Wednesday, February 6, 2002

GREAT GUITAR SOLOS I was reading through my Guitar World magazine yesterday and it happened to be the collector's issue featuring the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ever of Western rock music. That got me thinking about the guitar solos in jrock. Jrock is much less focused on guitar than classic Western rock was, but still there are some fine solos and players. I went through my winamp playlist of about 900 jrock mp3s ^^; and selected the 20 songs that I felt were the 20 greatest. The first 10 are listed in order of best solo and then the next are in alphabetical order. This are just my personal picks, so (as always) don't take my word as law. I've tried to be objective and pick the solos based on their quality and not just because I like the song. I do have an extensive jrock collection and I'd like to think that these are indeed the best solos out there, though of course there are a lot of good ones that I've left out, and it was extremely hard to pick towards the end. Anyway, here they are. #1 ART OF LIFE X Japan: Hide and Pata Solo: 9:40-12:40 X Japan's experimental tour de force boasts approximately five different guitar solos throughout the 30-odd minute long song, all of them extremely well done. The one to look out for starts at approximately 9:40 and continues until about 12:40. Hide and Pata work extremely well together and this solo is the epitome of all their past and future solos. #2 TRIPTYCH Siam Shade: Daita and Kazuma No need to tell you where the solo is in this one, because Triptych is entirely instrumental. The Siam Shade guitarists are phenomenal as always, and though the Art of Life solos had the tiny edge of finnesse that pushed it above this one, the flawlessly bold guitar lines in Triptych definitely make a memorable statment. #3 AI NO MAMA NI WAGAMAMA NI BOKU WA KIMI DAKE KIZUTSUKENAI B'z: Tak Matsumoto Solo: 2:24-2:40 All of Tak's solos are phenomenal, as you'd expect from a Gibson signature artist, but this one really captures the mood of the song. Lots of tight running scales in this solo. #4 ROMANCE Penicillin: Chisato Solo: 3:12-3:57 Lots of distortion plus great technique. The guitar fits very well with the drums, especially in the last section of the solo where it becomes a guitar/drum duet with even more distortion and synthesized effects added in. #5 I'LL Dir en grey: Die Solo: 2:06-2:30 Dir en grey isn't known for their guitar solos, but when he sets his mind to it, Die and Kaoru are just as great guitarists as any of the big names. The solo in I'll isn't as flashy as any of the above four, but it is challenging as well as very melodic. #6 RAIN Siam Shade: Daita Solo: 1:40-2:06 Their first single remains one of their best songs, and Daita's guitar solo is one of the reasons why. This one isn't nearly as melodic as his later solos, but it really doesn't need to be. The technique and improvisation speak for itself. #7 BLUE TEAR Janne da Arc: You Solo: 2:39-3:08 This is a slower paced song and the solo starts out deceptively simple, but that notion is quickly dispelled. Though it never reaches the level of difficulty of any of the earlier solos, it's still a fine piece of work in itself from the guitarist of a band that doesn't have near as much recognition as they deserve. #8 KURENAI X Japan: Hide Solo: 3:20-4:25 This one is speedy and metal. Pata comes in and drops out randomly, but, as always, both of them perform wonderfully in this intense guitar-driven song. #9 YUUWAKU Glay: Hisashi Solo: 2:09-2:35 Hisashi's solos are usually very melodic but not very challenging. This one, however, breaks the mold. The solo alternates lower and higher fretted notes, ending with a nice run. #10 FOREVER AND EVER Luna Sea: Sugizo Solo: 5:54-7:15 Sugizo is known for his guitar solos being flashier live than they are heard on recording, but the solo in Forever and Ever is a beautiful piece of work that, though not very technically challenging, really brings out the surrounding instrumentation and the feel of the ballad. NEXT 10 RUNNER UPS (in alphabetical order): ALONE [B'z: Tak Matsumoto] BLUE BLOOD [X Japan: Hide] ENDLESS RAIN [X Japan: Hide and Pata] THE FOURTH AVENUE CAFE [L'Arc~en~Ciel: Ken] KOKODEWANAI DOKOKA E [Glay: Hisashi] FOR DEAR [Kuroyume: Shin] NOBODY IS PERFECT [Tomoyasu Hotei] SNOW DROP [L'Arc~en~Ciel: Ken] SUNA NO SHIRO DE NEMURU KOIBITO [Lareine: Mayu] YOU MAY DREAM [Glay: Hisashi] - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 11:57 p.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Wednesday, February 6, 2002

CLARIFICATION ON MALICE MIZER DVD Regarding the Malice Mizer movie I listed in the DVD release section below: By "Limited Release" I mean that it was only released in a handful of theaters in Japan when it first came out. I don't have exact information on the DVD distribution but it will probably be just as available as anything else Malice Mizer has released. I did NOT mean that the DVD itself was a limited release. - MS - Jiro: "OH! It's 10:46 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Wednesday, February 6, 2002

JROCK LINKS In this entry I'm going to try to highlight some really good pages on some less known jrock artists/bands. Everyone already knows about sites like The Fourth Avenue Cafe, Glad to be Glay, Sawasdee Gackt, and The Secret World of Malice Mizer. But there are a lot of pages on more obscure artists which are often passed over because their subjects are, well, obscure. Anyway, the following pages are comprehensive, well-done pages that are devoted exclusively to one band/artist. I might do a multiple band site post later. Maybe, maybe not. ^_^ Listing is in alphabetical order by artist Artist: Aikawa Nanase Page Name: cu.Nanase URL: http://www.jrocker.com/nanase/ The site design isn't as pretty as some of the pages down the line, but that doesn't really matter here. Contains complete biography of Nana, with translated lyrics in the discrography section, a huge image gallery, and a nice links list just in case you can't get enough of her. Artist: Due le Quartz Page Name: ...Shall We Dance? URL: http://yurameki.com/dlq/ No longer updated, but that doesn't really matter when just looking for information on the band, since this site has anything and everything you'd ever want to know about Due le Quartz, and then some. The webmaster is planning to take down the site sometime in the middle of this month, so visit while you can! Artist: Fukuyama Yoshiki Page Name: Alinda Sue's Yoshiki Fukuyama Site URL: http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/alinda_sue/ The former vocalist of Humming Bird is better known as the singing voice of Nekki Basara from Macross 7. Alinda Sue's page is probably the only English fansite on Fukuyama-san on the internet, and it's definitely worth a look. Has nice content with discography, descriptions of releases, and news on Fukuyama-san's solo projects. Artist: Inoran Page Name: Owl's Tear URL: http://www.geocities.com/lsep_i/ A page devoted to Luna Sea's rhythm guitarist. Linked from the parent page Luna Sea Enterprise, this site is just as informative and jam-packed with Inoran material. The main site opens in a pop-up window, but never fear: it's easy to navigate and not at all annoying. Artist: J Page Name: Pyromania URL: http://routevenus.com/ucchan/pyromania/ Explosive page on the solo career of the former Luna Sea bassist. Don't let the streamlined layout fool you: there's much, much more to this page than meets the eye. Contains the obligatory bio, facts, discography, and lyrics, as well as tabs, multimedia, and reviews. A must for any SLAVE. Artist: Janne da Arc Page Name: Stare URL: http://www.geocities.com/hide1437/ Probably the only English fansite on JDA. The design is reminiscent of Japanese Channel's, with lots of red everywhere, and the site hasn't been really updated in a while but there's still plenty to look at. Contains a lot of little "extra" sections for your continued viewing pleasure. Artist: Kawamura Ryuichi Page Name: The Ryu Files URL: http://www.ryu-files.com/ OK so he's really not a jrocker anymore, but you can't escape your roots, as the saying goes. A simple and functional, yet aesthetically pleasing layout. Information about Ryuichi in both his solo career and in Luna Sea. Artist: Plastic Tree Page Name: Monophobia URL: http://www.crysania.com/~monophobia/ There are comprehensive pages and then there are COMPREHENSIVE PAGES. PuraTuri is one of those bands that everyone's heard of but few have actually sampled, and this page is everything a new fan could need. Complete history of the band and all its members, discography and lyrics, mp3s of almost all of PT's songs, omake, and much, much more. Artist: Shiina Ringo Page Name: Bathroom URL: http://mirwen.caloric.nu/apple/ Down and dirty site on the glamour girl of jrock. Simple design makes navigation easy. Has a ton of mp3s and multimedia goodies. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 02:40 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Tuesday, February 5, 2002

DVD RELEASES I don't normally put up video release news but I know a lot of us have been waiting for these: 2002.02.21 X Japan - The Last Live X Japan's very last live concert on December 31, 1997 at Tokyo Dome. 2002.03.20 Dir en grey - kimon PV's for myaku, [KR]cube, Taiyou no Ao, ain't afraid to die, FILTH, JESSICA, and embryo. 2002.03.22 Malice Mizer - mayonaka ni kowashita yakusoku bara no konrei Limited release film starring Klaha, Mana, Közi, & Yu~ki. 2002.03.30 Malice Mizer - merveilles ~cinq paralelle~ Includes all the PV's from the album, Merveilles. 2002.03.30 Malice Mizer - merveilles l'espace THE must-see concert for all Malice Mizer Gackt-era fans. That's it for now. Will have more as we get 'em! ^_^ Oh, and Ger- I thought you didn't LIKE Art of Life? *L* You already know how I feel about it. Excellent review. ^_^ - MS - Jiro: "OH! It's 10:29 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Tuesday, February 5, 2002

REVIEW: ART OF LIFE [X JAPAN] No, it's not a new release, but I finally felt up to the challenge of reviewing this...epic...here. As the song itself is 30 minutes long, this review was definitely too long to post on the main blog, so I've put a link below to the page. http://www.chaoticempire.org/artoflife.html Disclaimer: I am in no way, form, or fashion the ultimate expert on X Japan, Art of Life, or jrock, so take this review with a grain of salt, as you should be doing with all our reviews here. I highly suggest you get the mp3 of this or put on the CD if you have it, as the review will make a lot more sense if you're listening to the song while reading. If you have any comments or questions feel free to email me. Flames will be eaten. Going to get my three hours of sleep now... - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 02:21 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Sunday, February 3, 2002

JANNE DA ARC As far as jrock bands are concerned, Janne da Arc is a newcomer to the major music scene, but that hasn't prevented them from rising to become one of the most popular bands in Japan today. The concept of Janne da Arc was first thought of in 1989, but the band itself didn't fully form until 1991 by members Yasu, You, and Kiyo. The band is named after a character from the manga Devil Man. In 1992, they added Shuji as a support drummer and then former bassist Ka-yu rejoined the band in September, right before their first demo tape recording. They stayed as an indies band for eight years before finally signing on to the Avex records label. Their first major label single was Red Zone. Janne da Arc probably can't be considered "visual" in any sense of the word, since their fashion sense is more like Siam Shade, Glay, or L'Arc~en~Ciel: namely, pretty normal. They have the usual complement of five members, but You is the only guitarist. Their fifth member is the keyboardist Kiyo, which is a departure from the normal band lineup since jrock bands (or most bands anywhere, for that matter) usually don't list keyboard as one of their main members. Having only one guitar doesn't detract from their sound, however. Janne da Arc is known for their speedy, driving lines, and guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard work together seamlessly to provide an ever-flowing and changing plethora of harmonies. Many of Janne da Arc's songs sound simply like a muddy mixture of those different harmonies at first listen, but if you take them together as a whole, an overall melodic line always becomes clear. Each Janne da Arc song is an experiment and an experience in tonal color, and that is where having a keyboardist as a regular part of the band really helps. Perhaps the most unique thing about Janne da Arc and the one quality that brings the band together to form a whole unit is vocalist Yasu. Yasu's voice sounds a bit like Hideki's (Siam Shade), especially in their earlier songs, though not quite as ear-piercing ^^;. However, that's where the resemblance ends. One site described Yasu's vocal style as "high-octane," which I still find the best term I've heard yet in talking about his singing style. Yasu's voice is at once hard-edged and flowing, and he's able to bend it and shape it, hitting his notes effortlessly. The best thing about his voice is his dead-on falsetto, which he usually uses when he gets above middle A (though I've heard him sing higher than that with his normal voice before...it just depends on when he feels like switching, really). The jumps from his normal voice to his falsetto voice, instead of detracting from the song, add a new dimension to the sound. (if anyone listens to the Scottish band the Cranberries, sometimes Yasu's falsetto reminds me of the lead singer's voice...in a very superficial way of course ^^;;) A good song to start out on for JDA is Heaven's Place, which is a little slower and tamer and more melodic than they usually are, but it's a great song. For people looking for something a bit faster, try Dry? or Mysterious. Janne da Arc recently released their third major label album, Gaia. The official site (Jpn only) has interview clips and track listings for the album, as well as text blurbs of song "liner notes." Janne da Arc has been around almost as long as bands like Glay and L'Arc~en~Ciel, albeit as an indies band, so their popularity level probably won't be increasing anymore any time soon. As a band that mostly plays fast, speedy tunes, they don't have the widespread appeal that those other bands have, but as artists, they definitely have something to offer a willing listener. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 03:28 p.m., and Teru just broke another window!"