YOSHIKI music related Q&A

Yoshiki does Q & A 's occasionally, however many mysteries about music and lyrical content remain...a mystery.

If you had the chance to ask YOSHIKI about his music, what would you ask?

Here's a couple off the top of my head:

- Which Classical piece are you most proud of; Amethyst, Red Christmas or Miracle?

- Have Blind Dance and the Otherside been officially canned?

- Will we ever see the real PV for Jade? Or is the footage owned by Sankyo?

- Does the poem written for Without You feature on the studio version?

- Are the acoustic guitar parts in City of Devils played by you?

- How long in minutes is Art of Life Part 2 at this stage?

- Finally, X singles REMASTER sounds really great. Will we be able to buy the upcoming XJAPAN album in Hi-Res format?

XJAPAN New Album title

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

In the past YOSHIKI mentioned the album would be titled JADE and that JADE would be the 1st single.

That would have made sense, 

had the album launched shortly after JADE hit iTunes.

Ok...so Dahlia was performed live 

long before Dahlia became an album title.

However, we now have another option that molds well with what X JAPAN is trying to achieve.

I'm talking about doing something that no Asian band has ever done.

Becoming a 'household' name in America. To clarify, the kind of exposure that would mean if you randomly surveyed people walking down the street, 2/3rds of them would know what an X jump is.

With that in mind, wouldn't BENEATH THE SKIN be a fitting title?

As I see it, there are 2 issues that stand in the way of this happening.

i) Historically album titles have been songs where both music and lyrics are composed by YOSHIKI

ii) Beneath the Skin musically may not be    representative enough of X JAPAN.

The song is amazing, don't get me wrong. It has quickly became my favorite of the new tracks...but unlike Dahlia or JADE, it is less representative of X JAPANs overall sound.

As a bold catch phrase that invites the listener to look beneath the skin and experience the melody, the drama, the brilliance of X, without judging whether the band is from Japan or from time to time singing in a language that they don't understand.... It's brilliant.

I guess it will be a choice YOSHIKI has to make. Will he allow SUGIZO to take some of the limelight. 

He obviously really likes the song. 

He literally brought it back from the dead where S.K.I.N's memory lays dormant.

He also cleverly used it in the MSG promo video ontop of that Press conference footage from the Rocker feller centre.

3. Now on to the wild card...

a self titled album... X JAPAN.

For the sake of art, I sincerely hope there is a real title. Self titling is a boring, lazy practice that does not suit X.

4. IF (depending on your perspective) you consider blue blood their major debut as their 1st album and you do not consider Art of Life as their 3rd post debut studio album... Then IV might be viable. The 4th? Album? ....It is also the song that launched their reunion... 

I think Jade has more of a chance, 

but I'll leave it as a IVth option.

1. Blue Blood

2. Jealousy

3. Dahlia

4. IV

12

12 songs, all new recordings...
"Say it again.... We have a T-REX!" (excuse my excitement)

1. The Intro

Right now it's Last Song.
But which version will be on the album?
Keeping in mind "all new recordings".....
Three options are:

i)   2008.3.28 Night of Destruction (live)
ii)  English Short Intro (Grammy Museum Ver.)
iii) The ending piano part of the Single Ver.

You can arrange these into any order you prefer.
There are good reasons both historically, musically and
business-wise for either of these to take first honours.

Let's explore each briefly below.

2008.3.28 Night of Destruction (live Ver.):-
- It is the bridge between the Last Live and the renuinted X JAPAN we know and love
- It is the 1st time many fans from around the world fulfilled their dream of seeing X JAPAN live
- That incredible scream from the fans when Toshl's silhouette becomes visible behind the stage curtain ;)

English Short Intro:-
- It's in English
- It sounds like an intro and would still be considered an "all new recording"
- YOSHIKI already previewed it with Katie, so the lyrics are done

The ending piano part of the Single Ver.:-
- It makes artistic sense
- It would be original and innovative
- Fans would appreciate it, and new comers would oneday discover the genius behind it
- A fourth and final thought.... YOSHIKI likes leaving pretty awesome Easter Eggs in his music

2. The Album

So far Jade / Beneath the Skin / Hero and what looks like either an I or an L has been teased for Track 11. Some people say it must be IV. Other's hope it is the mysterious 'Larme', which no one knows much about other than that it was meant to be a song for VIOLET UK, and it ended up as the name of YOSHIKI's brand of Perfume (not sure which idea came first).

Let's assume it is IV for now..Can you imagine the 1st new single not making the album?
Let's also assume that Born to Be Free will make the album.
It never got a single release, but is catchy and has been apparently worked on
(despite no one ever hearing a studio version with real drums)

3. Without You / Scarlet Love Song

These are the only 2 new songs that are almost completely in Japanese.
They are the only 2 new ballads.
I don't think YOSHIKI has written an English version of either. 

So I guess it will be a choice between pleasing the fans, or pleasing the US market who might not like 2 songs in full Japanese (hey don't shoot the messenger...).

I've seen an interesting theory that Without You will not be on the album,
however it will be released later as a sort of compilation mini album, featuring:-

Without You
Without You (live)
Without You (classical)
Without You Promo Video... a project where fans submitted photos to the Record Company

The person who suggested this theory, likened the idea to the multiple versions of Tears/Forever love, and has the most thoughtful analysis of any X JAPAN blogger in Japan.
I can see the logic behind that idea.
It would leave room for future releases after the album.

4. Pata / Heath / ToshI / Sugizo Instrumental
12 Tracks is a lot of material.
Sure we may see an X JAPAN version of HELLO HELLO (aka the Hello Kitty Theme Song).
But wouldn't it be awesome if we got some solo spots to showcase the talent of the other members?
Wouldn't it be awesome if all 3 of them did even just 1 instrumental track together for the album?
Wriggle II anyone?

5. Ending : aka Art of Life II
I can't see them reusing Art of Life again for this album.
They already put it on the World Best album.
It has also been remastered too, as far as I am aware.

Art of Life II was revealed to be in the works, so it's a possibility.
If this is X JAPAN's final studio album, it would make sense to go all in.

The key here I think will be... Time constraints.
Can it be performed live this Summer?
Can the song be recorded to perfection in time?
Is there room for another release after this album?

6. Unreleased Material
Tears (English Ver.)
It has never been released....
and even though the song is over 20 years old, it has aged well.
The lyrics are some of the best YOSHIKI has ever written.
The Recording has been done to some extent (we hear it at the end of most post-renuion concerts).

In Closing
The album has changed forms already a few times.
It began as a compilation. 50% new songs, 50% old songs.
It supposedly almost turned into 2 mini-albums (thank g-d that never happened).

Putting out 12 songs at once shows real commitment.
I really hope the band is given the budget it needs to push this album.

Summer is when most bands start Touring.
It is when the biggest festivals are.
Momentum would be seriously affected again if the Summer 2015 window is missed.

Let's hope YOSHIKI's Mind / Body / Spirit and Soul all make it through to the end.
and then maybe with a bit of luck...the next post can be an Album review!