Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ) M(A)DE IN JAPAN Album Thoughts

   The long running empress of Japanese pop music: Ayumi Yamasaki, is back at it again with a great promotion strategy for her new album, M(a)de in Japan. She just drop a new surprise album like a teenage daughter drops the news on her unaware mother that she's pregnant. It was released digitally through AWA streaming service and will be physically released in Japan on the 27th of this month.

 

1.  tasky
2. FLOWER
3. Mad World
4. Breakdown
5. Survivor
6. You are the only one
7. TODAY
8. Mr. Darling
9. Summer Love
10. Many Classic Moments (globe cover)

  I had heard some comments about this album and how Ayumi had got her act together as far as music is concerned.  A few covers have surfaced for this album and i hope that the cover for the physical CD will be the image above. It will standout in music stores way more than the black and white face shot. 

 The music of "M(a)de In Japan" has shown that Miss Hamasaki can go back to doing what made millions and millions of fans love her. The songs are nothing new if your a long time fan of her music but at the same time, its a breath of fresh air. The first half of the album are all rock driven tracks that rip the absence of the other failed experimental tracks she did on pervious albums. Its not even that the other tracks she did were bad but I listen to a lot of music and if your song is forgettable, I WILL FORGET IT. "Flower" contains the best vocals that I have heard from Hamasaki in a long time. She knows how to sing just right on this track and it feels like its in her element. Her belt notes are also not only in key but excite listener letting them know that Ayumi from her Rock n Roll Circus and Gulity era has returned. "Mad World" works not only to Ayumi's song writing skills but it will get stuck in your head if you listen to it a few times. I love the message of most of Ayumi's lyrics, being honest and heartfelt as she tackles issues like perseverance to online bullying that people in Japan are subjected to on a daily basis. "Survivor" switches the formula for the album around a bit, entering in a groovy group of voices to accompany Hamasaki as she shows that she can have transition in her music without messing up the flow of her artistry. This song is the stand alone track and will be a pleasant surprise to most fans. Summer Love and Many Classic Moments will have you getting ready to bust a movie while wondering where THIS Ayumi had been all this time. "Your the only one" even made use of Hamasaki's high pitched voice during her falsetto notes. The overall sound was pretty since ballads are her trademark.  All the album tracks flow together as a whole so that the listener doesn't get tired and bored. I'm one of those listeners that will hit that skip button quicker than Ayumi can find a new European husband. 

 Jokes aside, I'm very proud of Ayumi Hamasaki because her whole career has been her going against the odds. She originally didn't want to become a singer but a songwriter. Even thought people constantly have something bad to say about her voice or her declining sales, she continues to press on and do her own thing. I will even admit that I don't think that she is the best singer but she only continues to better herself and for that she will always have my respect.