Style is the fifth studio album by Japanese rock band Luna Sea, released on April 22, 1996.[2] It was the band's last on the record label MCA Victor, became their first number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, and charted for 21 weeks. In 1996, it was certified Platinum by the RIAJ for sales over 400,000. Luna Sea re-recorded the entire album and released it on November 29, 2023, through Avex Trax.
| Style | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 22, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Sound Sky Kawana, Sound Sky Studio, Hitokuchizaka, Victor, | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock[1] | |||
| Length | 61:00 | |||
| Label | MCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Luna Sea | |||
| Luna Sea chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Style | ||||
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Overview
editStyle was supported with Luna Sea embarking on the sold out Un Ending Style tour, which opened with two consecutive concerts at Yokohama Arena and continued for 16 concerts in nine locations, and mobilized an audience of over one hundred thousand people. It was continued in October with the Un Ending Style ~To Rise~ tour, 28 concerts in smaller venues, and ended with a Christmas concert on December 23, titled Christmas Stadium ~Mafuyu no Yagai~ (Christmas STADIUM 〜真冬の野外〜), at the outdoor Yokohama Stadium. During the concert it was announced that the band would have a temporary year break in 1997 for each member to pursue solo careers [3][4]
The single versions of "End of Sorrow" and "Luv U" (b-side of "Desire") are slightly different from the album's.
"G." was used as the theme song of the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"End of Sorrow" was covered by Yu-Ki & DJ Koo of TRF for the 2007 Luna Sea Memorial Cover Album -Re:birth-.[5]
"In Silence" features singer Akino Arai during the chorus. It was used as the theme song for season one of the Japanese dub of the American television drama Chicago Hope.
The album was remastered and re-released by Universal Music Group on December 5, 2007, it came with a DVD of the promotional videos for "End of Sorrow", "Desire" and "In Silence". This version reached number 218 on the Oricon chart.[6]
Style and the band's other seven major label studio albums, up to Luv, were released on vinyl record for the first time on May 29, 2019.[7]
Reception
editStyle became Luna Sea's first number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, and charted for 21 weeks.[8] In 1996, it was certified Platinum by the RIAJ for sales over 400,000.[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Luna Sea
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "With Love" (Originally composed by Sugizo.) | 5:13 |
| 2. | "G." (Originally composed by J.) | 4:19 |
| 3. | "Hurt" (Originally composed by J.) | 5:28 |
| 4. | "Ra-Se-N" (Originally composed by J.) | 5:15 |
| 5. | "Luv U" (Originally composed by Inoran.) | 5:23 |
| 6. | "Forever & Ever" (Originally composed by J.) | 10:28 |
| 7. | "1999" (Originally composed by Sugizo.) | 2:27 |
| 8. | "End of Sorrow" (Originally composed by Sugizo.) | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Desire" (Originally composed by Sugizo.) | 4:24 |
| 10. | "In Silence" (Originally composed by Sugizo.) | 5:37 |
| 11. | "Selves" (Originally composed by Inoran.) | 8:01 |
Personnel
edit- Luna Sea
- Other
- Akino Arai – chorus
- Yukiko Sakanoue – female voice
- Shinozaki Group – strings
- Daisuke Kikuchi – programming, synthesizer, strings arrangement
| Style | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by | |
| Released | November 29, 2023 |
| Label | Avex Trax |
2023 re-recording
editIn 2023, Luna Sea re-recorded the entirety of Style and Mother (1994) and released them simultaneously on November 29 through Avex Trax. Guitarist Inoran said that after their December 22–23, 2018 concerts, where the band recreated setlists from the tours for Image (1992) and Eden (1993), they wanted to do the same for Mother.[10] Feeling it would be fun to do it as a tour, they decided to make it a dual tour with Style, and then felt it would be even more fun if it was tied to albums.[10] Although there were no major re-arrangements done to the songs, Inoran said it depended on the composer of the original song. In his compositions, he slightly changed the synchronized parts and phrases, but noted it might be hard to notice these small details. He also opined that J did not change his songs much, but Sugizo's alterations depended on each song.[10] Pleased with the work he did producing their 2019 album Cross, Luna Sea asked Steve Lillywhite to mix the re-recorded albums.[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "With Love" | |
| 2. | "G." | |
| 3. | "Hurt" | |
| 4. | "Ra-Se-N" | |
| 5. | "Luv U" | |
| 6. | "Forever & Ever" | |
| 7. | "1999" | |
| 8. | "End of Sorrow" | |
| 9. | "Desire" | |
| 10. | "In Silence" | |
| 11. | "Selves" |
References
edit- ^ 【インタビュー】LUNA SEA、RYUICHIが語る『MOTHER』『STYLE』と30年「何を失って何を得たのか. Barks (in Japanese). 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
アルバム『MOTHER』には「ROSIER」「TRUE BLUE」、アルバム『STYLE』には「END OF SORROW」「DESIRE」といったシングル曲も収められていますが、同時にアンダーグラウンドな匂いやプログレ感のあるコアな楽曲もひしめいています。
- ^ "Luna Sea - Style". Discogs. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ "LUNA SEA: God Bless You". JRock Revolution. 2007-08-27. Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2015-03-28.
- ^ "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.90". HMV Group (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-03-28.
- ^ "Luna Sea Memorial Cover Album -Re:birth-". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "STYLE". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-02-17.
- ^ "LUNA SEA、結成30周年記念に『IMAGE』から『LUV』までの8作品をアナログレコード化". barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "ＬＵＮＡ ＳＥＡのアルバム売り上げランキング". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications" (Enter Luna Sea into the アーティスト then select 検索) (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ^ a b c d "LUNA SEA「MOTHER」「STYLE」セルフカバーアルバム特集｜INORAN & Jソロインタビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2023-11-29.