Reviews written by Benjamin
-
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+POSTER)(Japan Version)
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+POSTER)(Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$22.25Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:April 3, 2012 An Ocean of DesireThis is a review of posters.
So I got both posters. The Go-Round poster is identical to CD/DVD cover ie a floating shoujo during spring in some lost paradise. The Yeah-Oh poster is an OL in black dress with a sleepy look - it is very intriguing. I couldn't figure out what impression she intends by giving that ambiguously sleepy, slightly horny, expression. (My therapist couldn't be sure either) I didn't dislike the poster; I just couldn't decide how to feel about it before seeing the poster. You can't tell the merit of a poster by the small image you see online. On B5-size Namie is devastatingly gorgeous. From the bottom, noticing her thighs, I already like this poster very much. And the chic dress.... the mysterious black...conservative and sexy and sophisticated. She applies two colours on fingernails. Now I couldn't tell is she wearing a blouse or what, it's some see-through futuristic attire. But I can tell the bra is diamond black... she really has a thing for dark colour. There is a mole on her chest revealed by cleavage! A heart-warming sensation engulfs me....and... Yes I saw it before in LiveStyle-DVD during the opening video - she has a mole above her left lip, the mole being so subtle but it lights a sparkle in me. And through her eyes that could ignite an ocean of desire, I see a paradise. I cannot hold back this feeling anymore, feeling what i am feeling no apology... cause girl i know what i feel ....And theres a tiny mole below her right eye, exuding charm... And a sensation hit me like a ton of bricks, that I am in love with this woman....(My therapist concurred)...... It doesn't make sense for me to hold back on this love. It doesn't make sense for me to give up this fantasy and paradise. Yes I will find you and take you home.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+DVD+POSTER)(Japan Version)
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+DVD+POSTER)(Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(2)Our Price: US$33.25Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:April 3, 2012 A Bold Step in Musical DirectionAlthough she has continued to make heavy-n-epic music (Naked and Higher), she no longer clings to it. She has embraced easy-listening melody, uptempo or ballad. The songs have lighter touch (SSWD and Love Story). With this latest single she exudes a sunny mood. Go-Round is, well, an upbeat song. Uncompromisingly easy-listening and upbeat. The MV of Go-Round depicts a visually Escherian chamber that looks cold but Namie provides the antidote with her warm and soothing voice. Her choreography is relatively light; I love how she moves when she works her fingers and hands to sync with the rhythm of song. She appears laid-back but not languid. The song and MV of Go-Round is not as heavy and rich as Naked(or most of her ealier stuff), but still has her charm. Heavily choreograped dance pop doesn't necessarily generate charm. Yeah-Oh-MV is more like her, but the song is less interesting than Go-Round. Ironically Namie's chanting Yeah-Oh is the least-good part of the song. Such a catchphrase is yeah-oh. The MV reflects minimalism in colour of attire and background; it's quite bold. With lighter melody, simpler choreography, softer(and younger) image and minimalist aesthetics in MVs, this single is, IMHO, more adventurous/charming and better than SSWD/LoveStory single.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+DVD+POSTER)(Japan Version)
Go Round / YEAH-OH (SINGLE+DVD+POSTER)(Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(2)Our Price: US$33.25Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:March 20, 2012 少女NThis is a review of cover art.
For many fans (like me) who started listening to her music in this millenium, it's difficult to imagine her in sweet-teen-innocence. Browsing the pages of Sweet-19-Blues, I feel strangely detached from her appeal. Fast forward to 2009. After her hip-pop experiment, she started another by infusing retro-pop into contemporary tune that culminated in Past-Future album, a peak of her career. This time she goes retro with her image and fulfils our deep longing for long gone innocence with the eternally irresistible 少女N on CD cover.
When did you last see a shoujo that stirred your heart-n-soul? 30 years ago Jpop has 少女A. Since then it has been deprived of .....shoujo. Thankfully Namie Amuro brings back the shoujo in our imagination with this single release. Yes 少女N !!!
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Sit!Stay!Wait!Down! / Love Story (Hong Kong Version)
Sit!Stay!Wait!Down! / Love Story (Hong Kong Version)
(1)Our Price: US$9.49Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 14, 2012 Arrrghhh......Arrrghhhh....it's not an album release (neither is the next one). With four songs, it's almost an EP. More than six years after ditching pink-panther, she found a new non-musician-collaborator in a scoobydoo, even if just for a cover shoot. Ain't dog person so the cover art doesn't excite me. However the two photos on cover insert are more creative. The music of both A-sides show a lighter touch than previous two singles; it's neither heavy nor epic. The song title SitStayWaitDown is obviously a gimmick. Namie's enunciation of Sit-Stay-Wait-Down is the weakest part of the song because it feels so American and too gimmicky for its own good. Othewise SSWD is infused with humour and the music kept lively. LoveStory is straightforward and easy-listening and mainly responsible for the high sales of this single I suppose. Higher has a higher ambition than SSWD - to make listeners dance to the tune. Higher has Nao'ymt-style vibe, but sounds a little rushed. Actually it has this nostalgic feel of her 2009-era even though that's not very long ago. This single is a drama-tie-in release (of a very popular drama), with a gimmicky concept in cover art, and the result is un-Namie-Amuro, which doesn't mean it is bad.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
namie amuro LIVE STYLE 2011 (Hong Kong Version)
namie amuro LIVE STYLE 2011 (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$20.99Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:March 5, 2012 Mama said 踊りなさいThis concert resembled Best-Fiction-tour in the use of a flat stage, a runway and fast-cut-editing. The setlist already revealed that LiveStyle2011 was not a retrospective show. I disliked the towering chess piece in the middle of stage in the opening song. The king-piece looked out of place until a chandelier and stairs were added. When the brunette clone of Namie appeared atop the chess piece, I felt it sorta dangerous stunt. (Her motorcycle stunt in PLAY-concert safer but more impressive) Towards the end of the show the LED animation dominated the stage. It's obvious she attempted to save the best for last with her black-dress-n-gold-stripe portion of songs. But my favourite segment is her red-dress with remixed songs. She brought her Feeling and dancers to the mini oval stage and strutted her stuff. She also couldn't help but revel in getting up close with fans. At some point she's even chatting-n-laughing with audience while dancing!!
With a remixed-NO, she delivered the best live rendition of the song. Her Best-Fiction-tour rendition of NO was energetic, but I preferred the darker mood of this remixed version. The LED was appropriately small. The fiery red outfit exuded sex appeal. She danced to the groovy groove of nu-No while shaking hips-n-booty. It went beyond dancing. Namie's appeal came from her fluid and provocative body language, how she worked her fingers, arms, shoulder, legs and hips+booty. I loved how her fingers pointed here there left right throughout the song. With many songs she simply blended in with the dancers, but with No she played the lead act. Theatrics was the key to her performance. Glowing in sweat, she put the finishing touch to the song with a subtle smile just before lights went out. The smile, innocent yet sensual, revealed the endearing charm of Namie Amuro.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
The Contact OST
February 29, 2012 Please re-release this OSTI saw the reissue of Ditto-OST (Ditto is a Korean film of 2000) on yesasia. If they can reissue Ditto-OST, I am sure they can reissue OST of this film(傷心街角戀人). Oh I am so 傷心 I have been looking for this long time.
It has good songs - Pale Blue Eyes, Lover Concerto - that introduced me to western oldies. It also features 全度妍 on CD cover, and 全度妍 is so heartbreakingly beautiful on screen with her acting skill.
from 傷心人
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Il Mare OST
February 29, 2012 Please re-release this CDYes we need this reissue. I saw the reissue of Ditto-OST (Ditto is a Korean film of 2000, same year as Il Mare) on yesasia. If they can reissue Ditto-OST, I am sure they can reissue OST of Il Mare, Contact(傷心街角戀人) etc. Oh I am so 傷心 I cannot order these OSTs because they are not available.
A Plea from 傷心人
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Tam's Collection (61CD Boxset + Limited Poster)
3 people found the following helpful
February 14, 2012 An Imitation of 今日君再來This is more a preview than a review.
So what about releasing a boxset that has all the 14x4=56 CDs which were released in 4 separate boxsets back in 2004/2005? Sound too good to be practical, isn't it? So what have we here? 61 discs! but(!!) only upto 1992 and still missing mandarin album 让爱继续 (IMHO his best mandarin release). You get duplicated songs all over the box with inclusion of compilation discs. And remix singles as filler discs. Whats the point of rare releases when the collection doesn't go further than 1992? This 61-CD box is a poor imitation of 今日君再來. What UMG should have put in the box are 56 復黑CD of the 4-boxsets-2004/05, and add the 5 concert CDs.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest (SINGLE+DVD)(Hong Kong Version)
NAKED / Fight Together / Tempest (SINGLE+DVD)(Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$12.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:September 9, 2011 A Naked FighterA sexy reclining pose, twice. Great legs to die for, too. Impressed by the design of cover art and lyric sheets. AVEX still maintain a healthy dose of plastic sense in packaging CD. It's such a long title can we truncate it to Naked Fighter? Naked has an experimental mood;its good but the music is a bit cold. If Naked is the cold-side of this single, Fight Together is the hot-side, and Tempest is the passionate side.
With two singles released after the last album, when will we get her next album? The success of Past-Future album (albeit with only 1 single released beforehand) shows that it's not necessary to release 3 - 4 singles before producing an album. So I predict her next release will be the new album, and it will include only a few of the songs from singles released so far. The tracklist of the ongoing LiveStyle concert reveals more new songs. Abundance of recorded materials(not counting collaborations) this year means that time is ripe for her next album.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
namie amuro PAST< FUTURE Tour 2010 (Hong Kong Version)
namie amuro PAST< FUTURE Tour 2010 (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$21.25Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
August 19, 2011 ROOOOOCKSix months ago I wrote a review for the performance of Wild. Now let me write about the whole concert.
The video quality looked stunningly crystal clear. The texture was way better than any earlier concert-DVD (why that i know not). FastCar featured the first live performance of Namie sitting-n-dancing!? Was that possible? Apparently so. But was it easy enough for anybody to attempt? I don't think so. So I figure she's a good actress: the way she dressed bourgeoisie and played with a fan while sitting on a bed made it look like a futuristic form of dancing. Thats how she fascinated me ....everything she did looks some kind of dancing. CopyThat was just excellent fun on stage. Next came my favourite segment of the show, starting with Namie doing FirstTimer in the best attire of the evening. FirstTimer was nowhere memorable in Past-Future album, but Namie showed us how it was meant to be performed on stage and heard. Some great dancing. Bad-Habit was another well-staged and -choreographed performance. The lighting was beautiful. The new arrangement of Wild worked on stage but it took many viewings to start enjoying it because the original arrangement was so engrained on my mind. I imagined it must have been very difficult to rearrange Wild for this live rendition, which sounded like a different song. After a ballad session with MeaningOfUs and BabyDon'tCry came another favourite segment featuring BlackDiamond-LoveGame-RockU. The distinctive performance here was RockU, where she flirted with rock. It's ok we don't have a MV for RockU because the live performance here is better than a MV anyone could make for the song. The organization of songs was the best of her concerts so far, with exciting use of lighting. Again the stage was kept to reasonable size, just like Play-concert.
The trend to use paper/cardboard to package CD and DVD is worrying. They should stick to plastic case. For CD/DVD album, the best jewel case design is 60s70s80s single where the discs are mounted on left/right instead of a middle panel. Paper/cardboard packaging is only appropriate for reissue.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
namie amuro BEST FICTION TOUR 2008-2009 (Hong Kong Version)
namie amuro BEST FICTION TOUR 2008-2009 (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$21.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:August 18, 2011 wink-winkThere're too many songs to perform, even for Namie Amuro. I'd prefer a concert recorded in Japan instead of Taipei. The huge stage for this concert didn't do much except the catwalk extension. It's like a carnival compared to her earlier concerts in Japan. A couple of songs into the show and I felt dizzy; it must be the ever-switching camera angle. I felt like watching a film with quick editing. Hello had a great choreography with the use of phone as prop; wink-wink was the way to go for Namie. IMHO the best song of Queen-of-Hip-Pop album is No. She finally gave a hi-energy performance that's better than Space-of-HipPop. It's obvious Wild was too wild-n-fast-paced for live singing. It needed to be rearranged for live performance. Black Diamond was the best part of the show; the choreography made it even better to see on stage than on MV. When WoWa began I almost expected Pink Panther to emerge, but realized he couldn't make it to Taipei. So I was thinking about Pink Panther while watching Namie singing WowoWawa. Overall this concert is alright because it has some well-choreographed songs, but it is not that well organized like PLAY-tour or LiveStyle-tour. Best-Fiction-concert as recorded in Taipei is not as enjoyable as her ealier concert-DVDs after many viewings.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Namie Amuro Play Tour 2007 (Japan Version)
Namie Amuro Play Tour 2007 (Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(9)Our Price: US$62.75Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:August 18, 2011 beep-beep-beep-beep-beepSo she shaked her hips to open the show with Hide-n-Seek; the dominatrix in MV was at large on stage. How excited was I to see her with a whip. Fantasy came true (and comes true every time I watch the show). She brought Butterfly to life with her cute-n-sexy dancing; beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.. was my favourite part of the song. Next she put on miniskirt and a hat to mesmerize fans with Darling/Come. I loved the disco-trance atmosphere of Come; its like hearing some 80s music done in Namie's style. Luvotomy was a show of inspired costume, choreography and stage design that would not be repeated in later concerts. The whole concert was like a theatre show. And she never stopped shaking her hips throughout the show except when singing a ballad. Amazing hips! Pink Key was the best encore of any concert; she also looked stunningly beautiful in casual attire. Then she saved the best for last with a haunting rendition of Can-You-Celebrate, mixing acapella and acoustic. This performance is the definitive rendition of the song, and better than the original-1997 version. A consummate performer was Namie, with or without a whip.
PLAY-concert is the best of her concert DVDs. The relatively small stage has its advantage. It showcase the best choreography, costume and stage design of her career. Best-Fiction-concert, as recorded in Taipei on DVD, is more like a carnival than a Namie-style affair. I enjoy it less as time passes. Past-Future-concert is a genuine Namie-style show thats as good as Play-concert, but the latter contains two very personal favourites: Namie-doing-dominatrix and Namie-doing-unplugged.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
August 16, 2011 The Best of His Cinepoly Period
When Leslie wrapped up his career in Cinepoly two decades ago, I had listened to all his songs in cassette(now rotten beyond salvage). I thought this album the best of his Cinepoly period. Now that I have listened to his UMG-back-to-black reissues, I still felt the same way. The first three albums were good but they tried too hard to prove something. Summer Romance was refreshing and fine. Virgin Snow was uneven: the ballads were much better than the uptempo songs, and I was amazed by the high quality of Leslie's composition of track B1. I was not expecting another summer when Hot Summer came along; it did contain some decent songs. LESLIE(1989), judging by its cover, had an autumn feel to it, and I knew it would be a superior work after listening to A1 and A2, both penned by Leslie. There's a sense of humour in B2 where Leslie was upset by his girlfriend who flirted with every other men on the dancefloor. The album lacked the blockbuster ambition of the Summer-Winter-Summer trilogy and was in retrospect a more sincere effort with more depth.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Namie Amuro Best Tour ' Live Style 2006 ' (Hong Kong Version)
Namie Amuro Best Tour ' Live Style 2006 ' (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$21.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:August 16, 2011 Strobe!This is the best concert-on-DVD up to 2006 of Namie Amuro. Since it was not a concert to promote an album, she had more freedom to select what songs go into the show. Some non-album tracks(Strobe,Exist4U,SpeedStar,Ningyo), Suite-Chic-music(UhUh..), and collaborations-minus-collaborators(Loving-It,Do-or-Die) were among the songlist and they were never heard in other concert-DVDs. The most impressive segment is Strobe-Exist4U-FourSeasons, which also features her ultra-hip-n-sexy attire of the show. It fit perfectly with her choreography of Strobe. Sadly she never put on this attire again. Although the packaging of this DVD is scant, the concert is enjoyable and a step ahead of any show she did prior to 2006.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Checkmate! (Hong Kong Version)
Checkmate! (Hong Kong Version)
(1)Our Price: US$17.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:May 30, 2011 The Naughty Queen is Back (complete review)Over the years a fair amount of songs featuring NamieAmuro had been excluded from her studio albums. First watched 'Luvotomy' in PLAY-concert, 'Toi et Moi' in So-Crazy-concert, 'Do or Die' in Live-Style and 'Black Diamond' in Best-Fiction-concert, all in DVD. So I actually have "When Pop Hits the Fan", "Award SuperNova" and "Ravex Trax" (They are alright). But who would go the distance to purchase Jhett, Zeebra and Double just to listen to Namie? I reasoned AVEX would come to their senses and release an album of these lost jewels. Checkmate! is the reward to my long-suffering patience. Thankfully Namie is not tearing another poster of herself. Instead she shows her impeccable taste in fashion and poses twice for cover, so we can buy the new album twice. The CD pose is slightly naughtier than the 2-disc version. And I love the extra photos inside the lyrics booklet (can't say I like the slow-mo animation of tearing a poster with Past-Future, which is nonetheless a good album)
The new songs in Checkmate! are ok but not better than the older collaborations. A bit too much of hee...hoo... in 'Make It Happen'. Probably thats how Kpop sounds nowadays. Yeah it sounds cute and even cuter when I watch the MV. These Korean cuties are delicious. By comparison the other MVs look a bit lacking in style, except 'Black Diamond'(featuring the well-endowed Double). Why not use the live performance of 'Rock U' (Past-Future tour DVD) as its MV? Its quite a visual treat. 'Luvotomy' sounds even better in live performance (Play-tour DVD); the choreography is great and I love seeing NA sweat on stage. Checkmate! is musically diverse, more mainstream (less R&B/hip-pop) and appeal to a wider audience than her past albums. All new songs are kid-friendly, in fact most of them are, except Wet-n-Wild (and the hidden track). But why leave it til now? Wet-n-Wild belongs to the tracklist of Play (thats a compliment). Checkmate! is PG-rated thats what I mean. The more I listen to it, the more I recognize and love Namie's talent in R-rated R&B hip-pop. But I sensed her departure from very wet-n-wild dance music since the 60s70s80s single. She's gone experimental, and its a great way forward as shown in Past-Future.
Checkmate! is not just a compilation of songs; it filled a gap in Namie's discography and my collection of her works. So I double my satisfaction by purchasing both CD and CD/DVD versions.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Checkmate! (ALBUM+DVD)(Hong Kong Version)
Checkmate! (ALBUM+DVD)(Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$17.99Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:May 30, 2011 The Naughty Queen is BackOver the years a fair amount of songs featuring NamieAmuro had been excluded from her studio albums. First watched 'Luvotomy' in PLAY-concert, 'Toi et Moi' in So-Crazy-concert, 'Do or Die' in Live-Style and 'Black Diamond' in Best-Fiction-concert, all in DVD. So I actually have "When Pop Hits the Fan", "Award SuperNova" and "Ravex Trax" (They are alright). But who would go the distance to purchase Jhett, Zeebra and Double just to listen to Namie? I reasoned AVEX would come to their senses and release an album of these lost jewels. Checkmate! is the reward to my long-suffering patience. Thankfully Namie is not tearing another poster of herself. Instead she shows her impeccable taste in fashion and poses twice for cover, so we can buy the new album twice. The CD pose is slightly naughtier than the 2-disc version. And I love the extra photos inside the lyrics booklet (can't say I like the slow-mo animation of tearing a poster with Past<Future, which is nonetheless a good album)
The new songs in Checkmate! are ok but not better than the older collaborations. A bit too much of hee...hoo... in 'Make It Happen'. Probably thats how Kpop sounds nowadays. Yeah it sounds cute and even cuter when I watch the MV. These Korean cuties are delicious. By comparison the other MVs look a bit lacking in style, except 'Black Diamond'(featuring the well-endowed Double). Why not use the live performance of 'Rock U' (Past<Future tour DVD) as its MV? Its quite a visual treat. 'Luvotomy' sounds even better in live performance (Play-tour DVD); the choreography is great and I love seeing NA sweat on stage. Checkmate! is musically diverse, more mainstream (less R&B/hip-pop) and appeal to a wider audience than her past albums. All new songs are kid-friendly, in fact most of them are, except Wet-n-Wild (and the hidden track). But why leave it til now? Wet-n-Wild belongs to the tracklist of Play (thats a compliment). Checkmate! is PG-rated thats what I mean. The more I listen to it, the more I recognize and love Namie's talent in R-rated R&B hip-pop. But I sensed her departure from very wet-n-wild dance music since the 60s70s80s single. She's gone experimental, and its a great way forward as shown in Past<Future.
Checkmate! is not just a compilation; it filled a gap in Namie's discography and my collection. So I double my satisfaction by purchasing both CD and CD/DVD versions.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
namie amuro PAST< FUTURE Tour 2010 (Hong Kong Version)
namie amuro PAST< FUTURE Tour 2010 (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$21.25Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:January 10, 2011 Less WildThe letdown in Past-FUTURE-tour-DVD is WILD, which is not as wild as her performance of WILD in
Best-Fiction-tour-DVD. In Best-Fiction-tour at Taipei, Namie was really out of control. She sang halfway
and joined the dancers in some wild action and forgot singing, and then had trouble catching up with the
pace of the song. She was really in a wild mood. But in Past<Future tour, the song was rearranged to
sound less wild and slower in pace. Namie was just not that wild when she sang lets-get-wilddd!
Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
Showing: 1-17 of 17 items
Page:
1
Bookmark & Share