A Classical thoughts?

[pepper]

I'm pretty sad about it cause it's just A Classical ~Ballads~
Love song is sooo good, I can't stand the fact it's THE ONLY ONE dramatic/theatrical song on CLASSICAL album. Song 4 u had the potential but it came out as meh for me.

And Voyage sound almost like the original mix.

Some of mixes are pretty though.
and I also like You & Me
and this album reminds me HOW I CAN'T STAND Days. XD;;;;

[xLuna&1LOVE]

I never really cared about the release. I listened to some songs, but I think it's pretty boring and monotone.

[pepper]

^ well, I think it's like acoustic/trance/house mixes. You like that if you dig that music. I like classical music, but the dramatic ~ epic ones.

[BlackSilence]

the only two that came out as somethign unique and worth listening are deffinitelly Love song and You & Me. And that probbaly because only these two don't have any sort of orchestra versions. I did enjoy Dearest and Days but.... but really i didn't hear any difference from what i have already heard from the orchestra versions. They sound nice but really nothing special. Actually all of the songs are just a different arrangements but nothing outstanding except for the two that never got any classical/orchestra aranement. I think if they used a ittle bit of drums there like they did with Love song, some of the ballads would have gotten a level-up deffinitelly. And um... Voyage? lol i didn't even....it sounds like the same song xD

[Delicious n Bold]

Let's put it this way:
I like classical music to a certain extent, but only Days catches my attention

[sitara]

yaaaawn

my problem with classical music mixes like this one is that the vocals are not resung to fit the new arrangement.
(i always thought this is very lazy. IF you do it, do it right!)

you get ayu's high pitched vocals in the older songs and it somehow doesn't mix.

but hey... i'm only looking forward to the album and hope the last release is a new trance album (probably not)

[Bad Wolf]

I thought "Love song" was probably the best on the album. I can understand why the tracklist is the way it is -- fans voted, and I'm sure that the Power of Music performances really sold people over in wanting to hear classically rearranged versions of them in studio format. In that respect, I think the album is a success. In terms of it being engaging as a classical album, naturally it doesn't work for me: MY STORY had the benefit of being classical arrangements of (almost) that entire album, which was quite cool. This feels a little off for me, and I think it's because the tracks span her entire discography instead of just being focused on one era (again, MY STORY). Still, I think that might be the point. Going back to the Power of Music performances again, this is probably harking back to the experience of seeing her perform with an orchestra.

Speaking personally, I don't mind the album at all. I like all the songs featured (although You & Me is a bit eh) and I like listening to it in sequence. When I speak as a fan looking at her releases, I have to say this is quite forgettable.

[BlackSilence]

@sitara - i kinda agree on the vocals part. like SASONS for example. I did enjoy the arangement, but i couldn't really make her voice click. The same goes for M. Cuz classical arangement i think calls for mature vocals instead if this teen-queeky thing going on.

[sitara]

^ indeed! how fabulous could this release have been if it was like the power of music?!?

[Zeke.]

I'm not disappointed by the fact that there aren't "epic" tracks as a lot of people are saying. I listen to Classical arrangements to be soothed. I listen to Ayu's rock for "epicness" ... Therefore, I love Days the most. It is the most soothing and extremely pretty.

I am however disappointed by the tracklist. I wanted evolution (soothing version), BLUE BIRD (soothing version -from POWER of MUSIC-), and more recent tracks. Some of these I have a hard time believing that they were voted the FAVORITES by fans (You & Me? Song 4 u? Missing? My ass.)

[Bad Wolf]

^ I would've been really pleased if that were the case. This feels really cheap, in the sense that all the effort went into the musicians (who did a fantastic job) with really no effort required on Ayu or the label's part. The covers suggest this especially.

I can give Ayu a pass because the past few months have been hectic for her, especially regarding preparations for CDL (of which there was an extra performance this year). I don't see her having much time to pop into the studio to rerecord the old songs, given the constraints of her own schedule and studio schedules. Still, it'd be nice if this release were postponed until there was time or if it ended up being just a polished up version of Power of Music's songs. That I wouldn't mind, nor would I think of it as cheap.

But once again it comes down to how these releases are all for her fans. They voted, they got these songs, it's their gift.

[sitara]

did the fans know the songs they voted for would be for a classical compilation?

if i remember correctly we weren't informed what kind of compilation they were voting songs for. they just voted for their faves overall and now we have a rather strange tracklist :p

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by sitara

did the fans know the songs they voted for would be for a classical compilation?

if i remember correctly we weren't informed what kind of compilation they were voting songs for. they just voted for their faves overall and now we have a rather strange tracklist :p

No they didn't know which was a HUGE mistake on their part.

[TeamAyu2004]

I really think the new tracks where placed on their for promotional purposes.
There was no way they could have voted for missing and song 4 u... if i remember correctly the voting was before the announcement of the track listing for LOVE.

As for the album itself... I've listen to about half...
Love song is nice, but not as EPIC as everyone is making it sound like...
M was very pretty, and something I expected it to sound like.
:happy.

[sitara]

indeed :/

aagh, avex.... wth?

[koumori]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Some of these I have a hard time believing that they were voted the FAVORITES by fans (You & Me? Song 4 u? Missing? My ass.)

It was in the description that only seven of the ten tracks were chosen for by fans. Those three were included specifically for their relevance to her recent discography.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by Koumori

It was in the description that only seven of the ten tracks were chosen for by fans. Those three were included specifically for their relevance to her recent discography.

Oh wow I was not aware of this! How stupid! Lol. Well, I understand the motive and everything but honestly, they gave us Missing ORCHESTRA and Song 4 u ORCHESTRA on the singles mini-albums! Some days I just want to shove my foot up everyone's ass over at avex. "For the fans" is such a crock of ****ing crap.

The least they could have done was take the TOP 10 from fans and add those 3 recent songs as a BONUS. Using 7 songs is hardly any reason to have a poll in the first place.

[*Petit*]

I think it's a beautiful album, even if it lacks any surprises. It's not as interesting as MY STORY C was, but it's certainly a lovely album to listen to.

[koumori]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

The least they could have done was take the TOP 10 from fans and add those 3 recent songs as a BONUS. Using 7 songs is hardly any reason to have a poll in the first place.

Agreed. In all honesty, I'd love a 2CD version full of awesome..but alas, we make do with what we have.

I like the classical versions of Love song and Song 4 U. They're nice. SEASONS is good too. None of them are blowing me away though.

[YuriChan]

Honestly? I like the classical version of You and Me.