Ayumi Hamasaki(浜崎あゆみ) - TROUBLE Mini Album Thoughts(J-rock)

    Ayumi Hamasaki is known as Japan's Queen of Pop because of her huge success over the years. Her reign as Queen last for a very long time until Ayumi got tired of being a cash cow for her record label. This caused her to start to acting out in her music by releasing the exact opposite of what the Japanese public desired from the singer. Album sales began to fall but not too bad since the woman has yet to have a release not chart in the top ten on the Oricon charts. She was known as the Queen for constantly being at the very top of the Japanese music charts years ago. Recent times show that Ayumi's album never get top spot anymore and this is damage that can't be repaired(?). Trouble is her newest album after a break away from the music industry.

Tracklist:

01. We are the QUEENS
02. æternal
03. WORDS
04. W
05. The way I am

   Trouble pretty much has the songstress doubling down on the music choices that she has made in her past releases. Well, the release that got her that number five spot on the charts that shocked fans and music critics alike some years ago. Hamasaki screwed up her on place on the throne when she tried to be too adventurous in creating music. She is allowed to spread her wings forth into new ground as an artist. Every singer does this as time passes and new trends become the focus. Problem was that Ayumi didn't need to change up her musical style like Namie Amuro or Utada. Japan was actually content with the women doing the same musical style for the rest of her life. Nothing more was really expected from her music outside of ballads and pop rock anthems. She didn't stick to the basics so now she will spend the rest of her career wishing that she had counted her blessings where the hell she was originally. Production of this little mini album is no doubly top notch. It just the same old style that millions love her for. We Are The Queens takes a road into a metamorphosis during the opening minutes till about the middle of the song where there is a dark pop rock beat introduced using a orchestra. The track is Hamasaki's home turf as it oozes a commanding presence in the guitar riffs side by side to the base beat. aeternal comes on after as the popper sister of the opening number. Cute track that wasn't my walk in park solely based on Ayumi's vocals during certain times on the track. I'll get into her vocals in the next paragraph….. Words and W are both pretty good pop rock tracks for fans that liked Ayumi's Rock N Roll Circus era.(The era I really became a fan..) If I had to choose one that I liked more, I would say W because the chorus is a bit catchier. Words was more on the ballad rock side musically which was still pulled off very well. The Way I Am might be the best highlight for the album based on Ayumi's vocal performance. The classical scores added in her music have always been beautiful. From the violins to the soft playing of the piano.  Like I said above, This track is a ballad that isn't anything new if you're a hardcore fan, however fans that love this song from her will be satisfied. Not much growth to be found on Trouble musically, plus I wasn't expecting much anyway. I was more afraid that she would try to sing songs that she should know she doesn't have the vocal talent for. [COVERS FACE WITH HANDS.]

   Ayumi will always be known as a unconventional vocalist. Don't try to say i'm a hater either. Her fanbase even says that her voice is screechy at times. What do you except from a woman that was discovered in a karaoke place? The guy that discovered her said that she had a nice tone but needed vocal lessons too(lessons that he claimed she never went to at the beginning of her career.)….  Of course, this didn't stop Japan from making her one of the best selling Japanese artists of all time. I like that she didn't shy away from the fact that she knew she wasn't originally suppose to be a vocalist and did talk about it in interviews in the past at lest. I'll admit that some of her songs like Dearest and Heaven are some of my most favorite Japanese songs of all time. However, there are songs that she can pull off then there are some that she can't touch with a ten feet pole. Listening to Ayumi sing tracks that are not meant for her vocal level makes me want to kill myself, bring myself back to life then kill myself again… That's how bad she sounds when the tracks don't match her vocal ability.

   I still haven't checked to see how well Trouble did on the charts. I'm going to guess that it was defiantly in the top ten… While the album wasn't a new musical direction for Miss Hamasaki, Trouble is a good album overall.