Album Review: Ayumi Hamasaki - GUILTY

Album title: Guilty
Artist: Ayumi Hamasaki
Released: January 1, 2008

Track list:
01 - Mirror
02 - (don't)Leave me alone
03 - talking' 2 myself
04 - decision
05 - GUILTY
06 - fated
07 - Together When...
08 - Marionette -prelude-
09 - Marionette
10 - The Judgment Day
11 - glitter
12 - MY ALL
13 - reBIRTH
14 - untitiled ~for he~

Note: click on the link to view the song's romanji lyrics.

Ayumi Hamasaki's latest album GUILTY, is another JPOP album leaked before its release date. It seems pretty common now, since I've seen a few albums that have been released 1 or 2 weeks on the internet before the release date. I suppose this gives you an opportunity to try before you buy.

First, I'm a big fan of Ayumi's older work and I've only found a few recent songs which I like. Second, I'm not a fan of Ayumi's high pitched voice. There are times when I'm listening to Ayumi's songs on my headphones and I feel like my ears are going to bleed.

Overall, I found this album to be mediocre because no songs grabbed my attention. It feels like the same song with different titles. Without many interesting songs to match Ayumi's unique style in her earlier work, I would rather hear other female artists cover for these songs. Basically, if it's not going to sound interesting, I'd rather not hear her voice. However, the gem in this album would be "glitter", since it's the only song I feel has lasting appeal. The other tolerable songs would be "talkin' 2 myself", "fated", and "MY ALL". I'll applaud the four preludes in her album since it creates an excellent atmosphere before a song. It's been a while since I've heard an Ayumi album, so perhaps my hopes were too high.