timmy acted as if there was a deeper meaning to it, but let's be honest: there ain't any legit excuses given for the cheesy covers and trashy songs, period! xD

Finished listening to the album for the first time, and I quite like it! A solid 7 or 8 out of 10.

The first three tracks are incredible! So fresh and experimental!

The stretch from call to Tell me why was quite strong as well, and very Ayu. To be honest these songs all kind of blended together for me, pretty much the typical Ayu rock stuff that has served as the backbone for most of her recent albums. That said, they are very polished tracks that I think will hold up well after repeated listens. call and reminds me were the highlights of this section for me. Return Road is a nice inclusion as well, very reminiscent of M and Free & Easy in my opinion. Love the sense of momentum the song has, it really moves along nicely.

The musical section is suprisingly not bad at all! the next LOVE is really well done and Eyes, Smoke, Magic is a fun novelty track.

how beautiful you are works much better in the context of the album than as a stand-alone track. It's a very pleasant track and a nice album closer!

The interludes are solid as well. taskebab is great once it goes into Daft Punk mode, a cup of tea alternates between being gorgeous and then being kind of wtf, and Serenade in A minor is absolutely beautiful!

Great job Ayu! Her last few studio albums have all really impressed me! Rock'n'Roll Circus represents to me the pinnacle of the modern Ayu sound and Love songs was a truly special album that had a certain magic to it that cannot be replicated. While I'm not quite as enthusiastic about Party Queen, there's no denying that it is a great album! It's really great to see even at this stage in her career there is still room for some truly original and experimental work!

i now only religiously listen to Party queen, NaNaNa, Shake It :heart, Return Road, Tell me why and how beautiful you are.

the saddest thing is, reading through the reviews, trying to "remember" how say, call sounds like to imagine the review... i can't remember how it sounds like, lol. that says a lot for an Ayu song to me.

Timmy didn't have to act at all.

He told everyone exactly what the album was about about and no one seemed to listen.

And wtf with "trashy songs". Girl, you need to get it together.

Anyway.

Been having this record on repeat for a about a week now and it just reaffirms my opinion that this really is the best album to have come out from Ayu since My Story.

I love how unpredictable she is, to be able to release a mostly crappy, disappointing album like Love songs, and then turn it around immediately on the next release.

Kind of like how (miss)understood was just such a disappointment after the magnum opus that was My Story.

Wow! It's not uncommon for people to hate on Love songs because it is new but (m)u a disappointment? That's the first I've heard of that one :laugh

I JUST HEARD IT ONCE AND THIS ALBUM IS GOLD!!!

She finally gave me the rock lacking in Love songs,
gave me more POWERFUL rock music than in RnRC (where there was virtually only Microphone and count down which I consider to be Rock enough),
went to what NEXT LEVEL should have been in the first 3..

I wont say this is her best album since which and which because I genuinely enjoyed all her material. but this album is really strong and powerful. Knowing the lyrics beforehand and then listening the songs may have gave me more emotions to listening to it as opposed to just listening to the songs themselves.

going back for a second time but I feel the progress of songs is so amazing honestly.. (except a cup of tea)

and sidenote: I didnt mind Timmy at all. in fact, I may be one of those rare ones that think having a male voice in the songs give it more flavour. and the jazz section, I''m amazed..the production is really good! and Im not even a fan of Jazz at all.

MY STORY is gold for me and it is a joke to even compare Party queen to that "magnum opus"

The structure of call is Ayumi standard, thus my comment her signature. From the backing vocals continuing between the breaks of chorus to next verse, to her less emotionally effective stripped bridge (she's been doing it so much that we just expect it). There's a strong Ayu vibe. What made it fresh for me was the Do As Infinity vibe I got from it; be it intentional or not, I was pleased.

While I see her putting herself in reminds me, its still a huge mess. The instrumental reminds me of a migraine; from the loud metal clashing to the dubstep to the elevator music.

Now that emi says it I can somehow hear Koda lifting her breast to "call" lol.

It helps that Do As Infinity's current composer did call and Letter!

Where do you hear dubstep and elevator music in reminds me? The only dubstep on the album as far as I heard was Shake It and a cup of tea.

I kind of agree, they are different yet they are also very Ayu to me. call and Letter sound like extensions of the "H" and "&" singles to me, lots of acoustic guitars, a male chorus, sort of simple songs with nice background vocals and during the peak some drums and electric guitar. They are similar to July 1st, independent, theme of a-nation '03. They sort of sound similar or in the least they give me the same nostalgic feeling of those songs. call and Letter would fit in the RAINBOW album well I think. Give them time maybe they'll grow on you more.


You opinion is not wrong by all means. And you know what at first I HATED this album too until I gave it a chance and saw it's potential. I've been a fan of Ayu since about 2 months before Duty was released (yeah about the summer of 2000 when I was in middle school) and I can say for me this is one of her best albums in a long time (I loved Love Songs and Love Songs lines up with this album before these two albums the last album I truly loved was (miss)understood). The more I listened to this album the more I realized it is new Ayu meets old Ayu This album gives me strong feelings of RAINBOW (electronica and summer acoustic) and Duty (sad and unsure and ballads)

This is how I see the songs on this album they are SIMILAR in feeling/nostalgia and sound my OPINION to these songs:

Party queen = Beautiful Fighters, STEP you, glitter, EnergizE, Sexy Little Things (that innocent cutesy electronica with hints of old school music) (fits in with NEXT LEVEL)
NaNaNa = Sparkle, Rule, identity, Lady Dynamite, Real me, WE WISH (lots of bass and electronica, guitars, interesting instrumental breaks) (fits in with NEXT LEVEL)
Shake it <3 = Ladies Night, Rule, Real me (fits in with NEXT LEVEL)
call / Letter = July 1st, independent, theme for a-nation '03, girlish, UNITE!, Beautiful Day, RED LINE ~for TA~ (the male chorus, acoustic guitar, similar chords, that general feeling of freedom and a nice summer day) (fits in with RAINBOW)
reminds me = End of the World, still alone, Duty, Free & Easy (fits in with Duty) (this song is very "old school" Ayu that depressing and uncertain Ayu of the Duty era)
Return Road = M, Do It Again, HANABI ~episode II~, Marionette, Decision, Pride, Duty (fits in with Duty)
Tell me why = ANother song, SCAR, Duty, End roll, HANABI (fits in with Duty)
the next LOVE = She's never done jazz before this and Eyes, Smoke, Magic are the most unique songs on this album for Ayu a genre she's only very mildly brushed on before (very very small jazz themes in previous songs). She brushed against jazz a little in the A Song for XX album
Eyes, Smoke, Magic = Very original the only thing even close to this song is Sexy Little Things.
how beautiful you are = curtain call, JEWEL, teddy bear (same musical composition but completely different message), CAROLS, You Were... (that simple beautiful melody) (fits in with A Song for XX/LOVEppears)

The album flows like this to me NEXT LEVEL part II (electronica)< RAINBOW part II (acoustic guitar/chorus)< Duty part II (sad and uncertain)< LOVEppears part II (pretty ballads and interesting pieces of musical genres)

Her vocals are incredible some of her best in years. She is using her voice properly by not using her throat too much to sing but her lung capacity and diaphragm. This has changed her singing style slightly but her voice flows more like velvet and her vibrato is much more gorgeous and not overly controlled and slow like she did in RAINBOW. She has a lot of power behind her voice now she is utilizing the fact that she has a woman's voice now.

Keep listening and try to consider what I've suggested and maybe you'll change your mind too. I went from rating this album at a 5 to an 8 that's a huge jump!

I agree completely with this!

second that, that person's opinion is not wrong we all have different music tastes but I don't think I've heard anyone say they (m)u was a disappointment.