Thoughts on GUILTY

[minna]

I really love it !!
This album is amazing I think

[cloud♥honey]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I don't think so.. the interludes are all pretty amazing. Had they not been made so well, I think that there'd be something to say about it..

That, and the fact that Marionette's prelude should be connected to Marionette as part of the song, so there's only technically 3 interludes.

Totally agreed. The interludes doesn't justifies some people disliking the album. The old Ayu won't back, simply because the old Ayu is the Ayu we know now. That's all, for me.

[truehappiness]

I think Ayu experimented more with her music in the 2000-2003 period..

It just feels like she's not being adventurous in compositions or arrangements as much as she used to be. I'm satisfied with her music now, but I think what differentiated her music then and now is that she really took chances with some of the songs and succeeded in being successful. :O

[Tom Punks]

Well, I wasn't really expecting the album to be great or anything. And it's not any better than I expected either. On the other hand, I hadn't expected to like (don't) Leave me alone, but I actually do like it. It's a lot more pop-ish and catchy than I thought it would be.

My main problem with this album is that the songs are so lack-luster in their arrangements and choruses. I don't find GUILTY and untitled~for her~ special at all. And untitled~for her~ sounded like a modern version of Who... IMO. And I don't really like Who...

One thing I can say for the album is that three tracks in particular have really cool sounds. Mirror, Marionette and its prelude are just... cool. Marionette could have been a little better though if its chorus were catchier.

Also, I really liked MY ALL. The verses are really nice IMO. The down side is that the chorus is a little repetitive.

Lastly, three interludes is too much. ReBiRTH should have been left out, considering it sounds just like any of Ayu's previous interludes. Also, I think The Judgment Day should have been a little longer. Not like a full song, but the end should have been extended a bit. It's like, as soon as the song gets upbeat, it's over.

Overall, I don't really like the album. I only like a few select tracks: Mirror, (don't) Leave me alone, fated, Marionette -Prelude-, Marionette, MY ALL mainly. :/ And I really don't even like these songs as much as her previous work, so no matter how many songs I liked on this album, it just wouldn't add up to MY STORY, Secret, or even (miss)understood. Though I have to give it props, 'cause the track listing is much better than (miss)understood's. The songs are actually in an order that flows and makes sense here. >>

[Huaka]

Oh, man. I'm trying so hard not to download and listen. I have to wait till my boyfriend comes back on the 8th. Oh, the temptation.... Ack!

[s1012h]

i expected a bit from the album, seeing as it was supposed to be very dark
it succeeded in that part, as only 2 songs are "happy"

however, the intros and interludes are probably even better than the songs
alot of the songs i'm already tired of, and for her past albums i haven't had this feeling yet
and the previews from Cloud pretty much summed up the new songs, so there was no "ooh" feeling i felt when i first heard Secret
that's mainly my fault though haha

i'm hoping that ayu starts experimenting again
it's unlikely that'll happen, but there's no harm in wishing

so my verdict is that this album is great, but not amazing
Secret was a better album overall

[Ketsueki Ame]

in conclusion, i think we all agree that this is a kind of album with songs that you either like, or don't like at all.

But i think we have to agree that AYu's vocals are the best and most controlled in this album thus far, if you comepared how she sang in the old 2001-2002 albums. Not saying it wasn't good, but its just really polished in this album =x

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by s1012h

alot of the songs i'm already tired of

That's exactly how I feel. :/ Right after I listened to it, I wanted to listen again, but I was already tired of all of them. >>

[ayumisrael]

GUILTY is better than all of ayu's albums that were released from RAINBOW period to Secret period imo. I love how the interludes put the mood of the album and the hell this album flows so smooth... and I love all of the new songs (thanks god they sound good!).
ayu's album isn't complete without a bit of optimism near the end ^-^, it's been like that since A Song for xx... and glitter and MY ALL sure took care of it.

[SunshineSlayer]

I've listened to the full album and I'll give a more in depth review later, but my initial impression is definitely dissapointment.

This is the ONLY Ayu album where I had no desire to listen to any of the new tracks again right away after listening the first time. The only track I wanted to play over again was Mirror and that isn't even a full song.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I've listened to the full album and I'll give a more in depth review later, but my initial impression is definitely dissapointment.

This is the ONLY Ayu album where I had no desire to listen to any of the new tracks again right away after listening the first time. The only track I wanted to play over again was Mirror and that isn't even a full song.

:O!

-gasp-

[ayuayu798]

I like most of the songs ^^ I wish she had a little more tracks in the album though .....

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Ayulover_06

Why don't you just give Ayu a break...she's going through a tough time

I think she's been through tougher times in her life and excellent albums came out of that.


I really wanted to love this album, I love the titles and the dark atmosphere is great, the covers were good, but the actual content itself aside from a couple of singles, is pretty lackluster overall. The strongest points are the interludes.

Originally Posted by Ayulover_06

I guess it's just your opinion...I feel it was rushed as well but I think it sounds pretty good for something that was improvised. But I was mainly referring to your comment about not all of us wanting to hear sad stuff from Ayu...I should've made that more clear.

Secret was far more rushed and imo it is one of her strongest albums.

[Coelacanth]

I'm willing to let the album digest, but it looks like I'm not going to fall in love with these tracks as quick as I did with the singles this year..

(don't) Leave me alone isn't too fulfilling. That instrumental part is repeated too often and the chorus does indeed sound like a bridge.

There's something I really like about GUILTY actually, even though the arrangement is practically empty and the composition is so disgustingly simple. I don't know, I think it's maybe the way she sings it. But I think if this song was arranged with completely different instruments like an acoustic guitar, it would be pretty sweet.

I can already tell Marionette is going to be the overrated song of GUILTY. I think it's kind of silly, especially the chorus and the bridge part of the song. And what was with the wow-oh-oh's in the middle of the song? I found it really unnecessary.

MY ALL. I really like this song, but unfortunately the choruses aren't as good as the verses..

untitled is just... there. It reminds me of Wishing and For My Dear..., two ballads on the ASFXX album that I like, but would rarely listen to.

Oh well. I'll be looking forward to her next single...

By the way, I think I prefer this album to Secret.

[AyuGAME]

YAY that many people like "MY ALL"

[Ayumiko]

Lots of mixed reviews. I've listened the the whole album a few times now and here is my review...I would have to say I like this album more than secret and I like secret already.

Mirror: excellent intro! I don't know if I like this more or not yet.
(don't) leave me alone: this song is fun...a little repetitive but overall a very good song..better than startin'.
talkin' to myself: I already like this song
decision: I already like this song..one of my fav coz it has a vocal bridge
GUILTY: I have mixed feeling about this song...I like it and I don't. One of my least fav track on this album
fated: I already like this song
together when...: one of my fav ballads from ayu...been listening to it many times everyday since it was released and still not sick of it
marinette prelude: one of my fav interlude from ayu
marinette: one of my fav song from this album. excellent! the guitar solo at the end reminds me of what she does at the end of her concert performances. yo-chan!
the judgement day: how I wish this was a full song just like mirror. One of my fav interludes from ayu
glitter: along with GUILTY, my least fav song from this album. The happy vocals doesn't fit in with the rest of the album...but the transition from the interlude is good
MY ALL: I really like this song. Even though its all upbeat and stuff, I feel sorrow from her singing...fits in with the rest of the songs on this album (except glitter)
rebirth: I think this interlude was needed for untitled even though its kinda boring compared to the other interludes in this album
untitled for her: one of my fav song on this album...I like it as much as marinette. Excellent song!

rating: 8.5/ 10

good:
I really like this album...better than secret because of marinette and untitled for her which I extremely love. The intro and the interludes are really awesome in this album (except for rebirth) The flow of the songs is really good too. I don't have a problem with the amount of interludes. The marinette prelude didn't feel like a interlude to me but instead it felt like it was just one song with marinette. Comparing together when, fated, untitled for her to last year's JEWEL, momentum, secret...I like this year's ballads more. A step up for ballads. This album has 3 songs with vocal bridge unlike last year's where I don't remember having any. The single tracks are much better than last year's. Last year ppl complained how secret album tracks all sounded the same coz of the rock influence...GUILTY album tracks have more variety and have a bit more complicated sound to them.

negative:
I wish there are more songs...atleast one more pop song towards the end, before or after MY ALL. Glitter didn't fit in because of the happy vocals. I have no idea what GUILTY (the song) was leading to...it started good but the whole song is really slow and it felt like its going nowhere. It felt like 10 mins but really its only 4 mins+ I guess that's the biggest disappointment for me. Like secret, this album feels short.

[darc_aqua]

Good album, 4 interludes is too much, needs more songs. My favorites are Talkin' 2 Myself, Together When, fated, glitter, My All.

I give it a 7.7/10 GOOD

The singles this year was very enjoyable, except for decision which I didn't like.

[edgefusion]

In my opinion GUILTY is an all around class act from Ayu! Marionette and MY ALL are simply fantastic, not to mention talkin' 2 myself and decision. One of her best releases in ages for me!

[darc_aqua]

^ I'm glad she didnt go too "pop" this time.

[Kikaru]

I think this album is really one of the mood albums. I like the flow, and I think this album is one of those things that you either like or not like.

And (d)lma has a really good potential for remixes.

Overall I like it, not as good as I thought it was going to be, but not bad to listen to either.