Reviews of Free & Easy and H from The War Against Silence

[Uemarasan]

Although very old, I don't believe these reviews have been posted here before. These are, in my opinion, the best written and most articulate reviews of Ayu's music from a musical standpoint I have ever come across. I wish more people would write this way about her songs.

Ayumi Hamasaki: Free & Easy

Much of my mixed emotion about the imminent possible death or marginalization of the album format comes from my rueful observation that if you separate album artists from singles artists, as the market is likely to, I like a whole lot more of the former than the latter. Roxette are the most prominent exception, of course, but in Roxette's case I treat all their songs as singles, so it's kind of the same thing. There are very few artists that I like intensely on some songs, and dislike intensely on some others. Ayumi Hamasaki may be my most extreme example: Rainbow, her most recent album, has so many songs I simply hate that trying to listen to the whole thing is futile. Focus her energies at single length, though, and it can still be thrilling. "Free & Easy" is on Rainbow, but it's much more appealing, to me, on this single from earlier last year. The song itself enters slowly, its hushed intro built on woodwinds, strings, piano and assorted keyboards, before erupting fitfully into a concussive Euro-trance stomp goaded by clanging piano runs and whirring guitar. The "Dolly Mix" of "Naturally" thins the song out and chops it up, to techno but interesting effect. The Warp Brothers turn "Still Alone", which was half understated pop and half power-ballad on I am..., into a relentless epic, complete with applause breaks, overbearing synth stabs and endless knob twiddling, but Ayumi's tiny little voice keeps it from getting completely out of control.

Ayumi Hamasaki: H

The most intensely I've so far loved Ayumi, though, is during the half hour of H, another single from last year. All three of these songs are on Rainbow, but context is critical. The album version of "independent" was remixed and distended, no match for the single version I put on my 2002 top-ten list. Echoey cheerleader handclaps, snarly guitar, burbling bass pulses, twitchy hi-hats and whip-crack kick-snare loops snap in and out under Ayumi's headlong vocal. An eerie guitar solo, somewhere in the middle, nearly outdoes the Buzzcocks by hanging on a single note. Pop can be punk, and Avril Lavigne isn't how. "July 1st", the second song, shifts the whole stop-start structure down the noise scale, banging back and forth between atmospheric acoustic guitar and bloopy DJ-scratching. And "HANABI" ("Fireworks", but not a cover of the Roxette song) is the quiet song to balance the other two, chirping and creaking and undulating like a deconstruction of Madonna's "Live to Tell". As is common Japanese practice, the EP then repeats the three tracks in karaoke versions (labeled "instrumental", but they include the backing vocals). This sounds redundant and annoying, and sometimes is one or both, but here I find that they've become part of the experience for me. In part they act like credits music, but in part Ayu's voice is so distinctive that without her lead vocals I end up hearing different aspects of the rest of the arrangement.

Source: The War Against Silence at http://www.furia.com/

There are more reviews of a few J-pop and J-rock artists on the site (including Ayu's I Am... album), but take note that the reviewer is highly opinionated and doesn't use a velvet glove most of the time. Also, he will not review an artist he does not like, so no Hikki (I asked).

[ayumisrael]

Thank you!
Quite nice but... "The album version of "independent" was remixed and distended"

Huh? When? where? how? album version? (unless if he was talking on + and thought it's still independent).

[Andrenekoi]

Didn't see anything special on those reviews, really...

[noidea]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Didn't see anything special on those reviews, really...

Me neither, very strong opinion in them and not too well written

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

Thank you!
Quite nice but... "The album version of "independent" was remixed and distended"

Huh? When? where? how? album version? (unless if he was talking on + and thought it's still independent).

independent+ is said to be a different track than just plain old independent even though + is just attached to the end of it. I'm not sure why he said it was remixed, but perhaps any change = a remix for this guy...

[Yukitora]

Uh I was expecting more. OH well *goes off to listen to RAINBOW*

[polka-dot-jewel]

Interesting reviews. I found the one for "Free&Easy" a bit weird. The author goes on from thing to thing without really good transitions. I guess he's comparing everything (from whatever at the beginning to the sentence or two about the song and then remixes of other Ayus ongs), but he's doing it very poorly.

I think only Ayu actually uses the backing tracks in her instrumentals, with the exception of a few other artists but only using it for a couple of words. Most other Japanese instrumentals I've heard don't include backing vocals. Interesting how this guy calls this a common Japanese practice.

[PinkShinigami]

Much of my mixed emotion about the imminent possible death or marginalization of the album format comes from my rueful observation (...)

Oh my too many words!

Anyways, thank you
This guy seems to be a Roxette fan, lol o.o

[rakeru]

Interesting. I like how he describes music, but I wish he spent more time actually talking about Ayu's music.

[gallowsCalibrator]

^ Yeah, he seems to get a bit off track, lol

But they are interesting reviews~!

[pommy48]

It would be nice if he did his research before actually writing this review and if he didn't keep on talking about Roxette

He did review Hikki before though~

[ohsixthirty]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

independent+ is said to be a different track that just plain old independent even though + is just attached to the end of it. I'm not sure why he said it was remixed, but perhaps any change = a remix for this guy...

Yeah I don't get this. Unfortunately I don't own the H single to listen for any differences, but this is the first time I've ever heard it mentioned.

[C+R+E+AYUMI]

strange review but also interesting reading a different opinion

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Didn't see anything special on those reviews, really...

I kind of agree actually. They lost me when it seems that Roxette is the musical zenith of which all are compared to. (even though I do like Roxette)

[njanjayrp]

How's that review good, the guy kept talking about how good Roxette is, not to mention he practically said Ayu's just an artist who makes good singles and why is this even in the News section? lol

[TITANIC]

^ yeah, he always use roxette as a sample eventhough her writting skill by using words is excellent

[zyoeru]

This review isn't very good at all, sorry.

[Uemarasan]

True, the reviews are much too short, but I think they're good reviews because he actually described the musical process WITH ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC instead of going "oh I like this song because it touched my heart" or "I remember this song because it reminds me of when my kitty died that's why it's the best" or "I like the song because it is lively and it sounds great!". That's like 90% of the reviews of J-pop I find online. They're always based on extremely subjective experiences. Why not show us an actual grasp of musical knowledge? I have yet to read someone identify the instruments used in Ayu's music and explain how they work and WHY they work and make for a pleasant listening experience. And a review doesn't always have to be clearly positive or negative or pass judgment. It can be merely descriptive, or refuse to pass judgment.

I must say, I don't know how anyone can say they are poorly written. You can argue content, but he uses complete sentences, correct punctuation, grammar, and spelling, and develops his point well throughout. Maybe it's because people have been brainwashed by the shortcuts of Internet-speak? Also, he describes Roxette in a couple of sentences, as a point of comparison! Last I heard, it's perfectly acceptable when trying to put a point across.

He's not a fan of Ayu at all and I disagree with him A LOT of times (I do think Rainbow is one of Ayu's worst albums, though, not in terms of content but the way it's constructed), but going over his site you can't deny that he writes more intelligently about music than most of the mainstream publications out there (or most anyone, for that matter). Most people write about music like children evaluating their food (good! bad! sucks! rocks! pretty! ugh! hot! not! wah!). It's always very black or white, "I like" or "not like". There is no nuance or subtlety. He writes with the same passion and conviction as Christgau and like an actual ADULT. He actually stands for something.

On the other hand, every review on J-fan sounds like it was written by people who obviously haven't found their calling in life.

Pommy, thanks for the correction, I missed that! I've always disagreed with his comparisons between Ayu/Britney and Hikki/Christina. Pretty short-sighted and Western-blind.

That review of Exodus is the best ever written about it (even if I still hate the album). Everything else I've read about it pales in comparison.

[y_nathz]

Stop talking about Roxette when you're doing an Ayu review !!

[keikeiaznqueen]

It's not possible to say that the reviews aren't well-written, they're definitely well-written, but keep in mind that they're written quite a while ago when information wasn't quite as available on Ayu, I think.

I also read the I am... review--really feels like a genuine discovery by a foreigner of Ayu's music at a time when research into the discography/tracklist wasn't so easy. The person couldn't find what the hidden track on I am... was. But there's also very genuine appreciation of the music and the grandiose of the arrangement by Ayu's composers and arrangers (and Ayu herself) so I find that there's a much deeper understanding of Ayu's music here than with most reviewers online nowadays.

And of course, I'm not actually worrying about collating order or type-case while I'm listening to the records, but the bulk of the singing is in Japanese, and as I've admitted before, I've usually found it very hard to develop emotional attachments to music whose lyrics I don't understand. But apparently if the music is kinetic enough, it doesn't matter nearly as much as I'd assumed, and Ayumi Hamasaki and producer Max Matsuura's songs, at their most upbeat, take kinesis to very near the point of absurdity. Many of the skittering sprint-techno arrangements on I am..., their fourth album, would sound like they're being played at twice the proper speed even without the exaggeration provided by Ayu's helium-infused vocals. In my favorite moments, with this album turned way up, the sensation is something like having the crap beaten swiftly out of you by a cheerfully belligerent Tinker Bell, perhaps after being shrunk down to her size and trapped with her inside Cher's pitch-corrector.

http://www.furia.com/page.cgi?type=t...was0364#entry1