| "The Last Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by X Japan | ||||
| Released | March 18, 1998 | |||
| Length | 11:26 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Yoshiki | |||
| X Japan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Last Song" is an X Japan single released on March 18, 1998, shortly after the band's breakup in late 1997.
| "The Last Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ||||
| Single by X Japan | ||||
| Released | March 18, 1998 | |||
| Length | 11:26 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Yoshiki | |||
| X Japan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Last Song" is an X Japan single released on March 18, 1998, shortly after the band's breakup in late 1997.
It comes on an enhanced CD containing one audio track, along with several bonus features on the data track, such as the band's disbandment statement, a full discography and a live video of "The Last Song", filmed during the band's last concert on December 31, 1997 at the Tokyo Dome. [1] The single's cover art depicts X Japan co-founders Yoshiki and Toshi embracing during the aforementioned concert, which was also released as a live album ( The Last Live ) and a home video ( The Last Live Video ), however, the footage of this song was cut from the video. It was later restored when the home video was re-released in 2011 as The Last Live Complete Edition.
As its name states, this song was the last song released by X Japan, until 2008 when they released "I.V.", the theme song for Saw IV, and the last song to feature new work from their longtime guitarist hide before his death.
The "Last Live" performance was the first and last time the song was played live by this lineup of the band, it was however the first song the band performed live after reuniting, as it was the opening song at their first reunion concert on March 28, 2008 also at the Tokyo Dome. [2] The 1997 performance ended with the band laying down their instruments one by one, in a manner similar to Joseph Haydn's Farewell Symphony , until only Yoshiki was left playing the piano. [3]
The single reached number 8 on the Oricon charts, and charted for 9 weeks. [4]
Written and composed by Yoshiki.
L'Arc-en-Ciel is a Japanese rock band, founded in Osaka in 1991. With a reported 40 million records sold, they were the first Japanese act to headline at Madison Square Garden. In 2003, they were ranked 58 on a list of the top 100 Japanese pop musicians by HMV Japan. While they first got their start as a visual kei band, they have not had any association with the movement since their major label debut in 1994.
X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer 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.
GLAY is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, including progressive rock, punk, electronic, R&B, folk, gospel, reggae, and ska. Originally a visual kei band, the group slowly shifted to less dramatic attire through the years. As of 2008, Glay had sold an estimated 51 million records; 28 million singles and 23 million albums, making them one of the top ten best-selling artists of all time in Japan.
Hideto Takarai, known by his stage name Hyde, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991, he is also the lead vocalist of Vamps and has a solo career.
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 band X Japan, 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.
NEWS is a three-member Japanese band consisting of Keiichiro Koyama, Takahisa Masuda and Shigeaki Kato. The group's name is an acronym based on the cardinal directions. Formed in 2003 by Johnny Kitagawa as a nine-member group under the label Johnny's Entertainment, NEWS released a promotional single "NEWS Nippon", which was used for the World Cup of Volleyball Championships. In 2004, Takahiro Moriuchi left the group and the remaining eight members released their debut single, "Kibō: Yell", which debuted atop the Oricon charts.
Hiroshi Morie, known exclusively by his stage name Heath, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is the bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan. He joined the group in 1992 a few months after the ex-bassist Taiji Sawada left the band. Heath stayed with X Japan until the band's dissolution in 1997 and reunited with the band from 2007 onward.
Art of Life is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993, by Atlantic Records. The album consists solely of the 29-minute-long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yoshiki entirely in English and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It topped the Oricon chart and has sold over 600,000 copies. The album is the band's first after changing their name from simply "X" and the first to feature bassist Heath.
Dahlia is the fifth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on November 4, 1996 by Atlantic Records. It is the band's last album before breaking up the following year, and the last to feature new work by guitarist hide, due to his death two years later. The album is composed largely of ballads, with only a few tracks retaining the band's heavier musical traits seen on previous releases. It topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for only 15 weeks, but managed to sell over half a million copies. Seven, nearly all, of the album's songs were released as singles, most of which also topped the singles chart and sold well.
Jealousy is the third studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known as simply X. The album was released on July 1, 1991 by Sony, as the band's second major label release. Jealousy is the band's best-selling album, having sold more than one million copies, it topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. The album's singles would also reach the top three on the chart. It is their last album under the name "X", before changing to "X Japan", and the last to feature Taiji on bass, who would be replaced by Heath.
"Crucify My Love" is the fifteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 26, 1996.
"Silent Jealousy" is a single released by X Japan on September 11, 1991.
"Forever Love" is the fourteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on July 8, 1996.
"Kurenai" is a song by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, written by Yoshiki. One of the band's oldest songs, they have been performing "Kurenai" since 1985, and several versions have been released, most significantly as their major-label debut single on September 1, 1989.
The discography of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan consists of 5 studio albums, 6 live albums, 1 remix album, 11 compilations, 1 soundtrack album, 23 singles, and around 22 live video recordings.
"Endless Rain" is the fourth single released by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan on December 1, 1989. It is their second single on a major record label and reached number 3 on the Oricon chart.
"Rusty Nail" is the tenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on June 10, 1994.
"Longing" is a ballad by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan and written by Yoshiki. The song has been released in several versions, most notably in two different single variations. The first, "Longing ~Togireta Melody~", was released as their eleventh single on August 1, 1995 and reached the number 1 spot on the Oricon chart. The second, "Longing ~Setsubou no Yoru~", is their twelfth released on December 11, 1995 and reached number 5.
"Dahlia" is the thirteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on February 26, 1996.
The Last Live is an X Japan live album released on May 5, 2001. It contains what was the band's last concert, recorded at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997. The band, however, has since reunited, though this was their last live concert with guitarist Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, who died nearly half a year thereafter. A DVD/VHS version was also released, titled The Last Live Video. The album reached number 7 on the Oricon chart. In 2020, Jonathan McNamara of The Japan Times listed it as one of the 10 Japanese albums worthy of inclusion on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
|format= requires |url= (help). Geneon. 2011. JAN: 0757402639771.  | This 1990s rock song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
