Your Love Songs reviews!!!

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Mai82Go

I just received Love Songs. Yes, customs kept it away from me so I had to wait for over a month. I was strong and didn't listen to any leaks. I really like it so far. I can see myself loving it soon. Except for MOON/blossom which for me are Ayus weakest songs and her weakest single ever. The album tracks are very nice, and it works with the cover, it feels like a light warm album, well put together. I prefer it over Rock'n'Roll Circus already - by miles, but I didn't really like Rock'n'Roll Circus that much so maybe that's not saying much.

I always hated MOON - I found it very anti-climatic. Very forced. But now on the album, I listened to it in full a few times and the intro is amazing. I like the arrangement and I love Ayu's voice but I feel her voice is too "simple" and "clean" for the power the instrumentation gives. But I have grown to like it a lot now. I have always loved blossom though!

[Miidoriness]

Love song:
This song starts with a beautiful piano melody and then goes into a hardcore guitar (her classis rock/ballad). I love this song cause it’s very catchy and the lyric has a deep meaning to it. My favorite part of this song would have to be…

I have no confidence
To live a life without love
I don't want to imagine
A life without dreams
I can't figure at all
A life without songs
Without uncompromisable thoughts
Life is boring and meaningless

Song- 10/10
Lyric- 10/10

Crossroad:
Hmm… I’m not too fond with this song as much as “Love song” To me, this song sound similar to “blossom” and “MOON” combine into one. It’s good… but it doesn’t fit with my taste so I don’t have much to say about it cause mostly I skip this song, sorry~ Ayu >~<

Song - 7/10
Lyric - 8/10

MOON:
Another rock/ballad! Whoo!!! Not surprise since it’s come from Ayu. I like this song! It has a beautiful melody and very soothing~ I remember when this song first came out and I kept listen to it to the point my cousin was angry with me >3< The lyric is very touching and so Ayu however, it’s not like “OMFG!!! That’s AWESOME!!!” Maybe because it doesn’t related to me… yeah… maybe that’s why…

Song - 8/10
Lyric - 6/10

Sending mail:
YES!!! Finally! A rock/upbeat song!!!! This song reminds me of “Microphone” hmm… I don’t know why but it does! Anyway… I love the chorus and how it repeats and overlap one another. At first (before reading the lyric) I thought this song is a break up song but NOPE! It’s actually a love song… Well duh! The album is named, “Love songs”

Song - 8/10
Lyric - 7/10

Last angel:
I absolutely love this song. This is a song that I’d dance to, like “Trauma”. This song is very very VERY hard to mix if you plan to cover this song (only if you don’t mind sitting at the same place, staring at the screen and adjust or apply effects) You know why I know that… because I’ve been there and done that. It takes me a least an hour to an hour and half to record to recorded and mix for a part of the song!! It was very very frustrated so I ended up not finishing it… hehehe…

Song - 10/10
Lyric - 8/10

Insomnia:
My favorite instrumental song within the whole album. This one reminds me of “Marionettes ~prelude~” Why I love it so much? One word… it’s “creepy” and “high-tech” Well it’s two words but oh well… XD

Song - 10/10

Like a Doll:
I love this song!!! At first, before listen to it, I assumed that it would sound similar to “Marionettes” since you know… Doll and Marionettes are similar… *wink* but anyway, it’s surprisingly not (aww… T^T) This song with Ayu’s original piano melody and SPAM!!! A modern beats came in and blew me away!! Nice one Ayu!! And this is the first song in the album that has some English in it and her English is very good matter of fact.

Song - 10/10
Lyric - 9/10

Aria:
A sweet and mellow instrumental. I like it. I think it’s connect to the upcoming song “blossom”

Song - 7/10

Blossom:
Man… as much I like to give this a 10/10 but… I’m sorry… No… I’m not to fond with this song. Why? Hmm… maybe it sounds similar to her previous song “Fairyland” but hey! You could just ignore the song and just watch how hot Jaejoong in the video. And no… the girl didn’t die… it was Jaejoong instead. I remember my friend (who’s a HUGE fan of Jaejoong) morn for him after she watched the video.

Song - 8/10
Lyric - 8/10

Thank U:
Oh god >~< Man… I have to say this is one of the song that I find annoying. Why? Maybe because in the chorus at the end of the sentence ends with “yo~” Beside that I love the melody.

Song - 7/10
Lyric - 5/10

Sweet Season:
… no comment… JK!!! Again… I’m not too fond with this song either. Hey! Don’t get me wrong! Just because I’m not “fond” with most of the songs, that doesn’t mean I’m a hater… It’s just mean I’m not a lover… XD jk… Anyway, all joke aside. This is song just doesn’t make to my favorite list simply because it’s dull to me. However, the lyric is very sweet… maybe that’s explain the title of the song.

Song - 6/10
Lyric - 8/10

Overture:
This instrumental ties with “do it again” *applause* And the orchestra… BRILIANT!!!

Song - 9/10

Do it again:
YES!!! I’m been waiting to write about this!! I love this song~ At first, I think this song is weird and annoying cause she keeps repeating “Dance dance dance dance…” However, after listen to it after a few time. I was hook to this song. I never thought the song that I thought was “annoying” and “weird” became one of my favorite!!! The lyric has a power message to it. To simplify it… it’s about holding onto your dream and chase after it no matter where you come from and no matter how hard reality is, you should hold onto it. And her English... Hmm... Well, she does have an accent in here but over all it's all good~

Song - 10/10
Lyric - 10/10

November:
A sad ballad. This song reminds me of London for some reason. I don’t like it and I don’t hate it. If I have to choose between this song and “Thank U” I would prefer this song.

Song - 8/10
Lyric - 8/10

Virgin Road:
This song is not just another ballad. But a VERY powerful ballad. I love it! However the lyric bored me. It’s not as intensive nor fit with the song. Sorry~

Song - 10/10
Lyric - 7/10

*Seven Days War:
I didn’t like this song. I hated it! I thought “Why the hell would Ayu wants to cover this song?!” BUT I fell in love with it when I read the lyric. The lyric touch my heart. It speaks about the hardship that one goes to preserve his/her dreams. And it speaks for me and I think it speaks for Ayu. I saw her documentary and she was asked why did she wants to become a singer… and she said “Because I want to find a place that I belong and make it mine” <--- Or something like that… Sorry~ it was long ago when I watch it.

Song - 9/10
Lyric - 100/10 <---- I don’t know if that’s possible or not…

-OVERALL-
I love the album but not as much as "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" because there's not a lot of songs that I like...

[freedreamer]

How long has it been...6 weeks???

To be honest, I loop Love song ALL THE TIME so much that the rest of the album are forgotten. It's kinda like how I looped Microphone for RnRC. Nonetheless, when the mood's right, the other songs will jump out from their places to me.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by all.night.raver

I always hated MOON - I found it very anti-climatic. Very forced. But now on the album, I listened to it in full a few times and the intro is amazing. I like the arrangement and I love Ayu's voice but I feel her voice is too "simple" and "clean" for the power the instrumentation gives. But I have grown to like it a lot now. I have always loved blossom though!

I've actually come to like MOON less on the album because I find the other songs so much more amazing... I replace the original with the orchestra on my mp3 player.

[koumori]

After a few weeks of listening...I've got bored with the album, and haven't really listened to it since December really. I can still appreciate that there's good songs on there, but...nothing caught my attention really. It's a shame.

[channy]

Even though I still think that 'Love songs' is a nice album, I returned to my old ayu-routine, which means I listen to "GUILTY, MY STORY, SECRET, LOVEppears" etc.

[Luja.]

Right now, I really like the album! It always goes like that for me when it comes to ayu's new album. For NEXT LEVEL it took me like 4-6 months until I realized how unique and awesome it is, and now it's one of my all-time favorites.
With Love songs I feel like RnRC had more power and variety, but Ls has some very special songs as well. Whereas MOON is just nice but boring, crossroad, November, blossom and Like a doll are very interesting and Love song, Last angel, do it again, sending mail and Virgin Road are definiately masterpieces. Thank U is very sweet, not very outstanding, but sweet. Plus I think her 2010 albums have the best interludes ever. I already liked the NL ones a lot, but "overture", "aria", "Jump!" and "insomnia" beat everything.
My favorite song of the album is probably SEVEN DAYS WAR (live version) because it sounds so emotional. I can't explain it, but I feel awesome and happy when I listen to this song. And of course the songs on Ls have ayu's wonderful lyrics again.
Overall I think that RnRC songs just stood out to me all by themselves, and from the first listening. Ls tracks are nice, but you have to listen to them a lot to really get into them. I guess the more time goes by, the more I will love the album

[amorphose]

I don't dislike "Love songs," but I really wish Ayu would go on hiatus for like a full year. She's some time to absorb inspiration again because her music is becoming so bland. Even the best songs off Love songs pale in comparison to songs from her previous albums.

The only songs I really find noteworthy are "Love song" & "sending mail." Even the singles weren't very hot. I do love the lyrics to "Like a doll" though and there's something about both "MOON" & "blossom" that I really like. The video clip for "do it again" is also a stand out PV in her videography. That's how I feel.

[Keiichi_JPU]

Originally Posted by ShiSeido

Even though I still think that 'Love songs' is a nice album, I returned to my old ayu-routine, which means I listen to "GUILTY, MY STORY, SECRET, LOVEppears" etc.

Haha same here. Exactly those albums, as well! :p high five.

I do throw in the occasional "blossom", though. That song is incredible, classic Ayu for sure.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I've actually come to like MOON less on the album because I find the other songs so much more amazing... I replace the original with the orchestra on my mp3 player.

Well I only think I listened to MOON once in full before the album.

I really don't see how people aren't loving this album. I do get how people think it's mediocre but for me that was a very short phase. Compared to R'n'R this album is gold.

About November again, her voice is gorgeous yes but I think the arrangement is just so beautiful and would love an instrumental. Just to listen to the full arrangement minus Ayu's voice until the final climactic chorus at the end.

[Melodie]

It's been some time since the release, and I've noticed that I only listen to Love song, sending mail, Sweet Season, and Virgin Road lately. Initially I really liked November and do it again, but I've grown tired of them

[HarukaKamiya]

6 weeks later, and I am still in love with this album. I still think it's perfect and cohesive, and I think part of the "perfection" is because we learned what the album is really about, so this makes this album an especially personal album. I may not relate to it as much as I do with other albums, but I do feel warmed and reassured by Love songs, somehow. The chords it strikes within me still resonate.

/could go on and on, but will spare you all

[love in music]

so there's just one song on the album now that I'm tired of, and it's Sweet Season. I still love the rest, but I skip Sweet Season now. it's not as strong as other tracks and also kinda ruins the pop vibe going on in the album too.

[Zeke.]

^ Really? I think Sweet Season is the most pop track of the album, besides blossom. It's just like a mellow, chill pop song.

[love in music]

^well after Thank U I'd just like maybe another upbeat pop song or something instead of it. but then that might be overload, so whatever lol. it's still a nice song I'm just over listening to it for now. the other songs on the album have such amazing arrangements that outshine it in my opinion.

[Mai82Go]

I'm slowly warming up to MOON and blossom, but I still think they are weak songs. Ayus album tracks are often stronger than her singles. What I realized after a while is that MOON and blossom sound like a mash of songs that Ayu released before, almost exactly. They bring nothing new to the table and they are so Ayumi Hamasaki-like that they get boring. For example, the part of blossom before the guitar sets in again sounds exactly like the part in fairyland where Ayu watches the house burn (in the PV). *_* I'm probably not the first person who noticed that, but I just realized it today.

@SweetSeason discussion
I was always a little bored by this song. It's nice and cute, but from L single it's the weakest song and I think you need to be in a mood for it. It's not the kind of song you listen to in a loop - that would get dull pretty fast.

[dreamland2.0]

Honestly to me it feels like the album just came out!!
Maybe it's cause I only received it not yet three weeks ago
The songs are so classic though, it's such a great album~

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Mai82Go

@SweetSeason discussion
I was always a little bored by this song. It's nice and cute, but from L single it's the weakest song and I think you need to be in a mood for it. It's not the kind of song you listen to in a loop - that would get dull pretty fast.

I only listen to it while driving, same with NEXT LEVEL. They're just those type of songs that you can only fully enjoy while doing something specific.

[Zeke.]

Sweet Season is a good song to listen to while driving! It's like a traveling song. I think that's why I fell in love with it when I started listening to it because I was on a roadtrip.

[waterballoon]

Sweet Season is 1 of my favs in the album