Grade: A
"MOON / blossom" is ayumi hamasaki's 48th single and the first of three consecutive releases to mark her 50th single anniversary! 50 singles is an astounding achievement for any artist, but Ayu is trying to make it even more special by breaking the record for female solo artist with the most consecutive #1 singles with her 50th! "MOON / blossom" got the #1 spot, so if her 49th single, "crossroad" (set for 9.22 release) makes #1 as well, she'll be tied with Seiko Matsuda for the record. Ayu and avex are both hoping this will indeed happen and that she will also get #1 with her 50th single, "L" (set for 9.29 release) and thus set the new record. Anyway, onto the review!
This single is obviously a double a-side. The first of the two a-sides is a song called MOON. The song was first played on Ayu's latest tour that promoted her latest album, "Rock'n'Roll Circus." When I first heard the previews for this song I was really excited because it reminded me a lot of classic Ayu music. It was later revealed that the composer of MOON was none other than Hoshino Yasuhiko who also composed Ayu's debut single poker face and the title track from her first album A Song for ××.
MOON is a powerful rock ballad-- the kind of song Ayu does best. I, myself, was very underwhelmed with Ayu's works after the release of her 45th single "Rule / Sparkle." "NEXT LEVEL" just didn't do it for me, nor did "Sunrise / Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~" or "You were... / BALLAD." Sure, these releases were good, but they felt lacking to me. With the release of "Rock'n'Roll Circus" I felt that the "Queen of J-Pop" had finally climbed back onto her throne, and with the release of this single, my suspicions were confirmed. MOON is definitely one of those Ayu songs that make you want to shout "Instant classic!"
The second a-side on this single is the mid-tempo, pop-rock song blossom. blossom reminds me a great deal of fairyland. It's very nostalgic and somewhat saddening, but it serves as Ayu's summer song of 2010. (It's just not summer without a summer song from Ayu!) blossom has a really nice, catchy chorus that you'll probably catch yourself humming after you hear it! It also features a really great rock bridge, something else Ayu is really well known for. The highlight of blossom is definitely the final chorus where Ayu sings higher than in all the others. blossom doubles great with MOON and I'd say these two songs alone make this single worth grabbing, but there's more...
The single also features remixes of two songs from Ayu's latest album and two rearrangements from the latest album. Microphone (THE LOWBROWS remix) is a dance remix of Microphone with heavy beats and lots of electronic synth. If your a casual listener of Ayu's remixes, you'll probably love this track. Don't look back (Reggae Disco Rockers remix) is an islandish sounding remix of Don't look back. Initially, I wasn't too excited to hear this, but it's actually not too bad. There's not much disco or rock to this remix though; in fact, I don't hear any elements of either. Last Links (Orchestra version) is an orchestra rearrangement of Last Links. Last Links was great to begin with-- one of the best tracks on "Rock'n'Roll Circus" but this rearrangement is god awful. I normally love orchestra versions of Ayu's songs but this was a disaster. The mixing on her voice was totally off here and it just sounded bad and fanmade. Huge disappointment. On the contrary, meaning of Love was one of the most underwhelming tracks on "Rock'n'Roll Circus" to me, but meaning of Love (Acoustic Piano version) is absolutely beautiful and makes the song so much better. It's a real treat!
"MOON / blossom" also features instrumental versions of the a-sides, like most of Ayu's singles. Overall, this single is spectacular, especially when compared next to her last two singles. Here's to hoping the next two parts of this three-single project are just as good!
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