A ONE thoughts and reviews

[Bigtop]

For anyone who has been tracking this so-called 'Ayu vs. miwa' battle - or even the upcoming Ayaka album next week - I'm sorry miwa and Ayaka, but A ONE has got to be one of the best albums I've listened.

This is what I call 'classic Ayu.'

There's no Ayu than Ayumi Hamasaki - and A ONE really gets me back into Ayumi Hamasaki. Literally! To be honest, I have NOT listened to Colours (yet!), which is pretty unusual (or even most of 'LOVE again' album). This is the FIRST Ayu album I've listened in FULL since 'Love songs' back in 2010. I mean, really?

She's 36 years old right now?

Well, I have something to say: Don't play around with her age! Even at 36 years old, she can still write good songs! 'Long live the Empress!' - that might be a suitable quote.

In the midst of Ayu vs. miwa battle, I think Ayu's album stands out. (I think by a mile...)

[freedreamer]

^
i think thats because she no longer singles of such. I feel its the idea of releasing SINGLES that gives the song its own moment. Though tbh, I felt Last minute had its fair spotlight and so would Zutto... have if she actually promoted them.

i think it's just a psychological thing.

and that because there is comparison to a ballad in the past which was BIG, the new ballads will kinda never surpass those..

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by freedreamer

^
i think thats because she no longer singles of such. I feel its the idea of releasing SINGLES that gives the song its own moment. Though tbh, I felt Last minute had its fair spotlight and so would Zutto... have if she actually promoted them.

i think it's just a psychological thing.

and that because there is comparison to a ballad in the past which was BIG, the new ballads will kinda never surpass those..

I don't believe it's psychological for a second, cause you either feel the impact on the first listen, or you don't. Zutto... certainly had zero impact, and there have been many other singles in that I had similar feelings about. But, Zutto... is certainly the worst offender. I can't think of a single ballad single that had less of an impactful feeling.

Also, it does not take into account the many album tracks which had a "bigger" sound to them, despite not being a single and not being promoted as heavily.

Another thing to consider is when the songs have an impact on you even if you came to the fandom late and weren't around during the promotional process or active during the time of the singles release. Which takes that psychological impact out of the equation.

[AyUmIXx]

I enjoy A ONE album a lot.. Love almost all the songs..
for me the weakest song is The Gift, because the composition is nothing extraordinary even though its still quite an ok song. my most favorite track is story.
what i love about this album is the awesome lyrics.
The songs that are stand out for me is WARNING, NO FUTURE, Out of Control, Last minute, Story & The show must go on.

my score: 4/5

[HarukaKamiya]

It IS a psychological thing because you're talking about your PERCEPTION of music, and perception VS reality is a really interesting thing when it comes to psychology, because every human perceives things differently.

(and also no one said Japan has impeccable taste in music when AKB48's still topping the charts and god I still love them to bits but their music has gotten so bland) (and yes I'm aware that the multiple-type sales and handshake/vote gimmick plays a part in that but I can still feel their music has become bland)

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by HarukaKamiya

It IS a psychological thing because you're talking about your PERCEPTION of music, and perception VS reality is a really interesting thing when it comes to psychology, because every human perceives things differently.

My comment regarding the psychological aspect was a direct response to the following comment:

Originally Posted by freedreamer

^
i think thats because she no longer singles of such. I feel its the idea of releasing SINGLES that gives the song its own moment. Though tbh, I felt Last minute had its fair spotlight and so would Zutto... have if she actually promoted them.

i think it's just a psychological thing.

I was denying the assertion that the aforementioned songs are only perceived as "BIG" due to having received heavier promotion and the the advantage of being classified as a single.

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

You know that everytime you talk about the Zeke's Seal for Epic Awesomeness by Zeke, you always describe the material you love and the material you hate on a very subjective way, right? It's not like you are talking about technical aspects of the songs, but about how you feel about them, something that is very personal and that only you can trully understand. Most of the songs you point that you love are well crafted innofensive pop songs, most of them very easy on the ears, to the point that most of them being released on key moments were every big jpop star releases their safer works... and that's not wrong with that.

Is "catchy" a relative term? Maybe so, but generally, people agree on whether or not a certain tune, melody, or jingle can be described as "catchy." I have gone into heavier details and referenced various layers in specific songs as to why that song stands out amongst the rest - but those are the posts that get overlooked.

It cannot be denied that there is a system to music. It is something I am not completely educated by-the-books on, but it is something I am working to grasp. There are certain notes, certain chord progressions, etc, that sound "GOOD" together - that sound in "HARMONY." That's the feeling I get from the more standout tracks, the tracks I coin as being "big" and "powerful" - they have a great sense of "harmony" - from the melody, to the chord progression, to the way the verses are constructed making you anticipate and try to piece together what everything is leading up to and imagine how that release will be. Musically, they are predictable, but in a way that evokes a clear vision and that everything "makes sense." It doesn't take a genius to know when certain notes are complimentary toward each other, you can instinctively tell whether or not it "feels good" when they are played together. That is the feeling I get when listening to her "bigger" tracks. Like, in reference to theory and mathematics, the way they were constructed just "makes sense."

I am trying to draw a distinction between those tracks, which are often referred to as "safe," and the most recent releases, like the cookie-cutters on LOVE again and A ONE, that are also being referred to as "safe" - because, the latter lack the feeling of being "big." Although not displeasing to the ears, they don't sound as "complete" or as heightened harmoniously as they could possibly be.

I'm trying to say, she's lacking songs that evoke similar feelings. "Like" and "dislike" are subjective, but for the most part, I fail to see how perceiving the power of a song, the harmony and the size, ie. "BIG"ness, is subjective.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by HarukaKamiya

It IS a psychological thing because you're talking about your PERCEPTION of music, and perception VS reality is a really interesting thing when it comes to psychology, because every human perceives things differently.

But its really only a psychological thing if you were familiar with Ayu to begin with. I think one of the points some people have been trying to make is are fans listening for the music or for the artist now? What would new listeners think of this album? etc

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Off Topic but... YAY! SunshineSlayer is back! <3

lol. I pop in occasionally.

I actually just came back to the USA, so I've had a bit more time on my hands than when I was living in Japan. haha

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

I think one of the points some people have been trying to make is are fans listening for the music or for the artist now? What would new listeners think of this album? etc

I feel like I'm intruding with this conversion but what do you think about that (the quote above)?

For me, I still have yet to listen to the album and I've heard that the album is a large ballad snoozefest that unsurprisingly pales in comparison to her past songs despite the songs trying to pay homage to the era in which her past songs came out. But I have read and reread the lyrics and any hype I have is connecting the music to the artist.

[Kouyou]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

But its really only a psychological thing if you were familiar with Ayu to begin with. I think one of the points some people have been trying to make is are fans listening for the music or for the artist now? What would new listeners think of this album? etc

I've been a fan of Ayu's since 2007. I've seen this question floating around the forum recently and I think it's a very interesting one. I've thought about it myself and I think that a lot of the reason why I buy Ayu's new albums and listen to them is because of her; however, if an album was just painfully boring or tasteless, I would criticize it and not recommend it. I may refuse to buy it.

The thing about a lot of Ayu's albums is that they are "growers". I might not feel moved by or fall in love with an album on the first listen, but I listen to it more and read the lyrics and my feelings change. I realize that a lot of new listeners will not have the patience to do that, so perhaps that is what separates me from them.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Speaking as someone who actually reviews music, Zeke is completely right for reasons that are absolutely quantifiable with more than just sales numbers, even if he can't quite articulate it.

Granted, who gets feels from what songs and why, YES that is definitely subjective - but there are truly tangible, real reasons why many of Ayu's older "safe" ballads could easily be considered higher quality from a compositional standpoint than a ballad like "Zutto..."

First, of course, is the level of risk-taking involved in these respective tracks. Take "HANABI" for instance... nothing in its composition is risky - nothing in it could have been considered noisy or weird at the time. It's not experimental. it's still a 4/4 song, it's in a standard key and doesn't have any changes to those two aspects of its composition (unlike some great CREA tracks which routinely have key changes for the last chorus or two, and "Will" which has time changes). What HANABI does have is unconventional instrumentation - reverberating plucks of bass guitar take the lead alongside strings that only appear briefly before disappearing when Ayu sings in the verses; the music box sound at the beginning is not that of a relaxing, twinkling, wintery sound but that of a somewhat rusted and worn-out old family heirloom; the drums sound like they're being played in a rock arena very slowly, there's plenty of space between most of them which makes the whole song sound dark and empty. This gives Ayu space for her choruses to swell up, more layers of instrumentation - with added reverb and slightly increased volume on some of them - fill the empty space, and the emotion works much better thanks to the contrasting fullness between the verses and the choruses.

SEASONS took even FEWER instrumental or compositional risks, but it still had that gradual buildup from the verses to the choruses, it still had that contrast. It also had that very complete & dynamic mix that had reverb and amplification changes in all the right places, plus the fact that each instrument has its own solidly catchy melody so when you listen and, say, ONLY listen to the piano or ONLY listen to the lead guitar or ONLY listen to the bassline, that's a great standalone melody just on its own, AND it never sounds out of place or like it's interrupting the full song.

Zutto sounds like it was automatically generated by comparison. Each individual instrument sounds like it's sticking close to a single note all through the chorus or all through the verses, but it's otherwise sort of improvising, hovering around its target note like a drunk bumblebee. The bridge between the verses has a TINY bit of a swell but its restraint makes it sound old-fashioned and conservative rather than pleasant and inoffensive which was probably the goal. The chorus isn't big enough compared to the verses because there are the same fill-in strings in the song as a constant presence the whole way through and the volume of the strings is just amplified to a miniscule level - the flavor of the chorus doesn't change despite the key shift from the verses which is just kind of sad. Add that to the relatively constant drum track - they don't change much from one part of the song to the next. The whole song feels like a blurry beige mass rather than the colorful journey up & down green hills and flowery fields and autumn leaves that you get from ballads like "SEASONS," "Dearest," and "Days."

And for the record I think LOVE~Destiny~ is in the same camp as Zutto... so this certainly isn't nostalgia talking. I've never really liked LOVE~Destiny~, though I'm glad it happened because it helped boost Ayu's reputation as a relatable lyricist.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Take "HANABI" for instance... nothing in its composition is risky - nothing in it could have been considered noisy or weird at the time. It's not experimental. it's still a 4/4 song, it's in a standard key and doesn't have any changes to those two aspects of its composition (unlike some great CREA tracks which routinely have key changes for the last chorus or two, and "Will" which has time changes). What HANABI does have is unconventional instrumentation - reverberating plucks of bass guitar take the lead alongside strings that only appear briefly before disappearing when Ayu sings in the verses; the music box sound at the beginning is not that of a relaxing, twinkling, wintery sound but that of a somewhat rusted and worn-out old family heirloom; the drums sound like they're being played in a rock arena very slowly, there's plenty of space between most of them which makes the whole song sound dark and empty. This gives Ayu space for her choruses to swell up, more layers of instrumentation - with added reverb and slightly increased volume on some of them - fill the empty space, and the emotion works much better thanks to the contrasting fullness between the verses and the choruses.

I have nothing to contribute to the discussion at hand but I just wanted to say that this is the most beautiful description I've seen for describing HANABI, one of my all-time favorite Ayu songs. You put my thoughts into perfect words.

[Chibi-Chan]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Speaking as someone who actually reviews music, Zeke is completely right for reasons that are absolutely quantifiable with more than just sales numbers, even if he can't quite articulate it.

Granted, who gets feels from what songs and why, YES that is definitely subjective - but there are truly tangible, real reasons why many of Ayu's older "safe" ballads could easily be considered higher quality from a compositional standpoint than a ballad like "Zutto..."

First, of course, is the level of risk-taking involved in these respective tracks. Take "HANABI" for instance... nothing in its composition is risky - nothing in it could have been considered noisy or weird at the time. It's not experimental. it's still a 4/4 song, it's in a standard key and doesn't have any changes to those two aspects of its composition (unlike some great CREA tracks which routinely have key changes for the last chorus or two, and "Will" which has time changes). What HANABI does have is unconventional instrumentation - reverberating plucks of bass guitar take the lead alongside strings that only appear briefly before disappearing when Ayu sings in the verses; the music box sound at the beginning is not that of a relaxing, twinkling, wintery sound but that of a somewhat rusted and worn-out old family heirloom; the drums sound like they're being played in a rock arena very slowly, there's plenty of space between most of them which makes the whole song sound dark and empty. This gives Ayu space for her choruses to swell up, more layers of instrumentation - with added reverb and slightly increased volume on some of them - fill the empty space, and the emotion works much better thanks to the contrasting fullness between the verses and the choruses.

SEASONS took even FEWER instrumental or compositional risks, but it still had that gradual buildup from the verses to the choruses, it still had that contrast. It also had that very complete & dynamic mix that had reverb and amplification changes in all the right places, plus the fact that each instrument has its own solidly catchy melody so when you listen and, say, ONLY listen to the piano or ONLY listen to the lead guitar or ONLY listen to the bassline, that's a great standalone melody just on its own, AND it never sounds out of place or like it's interrupting the full song.

Zutto sounds like it was automatically generated by comparison. Each individual instrument sounds like it's sticking close to a single note all through the chorus or all through the verses, but it's otherwise sort of improvising, hovering around its target note like a drunk bumblebee. The bridge between the verses has a TINY bit of a swell but its restraint makes it sound old-fashioned and conservative rather than pleasant and inoffensive which was probably the goal. The chorus isn't big enough compared to the verses because there are the same fill-in strings in the song as a constant presence the whole way through and the volume of the strings is just amplified to a miniscule level - the flavor of the chorus doesn't change despite the key shift from the verses which is just kind of sad. Add that to the relatively constant drum track - they don't change much from one part of the song to the next. The whole song feels like a blurry beige mass rather than the colorful journey up & down green hills and flowery fields and autumn leaves that you get from ballads like "SEASONS," "Dearest," and "Days."

And for the record I think LOVE~Destiny~ is in the same camp as Zutto... so this certainly isn't nostalgia talking. I've never really liked LOVE~Destiny~, though I'm glad it happened because it helped boost Ayu's reputation as a relatable lyricist.

Love your post! Like someone said before, it's a really lovely and great description of HANABI. And it perfectly sums up why I have no love at all for Zutto... and most other songs on A ONE.
I still think it's Ayu's worst album to date because especially the ballads have such boring and uncreative arrangements that they bore me to death.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Speaking as someone who actually reviews music, Zeke is completely right for reasons that are absolutely quantifiable with more than just sales numbers, even if he can't quite articulate it.

Granted, who gets feels from what songs and why, YES that is definitely subjective - but there are truly tangible, real reasons why many of Ayu's older "safe" ballads could easily be considered higher quality from a compositional standpoint than a ballad like "Zutto..."

First, of course, is the level of risk-taking involved in these respective tracks. Take "HANABI" for instance... nothing in its composition is risky - nothing in it could have been considered noisy or weird at the time. It's not experimental. it's still a 4/4 song, it's in a standard key and doesn't have any changes to those two aspects of its composition (unlike some great CREA tracks which routinely have key changes for the last chorus or two, and "Will" which has time changes). What HANABI does have is unconventional instrumentation - reverberating plucks of bass guitar take the lead alongside strings that only appear briefly before disappearing when Ayu sings in the verses; the music box sound at the beginning is not that of a relaxing, twinkling, wintery sound but that of a somewhat rusted and worn-out old family heirloom; the drums sound like they're being played in a rock arena very slowly, there's plenty of space between most of them which makes the whole song sound dark and empty. This gives Ayu space for her choruses to swell up, more layers of instrumentation - with added reverb and slightly increased volume on some of them - fill the empty space, and the emotion works much better thanks to the contrasting fullness between the verses and the choruses.

SEASONS took even FEWER instrumental or compositional risks, but it still had that gradual buildup from the verses to the choruses, it still had that contrast. It also had that very complete & dynamic mix that had reverb and amplification changes in all the right places, plus the fact that each instrument has its own solidly catchy melody so when you listen and, say, ONLY listen to the piano or ONLY listen to the lead guitar or ONLY listen to the bassline, that's a great standalone melody just on its own, AND it never sounds out of place or like it's interrupting the full song.

Zutto sounds like it was automatically generated by comparison. Each individual instrument sounds like it's sticking close to a single note all through the chorus or all through the verses, but it's otherwise sort of improvising, hovering around its target note like a drunk bumblebee. The bridge between the verses has a TINY bit of a swell but its restraint makes it sound old-fashioned and conservative rather than pleasant and inoffensive which was probably the goal. The chorus isn't big enough compared to the verses because there are the same fill-in strings in the song as a constant presence the whole way through and the volume of the strings is just amplified to a miniscule level - the flavor of the chorus doesn't change despite the key shift from the verses which is just kind of sad. Add that to the relatively constant drum track - they don't change much from one part of the song to the next. The whole song feels like a blurry beige mass rather than the colorful journey up & down green hills and flowery fields and autumn leaves that you get from ballads like "SEASONS," "Dearest," and "Days."

And for the record I think LOVE~Destiny~ is in the same camp as Zutto... so this certainly isn't nostalgia talking. I've never really liked LOVE~Destiny~, though I'm glad it happened because it helped boost Ayu's reputation as a relatable lyricist.

Well said! Exactly what I was trying to convey, especially the part of how each individual layer has its own melody which is pleasing to the war on its own. That's what makes those tracks so enjoyable is that you can constantly bounce between the layers which are constructed from simple melodies but somehow interrelate to one another.

I think the difference between the tracks of yesteryear that are referred to as "safe" and today's tracks that are referred to as "safe" is that the former weren't "BASIC." Her newer realm of ballads and/or concept of "safe" is just that - "basic."

A ONE really only has 3 tracks I can see myself going out of my way to listen to: WARNING, NO FUTURE, and The Show Must Go On. I might listen to Last minute and Anything for You, but I certainly won't open the album folder to listen to those tracks initially. I might stay in the folder and listen to them after listening to the 3 that brought me there.

It's a step up from CoLOURS because I only go to that album to listen to Lelio.

[Andrenekoi]

^In other words, they are well crafted pop songs, and that was my point. ^^

[orangeakira]

This album is okay. I don't hate any songs. I don't absolutely love any songs. Personally, I think this is the "safest" studio album she's ever released, but that's not bad since we got the craziness of Colours.

Idk, that's about it, I don't know what else to say. Is this her worst album of all time? No. Is it her best of all time? No. It's just there. It's nice. I don't think I've ever felt this neutral about an Ayu album before.

[Andrenekoi]

Off Topic but... YAY! SunshineSlayer is back! <3

[truehappiness]

Listen to it. The experience is unique to everyone.

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Listen to it. The experience is unique to everyone.

I'm dying to. But as I predicted I won't be able to until tomorrow evening. Lately I've been very judgemental and picky so let's see if Ayu can endure my wrath

[ayuuk]

Just got the album. Like some mentioned I feel pretty neutral about it, nothing special, nothing standing out... Weird feeling...

[js_surrealism]

I agree with all the people who have been arguing that her music in the past had way more of an impact than they do right now, except that I think Love Destiny is one of her best ballads.

I really liked A ONE but for those who think this album is a masterpiece, I am really curious as to which other albums you are benchmarking this album against.

I still think she has it in her to make good and fresh sounding music, as long as she stops feeling this compulsion to please and to pander to the lowest common denominator.