Album: A Summer Best

I absolutely adore Ayu's music, but am I the type of person who would buy everything from her? Nope. A Summer Best is basically a collection of some of her summery tunes and like I've said in the title, we can already get most of these songs! iTunes has been kind enough to put a good chunk of her albums back up for sale, so why not snap up the songs from those albums? The only two new tracks that would warrant a look are "You & Me", a fluffy summer tune that didn't really suit me and a cover of TRF's "Happening Here" (which was also the theme for Ayu's Hotel Love Songs tour). And since "Rock n Roll Circus" and "Five" have yet to be made available, you could also argue that "Sunset ~Love is All~" and "ANother Song" could be new tunes. Though I'd rather bide my time until their albums come out (hint hint).

When I first heard Ayu was going to release something, I was ecstatic! But when I learned it was a best-of album, I’ll admit I did feel a tinge of disappointment. And when I say that…it’s a pretty BIG deal! Throughout the span of her career, I have almost NEVER been letdown from Ayumi Hamasaki. NEVER. But when she released this greatest hits album, I did feel a great deal of sadness because as a fan, I really wanted some new material from her. And for her to release this… *sigh* I’m always looking forward to her works. Whenever she releases something new, I am ON that s@&%! *Laughs* Please excuse my language. But if you understood how deeply Hamasaki’s music has affected me then you can easily relate to my dilemma! (*⌒―⌒*) From reading this, I’m not saying I hated the album. Far from it. I’m just saying that I wasn’t too keen on purchasing something that I already own from her. But in end, I bought the album anyway (I know. I’m totally contradicting myself, right?) just to give to my little sister as a gift. And she loved it. So I was happy that I could least spread the joy of the wonderful Ayu to someone I cared about. Anyway, if you’re just getting into Ayu, then this album will be a wonderful start for you! But if you’re (like me) a fan of hers that’s been around from the very start of her career, then I might recommend you wait before purchasing this. Just saying.