B'z GREEN - review

GREEN
B'z 12th Album | Release date: July 3, 2002

Review by --- Dave from B'z Fanatics

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"Eeeney Meeney Miney Moe" - Keen ^0^

Let me first say that this album is not one of my favorites by any stretch, but it does have a flow that does beguile it's dizzying amounts of different styles. The return of the sequencing was not appreciated after the days of real drumming even though it was by a very poor drummer. GREEN has the theme of acting as though they were new to recording and to the industry, but the slick production kind of throws that idea out the window on its face. Performance wise, the album is amazing, some of the best pop that B'z has done since LOOSE, and the much stronger material makes it worth a good listen.

This whole album has a very "California Summer" kind of sound. In some spots, you will wonder if the sun got to them! Seriously, all joking aside, the album while tight, does have some songs that make you wonder why they were on a B'z album. As always, I rate songs based on the music and the flow of the songs, not so much on the lyrics, but I do occasional factor those in. From a guitar standpoint, while it has some nice points, Tak backs off the gas, and tries to let Kohshi's vocals and lyrics be the main vehicle. Some songs, Tak is hardly noticeable in some parts and non-existant, which shows the growth in the strength and arrangement of the music. If you like jazz-metal-surf-punk-classical-contemporary-pop, you'll love GREEN.

1| STAY GREEN

Simple, tight, and effective riff, Tak employs some neat volume swelling technique during the verses, ala Van Halen's Cathedral. Too much cymbals from the drums during the chorus, and the bass is quite nice and complementary.

2| ATSUKI KODOU NO HATE

The slow, simple, and sparce acoustic chords to begin the song beguiles the rest of the song arrangement. Nice slide work interspercing throughout. Nice vocal work on backgrounds. Tak adds some surf guitar flavor on the opening chords. Solo is decent length and not too complicated, but is effective. Drumming is not too bad, and the bass arrangement is complementary with the song.

3| WARP

Neat apreggiated chords to begin the song, but the song riffs seem to thin and lacklustre in their execution. The solo livens it up a little, but it is a textbook Tak solo with not much to distinguish it from any other. Once again, too much cymbals used, and the bass can barely be heard in some parts.

4| SIGNAL

Nice flanging and wah on the opening riff makes for a nice watery sound. The keyboard synth isn't too intrusive. Tak's playing is sparce throughout this track, and is on the light side, but is well executed. The drum track is not too bad, but sounds artificial in some parts. The bass line is nice and mellow, but has a few surprises. A simple mellow solo is played on the track, bluesy and tight.

5| SURFIN' GTR3000

Pretty standard riff, but some nice surf style guitar in parts. Tak mixes it up with some nice harmonics and guitar squeals during the verses. The synth and fake drums are just a travesty. The solo is not too bad, but it has something about it that I am not too enamored with. The bass lines are pretty good and it helps a pretty lacklustre track. Kohshi's vocals are strong and the squelching effects are kind of cool with a voice of his tembre.

6| BLUE SUNSHINE

A nice mellow B'z song, nice acoustic work and a nice harmony line to begin the track. A mild wah on the apreggio during the bridge is quite nice. Too much cymbals on this track too...quite infuriating at times. The bass is solid, clear, and punchy. Kohshi's vocals are quite nice on this track, and have a shimmering quality. The solo is classic Tak, a nice blending of slides and vibrato on certain parts, short, but effective.

7| ULTRA SOUL

Not really any noticeable difference between the single and album version, with the exception of the artificial sounding hi-hat in the drumming mix. This song has never been a favorite of mine, but it does have some interesting arrangement. The synth on this song is really irritating however, and as soneone who is not a fan of dance music, it makes it sometimes unbearable. The solo is much nicer and clearer, but the beginning seems like a 1st take. I have always liked the effect on the fadeout however.

8| UTSUKUSHIKI SEKAI

The jazzy feel to this tune is nice, Tak backs off a bit on this song, and Kohshi's voice becomes the vehicle, and to great effect. The keyboards are quite nice, as well as the drumming synth. Tak's solo is laid back, slow, and has a mysterious quality.

9| EVERLASTING

In the vein of songs like ONE, this song has a certain melodic feel that is hard to describe. The piano arrangement is quite exemplary, but not flashy. Except for the opening and chorus, Tak backs off, and lets the piano shine. The drumming is nice and solid, and the bass has a "follow the leader" effect with the base chords. The solo is classic Tak-wah, with a few nice modal lines thrown in for good measure.

10| FOREVER MINE

Best riff bar none on the album, the artificial drums are annoying however. The guitar arrangement during the verses is excellent, and the overdubs are used to great effect. Kohshi's backing track is very nice (I feel fine!), and the performance is solid. Bass is busy, but works in context. The solo is quite nice, and the bridge after is really strangely beautiful. In some ways, this song resembles another recent song..."Ikasete Okure!"

11| THE SPIRAL

Another mellow ballad to add to the exemplary B'z catalogue. Kohshi's watery sounding vocal during the verses give it a tense feeling, as well as the heavily chorused and flanged guitar. The piano is beautiful on this track. Tak employs some of the "re-bending" technique that he has added to his repetoire recently, as well as some strange sounding harmonics on the solo.

12| GO* FIGHT* WIN

A nice solid rocker, but is really hampered by the fake, sequenced drumming. Tak uses the "woman tone" on the solo, with some interesting open string hammer-ons in places. All in all, pretty basic fare. The outgoing solo is exciting, but too short. Simple song, though not much in the way of fireworks, as it were.

Final Thoughts

GREEN, while nicely produced, and having some amazing lyrics from the always prolific Kohshi Inaba, it misses the mark. Since Brotherhood, the album which is the best work they have released to date (IMHO), there has not been a body of work that can even come close. GREEN doesn't disappoint in the variety department however, sampling from many different styles, and somehow melding them into one cohesive statement.

In the lyric department, Kohshi's best words are definitely in SIGNAL, Blue Sunshine, Utsukushiki Sekai, Everlasting, and The Spiral. As far as the feel of the album, in some ways, it resembles some of their early work, a few albums that come to mind are RUN, LOOSE, and the 1st disc of The 7th Blues, but does not create the same fire that these releases generated. You will also notice that nothing is rated below a 3...that is simply because even if the song is lacklustre, the production is not...and as such it would difficult to give the most mediocre song a poor rating. As always, you as the listener must make your own judgements, but I cannot rate this album too high, after the strides taken with Brotherhood...returning to the pop-synth formulae seems a step in the wrong direction...especially after ELEVEN continued in the same vein.

Overall Rating 3.5/5

- Dave -

Check out Gerald's reviews on GREEN

Other reviews by Dave --- BUZZ (video), Big Machine, Brotherhood, LOOSE and The 7th Blues (album)

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