:+: No Music No Life :+:

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

CD Review :: ayumi hamasaki - RAINBOW

Tracklist :

1) everlasting dream
2) WE WISH
3) Real me
4) Free & Easy
5) Heartplace
6) Over
7) HANABI
8) taskinillusion
9) everywhere nowhere
10) July 1st
11) Dolls
12) neverending dream
13) Voyage
14) Close to you
15) independent +

RAINBOW's the 5th album released by Ayumi Hamasaki . This album featured more music producing from D.A.I (of Do As Infinity) and CREA (Ayumi's producer pen name) .

RAINBOW's very D.A.I influenced . If you have heard material by Do As Infinity before , you can tell straight away where the musical influences are coming from & honestly I'm glad that I gave RAINBOW a listen as Ayumi never fails to deliver solid & good music , album after album .

RAINBOW received a whole of hype when it was received 5 years ago because of the fact that a lot of the songs on the album were used in TV advertisements featuring Ayumi & she appeared in ads promoting products such as Panasonic's LUMIX camera & other Panasonic products , Kose Visee makeup products & etc . Such ads have used a lot of the songs that're found in RAINBOW + it's the 1st album in which she included English phases in some of her songs , a 1st for her as her previous albums , she excluded them .

The album was kicked off with a lush interlude of everlasting dream followed by WE WISH which was used in the Kose Visee ad in which Ayumi promoted their Curl Mascara . Can you believe it , even an interlude like everlasting dream was used to promote Panasonic's 77MD CD Stereo player , what strategy .

Real me followed suit in the D.A.I rein & it was used to promote Panasonic's D-Snap AV30 . Real me's the only non single track to have a music video made from RAINBOW . The video of Real me's very cool , you should check it out if you have the chance to .

After Real me , it was Free & Easy which was used to promote Panasonic's 57 MD CD Stereo player . I 1st heard Free & Easy on her A BEST 2 -BLACK- greatest hits compilation . The song's quite depressing & it's 1 of the few tracks on RAINBOW that has this moody vibe mode going on . Free & Easy didn't sat well with me initially but now I'm alright with the song . The video of Free & Easy's depressing as well , a video which I don't mind to skip & not to watch it .

Track 5's possibly my fave track on RAINBOW . Heartplace's fantastic . When I 1st heard it , it's like wow . The song blew me away & Ayumi composed the melody of it which's even something . Heartplace's the 2nd longest track on RAINBOW clocking in at 6:06 but it's no doubt my fave . Heartplace was used to promote Panasonic's LUMIX DMC-F1 & DMC FZ1 cameras & I honestly felt that Heartplace should at least gotten its own music video or better yet released as a single !

Next on the list's Over & an interlude called taskinillusion . Gotta like taskinillusion . After that it was HANABI (Fireworks) which was used in a TV ad to promote TU-KA Funstyle mobile phone .

everywhere nowhere's next on the list & for some weird reason/s , that song didn't really register in my head when I 1st listened to it but after I listened to it a few more times , it's not bad but i think everywhere nowhere's 1 of the weaker songs on RAINBOW . everywhere nowhere was used to promote Panasonic's Dock'in Style MD MJ55 .

Not sure why that's the case but I think it's possibly due to the fact that everywhere nowhere's the only song on RAINBOW that was not composed by D.A.I nor Ayumi . Then again I don't know .

After everywhere nowhere , it's July 1st , a track that can be found on Ayumi's 5th million selling single H & also on A BEST 2 -WHITE- greatest hits compilation . July 1st's really nice & I like it a lot . July 1st was used in a Kose Visee lipstick ad while Dolls can be found on her A BALLADS album in which I 1st heard the song from there .

Another interlude neverending dream follows suit & next's Voyage which's possibly 1 of the best Ayumi's ballads that she & D.A.I has co-composed , melody wise . Voyage's her most successful single to date as it managed to stay at the top spot for 3 weeks in which none of her other singles has managed to do so even up to this point in time & it's easy to see why . The melody of Voyage's just amazing & even though I have listened to this song over & over again , it never fails to blow me away .

Followed which's Close to you & Ayumi closed the album with the longest track on the record called independent + . The hidden track + begins where the song independent abruptly ends .

The song independent + which's available in RAINBOW clocks in at a staggering 9:35 while the version found on her A BEST 2 -WHITE- greatest hits compilation's a more modest 4:57 .

In general , I enjoyed RAINBOW a lot & thank goodness that I decided to give this album a shot . On whole it's very D.A.I influenced but it doesn't mean that you don't get top notch music from Ayumi in which she never fails to deliver the goods to her fans after being in the business for 9 years so kudos to her .