Reviews written by Hikkifan
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Heart Station / Stay Gold (Japan Version)
Heart Station / Stay Gold (Japan Version)
(7)Our Price: US$13.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:2 people found the following helpful
February 29, 2008 Utada has Struck GOLD!!!The final single before the release of her upcoming album, Heart Station/Stay Gold does not fail to impress! Rather it picks off where the Beautiful World/Kiss and Cry single left off and shows the growth and ingenuity in Utada's style.
As a whole the single itself is quite simple and plain, lacking in cover art and generally does not offer that much appeal, since it contains only the usual songs and the karaoke versions. This is to be expected since Utada usually doesn't offer many remixes or promotional goodies with her music.
With the First Press edition comes a set of 3X3 stickers which are quite cute but lacking in much thought and creativity...
Each sticker has the same pattern of a heart and a thunderbolt, a reflection of the cover, and contains the token title, Heart Station, and Utada's divine name. The color schemes are quite stagnant to the eyes. For 8 out of nine stickers the center heart and thunderbolt are white with a different colored background. Only one sticker has a pink heart/thunderbolt and a white background which makes it the most distinguished. Very lackluster...but cute nonetheless.
.:Song Rankings:.
~.HEART STATION.~ > 3/5
Unfortunately this song doesn't hold a flame to any of its predecessors and is overpowered by the radiance of Stay Gold. In and of itself HEART STATION is an interesting song which seems slightly experimental in execution. With its firm usage of synth beats, HEART STAION does possess an awkward beauty of sorts.
At first the listener is greeted with an exciting intro of tech beats and an amazing chorus that really pulls you into the song. The next few segments remind me of Enya's music for some reason and possess an uplifting quality as the song pulls you into the next part. Then the song sadly droops into something lackluster and reminds me of someone singing a grocery list. It has the same feel as Beautiful World, where the chorus overshadowed the body of the song. Although they are similar for that reason, Beautiful World is far more superior to HEART STATION.
Midway through the song one can hear the echo of Utada's voice saying 'Can You Hear Me?', which I found quite catchy. It gives the song that radio quality which Utada was trying to capture.
The lyrics are lovely as well and have a melancholy message to them which tugs at the heart strings. The lyrics possess a darker side rather than Stay Gold which perceives love in a more joyous/hopeful manner.
The last segment of the song contains a hauntingly beautiful chorus which reminds me of whale cries for some reason. It sounds beautiful and reminds me of Passion in which a voice in the background could be heard adding that extra touch to the song.
Overall, this song was immensely disappointing. I expected more due the hype and foreshadowing in the months prior to the song's release. Also, the song took a while to grow on me compared to Stay Gold which was love at first listen. In my opinion I believe that HEART STATION should have been the B-Side to the single and should have not been the title to her new album. It just doesn't possess the beauty of her other singles and is on the boorish side for the most part...
~.Stay Gold.~ > 5/5
PERFECTION is a great way to define this song. Quite possibly my favorite song of all her recent singles, Stay Gold showcases the inner strength of her newfound style, yet offers a reminiscent feeling to her past works.
The lyrics themselves are strong enough to stand alone, yet Utada brings them to life with the softness and beauty of her voice. When translated the lyrics are simply amazing and have no contenders when it comes to thoughtfulness and passion. This song truly shows the capability of Utada's songwriting gift.
The piano arrangement is quite simply one of the most memorable and captivating tunes I have ever heard. The simplicity of the keys along with their soft and mellow nature is breathtaking. If one listens closely you can hear the strong tones of keys in the background which offer a sense of drama and levelness to the song.
Along with the piano arrangement is a rush of soft R&B beats which remind the listener of where Utada's roots truly lie. The beats do not overpower the piano, but rather blend nicely presenting a completed piece of art. They have a small resemblance to the beats in Kiss and Cry yet are not as loud or provocative as the former.
Utada's adlibs provide the song with a personal touch and in my opinion the way Utada sings "My Darling, Stay Gold" is incomparable.
Overall, this song is as remarkable and precious as the metal it references and thus should be cherished as such.
~.:Overall:.~ > 8/10
An amazing single for the most part it just had a few kinks with HEART STATION's lack of flavor. The single is a great introduction to her album and promises amazing results. HEART STATION is bearable, but Stay Gold is one of my favorite songs from '08 and proves why Utada is one of the most revered JPOP artists of all time.
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Guilty (ALBUM+DVD)(First Press Edition)(Japan Version)
Guilty (ALBUM+DVD)(First Press Edition)(Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(12)Our Price: US$38.25Related promotions:5 people found the following helpful
January 7, 2008 Not a GUILTY Pleasure....Ayumi Hamasaki's start to the new year wasn't exactly breathtaking and this album sadly fell short.
Overall Ayu's GUILTY album is fairly decent thanks to the strong backbone her '07 singles provide.
In her recent album Ayu's range of territory deepens further into the rock scene which I found quite interesting. The songs have a caliginous nature to them except say for Glitter, which stands out like a sore thumb but not in a good way.
With a total of 4 preludes; Mirror, Marionette -prelude-, The Judgement Day, and reBIRTH.
4 singles; talkin' 2 myself, decision, fated, and glitter
1 digital single; Together When...
Ayu's Guilty album is comprised mainly of recycled material and 2 minute preludes, with only a total of 5 new songs which are; (don't)leave me alone, GUILTY, Marionette, MY ALL, and untitled -for her-.
.:Song Ratings:.
~ 3/5
Mirror: The first prelude has an addicting marching beat and whimsical feel for starters, then it transforms into an outburst of rock fury before slowly descending into a softer finish. A great prelude which would have been a great song if only it were complete...
~ 2/5
(don't)leave me alone: Probably my least favorite song from the entire album, (don't)leave me alone has a familiar feel to my name's WOMEN except it falls short of its greater predecessor. The hook in the song is fairly catchy and noteworthy, yet the hard part is withstanding the first minute of annoying rock beats. The video lacked in substance as well and the concept of it seemed childish and stagnant. Dancers in multicolored sequin dresses running around Ayu and then breaking into random mock fight scenes...doesn't exactly sound too exciting now does it?
~ 5/5
talkin' 2 myself: This track definitely starts the album with a bang which the other track, (don't)leave me alone, failed to do. It begins with a catchy technobeat before erupting into strong heavy metal quakes and fierce string action. This song definitely has a strong presence and the lyrics speak for themselves. A powerful song which gives the listener a new glance at Ayu's new image. The video has a war ravaged feel to it with extreme dance moves. It doesn't hold a flame to Nami Tamaki's Brightdown PV, but it does deserve proper respect.
~ 5/5
decision: An amazing rock song which complements talkin' 2 myself well. The song initiates with a beautiful piano and strings duet which is simply breathtaking. Then with a loud bang the rock guitars levitate the song to its peak. After the extensive guitar solo follows the best part in my opinion, which is when Ayu slows the song and once more builds it into a sound explosion. The video itself is quite simple in execution which shows Ayu in a rock performance jamming it up with her band.
~ 5/5
GUILTY: This song is an interesting tune with rock undertones that are not overly emphasized like the past two tracks. It serves as a strong body for the album and has an interesting mix of guitar, piano, low chimes, and an eerie voice which echoes "guilty...guilty..." adding a darker feel to the song. Unfortunately, no video accompanied such a great song...
~ 5/5
fated: Possibly my favorite song from Ayu in '07, fated is simply amazing and is a great addition to her repoitoire. The lyrics themselves have such an emotional feeling to them that only Ayu can unleash. This rock ballad is the treasure of the album similar to JEWEL's role in her album Secret. It is a magnificient song with a powerful voice accompanied by classic rock and somber piano. The video is quite lovely and is a continuation to her short film, Distance Love. It is sad at certain scenes and the concept of it leaves you wishing for a happier ending...however, with such a strong song with an even deeper meaning, no other ending would suffice nearly as well.
~ 5/5
Together When...: This song rivals fated in its beauty and tear-jerking capabilities. It is a gorgeous song comprised of vibrant strings, a melancholy piano, powerful guitar rifts and finally is set ablaze by Ayu's powerful vocals. It invokes powerful emotions and emphasizes the maturity in Ayu's image. This jewel of a ballad fits well beside fated within her album. The video itself is quite boring in contrast to such a poweful song. Ayu sits alone on a bench and watches as a marionette of herself splatters into pieces..quite entertaining but it doesn't demand the respect such an amazing song deserves.
~ 1/5
Marionette -prelude-: This prelude was quite freaky and sounded similar to a clown tune in my opinion. It has a nightmarish feel to it which caters to the amazing song which follows directly after. Pointless in my opinion, simply because Marionette is strong enough to stand on its own without freakishly whimzy clockwork tunes.
~ 5/5
Marionette: An amazing song and my new favorite from the album. It has a heavy rock presence, yet it has the creepy feel the prelude alludes to. The video itself is AMAZING! I recommend watching the PV first because it adds so much more to the song afterwards. Ayu and her dancers hang (literally) around a carrousel and act like possessed marionettes. Its extremely cool and definitely is worth a view.
~ 4/5
The Judgement Day: A pop influenced prelude which leads way to glitter. It begins with dank sounds then resonates into powerful organs and lovely "lalalas" which are a nice addition.
~ 5/5
glitter: Personally, I think this song should have been excluded from the album...it just doesn't fit and the prelude beforehand can't introduce such a bubblegum pop song. The song itself is fun and catchy and gives you a bubbly feeling of love and all that other hooplah. The backup "whoahwhoahwhoahs" are pretty fun along with Ayu's strained english.
The video is the first half of Distance Love, which is a fun watch. It is slightly corny at some scenes but I think its a fun video for a fun song.
~ 3/5
MY ALL: A slightly interesting song that has an asian feel to it. It sounds as if it would accompany an anime of some sort. In itself the song is decent and catchy, yet it sounds similar to her past works. Nothing too spectacular...it sounds recycled.
~ 2/5
reBIRTH: This prelude is quite ethereal and whimzy. In my opinion it has absolutely no relation to anything in the entire album. It sounds good for a space game, however.
~ 3/5
untitled -for her-: I'm at a loss as to why this song couldn't have a name...it is a powerful song but it is lacking in the excitement that the ballads fated and Together When... possessed. The song is decent enough but its not a powerful enough closer.
Overall, this album fell pretty short in my opinion since it lacked any new substance. Most of the songs were singles and 4 preludes are too many for a 14 track album. One would have been good enough! I felt slightly ripped off since I owned half the songs already. Unless you are a truly dedicated Ayu fan, I do not recommend the purchase, since most of the songs can be found elsewhere. However, if your willing to take a gander at her new image it is worth a risk.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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