Confusion with 'A Best' and Other Songs. ><;;

oasis_heart3 · #1 31st October 2006, 10:58 PM

Hi everyone! ^^

I'm doing a very small "discography" on Ayumi Hamasaki (in relation to songs that Dai Nagao did with her)...and I'm confused over a few songs. I'll start from the beginning....

Several years ago, when I was a new Ayu fan, I found one of her songs called "End roll" (which I LOVE, by the way). The vocals are wonderful!! (^^) Then one day, it got deleted by mistake. Thankfully, one of my friends had the song, and she sent it to me.

That's when I discovered that the song she sent me was NOT the exact same song. It wasn't a remix; it didn't have different music...it had the original music and everything...but Ayu's vocals...umm, let's just say, I could tell this song was done early in her career. She didn't hit a lot of "classic Ayu notes", like she does now. ^^;

I ended up finding my "lost song", and I kept the one my friend sent me, too. Here are both songs so you can listen/compare yourself:

*The "Original Version" (What My Friend Sent Me)
*The "Version with Better Vocals" (What I Originally Found)
NOTE: If you have difficulty noticing the differences, let me know. I'll create a "versus" file. =)

Where did both songs come from? I originally thought that one song was the original, "LOVEppears" version, and that the other song was from "A Best". I thought that "A Best" was "Ayu re-recorded some of her songs, with better, stronger vocals".

...But then, I got these "A Best" tracks, and compared them with their "original tracks" (from "LOVEppears", "Duty", etc.) and so far, they sound exactly the same:

-Trauma
-TO BE
-Boys & Girls
-Fly high
-Far away
-SEASONS

.....What is going on? (>_<;;) Why does "End roll" have a "better vocal"-version? Where did it come from?? And do "Trauma", "TO BE" and all the rest of the songs I listed have a "better vocal"-version as well???

micster · #2 31st October 2006, 11:02 PM

Some of the songs for A Best were re-recorded ... not sure which

Norrel · #3 31st October 2006, 11:04 PM

The re-recorded songs were A Song For XX and Trust and Depend On You.

According the back of the A BEST cover, End Roll was not re-recorded.

***ImpactBreaker*** · #4 31st October 2006, 11:08 PM

There are 2 different versions of TO BE, one is in the LOVEppears album, the other is the respective single (there's the A BALLADS one, making it three versions ahahha)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norrel

The re-recorded songs were A Song For XX and Trust and Depend On You.

According the back of the A BEST cover, End Roll was not re-recorded.

End Roll does have new vocals...you can even notice she's got a really weird metallic vibrato in the A BEST A Song For XX, Trust Depend on you and End Roll.

It's like this guys:

*New arrangements & Vocals:

-A Song For XX
-Trust
-Depend on you

*New Arrangements but old vocals:

-Boys & Girls (notice how in the end the guitars have gotten a completely different arrangement)

*New Vocals but old arrangements:

-End Roll

micster · #5 31st October 2006, 11:07 PM

Dident someone start a similar thread once and it was found out that it was a live perf?

Norrel · #6 31st October 2006, 11:09 PM

Oh.. o.o

Thanks for that then.

Delirium-Zer0 · #7 31st October 2006, 11:32 PM

Impact: No, the End roll on A BEST has a slightly different mix as well as the new vocals. I don't know why it's not marked, but on LOVEppears there are songs with new mixes (TO BE and monochrome), but they aren't marked as such. Anyway, you can best hear the mix difference when the percussion kicks in as the vocals start on each version of End roll; listen again.

***ImpactBreaker*** · #8 31st October 2006, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Impact: No, the End roll on A BEST has a slightly different mix as well as the new vocals. I don't know why it's not marked, but on LOVEppears there are songs with new mixes (TO BE and monochrome), but they aren't marked as such. Anyway, you can best hear the mix difference when the percussion kicks in as the vocals start on each version of End roll; listen again.

I'm unsure about those as I tried comparing mp3s (different rips can sometimes have slightly different sounds), but as much as they might have been rearranged (End roll and monochrome) those seriously were minimal changes compared to ASFXX, Trust, Depend on you and Boys&Girls. All I could say is maybe they got a remastering here and there.

Delirium-Zer0 · #9 31st October 2006, 11:39 PM

Oh definitely. I was only giving those as examples of new versions that are unmarked. Not every new version on LOVEppears was unmarked either (immature, appears, too late, and WHATEVER all were), so there's no reason why some of the songs on A BEST wouldn't also be unmarked new versions.

But anyway, TO BE and monochrome actually had different people mixing the tracks. In the case of TO BE, it was Atsushi Hattori (Original Mix) vs. Dave Way (Album Version), and for monochrome it's Dave Ford (Original Mix) vs. again Dave Way. My guess in these cases is that they lost the original masters and maybe wanted something close to the original ^^;; In my opinion the album versions are a bit better, a little more polished sounding.

In the cases of monochrome, TO BE, and End roll, the instrumentation is almost completely the same, only the mix is different. too late is only cited as having a different mixer than on the A single also, but the change is more drastic.

But as a side note, has anyone else noticed that the A BEST version of A Song for XX basically just uses the MILLENNIUM MIX instrumentation/mix? It's VERY similar.

I just wish the A BEST booklet had song-by-song credits, rather than listing every mixer in the back. x_x

Norrel · #10 31st October 2006, 11:52 PM

A fight between the Ayumi Encylcopedias, lets see who wins xD

***ImpactBreaker*** · #11 1st November 2006, 12:00 AM

Oh sorry, I didn't notice you were talking about "LOVEppears" when you mentioned TO BE and monochrome (I thought you were talking about A BEST the whole post). Yeah, those are completely different versions: TO BE (the arrangements are clearly different from the single), monochrome (sudden cut without explanation), appears (no jingles melody), too late (completely different arrangement), and WHATEVER (sounds slightly like the M version but definitely different, and longer).
Many people can't notice the difference on A BALLADS TO BE from the album version. One of the differences is something like flute whistling throughout the song, among a few other differences.

Delirium-Zer0 · #12 1st November 2006, 01:36 AM

That and the plucking synth at the beginning sounds more like the single version, where the drums are more like the album version. And yeah, the extra flute-type instrument all through it.

I like talking to you cuz you notice the same stuff as I do. ^_^

oasis_heart3 · #13 2nd November 2006, 10:59 PM

Hi again, everyone! I'm sorry I haven't replied lately. I've been sick. ><;

All of your comments are VERY informative. In fact, I kinda got lost. xD

@ImpactBreaker: I just have a few more questions:

End Roll-
Just checking, but the version that I listed as having "better vocals"...is this version available on "A Best" And I assume the "original version" is available on LOVEppears, right?

monochrome
You made it sound like there's another version of the song (without the weird "cut off" at the end). Where did this come from, and what's the song length? I'd like to find an MP3 of the song, so I can do a comparison file & make samples...but I need some more information first.

***ImpactBreaker*** · #14 2nd November 2006, 11:32 PM

Well I ca't remembver which one had betters vocals, the LOVEppears versio or the A BEST. The A BEST new vocals have a metallic vibrato (some kind of description I created).

Quote:

Originally Posted by oasis_heart3

monochrome
You made it sound like there's another version of the song (without the weird "cut off" at the end). Where did this come from, and what's the song length? I'd like to find an MP3 of the song, so I can do a comparison file & make samples...but I need some more information first.

No I didn't say the other version doesn't have a cut off.

The album version has a "cut off witnhout explanation". The single version has a cut off too but a guy says something after that, but I can't exactly tell what it is.

Delirium-Zer0 · #15 3rd November 2006, 01:41 AM

Yeah... they cut that small voice off of the album version, I guess so that it transitions better into the Interlude (not that it isn't awkward anyway).

oasis_heart3 · #16 3rd November 2006, 02:12 AM

@Both of you: Ah. Then nevermind about "monochrome". (xD) That is one of the weirdest song endings I've ever heard...I wonder why they chose to do it that way?

This whole "song confusion" issue really made me think...I don't have to list every "remake" that Ayumi did. Who knows how many songs she "remade" and on what albums they're from? (aside from you two, probably. =) That'd just make things more difficult for myself. I'll just stick to one version of each song (more specifically, the "first album version that was ever released")

Thank you both so much for the help! I really appreciate it! =)

paperbag · #17 3rd November 2006, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Yeah... they cut that small voice off of the album version, I guess so that it transitions better into the Interlude (not that it isn't awkward anyway).

(When "monochrome" was put into the album, one idea was added to -- to cut off the music just after the last phrase, suggesting the opposite meaning. I think it shows straight which was her real intention.) ----MASA

monochrome single version..." la la la la la la i... Because I'm very strong" (cut) Guy in the background: Yeah Right!

It was later edited in the album version to blend in with the next track "interlude", but it still has that sudden cut because Ayu wanted to still keep the original meaning of the song. She still wanted it to be "incomplete."

shippo · #18 4th November 2006, 12:14 PM

So, the single ver has "Yeah right" in the end???

Yukitora · #19 4th November 2006, 06:13 PM

It appears so... its very hard to tell and it's completely up to you to decide. I personally hear "you're right".

I didn't notice B&G had A BEST differences ^_^" I only thought End Roll was the only unmarked difference. This thread reminded me about how much I love my first Ayu CD

Delirium-Zer0 · #20 4th November 2006, 09:09 PM

I hear "yeah right", like the guy is interrupting her when she says she's strong. If you read the lyrics, she's obviously not, so the cutoff is, while awkward sounding to a new listener (and non-japanese speakers especially), totally appropriate. For the album version it seems like she's interrupting herself instead of someone else interrupting her, like for the single version she hadn't submitted to the truth & admitted it to herself yet, but on the album version she's gotten to the point where she stops herself when she's lying to herself. You know?