Feature

As with every year, B’z has posted a message for their fans on the official fanclub’s website. B’z is now truly 25 years old as the band was founded in 1988. Look forward to those three upcoming LIVE-GYM releases and let’s see what the band has got in store for us this year!

Feature

Koshi and Tak have set down with Japanese magazine “WHAT’s IN?” and shared their favorite albums in 2012. Interestingly enough, Tak’s #5 is one of his own works: Strings Of My Soul. That’s a rather odd choice. Why would he choose his own album as #5?

Here are Koshi and Tak’s favorite albums of 2012:

Tak Matsumoto

1. Aerosmith / Music from Another Dimension
2. One Direction / Up All Night
3. The Derek Trucks Band / Already Free
4. Adam Rogers / Sight
5. Tak Matsumoto / Strings Of My Soul

Koshi Inaba

1. The Big Pink / Future This
2. Led Zeppelin / Celebration Day
3. Soundgarden / King Animal
4. Sakanaction / DocumentaLy
5. Tak Matsumoto / Strings Of My Soul

What are your favorite albums of 2012? Share them with us in the comments! We wish you all a merry Christmas and happy holidays!

News

B’z during their first Music Station SUPER LIVE performance in 1992

Before B’z appeared on stage, a segment was shown in which the band’s history of SUPER LIVE performances was detailed. B’z appeared on the first ever Music Station SUPER LIVE in 1992, during their 5th anniversary. They performed their million selling hit “ZERO” on stage. From there on out, the band can look back on countless Music Station SUPER LIVE performances:

• Music Station SUPER LIVE 1992 – ZERO
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 1996 – SNOW / Shoushin
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 1997 – Swimmer Yo! / Calling
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2000 – Seventh Heaven / Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2001 – GOLD / ultra soul
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2002 – Mou Ichido Kiss Shitakatta / Atsuki Kodou no Hate
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2003 – IT’S SHOWTIME!!
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2004 – ARIGATO
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2005 – Itsuka no Merry Christmas / OCEAN
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2006 – Shoudou
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2007 – SUPER LOVE SONG
• Music Station SUPER LIVE 2012 – Ichibu to Zenbu / Ai no Bakudan

Since 2007, B’z have not been present on television as they used to. In 2008, the band was busy celebrating their 20th anniversary and the only time they appeared on television was during the 20th anniversary NHK special. The following year, in 2009, the band didn’t perform on television at all, except for a short comment recorded for their then latest single Ichibu to Zenbu. The last time B’z performed on television was last year, on April 1st, when they performed Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo and Brotherhood on a Music Station special. For the first time in 5 years, B’z is making an appearance on a Music Station SUPER LIVE.

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News

For the first time in 5 years, B’z is going to perform on a Music Station SUPER LIVE. The Music Station SUPER LIVE is set to be broadcasted on December 21st, 2012 from 7PM to 11:10PM. It is still unclear which song(s) the band is going to perform on television, but one might think that this is a perfect occasion for a rendition of  “Itsuka no Merry Christmas”?! Or perhaps B’z is going to perform an entirely new song? What do you think?

The last time B’z has appeared on a broadcast of a SUPER LIVE was in 2007, when they performed their then latest single SUPER LOVE SONG. But this isn’t exactly the last time B’z has appeared on television. The band was performing on a Music Station special last year on April 1 to show their support for the earthquake victims. They performed Brotherhood and Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo.

Check out the full lineup for the 2012 SUPER LIVE here: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/music/contents/m_lineup/cur/

News

The first news of the B’z 25th anniversary year is here, and… it’s BIG! In typical B’z fashion, the celebration is being kicked off in a huge way! Beginning January 30th, the band will be releasing not one, not two, but THREE previously unreleased LIVE-GYMs on home video in the span of only three months!

The news came down on B’z PARTY (the official B’z fanclub in Japan) this morning and you won’t have to wait long! For the first time ever,B’z LIVE-GYM 2008 “ACTION” will be seeing its home video debut, while—finally—we will be able to see the full shows of LIVE-GYM 2005 “CIRCLE OF ROCK” and LIVE-GYM 2001 “ELEVEN” (previously highlighted on compilation discs released over the years). ACTION will be coming in January, with the other two to follow in February and March respectively.

What is perhaps most noteworthy about these releases is the fact that so many of the songs being released are coming to home video in live form for the very first time. The 2008 single “BURN -Fumetsu no Face-” will make its live debut on the ACTION release, along with album songs “Junjou ACTION” and “Perfect Life”, plus prized B-side “New Message” (among many others). The 2008 tour was especially exciting for fans for—at the time—offering one of the best balanced setlists the band had put together and should be a fantastic watch when it hits DVD & Blu-ray on January 30th.

January 30, 2013 — B’z LIVE-GYM 2008 “ACTION” on DVD & Blu-ray
February 27, 2013 — B’z LIVE-GYM 2005 “CIRCLE OF ROCK” on DVD
March 27, 2013 — B’z LIVE-GYM 2001 “ELEVEN” on DVD

All releases will cost you 6,300 Yen. There is no additional content.

Set lists after the break! A ☆ denotes a song making its home video debut.

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Feature

With this being the 25th anniversary year for B’z, we have decided to run a series of retrospectives throughout the year celebrating the band’s achievements and accomplishments. Essentially, we will be providing extensive write-ups on certain B’z albums, singles, tours, and related subjects on a regular basis for the entire year. All articles pertaining to this feature will also be simultaneously archived in the B’z Wiki for posterity.

Today, we will be begin by looking back at the seminal B’z album RUNon what is today its 20th birthday! To this day, the album remains an undisputed milestone in the B’z catalogue.

RUN

RUN  is the sixth studio album by B’z, released on October 28, 1992. The album is one of many for the band to not just launch at number one, but to also sell in excess of 1,000,000 copies in only its first week on shelves. When it made its way to the public, RUN served to showcase even more that B’z was a rock band above all else. Continuing on from the hard rock sound sampled well in the previous album IN THE LIFE, much of the sound here would shape the image of B’z for years to come. The album was supported by B’z LIVE-GYM ’93 “RUN” and is one of the few B’z albums from which every song has been played live. Several of the songs found on the album, including the sole single, “ZERO”, have become staples of B’z live shows over the years and remain beloved by fans.

The titular track “RUN” has been performed live at almost every Pleasure LIVE-GYM since its release, including the 15th anniversary tour in 2003 and the 20th anniversary tour in 2008, and has typically been used to close out shows with a positive and inspirational message. The song was also voted onto the fan-selected best-of collection B’z The Best “Treasure” in 1998, where it was re-recorded in contemporary rock form to showcase the band’s growth and labeled “1998 style”, as well as B’z The Best “ULTRA Treasure” ten years later in 2008.

Many of the album songs went on to become beloved fan-favorites, including the up-tempo rock number “Out Of Control”, which was revived after fourteen years of not being performed live for SHOWCASE 2007 -19-. “NATIVE DANCE” has been included in three Pleasure setlists since its release, including GLORY DAYS. “Sayonara Nanka wa Iwasenai” (Don’t Say the Word Goodbye) was used to close out the album’s LIVE-GYM as well as that of Pleasure’93. It, along with fellow album track “Gekkou” and the aforementioned “RUN”, was voted onto the band’s second 20th anniversary album B’z The Best “ULTRA Treasure”. In addition, “Gekkou” was also previously included on The Ballads ~Love & B’z~ in 2002.

Uniquely, almost all of the songs from the album became the subject of English demos. None of these versions were ever officially released and remain accessible to fans only in leaked form. Judging by the demos available, the only songs to not receive English renditions were “THE GAMBLER”, “Akai Kagerou”, and “Sayonara Nanka wa Iwasenai”. (more…)