Thoughts on GUILTY

[ayu-marco]

after listening to the new songs GUILTY & (don't) Leave me alone, I've decided to order GUILTY CD+DVD and CD in hmv jp.

now, waiting for them coming.....
Great album!

[ll moments ll]

i still need to digest the album. i think the flow is better than most of her other albums, but nothing really stands out for me other than "Marionette" & the single tracks. i think this is the first Ayu album I didn't entirely love on a first listen in a very long time. heck, i loved MY STORY on its first listen. XD but, now it's one of my least favorites.

hopefully, "GUILTY" will grow on me. right now, i'm kinda on the border of loving it or hating it. i'm not so sure what side to lean towards. but, I think my taste has changed. i guarantee that if this was released a couple years ago I would've absolutely loved "GUILTY."

[Ani_C]

Wow, we're all cold hearted jerks... SHE EVEN THANKS US IN HER CREDITS! (We're worse than Tomoya now! I'm still expecting that "NO THANKS TO MY EX-HONEY")

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by Ayumiko

hahahahahahahaha that is so funny! XD do that on youtube!

I wanted more songs coz the songs on the album (minus guilty and glitter...hey they both starts with 'g') were really good.

I would but I don't have a video camera... X__________________x

Originally Posted by Ani_C

Wow, we're all cold hearted jerks... SHE EVEN THANKS US IN HER CREDITS! (We're worse than Tomoya now! I'm still expecting that "NO THANKS TO MY EX-HONEY")

Yeah! I almost forgot about that... o.o

[evolution7931]

I'm luvin' GUILTY and Marionette, definately the highlights of the album! Marionette is one of my favourite Ayu songs of all time now! Lots of new sounds on this album, its so dark and mysterious, I love it. The album covers would have been better dark.

The last 3 tracks pretty much suck imo. But I'm in love with every song up to those last 3.

As soon as the Marionette prelude came on I was like "omg I am so turning off the lights!" and made it all creepy..

[ronin542001]

Well, I guess I am in the minority when I say that I loved this album. The dark atmosphere and genre of the album seriously are amazing in my opinion...

And why is everyone bashing GUILTY the track? I liked it a lot, and thought it really expressed the emotion of feeling desolate and hopeless pretty well. And people say it is similar to miss understood, but I think they are completely different.

All in all, I think this album was great, and the only track I do not like that much is (d)lma... but I love all the others.

It's a shame this album is being received better. I guess its too dark for most people? Kind of like Kelly Clarkson's album that came out earlier this year. Most people will hate it, but it will have its own cult following for a while :]

[Akutenshi]

Originally Posted by ronin542001

And why is everyone bashing GUILTY the track? I liked it a lot, and thought it really expressed the emotion of feeling desolate and hopeless pretty well. And people say it is similar to miss understood, but I think they are completely different.

I completely agree. The song's simple and quiet arrangement definitely expressed a feeling of emptiness. One of my favorite new tracks on the album.

[nikku76]

Originally Posted by ronin542001

Well, I guess I am in the minority when I say that I loved this album. The dark atmosphere and genre of the album seriously are amazing in my opinion...

And why is everyone bashing GUILTY the track? I liked it a lot, and thought it really expressed the emotion of feeling desolate and hopeless pretty well. And people say it is similar to miss understood, but I think they are completely different.

All in all, I think this album was great, and the only track I do not like that much is (d)lma... but I love all the others.

It's a shame this album is being received better. I guess its too dark for most people? Kind of like Kelly Clarkson's album that came out earlier this year. Most people will hate it, but it will have its own cult following for a while :]

Thank you for that comparison! Was my thoughts exactly. And as someone who has spent the last year almost consistently depressed, I treasure them both.

[taskinillusion]

It's definitely different, and although I haven't made it through the whole thing yet, I'm really liking what I'm hearing so far!

[truehappiness]

Well, once GUILTY is performed live, everyone will love it.

[stepho_chan]

Well since the entire album got leaked, i had a listen.....i've listened to it aboiut 3 times now and i LOVE it sooooo much. This one and (miss)understood are my favorite albums

[stepho_chan]

well...to the overreaction i meant

[Mitkki]

My first impression after one full listen is that this album is really short. A non-lengthy album needs strong, memorable tracks to make it seem 'complete.' Guilty unfortunately doesn't seem to quite make it. I think the beginning of the album showed potential but the ending was a bit weak and somehow awkward. I thought I was listening to MY STORY all over again. And for some reason it doesn't seem like Shingo Kobayashi can arrange anything more than a piano accompaniment without it sounding bland and uninspired; Untitled ~for her~ could and should have been so much better since the melody is quite nice. I also think My All sounds way too summery to be a new track.

[namiie]

I'm just going to comment on the album-only tracks.

Mirror: Fresh! I like how she manages to make the sound of a modem dialing seem cool, haha. Not quite up there with "Not yet", but decent all the same.

(don't) Leave Me Alone: Amazing. The video for it may be a bit generic, but the song in itself has a great arrangement and the chorus is good. Ayu's voice sounds good and even though some guitar riffs sound like "1 LOVE", essentially, it's a strong track and I enjoy it greatly. #2 album track for me, after Marionette.

GUILTY: What a let-down. It is so unoriginal it hurts. =\ It's sad that Ayu chose this to be the title track because, franky, it's quite lackluster. Maybe it'll grow on me, but for now, not so good.

Marionette -Prelude-: Creepy. Chilling. That's really all I can say. It's definitely thought-provoking and segues into the actual song nicely.

Marionette: BEAUTIFUL. Ayu's voice flows so beautifully and the combination of strings and percussion in the background just shines. It is reminiscent of "Pride" in that I get this dark sort of feeling from it; it's like I can almost see the feelings pouring forth. Her vocals are definitely the best part of this song; the end of the chorus leading into the quiet strings at the beginning of the next verse, accompanied by the pounding guitar, makes for a very original touch. The only beef I have is that Ayu should not have "woah woah woah"-ed during the guitar instrumental. Otherwise, I think it's the best album track.

The Judgement Day: This song confused me the first time I listened to it. I think the transitions are a little choppy and that the organ doesn't belong. It's decent, but not her best interlude.

My All: Wait. "Replace" flashback fosho! It also reminds me a little of her older, "A Song for XX" days. Doesn't make it bad though. At times I miss poppy Ayu! I love how her voice is so on-par with the fun beats in the back. Even though it sounds happy, I still get a few melancholic feelings from this song. The first part of the chorus sounds like old-school Chinese/Vietnamese karaoke, but overall I think Ayu makes it her own with the lyrics and voice. The background beats are a throwback to "momentum", which is great because it's like a little tie-in to the previous album Those "la la la"'s at the end need to go though.

reBiRTH: Oh geez, another interlude? I'm starting to think Ayu is lacking material. I love the feel of this song, though...I would've been satisfied if she turned it into another "Catcher in the Light" or "Not yet", but oh well.

untitled~for her~: Lovely. I think it sounds really Christmas-y for some reason....Ayu's voice is just killer in this album, because this song is very pleasing to listen to. The background vocalizing and the strings in the intermission are heavenly!

[Jwiz]

^ really?..can you provide the link? =p

[namiie]

Originally Posted by HJeweL

^ really?..can you provide the link? =p

The Britney Spears one? Here you are! XD

As for sales....I don't think it'll sell poorly because of the sheer fact that it's an Ayu product. People will naturally be curious of her new material and based on the quality of what she's released before, I still think it'll receive great first and second week sales. From there....all we can do is hope that people like it enough for it to continue selling nicely. :O

[[taskin.ayu]]

I'm a bit worried that a large number of people have responded negatively to the album. I wonder how it will sell? ):

[Luther10]

Originally Posted by [taskin.ayu]

I'm a bit worried that a large number of people have responded negatively to the album. I wonder how it will sell? ):

Well, forumers here do not represent the japanese buyers. As I recalled, Glitter sold a lot more than TTM this year, even though forumers here favor TTM. So lets hope that we will have an opposite effect again...

And also, anyone here actually like summery poppy songs like me??? Lots of bashing on those types of songs here, I wonder why?

[RoboNyanya]

Originally Posted by Luther10

And also, anyone here actually summery poppy songs like me??? Lots of bashing on those types of songs here, I wonder why?

Clearly, there are too many emo/hardcore here (kidding kidding) but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that doesn't go 'ew' when I hear a cute upbeat tune. I LIKE how Ayu mixes up her albums with different genres. Her voice ties up everything anyway, so if all the tracks were all gritty and rockish, I'd get bored very quickly.

This isn't to say that I don't have a fondness for her harder songs too. Love Marionette.

[dayumi]

Originally Posted by RoboNyanya

Clearly, there are too many emo/hardcore here (kidding kidding) but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that doesn't go 'ew' when I hear a cute upbeat tune. I LIKE how Ayu mixes up her albums with different genres. Her voice ties up everything anyway, so if all the tracks were all gritty and rockish, I'd get bored very quickly.

This isn't to say that I don't have a fondness for her harder songs too. Love Marionette.

I like Ayu cute upbeat songs!! I'm kinda tired that she's always rock although I love her rock songs!, hopefully next year she release upbeat pop single!!