[Namie Amuro] What do you think of all her albums?

[Chiharo]

I decided to start this thread because I'm REALLY curious as to what people think of all Namie's albums because recently I've just gotten to completely love all of them. I especially wanted to know what people think about her older albums, because I love them to death and I've heard that most people don't like her albums like GENIUS 2000, break the rules, Concentration 20 and SWEET 19 BLUES. Or am I completely wrong?

Anyway, I'm sorry if similar threads exist, it's just that search doesn't work at all and I can't find what people think of Namie's albums on AHS at all :/

So, do you like her older albums or not? Which is your favorite? Least favorite? Any kind of comment on any of her albums is welcome!

I'll start.

Spoiler:

SWEET 19 BLUES - I've just recently gotten into this album. At first I thought I never would, but I did. I'm especially crazy about LET'S DO THE MOTION, PRIVATE, present, Interlude ~ Joy (though I prefer the whole song), Don't wanna cry, Chase the Chance, I'll JUMP, You're my sunshine and Body Feels EXIT (all album versions). Other songs that I like but not quite love are all the rest songs on the album. Some people think this is her hardest album to get into, but that's not the case with me. Anyway, I think you should give this album a bit more listens before saying it's one of her worst albums or something. I really enjoy the whole atmosphere of the album, and it's really fun to listen to once you get into it.

Concentration 20 - I really love this album. Especially the title song, it's so amazing. Other songs I love to death are B w/z you, Me love peace!!, No Communication, a walk in the park, Storm, CAN YOU CELEBRATE? and How to be a Girl. I also like all other songs that I didn't mention. I can say I like this album a tiny bit more than SWEET 19 BLUES.

GENIUS 2000 - Now, THIS was the hardest album to get into for me. I don't know just how many times did I listen to this album, but still couldn't find anything enjoyable about it. The only songs I loved on the whole album were LOVE 2000, RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE, SOMETHING 'BOUT THE KISS, and I HAVE NEVER SEEN (though I liked the single versions of these songs more) and YOU ARE THE ONE wasn't that bad as well. After a while I finally fell in love with the song I hated the most, MI CORAZON (TE' AMOUR). And then somehow I became to like LEAVIN' for LAS VEGAS, STILL IN LOVE, NEXT TO YOU and GIVE IT A TRY. Now I also like the other songs (ASKING WHY especially grew a lot on me after listening to it ten more times) as well, but not so much as the ones I've written down. After all this, I LOVE this album and I don't know if I could call it my least favorite because when it comes to Namie I don't have one <3.

break the rules - This is probably one of her most underrated albums, I think. Out of all her older albums, this is my favorite, definitely. I love all of the songs, except maybe think of me, but I do love the version from the LOVE ENHANCED SINGLE COLLECTION. Anyway, my favorite part of the album starts when PLEASE SMILE AGAIN kicks in, and the awesomeness ends with GIRLFRIEND. All of the songs that are in between are my most favorite album songs, which are CROSS OVER, never shoulda and of course that doesn't exclude GIRLFRIEND and PLEASE SMILE AGAIN <3. no more tears, break the rules, better days, LOOKING FOR YOU, NEVER END, HimAWArI, basically all songs are amazing. I can't wait to finally receive this wonderful album.

STYLE - I don't think I even need to talk about this album, it's perfect. My most favorite songs are Put 'Em Up and Wishing On The Same Star. Other songs are ALL pure love. Though it's ironical how my least favorite song is Come, the song that's probably the best for most people who listen to this album.

Queen of Hip-Pop - is just amazing. It has my favorite song by Namie, WANT ME, WANT ME. My second favorite on the album is My Darling (which I think is very underrated). Songs like WoWa, I Wanna Show You My Love, the title song, I Love You, ALARM and No just bring out the best on the album in my opinion. My least favorite are probably Free and ALL FOR YOU (again this song is the most loved one xD), but that doesn't mean I don't like them.

PLAY - My second favorite album by Namie. What can I say? It has most of her best songs like Hide & Seek, Full Moon, FUNKY TOWN, Hello, Should I Love Him?, Top Secret, Violet Sauce and Pink Key. Other songs are amazing as well, and I feel bad if I don't mention It's all about you, CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK, Step With It and Baby Don't Cry.

PAST < FUTURE - My favorite. For me, this album rocks her whole discography and is epic win by all means. From track one to twelve, there isn't a second of a song I don't enjoy. My most favorite are WILD, COPY THAT and LOVE GAME. Whole album is simply stunning. I'm so glad I own it.

[2Hurt]

As for Namie albums, I always only like a few songs from each album.. but I will try my best ^^

Spoiler:

SWEET 19 BLUES: There are some great classics on this one, I really like the album, but it's ok overall, some songs I really like, some songs I really dislike..

Concentration 20: This album is one my fave albums by her, it contains so many great songs! I just love it so much.. almost all the songs on this one are great

Break the Rules: I never really paid attention to this album... I don't really like it neither The songs just don't appeal to me...

GENIUS 2000: I like some songs, but far from all... it's not a great album..

STYLE: This I love this album so much, it has some great singles on it.. This is my favourite album by Namie all time

Queen of Hip-Pop: I know most of the Namie fans love this album, I like some of the songs aswell, but I don't think it's that good of an album really... it just doesn't do it for me..

PLAY: At first... I disliked this album much, but later on and seeing her tour aswell, I started to like some of the songs, though still not all..

PAST < FUTURE: I didn't pay any attention to this album, I did listen to the songs that had PVs COPY THAT, FAST CAR, but they sounded very boring to me... and I just didn't care listening to any of the other songs on the album...

[cosmeticmusic]

LOVE Namie.

Spoiler:

SWEET 19 BLUES was a very interesting debut. It had a wonderful coming-of-age story within the lyrics and the concept of the album. Many of the songs (like my favorite "don't wanna cry") have a very spiritual and even gospel feel to them at times and Namie here is singing with this natural soulfulness that uplifts you.

Concentration 20 is one of the best Japanese albums ever made. Industrial electronic rock! She needs to return to this experimental style NOW.

GENIUS 2000, like Chiharo said, is very hard to get into. IMO, there's too much filler and most of the songs are not very interesting. I did like "RESPECT THE POWER OF LOVE" and "LOVE 2000" though.

break the rules is pretty awesome. The songs and ideas have interesting concepts, and I love the "synthetic" feel of the album, the way TK produced it. Yeah. xD

Agreeing with Chiharo a lot here! STYLE is my favorite of Namie's three R&B-esque albums, with the jaw-dropping "Namie's Style", "SO CRAZY", "Put 'Em Up", and one of my favorite Namie songs, "Four Seasons". ♥

Queen of Hip-Pop is a fun, bouncy album. It was my first, and I appreciate how friendly it is on first listen. The title track is pretty freaking amazing, ngl. And "WoWa"...yeah!

PLAY is good but feels too overproduced at times and messy.

PAST < FUTURE is a return to rare pop form for Amuro. My favorite album of 2009, without a doubt.

[JackieRos]

for me this is simple.

I have tried to like her albums but the only one I can love is PLAY
I think is because this one has less ballads than all her others.

[jean-baptiste]

i absolutely love Concentration 20! that's my favorite album of hers.
SWEET 19 BLUES is another favorite.
GENIUS 2000 and break the rules are great but i think their her weakest.
i really like PLAY but i think Queen of Hip-Pop blows it out of the water. STYLE is awesome too.
PAST< FUTURE was an amazing comeback. another one of my favorites from her.

[love in music]

I like Style, Queen of Hip pop, and PLAY. All of her others are huge misses for me.

[aloopy]

Big post..

Spoiler:

SWEET 19 BLUES
This album would have been so amazing if it weren't for the lame remixes lol. I think this album is "just ok". "PRIVATE" and "present" are excellent songs though. And ofcourse the original versions of the single songs are perfect.

Concentration 20
I think this is my favorite album of Namie. I love all the songs on it.. "B w/z you" and "How to be a Girl" are my favorite songs on this album. "Concentration 20" is hot as hell, especially the live performance at her Dome tour. "Whisper" and "me love peace!!" are amazing songs as well. "I know..." is kinda unnessecary though lol. This album also got me interested in other TK produced acts like "globe".

GENIUS 2000
This is probably my least favorite album, even though "I HAVE NEVER SEEN" is one of my favorite Namie songs, probably my 2nd fav after "I WILL" lol.
But the "GENIUS 2000 tour" made me appreciate the album much more. So for people who wanna like this album: go watch the tour first lol.

break the rules
This was my favorite Namie album when I just discovered her lol. It has some great tracks like "never shoulda", "PLEASE SMILE AGAIN" and "HimAWAri" that I can just put on repeat forever. The title song "break the rules" is so great as well! But some songs on it sound a bit rushed and unfinished.

Style
I think the best songs on this album are the single tracks "Come", "SO CRAZY", and "Put 'Em Up". The album tracks are nice and I actually don't skip a single song when listening to this album, but they're nothing amazing and I think this album is kinda overrated lol.

Queen of Hip-Pop
Amazing album. I agree with Chiharo that the worst songs are "Free" and "ALL FOR YOU". Especially "ALL FOR YOU" lol, I just can't get into that song. But the other tracks are so so amazing. This album has this great summer vibe going on and it's just great lol. "No" is my favorite song on it, I love hidden ballad version as well. "My Darling" is hella catchy lol turn the boom boom volume up, zoom zoom speed it up.. XD.

PLAY
This album has some of her best songs like "Hide & Seek", "Top Secret", "Baby Don't Cry", "Pink key", "Full Moon" etc etc. I even love "Should I Love Him" which most people seem to dislike. I enjoyed most of these songs more after watching her perform them in PLAY tour though. But I think that "Step With It" is one of my least favorite songs and I've grown a hatred against "CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK" lol. But overall a very strong and amazingly produced album.

Past<Future
Another amazing album. Love the different sounds and the whole album flows so well. From the perfect retro song "FAST CAR" to the trippy catchy "COPY THAT", which has a perfect ending btw. The more urban-ish "LOVE GAME" which goes so well after te great "COPY THAT" ending lol, it's a great dance track as well just like "Bad Habit" and "WILD". "Steal my night" is nice but I think I'll love it more after watching P<F tour, same goes for "Shut Up". "Defend Love" and "MY LOVE" are my favorite songs on this album. This album sounds so new and fresh and different for her, but it still sounds like Namie. Amazing album. I serisouly can't wait to see what she comes with next.

Let's not forget the songs that aren't on any albums/only on best albums, like:
"I WILL" (my favorite Namie song, so beautiful), "the SPEED STAR" (hot hot hot) "exist for you" (great r&b ballad), "butterfly" (great summer song, it reminds of the beach..lol) and many more.. She has quite a few b-sides lol.

And the SUPER MONKEY'S songs! Some of them are cute and catchy as hell, like "GO GO Yume not hayasade" and the ballads are beautiful, like "wagamama wo yurushite".
AND OFCOURSE "SUITE CHIC" lol. Love the SUITE CHIC album.

[KarenPang]

I'm not a diehard fan of Namie . I frankly only have heard PLAY & PAST < FUTURE & both are really good albums in my opinion

PLAY was 1 of the 1st few jpop albums I heard when I began listening to Japanese music 4 years ago & I still really like it til now

[ayurainbow]

Yaaaaaay for Namie

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

basically, the only album i don't like is "past < future"
it's hugely overrated, if you ask me. but hey, we all have our opinions, haha.

everything up until that album is great.

though, concentration 20, sweet 19 blues and style are probably my favorite albums.

however, YOU ARE THE ONE, on GENIUS 2000, is in my top favorite Amuro songs
much better than the original version

[hsienko]

This is simple I really like all the albums before LOVE ENHANCED and Past<Future because they have some good lyrics. Then with Style-Play I usually only listen to them when I want something upbeat/dancy to listen to since that's mainly what they are.

[R_Hikki]

Namie has had top quality material since her debut until now. I feel like all of her albums deliver something unique. There's variety yet a certain message given with each album and it's always kept me interested.

I like all of her older, pre-STYLE albums but my favourite of the bunch would have to be GENIUS 2000 mostly because of "SOMETHING 'BOUT THE KISS", "KISS-AND-RIDE" and "THINGS I COLLECTED". But I find Concentration 20 album such a solid album from beginning to end that it would have to be among my most favourited.

But my all-time favourite and most played album is Queen of Hip-Pop, which I bought in 2005 and still listen to this day. I find her approach to western R&B and pop music so refreshing that she's all I could ever want in a pop artist and more.

[Cherry Dynamite]

My fave Namie albums are PLAY, Queen of Hip-Pop and, PAST < FUTURE.
Namie always brings something new to the table and it's always good.

My overall fave is probably PAST < FUTURE because the first Namie song I lisnted to came from the album but BEST FICTION is what converted me to a Namie fan.

[SunshineSlayer]

I think most of her albums are great. The only one that I think was overrated at the time was Sweet 19 Blues - had the singles not been messed with on that album though, that one would be great too. My favorite old Namie album is Concentration 20 and that is still one of my overall favorite albums from any artist.

[Paparazzi]

GENIUS 2000 is her worst album by far. Yet somehow, it has some of her best songs. a VERY polarizing album.

However, all of her albums are much more cohesive than this one. Each song is better on average

[jean-baptiste]

^i completely agree.

[Mayayu]

i've only begun from STYLE, so i can't tell about before

my favorite album is PLAY, because i love this fresh sound so much, just like Pink Key. instant summertime ^^

the one i like less is Queen Of Hip-Pop... i like WoWa, Alarm an Free but the rest is not my thing

STYLE & PAST < FUTURE are cool as well... STYLE is entirely great, killers after killers, it sounds like a best-of album. and PAST < FUTURE has very cool ones like WILD

[visionfactory]

The only Namie album I don't like is Concentration 20, it's weak

[ll moments ll]

y'know, i consider myself to be a very big Tetsuya Komuro fan (i'm such a globe stan), but i haven't heard much of Amuro's "TK era"...other than the obvious CAN YOU CELEBRATE?, Body Feels EXIT, etc. i probably should explore that era when i get the time.

but anyway, i started off with "STYLE" & onwards. i think my favorites are "PLAY" and "STYLE". but otherwise, i like them all (that i've listened to).

i kinda wish i gotten into her earlier. i think she's one of the most solid and consistent artists out there. and she's been in this industry a looooong time!

[Zeke.]

OMG, how can you dislike Come!? I was waiting for you to praise it and then I read you do not like it! Lol. I absolutely love it. It's just soooooooo perfect! My favorite song by her. Ever.