Thoughts on GUILTY

[kournikova]

the new songs i like just about dont leave me alone and marionette, the old songs are all except fated, the other are just.... plain, stale stereotypic of ayumi

[Queen Bee]

I personally think GUILTY is one of Ayu's strongest albums but that's just my personal opinion. I like the dark feel I get from this album while listening to it. Also I know this sounds a little odd but I want to say thanks to the people who didn't really like the album for not ruinning it for those of us who really like the album. Also you might like her new single or album better.

[Jwiz]

hmm after seeing these comments..i guess GUILTY will most likely end up like t2m's situation (low first week sales and steady chart life) as it may not be well-recieved at first because it swayed greatly to the rock side..and not everyone can accept it with open arms in the first place..it's an album which requires time inorder to digest and discover the beauty in them.

There're two parts in the album. The first part of GUILTY has a (very)heavy and gloomy mood..my mind almost slowed down while listening to it, serious. The only track that i wish to lament about will be GUILTY, the title track..as it's compostion is very simple and it can easily be an album filler...i find it quite similar to m(u)...and IMO m(u) was better than GUILTY, as in the title track.

DLMA and Mirror were quite addicting...and Mirror should really be extended to be a full song like many others said..about DLMA...i think this can be further improved as it's quite a repetitive song...which is not recommended.

Together When... marks the second part of the album..this song saved me from the heavy mood and i really like Marionette -Prelude- because it definitely prepares me for Marionette...and it is mysterious and haunting. As for Marionette, similar to fated..it is slowww..but i prefer it to fated..but the chorus..it's a litttllleee boring compared to the verse which is much better.

The Judgement Day, glitter and MY ALL; surprising these three songs actually determine whether i should buy this album or not..if not for them..GUILTY would have scared off many people as it will be an extremely dark album, lol. I particularly adore the second part of The Judgement Day..it suddenly becomes more upbeat and i really like it!!..and also..it prepares me for glitter and MY ALL...it makes glitter less awkard and i certainly don't think glitter is out of place..it's a neccessity in this album.

lol reBIRTH...if it's replaced by another interlude or album track im sure people will love this album even more. As for Untitled ~For Her~...i feel that it's an above average ballad..however together when... is much better than this.

Overall i will give GUILTY a 7.5/10..mainly because of the awesome single track and interludes...i still feel that GUILTY (title track) spoils the album =/

and really, what happened to the Queen of Jpop as questioned by some people?..right now, ayu seems to be the Queen of Jrock instead. i do do do hope that ayu will place less emphasis of rock as i really missed the popish ayu..it would be great to see ayu adding more pop songs into her next album and okay, being too rock-orientated in this album is my main complaint..but i do wish those who are disappointed with this album to continue to support ayu and buy the album..after all, no album can really achieve perfection.

[Sairo]

I'm listening to the whole thing for the second time and, so far, I think it's a weak album if you compare it to (miss)understood and Secret, and don't even get me started on MY STORY. Specially the title song. Maybe it will grow on me if I keep listening to it. I didn't like talkin' 2 myself at first, and now I love it, so... Let's give it time.

[Calico]

After more or less hearing the whole thing now, I am overall very pleased with this album...but I can't help but kinda think there's something missing. Oh well.

I am impressed with the flow of the album, since that was my biggest gripe with otherwise good albums like mu. And unlike Secret, I actually felt that this album ended at a good place. Although I LOVE Secret, when it's over I always feel "that's it?" At least with GUILTY it ends at a pretty good place.

[AyUmIXx]

i just love this album... totally love..much better than her previous albums..

[Ani_C]

Dark is good for now ^^ I swear, at the end with the credits she better put "Thanks Tomoya you bastard!" Or something along those lines. No more thanks to my honey eh?

[fenix0529]

I liked the album for being different from her other works. Having more than half of the album leaning towards rock and dark music is kinda hard to cope with though. Actually it's hard to imagine her singing live for this album.

I agree that the album has a nice flow, and it's easy to listen all the way thru without having those 'Ooohh's and 'Aaahh's in between with forgetable songs for fillers.

I feel that the album has a religious concept to it... the songs being dark, sad, even gothic and medieval all the way till The Judgement Day... that's when hr tone stats to hint a little more smile at the end.

Overall a heavy album, but nonetheless, a great masterpiece.

[waterballoon]

GUILTY is just Ai Otsuka's LOVE PiECE... the singles totally own the album tracks AND the singles practically take up the whole album. But still, I'm just meh with the album for now and now I shall analyze the tracks.

Mirror: One of her best intros ever. The starting seems very mysterious yet a little scary; after switching into that until that Day... alike "chorus", Mirror starts to fade back into a simple piano outro. Simply amazing.
9/10

(don't) Leave me alone: It sounds pretty good for a poppish/dance song. It may sound repetitive and has beats similar to GAME/1LOVE/until that Day... but dlma still has its own magical feel. I like it.
7/10

talkin' 2 myself: Her best rock song after (miss)understood and is this LOVE? IMO. The last line of the chorus is LOVE and the song sounds pretty unique with a mix of the rock beats and strings. Fantastic
10/10

decision: Hmm... Ayu is sly. Putting decision after t2m only highlights the obvious difference in style between the two rock songs, albeit they both ARE rock songs. decision starts off with a mellow piano intro before it starts to rock. Subtle verses, heavy bridge and rock chorus! Not as good as t2m but still good.
8/10

GUILTY: Eew... don't even get me started on this. GUILTY, honestly, to me, is one of her worst title tracks. (miss)understood, being a similar genre to GUILTY, is much better. In (m)u, you could hear the frustration in her voice as she belts out the chorus. But GUILTY... it's so mellow and soft and... dead? Not impressive. (m)u had that 'oomph' compared to GUILTY, IMO.
1/10

fated: One of her more unique summer ballads as it took a bit of a rock path. Nothing much to say since I've heard it for quite a while. Very nice, still.
8/10

Together When...: The best song out of the whole album to me. It has emotions, composition, arrangement, the voice, just everything. Ayu's vibrato sounded appropriate and pleasant in TW...!
10/10

Marionette -prelude-: Sounds creepy, but a little off track from the interpretations of a marionette.
6/10

Marionette: Oh well. The verses are stellar but the chorus doesn't seem to have that X factor, if you get what I mean. It's like hearing the verses and expecting something out of this world, but in the end, you're just thinking "That's it?".
7/10

The Judgment Day: Forgive me, TJD! I hated you in the previews but now listening to the whole thing, TJD IS the BEST interlude EVER! I love how it started very creepy at the start but suddenly it just became a trance track. It's very unique and I love how Ayu made it sound very smooth. Wonderful! But I wish the trance part would last just a little longer.
9/10

glitter: glitter's lyrics displayed the guilt in the album. Therefore, it fits the album lyrically. Ayu is so smart as well, for using TJD to make glitter sound less awkward. So... glitter in this album actually sounds nice, although it is a good track. And er... did I mention? The instrumental in the middle sounds PERFECT! The single and album version sounds a little different in that part, however. But I still like it.
9/10

MY ALL: The guitar solo in the beginning already got me into bobbing my head, tapping my feet and fiddling my fingers. Ayu's voice sounded very different for a pop song. Compared to songs like HONEY, MY ALL may just seem a little bad. Oh well, I will take time to like MY ALL. MY ALL holds promise however.
9/10

reBiRTH: ... This fights with GUILTY as the worst track on the album. reBiRTH holds no meaning at all whatsoever than being filler. Er, it doesn't provide any transition at all whatsoever! It's like argh! I wish Ayu would either take this out or really have one more pop song. Oh well.
1/10

untitled ~for her~: This mellow ballad is the 2nd best track on this album. Overflowing with emotions, Ayu brought me to tears upon hearing this. Not much to say, just that... it is really very nice.
10/10

Overall, GUILTY merely scores a 7/10 for me. Too many single tracks and the album doesn't wow me. Having said that, I think the main problem is not the album nor is it Ayu. It is us, fans. We were all so hyped up about the album and everyone one expected it to be a classic, stellar, perfect. But when the album came out... quite a lot of people were just "meh" about it. If GUILTY was just a sudden release, or maybe only announced 2 days ago, would our reaction be any different? Think about that...

[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."

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by lgbyxjh3

Overall, i would say this album is the worst of all. Try judging them by listening with ayus old songs and u can hear how crappy this album is. When secret was out, there was so much publicity, from tatoo to interviews and stuff. However, look at this album, quiet as ever. THis is so sad.

I think i will be getting Koda's kingdom instead. Several nice pop songs, at least the length and PVs will make the CD worthwhile rather than spending on juz 10 SONGS, any random jpop singers will most prolly have an album with more than 10 songs.

I AM > DUTY > RAINBOW > SECRET > ... > GUILTY

Originally Posted by sakidrops

I really like it. From mirror to Marionette are where the high points of the album are. mirror is probably my favorite despite it being so short. Overall, It's one of my favorite Ayu albums. Better than Secret and slightly better than (m)u. My only real problem is the lack of new songs. But quality is better than quantity I guess. Definitely buying it.

Originally Posted by Ayumiko

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

AFTER ALL SHE WENT THROUGH! SHE BROKE UP WITH TOMOYA SHE WORKED HER @$$ OFF IN CHINA juST LEAVE HER ALONE! JUST LEAVE HER ALOOOOOOOOOOOONE! THAT'S WHY SHE HAS A SONG CAlLED (don't) leave me alone because she wants you to leave her alone and yet she doesn't want you to leave her alone because she wants to continue to make money. MORE MORE MORE MORE!! YOUR LUCKY SHE EVEN MAKES SONGS FOR YOU B*******!! ALL YOU GUYS WANT IS MORE MORE MORE! LEAVE AYUMI ALONE!!! LEAVE HER ALONE. (don't) LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!! PLEASE LEAVE AYUMI HAMASAKI ALONE RIGHT NOW! *cries* *wipes eyes* *puts eyeliner back on*

________________________________________

I'm sorry I saw alot of post about people wanting more tracks and I had to do a chris crocker impression. ANYWAY, I like the album. It's really creppy sounding, kinda. I like (don't) leave me alone and GUILTY, o.o I really like Mirror. My All is very sweet sounding, and I am a fan of the Kaliedescope, LABYRINTH sounds, reBIRTH sounds nice, kinda reminded me of her interludes in the RAINBOW album. Marionette sounds like a very sad song, I am looking forward to seeing what the PV will be like. o.o

[alternarist]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~

AFTER ALL SHE WENT THROUGH! SHE BROKE UP WITH TOMOYA SHE WORKED HER @$$ OFF IN CHINA juST LEAVE HER ALONE! JUST LEAVE HER ALOOOOOOOOOOOONE! THAT'S WHY SHE HAS A SONG CAlLED (don't) leave me alone because she wants you to leave her alone and yet she doesn't want you to leave her alone because she wants to continue to make money. MORE MORE MORE MORE!! YOUR LUCKY SHE EVEN MAKES SONGS FOR YOU B*******!! ALL YOU GUYS WANT IS MORE MORE MORE! LEAVE AYUMI ALONE!!! LEAVE HER ALONE. (don't) LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!! PLEASE LEAVE AYUMI HAMASAKI ALONE RIGHT NOW! *cries* *wipes eyes* *puts eyeliner back on*

LOL!!! thats a good one.

back to the topic, i wasnt really impressed by the album especially GUILTY and Marionette. cos i expect GUILTY to be a good title track. But after knowing that GUILTY is placed after "decision", i noe that its gonna be something slow rock. Marionette sounds like a slow ballad song but turns out to be noisy for me.. although i must say the prelude is good..

(don't) Leave me alone is good!! it's the best non-single track in the album i guess.. Mirror is a good intro but too bad it isnt a full song. if not it will definitely rock my ass of the chair!! MY ALL is typical. such songs will appear everytime on every album. untitled ~for her~ was pretty average.. it's great. should be placed after Together When...

one last thing that i am not pretty happy about it is that it has 1 prelude and 3 interludes. ayu can do better than this!! hope tat something happens and changes my impression on this album.

[Ayumiko]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~

AFTER ALL SHE WENT THROUGH! SHE BROKE UP WITH TOMOYA SHE WORKED HER @$$ OFF IN CHINA juST LEAVE HER ALONE! JUST LEAVE HER ALOOOOOOOOOOOONE! THAT'S WHY SHE HAS A SONG CAlLED (don't) leave me alone because she wants you to leave her alone and yet she doesn't want you to leave her alone because she wants to continue to make money. MORE MORE MORE MORE!! YOUR LUCKY SHE EVEN MAKES SONGS FOR YOU B*******!! ALL YOU GUYS WANT IS MORE MORE MORE! LEAVE AYUMI ALONE!!! LEAVE HER ALONE. (don't) LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!! PLEASE LEAVE AYUMI HAMASAKI ALONE RIGHT NOW! *cries* *wipes eyes* *puts eyeliner back on*

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.

[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..

[Nu-NRG]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~

AFTER ALL SHE WENT THROUGH! SHE BROKE UP WITH TOMOYA SHE WORKED HER @$$ OFF IN CHINA juST LEAVE HER ALONE! JUST LEAVE HER ALOOOOOOOOOOOONE! THAT'S WHY SHE HAS A SONG CAlLED (don't) leave me alone because she wants you to leave her alone and yet she doesn't want you to leave her alone because she wants to continue to make money. MORE MORE MORE MORE!! YOUR LUCKY SHE EVEN MAKES SONGS FOR YOU B*******!! ALL YOU GUYS WANT IS MORE MORE MORE! LEAVE AYUMI ALONE!!! LEAVE HER ALONE. (don't) LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!! PLEASE LEAVE AYUMI HAMASAKI ALONE RIGHT NOW! *cries* *wipes eyes* *puts eyeliner back on*

LMFAO
that's so good!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahhahahah
I can so see that happening lol

[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 :]

[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!