Rock 'n' Roll Circus

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Rock 'n' Roll Circus
Avex Entertainment
  • Avex Trax
  • ProducerMax Matsuura
    Ayumi Hamasaki chronology
    Next Level
    (2009)
    Rock 'n' Roll Circus
    (2010)
    Love Songs
    (2010)
    Singles from Rock 'n' Roll Circus
    1. "Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All)"
      Released: August 12, 2009
    2. "
      You Were.../Ballad
      "

      Released: December 29, 2009

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus is the eleventh

    pop ballad, and dance music
    .

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus was recorded in Japan and the United Kingdom, making it Hamasaki's first album recorded outside of her native country. Additional production was handled in the United States and the two prior countries. Five different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a CD and DVD bundle, a limited edition box set, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital release worldwide. Two different artworks were issued for the album's cover sleeve; one has Hamasaki inside a telephone box, while the second sleeve has a close-up of Hamasaki's face.

    Upon the album's release, it was met with mixed to favourable reviews from music critics. Critics commended the album's approach to rock music, alongside its commercial appeal and music consistency. However, some noted the lack of emotional delivery in Hamasaki's lyrics, while criticizing the album's ballads and production. Rock 'n' Roll Circus was listed by several critics as one of the best albums of 2010. Commercially, Rock 'n' Roll Circus was a success. It became Hamasaki's tenth album to reach the top spot on Japan's

    Gaon Album Chart and Taiwan's G-Music
    Albums Chart.

    Two singles were released from Rock 'n' Roll Circus, including one promotional. Its lead

    You Were.../Ballad", was a commercial success; it peaked at number one on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart and 14 on the Japan Hot 100 chart. The album's only promotional single, "Microphone", reached number 33 on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart. Several other album tracks charted on competent charts in Japan. Hamasaki promoted the album on her 2010 Rock 'n' Roll Circus tour
    .

    Background and development

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus was recorded in both Tokyo and London; Hamasaki (bottom center) in London with a group of European fans.[1]

    In March 2010, it was confirmed by Hamasaki and her record label Avex Trax that she would release a then-upcoming studio album titled Rock 'n' Roll Circus.[2] Hamasaki and Avex Trax enlisted a long-term collaborator, Japanese businessman and producer Max Matsuura, to produce the album; this marked Hamasaki's eleventh consecutive album to be fully produced by Matsuura.[1][3] Hamasaki began recording the album at Avex Studios and Prime Sound Studios in Japan around mid-2009 with Kōji Morimoto, Yūichi Nagayama, and Masashi Hashimoto.[1] Hamasaki briefly moved to London, United Kingdom, to record the remaining material of the album with Dom Morley and Phill Brown.[1] This marks Hamasaki's first album to have been recorded outside of Japan; she carried on recording her 2012 album Party Queen in London, which is her final album recorded in that region.[4]

    The material from Rock 'n' Roll Circus was produced and recorded over a year and one month, one of Hamasaki's longer spanning projects to date.[1] Hamasaki and Avex enlisted previous composers and arrangers for the album, such as CMJK, Tetsuya Yukumi, Yuta Nakano, and Kazuhiro Hara; these composers and arrangers started working with Hamasaki back on her 2002 album Rainbow and 2004 My Story.[5][6] Several instruments from the album were directed by British musicians and arrangers; tracks "Microphone" and "Montage" were performed by the London String Machine group and other British instrumentalists.[1] Hamasaki was interviewed in the May 2010 issue of Japan's magazine Bea's Up, and stated about her experiences in the UK;

    "The reason why I chose to do the recording in London this time was because I wanted to make an album in a closed-off environment, sort of like a place where sunlight doesn't reach. The songs this time are like me. They're not liberal and open-minded. The songs which I've always made often share the same views and ideas as the listener, but this time, they're more like shouts and prayers from my individual innermost self. With this image, I've probably gotten closer to how I was like inside when I first debuted. What I do in America has always been liberal and open, so that's why I chose London this time instead ..."[7]

    Composition

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus is a

    pop ballad, and dance music.[8] In an interview with Japanese magazine S Cawaii, Hamasaki said that "[Rock 'n' Roll Circus] ... basically has a feeling of "back-to-basics." A feeling of Ayumi Hamasaki, and less of adventure. More digging down into the foundation. Which isn't to say I'm taking a step backward. It's about expressing my feelings on things I've always liked, but as the person I am now."[9]

    According to AllMusic editor Alexey Eremenko, "Rock'n'Roll Circus is pretty versatile: there are a couple of pop/rock tracks, a Middle Eastern techno tune, a playful plastic pop song, even a jungle interlude, and, of course, a slew of epic, string-drenched ballads that no J-pop singer seems to be able to resist performing".[10] Greg from Selective Hearing stated that the album's material showed more "restraint" than her previous music; "There is a deliberate pacing that entices the listener to stick around. You don't get hammered over the head".[11] Asian Junkie editor Random J reviewed the album on his personal blog, and noticed the music and themes for Rock 'n' Roll Circus were more consistent than her previous albums.[12] Tetsuo Hiraga from Hot Express noted the album's "formulaic rock music".[13]

    Each song from Rock 'n' Roll Circus was written by Hamasaki, including the Japanese, English, and interlude tracks.

    pop ballad melodies in "You Were...",[14][15] "Meaning of Love", "Ballad",[14][15] and "Sunset"[16][17] are present throughout the album. The songs "Sunrise" and "Sunset" have the same lyrics, but different music arrangements and vocal performances from Hamasaki.[1]

    Release and packaging

    The red telephone boxes in Covent Garden, London, the location where Hamasaki shot the album cover and booklet artwork.

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus was released in four different formats on April 14, 2010, by Avex Trax,[1] a little over a year after her 2009 album, Next Level.[18] Rock 'n' Roll Circus became Hamasaki's third two-album set alongside Love Songs (2010) to be released in a single year;[1][19] Hamasaki's first and second two album sets to do this were A Song for ×× and Loveppears in 1999, and (Miss)understood and Secret in 2006.[20][21] To date, it remains Hamasaki's last two-album release in a single year.

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus first format, the stand-alone CD, features the fifteen tracks in a

    mug, a bag, red tea, and a limited edition photo album.[25] The final format is the worldwide digital release.[26] Twelve limited copies of Rock 'n' Roll Circus feature the hand-written lyrics to each song, and an autograph sheet from Hamasaki.[27][28][29]

    All four cover sleeves for Rock 'n' Roll Circus were photographed by photographer and designer ND Chow.

    red telephone box in Covent Garden, London, with the album title and her name superimposed on the booth.[1] This marks Hamasaki's third album cover to be photographed and directed outside of Japan, after Loveppears and (Miss)understood.[1] The CD and music video DVD formats have a close-up of Hamasaki's face, with parts of the British flag design across her face.[24] The box set is coloured black with the red British cross near the corner; the album version is the CD and DVD format, with the CD and DVD cover imprinted onto the mug, red tea tin, and the bag.[25] The digital release uses the standalone CD format.[26] The booklet and photo shoot were designed by Chow, and the design was based on Hamasaki's first visit to the UK.[1] First pressing issues for both the standalone CD format, the CD and DVD format, and the box set included a 36–page photo album of Hamasaki roaming the streets and wandering around stores and markets in London.[24]

    Promotion

    In order to promote Rock 'n' Roll Circus, Hamasaki conducted several commercial endorsement opportunities and expanded several other ventures. Hamasaki opened two special websites to document her preparation for the Rock 'n' Roll Circus concert tour, and additional promotional activity.

    Ustream, and Twitter to promote the album and interact with her fan base.[34][35] Hamasaki renewed her contract with British cosmetics line Rimmel as an ode to her image from the album; she was part of several campaigns through 2010.[36]

    Concert tours and other releases

    Hamasaki conducted several live performances to promote the material from Rock 'n' Roll Circus. Hamasaki performed both "Sunrise" and "Sunset" on the annual 2009 A-Nation concert tour in Japan; she performed on August 1 and 8.[37] Hamasaki performed "You Were..." on Japan's Music Station television network on December 9, 2009.[38] Hamasaki appeared again at the annual 2010 A-nation concert tour in Japan on February 29, 2010, only; she performed "Microphone", the only song selected from the Rock 'n' Roll Circus album. Her performance of "Microphone" received positive reviews from most music critics.[39] "Sunrise (Love Is All)" and its accompanying music video was released on Avex Trax's A-Nation '10 Various Artists compilation album.[40]

    Hamasaki went on her

    Virgin Road" from the 2010 Rock 'n' Roll Circus Tour were included on her following live DVD compilation A 50 Singles: Live Selection (2011).[45]

    The DVD reached number one on the Oricon DVD Chart, with over 38,319 in its first week.

    Singles

    "

    Japan Hot 100 chart.[53] The physical format was certified gold by RIAJ for shipments of 100,000 units; "Sunrise" was certified double platinum and platinum for digital and ringtone downloads, shifting over 750,000 units in Japan.[54][55] The accompanying music videos for both singles were shot at a sightseeing tower in Chiba Prefecture; it features Hamasaki and back-up dancers performing the song in front of an audience. The "Sunrise" video was shot during the day, while "Sunset" was shot during the evening.[56][57]

    "

    Ballad" were released as the album's second and final a-side single on December 29, 2009.[58] "You Were..." was used as the theme song for Music.JP and the theme song for the Japanese subtitled Walt Disney film, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, while the second song "Ballad" is tied up with The Firmament of the Pleiades, a NHK's historical and political drama based on Jirō Asada's book of the same name.[15] Both songs received positive reviews from most music critics, praising the song writing, composition, and Hamasaki's vocals.[14] It achieved success in Japan, debuting atop the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart, while "You Were..." peaked at 14 and 4 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and Hot Singles Sales chart.[59][60] The physical format was certified gold by RIAJ for shipments of 100,000 units; "You Were..." was certified double platinum and platinum for digital and ringtone downloads, shifting over 750,000 units in Japan.[61][62][63] Accompanying music videos were shot for the singles; The "You Were..." video features Hamasaki in a winter field, while "Ballad" features Hamasaki in heaven watching over her lover.[64][65]

    Other charted songs

    "Microphone", the album's lead promotional single, was released on March 26, 2010.

    Critical reception

    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[10]

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus received mixed to favorable reviews from most music critics. A staff reviewer from CD Journal praised the album's rock influences, and commended the album's production.[8] Greg from Selective Hearing was positive towards the album. He commented, "This was an excellent album and I couldn’t think of a single thing that could be wrong. It proves that Ayu is still at the top of her game." However, he felt that "Last Links", "Lady Dynamite", "Sexy Little Things", "The Meaning Of Love", and "Red Line -for TA-" were the album's, "standard cookie cutter fillers".[11]

    In a mixed review, Alexey Eremenko from AllMusic awarded the album two stars out of five. Eremenko was positive towards the album's "meticulously arranged music, and multiple stylistic layers ensure that the record does not wear thin after the first few listens". However, he furthered stated, "but although Rock'n'Roll Circus is a testament to veritable professional skills of Hamasaki and her producers and songwriters, its emotional power is questionable, to put it mildly." Although criticizing the album's addition of J-pop music, its additional "clichés", and labelling the ballads as the "worst offenders on the album", he concluded, "This is Hamasaki's eleventh album, and so song writing routine is to be expected, to a degree, but she would have been better off going all the way with the alt-rock gimmick instead of meekly complying with the already trite conventions of J-pop, even if she had created those herself."[10] Tetsuo Hiraga from Hot Express was mixed in his review. Although he commended Hamasaki's transition to rock music and her song writing, he said he became "worried" about the production and found it regressive in comparison to Next Level.[13]

    At the annual 2010 J-Station Music Awards, Rock 'n' Roll Circus won Best Pop album, Hamasaki won Best Female Artist, and "Microphone" won Best Music Video.[75] Phil Freeman from the online blog and magazine publication The Wire short listed Rock 'n' Roll Circus as one of the best albums of 2010.[76]

    Commercial performances

    According to Oricon, Avex Trax had expected to ship approximately 400,000 total units in its first week of sales; as a result, the sales mark were printed and distributed for several stores throughout Japan.[27] Rock 'n' Roll Circus debuted at number one on the Japanese Daily Oricon Albums Chart, staying there for an entire week.[77] This resulted in the album debuting atop the Japanese Weekly Oricon Albums Chart, with an estimated 205,000 sold units in its first week of sales.[46][B] This became the highest selling album by a female artist for first week sales of 2010.[78] Rock 'n' Roll Circus became Hamasaki's tenth studio album to debut atop the Oricon Albums Chart for both Daily and Weekly rankings, making Hamasaki the first artist to have at least one album at the top of the charts for 12 consecutive years.[77] Hamasaki also became the only female artist to have the most number one albums on Oricon since her debut with eleven entries, apart from Guilty which reached number two.[77] It slipped to number three the following week, shifting 45,686 in Japan. It stayed in the top 10 for five weeks, and the top 300 with 23 weeks overall.[77]

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus entered the Billboard Top Albums Sales Chart at the top spot, her fourth album to do so.

    Gaon Album Chart, and the top spot on the Taiwanese East Asian Albums Chart.[82][83][C][D]

    Rock 'n' Roll Circus was certified Platinum in April 2010 by the

    Kumi Koda, and Hikaru Utada, and American singer Lady Gaga.[86] By March 2011, Avex Trax confirmed that Rock 'n' Roll Circus has sold over 380,000 units in Japan.[87] Avex Finance Holdings Inc. released an online press statement, showing that Rock 'n' Roll Circus was recognized as a reason for their increase of sales and revenue for the first quarter of 2010.[87][88]

    Track listing

    All lyrics are written by Ayumi Hamasaki

    CD (CD, CD+DVD, special limited box set)
    No.TitleMusicArranger(s)Length
    1."The Introduction"CMJKCMJK1:39
    2."Microphone"
    Red Line (for TA)
    " (Album Version)
    Tetsuya YukumiYuta Nakano5:46
    CD Bonus track
    No.TitleLength
    16."Moon" (Available for TeamAyu members)5:47
    DVD 1 (CD+DVD, special limited box set)
    No.TitleDirector(s)Length
    1."Sunrise: Love is All" (video clip)Wataru Takeishi4:51
    2."Sunset: Love is All" (video clip)Wataru Takeishi5:44
    3."You Were..." (video clip)Masashi Muto5:11
    4."Ballad" (video clip)Takahide Ishii5:48
    5."Sexy Little Things" (video clip)Masashi Muto4:23
    6."Microphone" (video clip)Masashi Muto4:27
    7."Don't Look Back" (video clip)Hideaki Sunaga4:10
    8."Lady Dynamite" (video clip)Kazuyoshi Shimomura4:17
    9."Sunrise: Love is All" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi4:43
    10."Sunset: Love is All" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi3:07
    11."You Were..." (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi3:03
    12."Ballad" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi3:13
    13."Sexy Little Things" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi2:56
    14."Microphone" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi2:57
    15."Don't Look Back" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi3:03
    16."Lady Dynamite" (making clip)Keisuke Onodera, Jin Koyanagi3:08
    17.""Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2009: Next Level" Digest" (bonus track) 5:36
    DVD 2: Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2009: Next Level (special limited box set)
    No.TitleLength
    1."Pieces of Seven" 
    2."Rule" 
    3."Unite!" 
    4."Disco-munication" 
    5."Energize" 
    6."Sunrise: Love is All" 
    7."Load of the Shugyo" 
    8."Love ‘n’ Hate" 
    9."Identity" 
    10."In the Corner" 
    11."Hope or Pain" 
    12."Green" 
    13."Days" 
    14."Evolution" 
    15."Signal" 
    16."Rollin’" 
    17."Sparkle" 
    18."Bridge to the Sky" 
    19."Next Level" 
    DVD 3: Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2009: Next Level (special limited box set)
    No.TitleLength
    20."Curtain Call" 
    21."Sunset: Love is All" 
    22."Everywhere Nowhere" 
    23."Humming 7/4" 
    24."Boys & Girls" 
    25."My All" 

    All formats

    Personnel

    Credits adapted from the liner notes of Rock 'n' Roll Circus.[1]

    Charts

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Japan (RIAJ)[84] Platinum 345,000[92]

    Release history

    Region Date Format Label
    Japan[1][89] April 14, 2010
    CD
    Japan[24][90] Double CD & DVD
    Japan[91] Special limited box set
    Japan[26] Digital album
    Avex Entertainment Inc.
    Australia[93]
    New Zealand[94]
    United Kingdom[95]
    Germany[96]
    Ireland[97]
    France[98]
    Spain[99]
    Taiwan[100]

    See also

    Notes and references

    Notes

    1. ^ According to the lyrical booklet provided by Avex Trax, Avex Korea, and Avex Hong Kong, "Microphone" (the lyrics "Tell me why ... I don't know ... I won't tell u why") and "Don't Look Back" (the words "Don't look back") are the only tracks with any English language.[1]
    2. ^ Sales provided by Oricon database and are rounded to the nearest thousand copies.
    3. ^ The G-Music chart was established in July 2005 and only archives the top 20 releases.
    4. ^ Week references for G-Music: Rock 'n' Roll Circus 2010 week 16.

    References

    1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hamasaki, Ayumi (2010). Rock 'n' Roll Circus (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-38103.
    2. ^ Farrah (March 8, 2010). "New Ayumi Hamasaki Album and Live DVD". Jame World. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
    3. Discogs.com
      . Retrieved February 1, 2016.
    4. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2012). Party Queen (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-38513.
    5. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2002). Rainbow (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-17239.
    6. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2004). My Story (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-17611.
    7. ^ "Interview with Ayumi Hamasaki". Bea's Up (in Japanese). No. May Issue. May 2010. pp. 21, 24.
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    11. ^ a b c Abesamis, Greg (April 14, 2010). "Rock'n'Roll Circus – Ayumi Hamasaki". Selective-Hearing.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
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    35. SINA Corporation. April 15, 2010. Archived from the original
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