| 1. Silent Jealousy |
| 2. Endless Rain |
| 3. Rusty Nail |
| 4. Tears |
| 5. Art Of Life |
| 6. Dahlia |
| 7. Say Anything |
| 8. Forever Love (Single Ver.) |
| 9. Longing |
| 10. Scars |
| 11. Crucify My Love |
Best: Fan's Selection,X (Japan),Universal/Polygram,World Music
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X Japan Best - Fan's Selection
ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| International
| Styles
| Music
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ASIN: B000BY4CK4 |
Product Description
A 2 Disc best of compilation with songs selected by the band's fans through a poll conducted on the internet.Track list: Disc One: 1. Kurenai 2. SILENT JEALOUSY 3. ENDLESS RAIN 4. RUSTY NAIL 5. TEARS 6. ART OF LIFE(full version) Disc Two: 7. DAHLIA 8. SAY ANYTHING 9. FOREVER LOVE(SINGLE VER.) 10. Longing - Togireta Melody 11. SCARS 12. CRUCIFY MY LOVECustomer Reviews:
The Peniultimate X JAPAN Collection.......2006-01-12
Yoshiki, who obsessively composed the vast majority of the band's songs, was the frontman and spiritual leader of X JAPAN. Playing wicked drums and, alternately, angelic piano, Yoshiki founded the stepping stone rock label of Extasy Records, as none of the other music companies in Japan would support X JAPAN's then-controversial music. Toshi on vocals, hide (now deceased) and Pata on guitars, and Taiji (later, Heath) on bass fleshed out the band's eventual lineup. While the band officially split in 1997, their legacy is even today unparalleled in Japan, the unofficial symbol of just what perfected speed metal, and classically-inspired, orchaestrated beauty torn from the depths of one's very soul, can be.
Yoshiki's compositions are epic, more than memorable, and might never be equaled. He and his bandmembers all performed above what most would consider a "professional" level: they are iconic. Some Westerners might compare certain aspects of X JAPAN's music to Metallica, Scorpions, at times Bon Jovi--and in the same breath they would also mention Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. If you, dear consumer, are a fan of the modern "rock" scene over here and are looking for another gravelly vocalist whining over a backdrop of overly-distorted guitars, this is NOT the band for you. X JAPAN's music is *art*. While the first X album (they changed their name to "X JAPAN" in 1994 when Heath replaced Taiji) came out, it was greatly tangible anger; it was seething, violent music and lyrics. Time found the band's image and their sound changing, not so much *mellowing* as *maturing*. "Blue Blood", the album that found them notoriety, featured "Kurenai" on its track list, as well as "Endless Rain": two singles that are legendary even by today's standards.
"Kurenai" is a metal epic that is known far beyond Japan's borders. Indeed, it is the first X JAPAN song that I ever came across, and it was the song that hooked me and pulled me under. Melodic speed-metal that surges and spins and rages with beauty, lyrics that (if you can speak Japanese or are able to translate them) make the very world cry for you, and twisted Twin Guitars that marry Yoshiki's maddened drumming swirl a terrible storm from a swelling quiet of symphonic orchaestration and acoustic guitar. On the flipside, "Endless Rain" is X JAPAN's first major ballad, a comparatively quiet piece with piano as its pulse and a uniquely memorable guitars to add muscle where needed.
Both "Kurenai" and "Endless Rain" can be found on "Best ~ Fan's Selection". Indeed, "Fan's Selection" is just that: what the fans voted for. If I had been coherent at the time I would have voted online with the rest of them (I was still relatively new to J-ROCK back then), but over 200,000 fans--predominantly Japanese, I'd imagine--cast their votes for the "best" X JAPAN song. The twelve songs who received the most votes were compiled together into this two-disc set ("Kurenai" came in #1, by the way). And, of course, while there are many other excellent X JAPAN songs that didn't come even close to making up this album's lineup, it certainly is a grand representation of the band's surreal talent.
Spanning the albums "Blue Blood" to "Dahlia", there are songs from the band's more Visual days--angry, sullen, and raucous--and then there are songs from an older, wiser X JAPAN. Speed-metal epics and moving ballads live side-by-side, sweeping the listener away with pure emotion, pain and ecstasy, beauty and strength. It MUST be said that the thirty-minute, progressive-speed metal tour-de-force, "Art of Life", is included on the first disc as track #6. If for nothing else than its convenient packaging of other great X JAPAN songs, "Best" is worth purchasing so as to obtain a copy of this *very* hard to obtain classic-styled metal masterpiece. "Art of Life" is like no other song I've ever heard, a literal juggernaut of musical vision and talent.
Have I overwhelmed you with praise for this band? They're honestly that good. Perhaps X JAPAN isn't for everyone, a bit too hard-rock for some or not discordant enough for others, but their talent is undeniable, and their influence within the modern Japanese music industry unparalleled. If you're only going to ever purchase one X JAPAN album, it should probably be this collection. You'll get much more than your money's worth.
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Best: Fan's Selection
X-Japan Manufacturer: Universal/Polygram ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| International
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| Music
International
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ASIN: B00005UDAQ Release Date: 2001-12-19 |
Tracks:
- Silent Jealousy
- Endless Rain
- Rusty Nail
- Tears
- Art Of Life
- Dahlia
- Say Anything
- Forever Love (Single Ver.)
- Longing
- Scars
- Crucify My Love
International Music: