Customer Reviews

My Story

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've Always been fascinated with Japanese offerings, manga and anime, and recently became addicted to j-rock, and j-pop. Easily my biggest obsession thus far has to be Ayumi Hamasaki. After hearing her on XMradio I went on a mission to find out more on her. The first Album I bought was "My Story" along with A "CountDown Live 2002-2003" DVD and was literally floored by what I heard. Since then Ive bought more DVDs and most of her CDS and I must say "My Story" is possibly her best work yet.

My Story is well produced and has A wide range of musical styles from rocking tracks like "About You", "Game", "Inspire", and "Humming 24/7" to the softer Ballads like "Carols", with its classical styled music,and "Happy Ending". The popish, almost cutesy sound of "Honey" keeps the album fresh and keeps you listening till the very end. My Story's arrangment also works well. The album opens with anger, and seems like through out the album Ayumi releases it and finds contentment and resolve by the end of the record.

Ayumi's voice is excellent on "MY STORY".I wouldnt say her voice changed as much as I would say It matured. My story diffinatly has her best singing thus far, and the range of her voice is wider and the emotion is stronger.
My Story is highly recommended if you like J-Pop although I prefer to call My Story more of a rock album. Even if you dont speak or understand Japanese, Ayumi has a way of making you feel what shes trying to say through her beautiful and soothing voice. If your looking for a taste of Japanese music, and are getting bored with American pop, Ayumi Hamasaki's MY STORY is a safe first bet.

(IF you like "MY STORY", I also recommend the "I am..." album)

This is the 3rd cd from Ayumi Hamasaki that I purchased(I am/Memorial Address) This is her latest CD and she still has it
CD:
1.Catcher in the light:I love the melody to this, and her voice; too bad it was short. 8/10

2.About you:Nice beat, and a pretty catchy hook, but when the hook is done the guitar playing sounds too much of US pop bands 9/10

3.Game:Awsome and very catchy, but it could have used some of that fast paced rock guitar at the end or something like that 3rd single 9/10

4.My name's woman:At first I hated it, but then it bagan to grow on mw like hair. It's a pretty nice song 9/10

5.Wonderland: A interlude N/A

6.Liar:It's an ok song, not particularly one of my favorites tho 7/10

7.Hope or Pain:This song has a sad feel to it, and the song doesn't have a constant beat to it... nice 9/10

8.Happy Ending:This song I really don't listen to a lot, cuz I don't really like it 6/10

9.Moments:Ah the first song I herd off the whole CD back in April. This song is where Ayu is not repetitive, it's just a great going song that reminds me of songs like dearest 1st single 10/10

10.Walking Proud:A pretty decent song, altho it's only beginging to grow on me 8/10

11.Carols:Such a sweet calm song. And her voice shines just like on the rest of this CD. 4th single 10/10

12.Kolidoscope:Another interlude N/A

13.Inspire:A good ol' energy bursting paulse raiser. I love this song, because the beat is great, and Ayu shows a lot of energy and charisma in this song 2nd single 10/10

14.Honey:It sounds like Ayu with a more childish voice, but the tone, beat and er voice makes this song one of my favorites. And very very catchy. 2nd favorite song 10/10

15.Replace:Wonderful beat, Ayu's voice, reminding me of her previous realeses by not having a constant beat, all I wanted on this CD was a song like this. My favorite 10/10

16.Winding Road:Boy this song reminds me of Sherryl Crow, and this song is definitly not one of my favorites 5/10

17.Humming 7/4:Definitly not like Ayu, but I can't help but find myelf in the shower saying "Everybody go, Everybody Jump!" 3rd favorite 10/10

DVD:
1.Moments:The video was almost like I imagened it, with a peaceful setting, but a lonley mood. 10/10

2.Inspire:A dance video? Odd. Ayu with braids on a beach? odd. But it's still a aite video 8/10

3.Game:What's to be expected, a calm opening with dudes jammin on gutars and stuff, and Ayu singing in a wierd room. 10/10

4.Carols:Near Perfect mood, Ayu on a stage with an empty audience, but still letting her singing take over. 10/10

5.About you:I only saw about a minute and a half of the video, and I have to say it's pretty wierd. 7/10

6.Walking proud:I love the setting of this video, a seemingly sad song, with a deppresing, somewhat desserted place 10/10

7.Humming 7/4:I love the song, and I love the video, a somewhat live J-pop/rock performance in a cage in front of an audience. cool 10/10

This is her first full-lenght album since rainbow. It is a great CD, and Ayu showes another good reason to why she is the queen of J-pop. Although I didn't like the cover scans, too much make-up, sadly reminded me of Gwen Stefani, but the Booklet scans are beautiul. Fans of Ayu have to get this CD. J-pop fans should give this CD a shot as well, but if you're just geting into Ayumi Hamasaki, I'd start with I am, it's nearly skip-proof material.

Peace

This isn't her best album, but it's still mighty good.

Catcher In The Light - I really liked it at first, but then I kind of got bored of it after a while. 7/10

About You - People always refer to this as a "rock song". Well, I would say the next track is much rockier than this one. This one's pretty good though. 8/10

GAME - One of her best rock songs, although it all sounds kind of un-original. It's like when you hear it, you think "where have I heard that before?" 10/10

my name's WOMEN - There's not much to say about this song. It's boring when you first hear, but be patient. 9/10

WONDERLAND - I'm not really a fan of her interludes. 5/10

Liar - one of my favourites on the album. It's driven by rock type guitars, but her voice is still all so melodious. 10/10

HOPE or PAIN - this one and the next one are tied as my favourite. It's somewhat sad sounding, and definitely a strong track. 10/10

HAPPY ENDING - another gooder. This one is also kind of sad-ish. Great chorus and pre-chorus. 10/10

Moments - possibly her most famous song. It's nice, but not my favourite. 9/10

walking proud - I always love her ballads, and this one is no exception. I really love it. 10/10

CAROLS - another great ballad. I think tracks 7, 8, 9 and this one all tie as my favourites. 10/10

Kaleidoscope - sure, it's an interlude, but I can't help but love the melody. It so sad sounding, like the kind of music you hear on a movie when someone is about to die in the hospital. 10/10

INSPIRE - Ah, the first ever J-pop song I heard. It's fast paced and has an addicting chorus. 9/10

HONEY - a very catchy song in which she sings in a childish voice. 9/10

Replace - this song really reminds me of her "I am..." days. Actually, it's one of those kind of songs that would have blended in nicely with any one of her albums. 10/10

winding road - it's okay, it still has yet to grow on me. 7/10

Humming 7/4 - at first I really loved this song, but not really so much anymore. But who can resist shouting out of nowhere, "everybody GO! everybody JUMP!" 8/10

Total - 151/170

Which rounds out to 89%. Good job, Ayu. If you're new to Japanese music, I would suggest starting here. If you are an Ayu fan, then I also recomend this album.

MY STORY, released 15 Dec. 2004 is definitely a must buy for any Ayu fan or anyone just getting into her music. It features 17 tracks:
1. Catcher in the Light
2. About You
3. GAME
4. my name's WOMEN
5. wonderland
6. LIAR
7. HOPE or PAIN
8. HAPPY ENDING
9. Moments
10. walking proud
11. CAROLS
12. kaleidoscope
13. INSPIRE
14. HONEY
15. Replace
16. winding road
17. Humming 7/4

These songs vary from rock-like as in "About You" to beautiful ballads as in "Moments", "walking proud" and "CAROLS". all of these pieces are splendid, in my opinion at least. This is my favorite album from Ayumi Hamasaki yet; it is most definitely an album that can be listened to over and over again. Five stars and high recommendation.

As stated before, My Story is a definite change for Ayumi...for the best. Every song takes a more energetic tone to it, her vocals seeming to take more range to them.

Favorite tracks: Catcher in the Light, About You, Hame, My Name's Woman, Inspire, Moments, Humming 7/4

Since 2001's A-Best until now, Ayumi finally released an album that consists of a large variety of music types. This makes this particular album extreamly nice to listen over and over. Ayu's voice did change, and the change is better.

this album 2 instrumentals, I only listen for the ones with lyrics. All of the songs in the album is great. CAROLS, my favorite song is the best of them all. The good songs in this album is: GAME, Hope or PAIN, Happy ending, moments, walking proud, CAROLS, INSPIRE, Replace, and Winding road. That is basically the whole album right there. I highly recommend this album.

For all the AYUMI fans out there, this is a great addition to the Ayumi CD collection. For the ones that never ever listened to Ayumi before, This is one of the albums you would want to buy and listen to, you will like this album, trust me. I'll listen to this album over and over and still not get bored of this album.

If u buy this album, you will then know what i am trying to explain to you.

And Also, the booklet is really nice. I love the booklet.

Here's the bonus DVD track listing:

~MUSIC CLIP~

Moments
INSPIRE
GAME
CAROLS
About You
walking proud
Humming 7/4

~MAKING CLIP~

Moments making off-shot
INSPIRE making off-shot
GAME making off-shot
CAROLS making off-shot

Out of all the albums Ayumi has made thus far My Story is the one I keep comming back to. It's not so much the music per say as it is the brutally honest lyrics and theme that makes this album so different than any other she has created. On My Story you will find some similer themes as previous albums (For example: Love & heartbreak, pain & recovery, loneliness and hope)but My Story is more plain spoken about it. Songs like Happy Ending, Walking Proud and Hope or Pain add a wistful tone that makes the lyrics simple, yet the meaning universal. Other songs like "about YOU", "Liars" and "Game" have darker meanings that can be translated by the listener in many different ways. Perhaps there is nothing about this album that is like any other Ayumi had previously released up until this point. While albums like I Am certainly had it's fair share of rock it was nothing like the dark, dance-ish rock tunes offered up on My Story. And while Duty had songs like the sentimental Seasons,there is little that can compare to the two a-side ballads Moments and Carols on here. I think in every Ayumi Hamasaki album there has been poppy dance numbers. From the originals like "Signal" and "Trauma", to the latter big hits like "July 1st" and "Grateful days", however I have found that songs like Inspire and Honey really take that trend to a whole new level. "my name's WOMEN!" another dance infused rock number, is a huge reminder of Ayumi's growth as an artist since her debut. It explores a more femenistic side of Ayumi, while still keeping the coquettishness that she has become known for. In fact I would say that all the tracks on this album are well worth taking a listen to. The PVS are also well worth watching and sport some of( In My opinion)the most iconic images of Ayumi. Moments takes great depths to bring to you Ayu as a broken, one winged angel, Game is set in a dark labyrinth, about YOU actually portreys what looks to be people trapped in giant ice cubes, Carols shows Ayumi on a giant glittering merry-go-round, Inspire has her dancing on the beach in a racy red dress,Walking Proud is almost storybook-ish like Seasons was and Humming 7/4 has Ayumi & her band jumping around in a cage while fans riot on the outside of it. The only flaw in this album was that the PV for "my name is WOMEN!" was not included(it wasn't made yet!)If you want to own that PV you must buy either the CD+DVD version of the "STEP you" single or the latest PVS box set. And of course, like all Ayu fans have come to expect, the cover art, booklet and packaging are all beautiful. This is an album that all Ayu fans, whether new or old, can really enjoy I think. It's different, heartfelt, diverse in it's music styles, and generates a staying effect that perhaps can only be found on a few other Ayumi Hamasaki albums.

This is the 3rd cd from Ayumi Hamasaki that I purchased(I am/Memorial Address) This is her latest CD and she still has it
CD:
1.Catcher in the light:I love the melody to this, and her voice; too bad it was short. 8/10

2.About you:Nice beat, and a pretty catchy hook, but when the hook is done the guitar playing sounds too much of US pop bands 9/10

3.Game:Awsome and very catchy, but it could have used some of that fast paced rock guitar at the end or something like that 3rd single 9/10

4.My name's woman:At first I hated it, but then it bagan to grow on mw like hair. It's a pretty nice song 9/10

5.Wonderland: A interlude N/A

6.Liar:It's an ok song, not particularly one of my favorites tho 7/10

7.Hope or Pain:This song has a sad feel to it, and the song doesn't have a constant beat to it... nice 9/10

8.Happy Ending:This song I really don't listen to a lot, cuz I don't really like it 6/10

9.Moments:Ah the first song I herd off the whole CD back in April. This song is where Ayu is not repetitive, it's just a great going song that reminds me of songs like dearest 1st single 10/10

10.Walking Proud:A pretty decent song, altho it's only beginging to grow on me 8/10

11.Carols:Such a sweet calm song. And her voice shines just like on the rest of this CD. 4th single 10/10

12.Kolidoscope:Another interlude N/A

13.Inspire:A good ol' energy bursting paulse raiser. I love this song, because the beat is great, and Ayu shows a lot of energy and charisma in this song 2nd single 10/10

14.Honey:It sounds like Ayu with a more childish voice, but the tone, beat and er voice makes this song one of my favorites. And very very catchy. 2nd favorite song 10/10

15.Replace:Wonderful beat, Ayu's voice, reminding me of her previous realeses by not having a constant beat, all I wanted on this CD was a song like this. My favorite 10/10

16.Winding Road:Boy this song reminds me of Sherryl Crow, and this song is definitly not one of my favorites 5/10

17.Humming 7/4:Definitly not like Ayu, but I can't help but find myelf in the shower saying "Everybody go, Everybody Jump!" 3rd favorite 10/10

DVD:
1.Moments:The video was almost like I imagened it, with a peaceful setting, but a lonley mood. 10/10

2.Inspire:A dance video? Odd. Ayu with braids on a beach? odd. But it's still a aite video 8/10

3.Game:What's to be expected, a calm opening with dudes jammin on gutars and stuff, and Ayu singing in a wierd room. 10/10

4.Carols:Near Perfect mood, Ayu on a stage with an empty audience, but still letting her singing take over. 10/10

5.About you:I only saw about a minute and a half of the video, and I have to say it's pretty wierd. 7/10

6.Walking proud:I love the setting of this video, a seemingly sad song, with a deppresing, somewhat desserted place 10/10

7.Humming 7/4:I love the song, and I love the video, a somewhat live J-pop/rock performance in a cage in front of an audience. cool 10/10

This is her first full-lenght album since rainbow. It is a great CD, and Ayu showes another good reason to why she is the queen of J-pop. Although I didn't like the cover scans, too much make-up, sadly reminded me of Gwen Stefani, but the Booklet scans are beautiul. Fans of Ayu have to get this CD. J-pop fans should give this CD a shot as well, but if you're just geting into Ayumi Hamasaki, I'd start with I am, it's nearly skip-proof material.

Peace