Tag Archives: DINOSAUR
The Guitars of DINOSAUR
Feature 
With every new B’z release comes great anticipation from the guitar enthusiasts that follow the band due to the contributions of composer-guitarist Tak Matsumoto. Thanks to BARKS, we now have an in-depth look at the equipment utilized for the recording of the twentieth B’z studio album DINOSAUR released earlier this week.
With regard to the recording sessions, Tak explained: “I always try a couple of guitars for each song, but this time I ran a lot of amps to search for the best match too. It’s quite a rush. Our sound has remained so stable for so long and because it was the same every time, I thought it’d become boring [to not try something new].” This desire to change led to the eclectic mix of rock tracks that now occupy the released album. Unlike previous albums, though, the guitar was mainly recorded in Japan and not their usual Los Angeles studio. This allowed more ready access to his vast array of guitars and equipment without having to see them all shipped overseas.
In all, the album saw eighteen electric and acoustic guitars be used across the thirteen tracks. A full accounting of all guitars and much of the amplifiers and effects pedals used in tandem to create the album’s sound are shown in the gallery below alongside the songs on which they were featured. Check it out!
Gibson TAK MATSUMOTO 1959 Les Paul Standard
A recreation by preeminent guitar manufacturer Gibson in their custom shop, the Gibson TAK MATSUMOTO 1959 Les Paul Standard is a highly detailed replica of a valuable Les Paul guitar owned by Tak since the early 90s. All of the visual imperfections, including cracks and scratches from aging inherent in the original in its half-century of life, are preserved with no concessions. A limited run of these replicas was prepared for buyers in Japan, with a premium edition signed by Tak selling out immediately after being announced. The guitar is now often played live as a substitute for its more valuable sister instrument, which is never taken out of the studio due to its value and age.
Can be heard on Dinosaur / CHAMP / Still Alive / Seimei (★ Only guitar used for track) / Yowai Otoko / Purple Pink Orange
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DINOSAUR Debuts at the Top of Oricon Daily Chart
News 
DINOSAUR has debuted at the top of the Daily Oricon Albums chart and is their seventeenth consecutive studio album to do so.
B’z have returned with their latest studio album DINOSAUR and have done so at the top of the Oricon charts. First day data shows 107,723 physical copies sold as pre-orders. The numbers are in line with the first day sales of recent studio albums ACTION (109,680), C’mon (111,549), and EPIC DAY (118,540) despite the decreased appetite for physical releases even in Japan—where the drop has not been as drastic as other markets.
Thus far, numbers indicate the album is on track for a debut just under 200,000 physical copies ahead of its digital debut a few weeks later. Second day sales were tracked at 44,271 copies, which is nearly a thirty percent increase over EPIC DAY‘s sales in the same frame and puts it slightly ahead of its predecessor.
You can also now hear samples of all the album’s tracks on the B’z Wiki in the corresponding article. You can expect full details on the album and its production in the near future.
B’z Rock Best Artist 2017 with “Still Alive”
News 
B’z have just wrapped up their appearance on Nippon TV’s Best Artist 2017 program with the debut television performance of “Still Alive“. The appearance comes on the eve of the release for their twentieth studio album DINOSAUR. The band appeared for a brief interview beforehand prior to a video package being run featuring footage from ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017. The band were supported by Barry Sparks on bass and Shane Gaalaas on drums.
Tak also brought back his first ever Gibson signature guitar: the 1999 Gibson Les Paul Tak Matsumoto Signature model in Canary Yellow. This is the guitar’s first appearance on a live stage in sixteen years after last being seen for B’z LIVE-GYM 2001 “ELEVEN”. The guitar was supplanted later by the Tak Burst model before he segued to his Double Cutaway models beginning in 2004. Given the band’s thirtieth anniversary is coming next year, it’s possible Tak will be revisiting many of his older guitars for the upcoming tours.
Tak performing the finger tap solo for “Still Alive” with his original signature guitar
B’z ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017 DIGEST Video Now Available!
News Next week’s release of the next B’z studio album DINOSAUR will come in three editions: a CD only version as well as DVD and Blu-ray editions. Those sporting bonus video discs feature their full appearance at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017. The eleven-song appearance ran just over an hour and featured many of their staple hits such as “ultra soul“, “Ichibu to Zenbu“, and new single “Still Alive“.
Today, a video was added to the official B’z YouTube channel with most of the songs sampled. Others, such as “Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo” and “Shoudou“, will be featured on the discs but are not shown here.
CD+DVD / CD+Blu-ray Limited Edition
B’z at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017
For the first time ever, the limited edition will come in both DVD and Blu-ray-bearing editions and will cover the band’s full setlist from ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017. The show featured many of the band’s most-beloved hits with some of their most recent output and a few lesser-played gems all in tow.
1. Samayoeru Aoi Dangan
2. Liar! Liar!
3. Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo
4. Uchouten
5. Hadashi no Megami
6. Ichibu to Zenbu
7. Still Alive
8. Shoudou
9. juice
10. girigiri chop
11. ultra soul
CD+DVD / CD+Blu-ray Editions: 4,500yen + tax
CD Only Edition: 3,000yen + tax
The album is due out on November 29, 2017 and can be pre-ordered internationally from the retailers below:
CDJapan: Regular Edition, Limited DVD Edition, Limited Blu-ray Edition
YesAsia: Regular Edition, Limited DVD Edition, Limited Blu-ray Edition
Amazon Japan: Regular Edition, Limited DVD Edition, Limited Blu-ray Edition
B’z “CHAMP” Music Video Now Available!”
News On the verge of the new studio album DINOSAUR coming November 29, B’z have made available a full music video for album song “CHAMP”. An excerpt from the video was previously included in the album commercial that began airing recently. Best of all is that the video also samples live footage of the song from its appearances during B’z SHOWCASE 2017 -B’z In Your Town- where it was performed as part of the encore.
You can see the full version of the “CHAMP” music video including the new live footage below:
DINOSAUR Commercial Now Airing (With Koshi as Narrator?)
News The first television commercial for the upcoming B’z studio album DINOSAUR is now on air. The ad features new footage of an apparent music video for album song “CHAMP” and recent single “Still Alive“. Its original premiere came during a recent episode of the anime series Detective Conan. B’z have provided the series numerous theme songs over the years, beginning with “girigiri chop” in 1999. Many of the songs used in the series since its infancy have been supplied by fellow Being artists and thus their works are often advertised during airings.
Interestingly, Japanese fans are speculating that the narrator of the commercial is Koshi Inaba himself. It certainly sounds like him and the English—specifically the pronunciation of the album’s title—is appropriately on point, if so.
