Tag Archives: Translations

Posted on August 29, 2016

After years of work, an integral part of the B’z Wiki has been completed. Today, we have published eleven new articles which means, at long last, articles for all 52 B’z singles are now completed!

This project was especially difficult because of the language barrier involved. Hours of research into a base article can in turn lead you down a rabbit hole attempting to track down the origin of one solitary comment. Prior to the B’z Wiki and associated efforts, virtually none of this information was available in English. These 52 articles total over 60,000 words—approaching the length of a proper novel—and attempt to offer something new for even the most seasoned B’z veterans.

All told, the breadth of the band’s career and the litany of releases to cover has made this an especially daunting task, but today, that is no longer a concern—the long-promised singles pages are now completed!

For those that have browsed the Wiki for such information before, here are the most recent articles you may have missed:

• Dakara Sono Te wo Hanashite (1988)
• LADY-GO-ROUND (1990)
• Taiyou no Komachi Angel (1990)
• Easy Come, Easy Go! (1990)
• LADY NAVIGATION (1991)
• ZERO (1992)
• Ai no Mama ni Wagamama ni… (1993)
• Hadashi no Megami (1993)
• Don’t Leave Me (1994)
• Negai (1995)
• love me, I love you (1995)
• LOVE PHANTOM (1995)
• Calling (1997)
• HOME (1998)
• ultra soul (2001)
• Yasei no ENERGY (2003)
• BANZAI (2004)
• ARIGATO (2004)

Additionally, in commemoration of this milestone, read on for 52 facts about the 52 singles that you may or may not yet know!

(more…)

Posted on March 5, 2016

Over two years have passed since the home video release of B’z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 ENDLESS SUMMER -XXV BEST-. The band has had their share of singles, albums, and solo works in the interim, but it is with the recently-released B’z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT- that the band makes their big return to the live stage on DVD and Blu-ray.

Today, we have for you an exhaustive review and report on the band’s latest release. Please be advised that this review is written to be mostly as spoiler-free as possible with regard to the specific surprises of the show, but the song inclusions and beat-by-beat moments are discussed at length. Additionally, translations and summaries of Koshi’s dialogue with the band and the audience are included for those seeking clarification.

Read on to see exactly what awaits in the band’s latest home video offering and feel free to offer your own thoughts as well.

(more…)

Posted on February 24, 2016

One day prior to official release 「B’z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT-」 has debuted on #1 in the general Blu-ray and on #2 in the general DVD daily ranking at Oricon. Furthermore, the band has as usual released a message for their fans to celebrate their latest release.

Posted on February 22, 2016

At the recent 58th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, Tak Matsumoto appeared during Japanese broadcaster WOWOW’s live coverage of the event as a guest. Actor-musician Johnny Depp and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry appeared in the preceding segment to promote their supergroup Hollywood Vampires and were photographed by the staff with Tak as he emerges for the interview.

Today, the full ten minute interview is now available to be viewed below, complete with subtitles.

Posted on February 17, 2016

Translating all these interviews word by word takes a lot of time and effort, which has created a huge backlog on our part. To still keep you all updated with the latest information, we will from now on give you a quick summary of the most important points that have been made or revealed during each interview.

Be With! Vol. 108 was delivered to fanclub members in January 2016. The interview section is split up into “Tak Matsumoto” and “Koshi Inaba” interviews respectively. Both interviews were conducted at the end of November 2015.

Tak Matsumoto Interview

Tak was interviewed in his private studio in L.A., currently busy with recording. Below is a brief summary of what they talked about.

TV Asahi Dream Festival

– Enjoyed performing there very much
– Playing two versions of “ZERO” was Koshi’s idea: playing one chorus in the way they played it during the “EPIC NIGHT” tour
– Didn’t get to see the other artists as he was busy in his wardrobe
– Went to OZZFEST and saw 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Black Label Society, Hatebreed and BABYMETAL
– Wanted to see BABYMETAL and therefore went to OZZFEST; he liked BABYMETAL’s performance very much

Fanclub Exclusive SHOWCASE

– Thought they had done a fanclub exclusive event before
– Was surprised that fanclub members remembered the lyrics to “hole in my heart” and “Naite Naite Nakiyandara”
– Would do such an event again if there was a plan to do it

New Songs For “The World Heritage”

– Made the ending theme first
– Producers of the show had a lot of requests regarding the main theme
– Hasn’t decided on a title for the track yet
– Sometimes makes songs before deciding on a title; this seems to be the case here
– Jason Sutter on drums
– Juan Alderete on bass (also worked with B’z on “SUPER LOVE SONG” and “ACTION”)
– Main theme for “The World Heritage” was recorded in L.A.
– Ending theme was recorded with Shane and Barry while on tour in Japan
– Akira Onozuka on piano

Song for Ukiyo-e Exhibition: “Ups and Downs”

– At the time he received the request, he had already finished all songs for the new album
– Decided to make one more song
– Thinking about putting that song on the new album as well
– Enjoyed working on the song as he also likes Ukiyo-e
– Recorded with Jason Sutter and Sean Hurley (“Kuroi Seishun” from “ACTION”)
– Was looking for a drummer for next year’s solo tour and wasn’t sure about Jason Sutter, so he invited him to work on recording first
– Liked him as a person as well as his musical skills; Jason plays drums on over two-thirds of the new solo record

New Solo Album

– Didn’t specifically choose to make a rock-style album; just makes what he wanted to do at the time
– He is self-producing the new solo album (compared to “New Horizon” with Paul Brown and Robert Williams)

Upcoming Solo Tour

– Two of his solo shows will be in big venues: Osaka Jo Hall and Nippon Budokan
– Thought something special could be done in bigger venues
– Unusual for instrumental performances to take place in big venues
– Will perform both new and old songs with a focus on the new album
– Fans will not get to see him sing

Private Time

– Went to see LOUDNESS in LA
– Saw American Football for the first time; Watched UCLA vs UC Berkeley in the stadium
– A friend, who is a sports eventmanager, invited him
– Was surprised that a football game can take 3-4 hours to finish although each quarter is only 15 minutes.

B’z Recording

– Still a secret what they are working on, but they are working on something
– As they promised, they will be back as B’z in 2016

Posted on February 10, 2016

Tak Matsumoto’s upcoming solo tour 「Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage-」 is set to kick off next month with a total of five dates that includes his first arena shows as a solo artist. These will take place at Osaka Jo Hall on April 24th and the Nippon Budokan on May 7th. Today, Tak released a short message teasing what audience members can expect from the show, which we have subtitled for you below:

Additionally, the results of the fan-request polling for the upcoming tour have also been revealed, with just over twenty songs coming in on the rankings. As mentioned in the above video, Tak expects to mix the majority of his as-yet-untitled new album due out this Spring with several of his older solo songs. The songs chosen by fans include several on which Tak provided vocals himself, from 1999’s KNOCKIN’ “T” AROUND. These include single “THE CHANGING” alongside album songs “SAKURA” and “Zero Yori Zero Kara”. Naturally, most of Tak’s best-known solo compositions made the list, including “#1090～Thousand Dreams～“, “Hana“, “Koi Uta“, “GO FURTHER“, and “SACRED FIELD“.

Tak Matsumoto Tour 2016 -The Voyage- Song Request Results

* Denotes a tie with an adjacent song

1. “99”
2. GO FURTHER
3. #1090～Thousand Dreams～
4. Koi Uta [恋歌]
5. LIFE
6. Hana [華]
7. SACRED FIELD *
8. THE CHANGING *
9. RED SUN
10. Strings Of My Soul
11. Love Ya
12. Zero Yori Zero Kara [ゼロよりゼロから]
13. FIGHTING BULL *
14. SPAIN *
15. Trinity *
16. Play It So Loud
17. Believin’ you *
18. Long Distance Call *
19. SAKURA
20. Romeo & Juliet *
21. Theme from Fist of the North Star ～The Road of Lords～ *
22. THE THEME OF B.J. *