[News] ～A BEST LIVE～ DVD/BD on 2013.10.30 + Live CD on 2013.9.18

[truehappiness]

I wish she would rearrange ANGEL'S SONG and actually sing it. That's like, one of my favorite songs (then again I have a dozen+ favorite songs... or more..) and she always performs it in that same way, agh.

[kotora]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I wish she would rearrange ANGEL'S SONG and actually sing it. That's like, one of my favorite songs (then again I have a dozen+ favorite songs... or more..) and she always performs it in that same way, agh.

We still have countdown live 2013-2014 ...

She might preform some songs from the voting list.

[kaito_moonlove]

The only bad thing in this live album is the quality (as I think), On the other hand, ayu 's voice is strong, emotive and amazing, I really love this show although I haven't watched her performance. Using the pre-recordings track or not is not important because I ensure that she tried her best in this show and she may use it for some reasons.
Her voice completely changed, it is getting "older" but stronger and more emotive. Her fame may not be as the 2000s. You and I are the fans, we should support her more and wait to see her effort. We can complain the vocals or anythings else but Ayumi Hamasaki is still our womder woman ?
P/s" Sorry for my poor English guys

[truehappiness]

Just saying but oh my god this Voyage is so good from A BEST LIVE.

They snuck a bit of progress in the melody, it sounds like.

[js_surrealism]

I will say that her performance of Teddy bear is decent. It's the one song on which she doesn't sound like she's shouting to compete with the backing track.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

I will say that her performance of Teddy bear is decent. It's the one song on which she doesn't sound like she's shouting to compete with the backing track.

I listened to the whole album a few times and I didn't get the 'shouting' thing at all, really... unless she was singing something like Tell All where she will sound like she's yelling no matter what.

It's probably whoever was doing the mixing's fault.

[js_surrealism]

^ To me the shouting was most obvious in the opening lines of Voyage. I couldn't even bear to listen to it the first time I skipped right past it.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

They snuck a bit of progress in the melody, it sounds like.

I noticed that too

Oh and she definitely wasn't shouting, even during Tell All when she had so many chances to shout.

[js_surrealism]

I think the differences are quite obvious when you compare them to her earlier performances.

Compare her performance of M here and her performance of M in Dome Tour 2001. She can't sing and project without shouting these days.

[Yoake]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I wish she would rearrange ANGEL'S SONG and actually sing it. That's like, one of my favorite songs (then again I have a dozen+ favorite songs... or more..) and she always performs it in that same way, agh.

I would like to hear ANGEL'S SONG too.


I agree. She barely shouted in that live. Her vocals are great. There are a lot of decrescendo & crescendo in her singing way. However, when she's singing forte, she isn't yelling.

[ayu-michan]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Just saying but oh my god this Voyage is so good from A BEST LIVE.

They snuck a bit of progress in the melody, it sounds like.

Omg I thought I'm the only one Sometimes I hear a bit of progress in it too.

[jeffycue]

i thought she would sing Kanariya in this tour?

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by jeffycue

i thought she would sing Kanariya in this tour?

It probably made it in the top of the votes but didn't make it in the actual setlist? Or got DJ-sessioned or instrumentaled like ever free?

Spoiler:

What from the list made it? What didn't?

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

I think the differences are quite obvious when you compare them to her earlier performances.

Compare her performance of M here and her performance of M in Dome Tour 2001. She can't sing and project without shouting these days.

Dude, the way she sings is just different now. She used to sing out of her nostrils and her eyeballs. Now she sings how she probably should have from the beginning. Even in her best vocal years, she was totally singing out of her nose and should not have been.

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Dude, the way she sings is just different now. She used to sing out of her nostrils and her eyeballs. Now she sings how she probably should have from the beginning. Even in her best vocal years, she was totally singing out of her nose and should not have been.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Dude, the way she sings is just different now. She used to sing out of her nostrils and her eyeballs. Now she sings how she probably should have from the beginning. Even in her best vocal years, she was totally singing out of her nose and should not have been.

[kagami]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Dude, the way she sings is just different now. She used to sing out of her nostrils and her eyeballs. Now she sings how she probably should have from the beginning. Even in her best vocal years, she was totally singing out of her nose and should not have been.

Not to mention that's how she probably damaged her vocals in the first place. I still can't get over how people think she sung so much better in her earlier years

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by kagami

Not to mention that's how she probably damaged her vocals in the first place. I still can't get over how people think she sung so much better in her earlier years

^
Because like usual people can't dissociate vocal tone and vocal technique ...People are free to think her voice was better in her earlier years but the fact is that was the wrong way for her !

Personnally I prefered her vocal tone during My story/(miss) U but technically she is better now and that's important for a singer ! Though I can understand people who became fan of her in her debut and regret the voice she had back then but it's life =)

I think she needs some time to adapt her new technique to her past works !

btw sorry if my english is not that good ...

[SolarAngel]

I like the squeaky wailing thing she used to do for songs like asfxx(a best ver), M and End Roll. For eg End Roll: soretemo omoTTETA ii yo ne, she does this haunting squeak. She doesn't do it anymore.. Rather miss it.

[js_surrealism]

Really? Singing wrongly? Ok, because she sounds largely awful here (you want more examples? Dat No way to say chorus). So I guess I simply think she sounds better when she was singing "wrongly".

I am also very surprised that anybody thinks she sounds BETTER live now since I Was also under the impression that the consensus here was that her best vocal years were the Duty~I am era, followed by the My Story~Memorial Address period. Maybe I am wrong, in which case, power to you.

But once in awhile she puts out a good vocal performance these days. I quite liked Teddy Bear here.

Just to clarify - I'm not saying it's her fault if she sounds bad. I am aware that singing styles change and all that. And I hope people don't see this as a personal attack on her or whatever (which appears to be the case currently). I just thought she sounded horrible on this album mostly. And the production too - I really wish they did a better job if they were gonna put out a live album. If anything, this should be read as a criticism of the album rather than on Ayu herself.

[reixminako]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

Really? Singing wrongly? Ok, because she sounds largely awful here (you want more examples? Dat No way to say chorus). So I guess I simply think she sounds better when she was singing "wrongly".

Fact is she only recently began using a proper singing technique. Her earlier works sounded quite beautiful, but if you know about singing you'd know that she was using a pretty damaging technique for many years. I agree she sounded "better" when she was singing incorrectly, but doing that for so long is what led to the way her voice sounds now (which, despite using proper technique, doesn't sound that great, sorry to say [I still love her to death!]). So, in my opinion, complaining about the way her voice has developed while praising the very singing technique that made her voice the way it is is completely ridiculous.

Having said that, I actually enjoy this album. I was trained as a singer, so I've always had a bit of trouble listening to ayu sing some of her old songs because of the way she was damaging her voice. But hearing things like JEWEL and Memorial address sung in her new way is refreshing and very enjoyable, even if her voice is a little worn out. I can still feel her emotions coming from each song and that's why I don't mind that NEXT LEVEL - LOVE again doesn't sound like LOVEppears - MY STORY.