Guilty (capitalized as GUILTY) is the ninth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on New Year's Day 2008 by Avex Trax. Guilty marks Hamasaki's ninth consecutive album to be fully produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to all songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English, Guilty is a rock album with numerous musical elements such as pop rock, heavy metal, synthrock, and power ballad melodies.
Guilty was recorded in Japan and the United States of America, making it Hamasaki's third album recorded in the US. Additional production and mastering was handled in both Japan and the US. Five different formats were released to promote the album; a standalone CD, a CD and DVD bundle, a photo book package, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital release worldwide. Three different artworks were issued for the album's cover sleeve; the CD format has a long-shot of Hamasaki in a leopard-print dress, the CD and DVD format had a close-up of Hamasaki's face, and the photo book package has Hamasaki sitting in a director's seat with a yellow dress on.
Upon the album's release, it was met with mixed to favourable reviews from music critics. Critics complimented the album's darker elements and commended Hamasaki's authentic deliveries through her lyrics and emotions. However, some criticized the album's overpowering arrangements and Hamasaki's vocal performances, alongside the album's pigeon-holed genres and lack of music diversity. Commercially, Guilty was a success. It became Hamasaki's first studio album to miss the top spot on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart, which was occupied by Kobukuro's 5296. Despite this, Guilty sold over 568,000 units by the end of the 2008. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 500,000 units.
Three singles were released from Guilty. Its lead and only double a-side single "Glitter/Fated"" was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart and was certified gold by the RIAJ. The album's second single, "Talkin' 2 Myself," was a commercial success; it peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified gold by the RIAJ. The album's only digital single, "Together When..." could not chart on the Oricon Singles Chart because it was marketed digitally; it managed to sell over 3.3 million sales, Hamasaki's best selling single to date. Several other album tracks charted on competent charts in Japan. Hamasaki promoted the album on her 2008 10th Anniversary Asia Tour.
Background and development
In July 2007, it was confirmed by Ayumi Hamasaki and her record label Avex Trax that she would release a then-untitled upcoming studio album that would include fifteen tracks and a bonus DVD. Hamasaki and Avex Trax enlisted long-term collaborator, Japanese businessman and producer Max Matsuura, to produce the album; this marks Hamasaki's ninth consecutive studio album to be fully produced by Matsuura. Hamasaki begun recording the album at Avex Studios and Prime Sound Studios in Japan around end-2006 with Hiroshi Sato, Koji Morimoto, Satoshi Kumasaka, Yasuo Matsumoto, Yoshinori Kumamoto, and Yuichi Nagayama. Hamasaki traveled to Los Angeles, California to record the rest of the album at Record Plant Recording Studios with Bradley Cook, Steve Churchyard, and Troy Halverson; This marks Hamasaki's third album to have been recorded in Los Angeles; her previous albums (Miss)Understood and Secret (2006) were both recorded in Los Angeles as well.
The material from Guilty was produced and recorded over a year and five months, Hamasaki's longest spanning projects since recording her studio My Story with two years. 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. Several instruments from the album were directed by American musicians and arrangers; tracks such as "Talkin' 2 Myself," "Decision," "Together When...," and "Untitled (For Her)" were directed by American musicians. Hamasaki said about the album's title; "I have carefully done a lot of soul searching regarding the issue of "feeling guilty, but still life has to go on" whenever I was composing or performing. No matter how people feel sinful, since we are alive and kicking, then we should continue living on the best we could whether we are sad or happy."
A month before the album's release, Hamasaki announced that an inoperable condition, possibly tinnitus or Ménière's disease, had caused complete deafness in her left ear. She disclosed that she had been diagnosed with the condition in 2006 and that the problem dated back to 2000. Despite the setback, Hamasaki stated that she wished to continue singing, and that she would "not give up" on her fans and that "as a professional," she wanted to "deliver the best performance for everyone." (Archived version)
Composition and songs
Guilty is a rock music album with numerous musical elements such as rock, heavy metal, electronic music, and pop ballad melodies. In an interview with Japanese magazine S Cawaii, Hamasaki said about the production of the album; "I think this is a nice album [Guilty]. The word "nice" does have a lot of meaning, or it is full of thoughts. Although I tend to praise previous albums like My Story, (Miss)Understood and Secret, these albums harbour sense of accomplishments that were different to each release-ment..." Hamasaki also stated about the lyrical and emotional content; "I didn't get the same feeling this time around [of emotional content]. There's nothing emotional about this album, it was just finished in a breath. But when I examined the songs' lyrics from my album, I was astonished that they somehow are telling a story. "How could it be?" I asked."
Hamasaki revealed that after completing the album, she started to cry a lot about it; "If there's anything special about this album, then maybe it's about I cried when I first listened to Guilty. Basically I do not listen to my own songs. I always calm down whenever I finished recording, and judge my songs as a third party, or thinking about some parts of the song such as "This part of this song maybe wasn't that easy to sing." This time it isn't both of these perception, because I couldn't stop crying during the song and I would always do something else in the middle of the song..."
According to AllMusic editor Adam Greenberg, he said of the album's music; "On Guilty, she updates her sound to fit a modern version of J-pop, infused heavily with rock and with darker, more gothic elements... She stretches across her range admirably to capture the darker, deeper tones of the rock..." A staff reviewer from CD Journal noted darker music elements of rock and gothic rock music. A staff reviewer from Channel Ai labelled it a cross over between the rock sounds of My Story and the darker elements of her 2000 studio album Duty; "Overall most tracks move towards a heavily rock and orchestral direction with a few pop tracks included." Bradley Stern from MuuMuse noted rock elements from Secret, which Stern declared "did nothing for me"; he stated that it "seems to be following the same path, except I have a feeling there's more sincerity packed into the bunch this time round."
The album includes four interludes; "Mirror," a rock song that was extended into Hamasaki's 2008 single "Mirrorcle World" for her greatest hits album A Complete: All Singles. "Marionette (Prelude)" is a "dark" interlude track that opens the album track with the same name, using sound effects from a music box and grand piano. The third interlude is "The Judgement Day," which is an EDM song with elements of techno. The final interlude is the "Rebirth," which is a "mystical" ethereal track with no lead or background vocals. Upbeat pop music and electronic dance music is noted in tracks "Glitter" and "My All." Two pop ballad melodies are present on the album; "Together When..." and "Untitled (For Her)." The former track has been noted by critics as her most "emotional" and vulnerable songs to date, while the latter track was a dedication towards a friend she lost in 2007. The remaining songs are all composed as rock songs; "(Don't) Leave Me Alone" features elements of electronic music, "Talkin' 2 Myself" features elements of heavy metal, and the title track was compared to the work of Junkie XL by Stern.
Release and packaging Guilty was released in five different formats on New Year's Day in 2008 by Avex Trax. The stand-alone CD features the fourteen tracks in a jewel case, with first press editions including an obi and a bonus poster. The CD and DVD format features the fourteen tracks, and a bonus DVD with the music videos to "Glitter," "Fated" (which is recognized as the short film Distance Love), "Decision," "Talkin' 2 Myself," "Together When...," "Marionette," and "(Don't) Leave Me Alone." The DVD also included the making videos for each music video, and the making of Hamasaki's short film. A bonus packaging of the CD and DVD format came with a cardboard sleeve. The fourth format is the digital release. Guilty is one of the first Avex Trax albums to be released on digital retail stores worldwide on March 12 that same year; her previous and future studios were then released worldwide. The final format was a limited edition Playbutton, which was only distributed in Japan.
All five cover sleeves for GUILTY were photographed by photographer and designer Hijika. The standalone CD artwork has Hamasaki in a leopard print dress, standing in a canyon with Hamasaki's name and the album title superimposed on her. This marks Hamasaki's first ever cover sleeve to be photographed and directed outside of Japan. The CD and music video DVD format has a close-up of Hamasaki's face, with Hamasaki's name and the album title superimposed on her. The Playbutton box uses the CD and DVD cover, while the Playbutton device has a gold "G" symbol over an orange background. The digital release uses the standalone CD format. The booklet and photo shoot were designed by Hirotomi Suzumoto and Shinichi Hara. The "sexy" and "cute" leopard print elements were first developed on Duty where she wears a cat-suit, and a mobile device advertisement in 2000. First pressing issues for both the standalone CD format and the CD and DVD format included a 30–page photo album of Hamasaki in Los Angeles.
Critical reception
Guilty received polarised reviews from most music critics. A staff reviewer from CD Journal commended the album's musical consistency and praised Hamasaki's "emotional" lyrics and "powerful" vocals. The editor selected the album's singles as the main highlights.
Adam Greenberg from AllMusic stated that Hamasaki's move into rock music on Guilty results in "a fairly staged, theatrical sound," finding that Hamasaki "stretches across her range admirably" but ultimately veers into "unnecessary melodrama." He criticized her vocals on specific songs, feeling she was "flat in fairly standardized songs" and "a great singer trying hopelessly to keep up with dark rock ballads that are horribly mismatched to her temperament and her delivery style." He concluded, "Hamasaki's got plenty of good work in her catalog, Guilty is unlikely to stand with the best portions of it, even for her numerous fans." Despite praising "Together When...," the title track, and highly commending other album tracks, Bradley Stern from MuuMuse graded the album a B minus. He stated "I feel she's allowing herself to be pigeonholded into a very specific genre, rather than the eclectic selection she has offered in the past." He criticized the producers and composers for lacking a musical diversity.