| Eternal Melody | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 21, 1993 December 27, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | February 1993 Air Studio, London | |||
| Genre | Classical | |||
| Length | 75:38 | |||
| Label | Toshiba-EMI, Polydor | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Yoshiki chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Blue Blood | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 2001 re-release cover | ||||
Eternal Melody is the first classical studio album by Japanese musician Yoshiki. It was released on April 21,1993.
In 1991,Yoshiki released his first album,classical compilation Yoshiki Selection,which included various classical works together with orchestral arrangements of songs by his band X Japan. In 1992,inspired by Keith Jarrett's album The Köln Concert ,he began learning about jazz improvisation and orchestration. [1]
Eternal Melody was recorded in February,1993,at the Air Lyndhurst Hall recording studio in London,owned by English record producer Sir George Martin,and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. The music was written by Yoshiki,produced by George Martin,co-arranged with Gavin Greenaway and Graham Preskett,and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. [2]
Besides including orchestral arrangements of X Japan songs,the album also contains two new songs,"Overture" and "Amethyst."
Eternal Melody was followed by Eternal Melody II in 2005.
The album was released on April 21,1993,by Toshiba-EMI. It reached number six on the Oricon charts in the first week of May, [3] selling 83,740 copies. [4] The following week,it dropped to number nine,with 31,940 copies sold, [5] and in the third week it dropped to number fourteen,with 15,050 copies sold. [6] In the fourth week,it dropped to number twenty five,selling 9,030 copies. [7] The album charted for six weeks in total. [3] It was re-released on December 27,2001,by Polydor.
On November 3,two singles written and co-produced by Yoshiki were released:"Amethyst" and "Ima wo Dakishimete",with the second being a karaoke adaptation of the second orchestral song from the first single,which wasn't included in the album.
The first single was released by Toshiba-EMI,as the single of London Philharmonic Orchestra,and co-produced by George Martin,while the second single was released by BMG Japan,and name credit went to TBS,as was the theme song for their drama Tetteiteki ni Ai wa...,and co-produced with drama director Endo Tamaki (from TBS).
In the third week of November,the singles reached number five and three on the charts,with sales of 74,740 and 85,610 copies,respectively. [8] They charted for five and eighteen weeks,respectively. [9] [10] In 1994,"Ima wo Dakishimete" was the 35th annual best-selling single,with sales of 581,610 copies,and won the "Excellence award" at the 36th Japan Record Awards . [11]
The song "Amethyst" was included in his second classical compilation,Yoshiki Selection II,and with "Ima wo Dakishimete" in his second classical studio album,Eternal Melody II.
All music is composed by Yoshiki, and arrangers noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overture" | 9:13 |
| 2. | "Vanishing Love" (Graham Preskett) | 4:54 |
| 3. | "Amethyst" (Graham Preskett) | 6:18 |
| 4. | "Kurenai" (Graham Preskett) | 4:43 |
| 5. | "Endless Rain" (George Martin) | 6:17 |
| 6. | "Unfinished" (Gavin Greenaway) | 6:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Say Anything" (Gavin Greenaway) | 10:07 |
| 8. | "Silent Jealousy" (Graham Preskett) | 4:59 |
| 9. | "A Piano String in Es Dur" (Gavin Greenaway) | 3:36 |
| 10. | "Week End" (Graham Preskett) | 5:55 |
| 11. | "Rose of Pain" (Gavin Greenaway) | 7:34 |
| 12. | "Tears" (George Martin) | 4:24 |
X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads. Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western glam.
Yoshiki Hayashi, known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the visual kei rock bands X Japan and The Last Rockstars, for which he is the drummer, pianist, and main songwriter. He has been described by Billboard as a "musical innovator" and named "one of the most influential composers in Japanese history" by Consequence of Sound. Yoshiki's solo career includes several classical studio albums and collaborations with artists such as George Martin, Bono, will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, St. Vincent, Stan Lee, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, Gene Simmons and KISS, Nicole Scherzinger, and Sarah Brightman.
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Blue Blood is the second studio album by Japanese rock band X Japan, then known as simply X. It was released on April 21, 1989, by CBS/Sony as the band's major label debut. Blue Blood sold more than 700,000 copies, reached number 6 on the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for more than 100 weeks. The album's singles would also reach the top five on the chart. In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan ranked Blue Blood number 15 on their list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".
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