Namie Amuro – 60s70s80s

1. NEW LOOK
2. ROCK STEADY
3. WHAT A FEELING
4. NEW LOOK (INSTRUMENTAL)
5. ROCK STEADY (INSTRUMENTAL)
6. WHAT A FEELING (INSTRUMENTAL)

I absolutely abhor people banging on my door, but when some knocking came this afternoon — and 2 minutes after I got home, no less! — I knew it had to be the mailman with my copy of Namie Amuro’s 60s70s80s. Even though it got here in 4 days, and only 2 days after the release, the wait felt like an eternity. Because despite being an avid Amuro fan, I’ve yet to buy any of her music — until now. The reason is that I generally dislike buying singles, but I’ve also found her albums to be mixed bags most of the time, where I end up only liking 1/2 the tracks and maybe loving 1/4. But I knew I had to break my stinginess and shell out for 60s70s80s because it just spells AMAZING. So far, so good.

Even though I pretty much whored out everything on the single, including the cover, it still tickles my fancy. The songs have already been established as amazing, especially “WHAT A FEELING”, but listening to them in HQ and with just the instrumentals have shed some new light on them. Firstly, now that all the annoying talking is off “ROCK STEADY” we can finally get a better feel for the song. Unfortunately, listening to the song in its entirety has disappointed me. Where the radio DJ’s voice used to dominate is now an awkward second verse that sounds clumsy and out of place. Maybe I’m just not used to it yet, but the lyrics just don’t seem to fit. This only adds to my growing observation that the song is perhaps a little too cluttered and messy, rearranging my ranking of the songs from “WHAT A FEELING” > “ROCK STEADY” > “NEW LOOK” to “WHAT A FEELING” > “NEW LOOK” > “ROCK STEADY”.

The instrumentals aren’t as exciting as I thought they would be, but they certainly reveal the complex layering to be found in both “WHAT A FEELING” and “NEW LOOK”. The “NEW LOOK” instrumental makes obvious The Supremes‘ “Baby Love” sample, and listening to the entire track again, you can really pick out the sampling. It’s because of these small details that my appreciation for “NEW LOOK” has increased.

As for “WHAT A FEELING”, well, it’s a hot song, ’nuff said. Even the instrumental is off the hook. I could listen to the whole song, the instrumental, and the Shinichi Osawa remix as separate songs — and I do.

Well, it looks as if avex trax has worked their magic on YouTube as I don’t see any of the PVs. I guess this means you’ll just have to buy it yourself. Hah. In all seriousness, this single, and this whole project at that, has just been incredible, and you owe it to yourself, especially if you’re a Namie Amuro fan, to get in on a piece of the action.

P.S. CD Japan is still offering the limited First Press Edition for both the CD+DVD and CD version, which comes with a fantastic B2 sized poster, but who knows how long it’ll be available, so get your copy today! By the way, that picture isn’t mine. I’m keeping mine wrapped up tightly until I figure out what to do with it, either laminating it, framing it, or building a shrine around it.

CD Japan – CD+DVD, CD ONLY
Amazon JP – CD+DVD
HMV JP – CD+DVD, CD ONLY
YesAsia – CD+DVD