.endless melody.
As frustrating as it is not having a server that hosts mp3s, I'm determined to bring you the brilliance that is Yoshiki's music, if only in words. Music is what Yoshiki does; he's been called a rock icon by magazines, a workaholic by acquaintances, and a prodigy and genius by none other than hide.
Yoshiki is just about the only composer who can make me want to cry from the sheer beauty and power of his music. It's so pretty it can sometimes border on cheesy, but nobody does drama like Yoshiki, and somehow he manages to pull it off with style. His piano playing is impressive and absolutely unmistakable. His drumming is unbelievable. His orchestral arrangements are sweeping and his guitar riffs simply rock. Yoshiki can make a classical cover of a Kiss song sound as convincing as a thirty-minute rock epic. His melodies are timeless and his talent is immeasurable.
That said, I am unable to provide actual samples of his music. Instead, I've dedicated a page to my own lengthy expositions on what I feel is his best work. Thus, I bring you...
THE ESSENTIAL YOSHIKI
A countdown of fifteen pieces of music everyone must hear.
comp = composition
program = keyboards, drum programming, etc
arrange = arrangement [usually strings]
15. ES DUR NO PIANO SEN
album: jealousy
artist: x japan
yoshiki: piano, comp, arrange
'Es Dur' is noteable for many reasons, not the least of which being its length: while most Yoshiki epics run at least six minutes or more, this one clocks in at precisely 1.53. Yet it still manages to sprawl across its time span as majestically as any symphonic movement, creeping slowly upon you and reaching a climax that ends in a dischordant rumble reminiscent of the infamous 'Art of Life' solo. 'Es Dur' is a perfect microcosm for the classic Yoshiki composition, in addition to holding its own as a gorgeous little snippet of sorrow.
hightlight: 0.31, when the two as yet separated piano hands come together to form a simultaneous chord. beautiful.
14. BLUE AND BLIND
album: as yet unreleased
artist: violet uk
yoshiki: piano, program, comp, arrange
A taste of breath again, a taste of life. Violet UK marks Yoshiki's first original work since the death of hide, and if you ask me, it was worth waiting for. You can hear the timidity surrounding this song; its simple arrangement might even grate nerves after 7+ minutes. However, the melodic genius is there, and the song's plaintive, barren plea is completely mesmerising. The second choral refrain is beauty personnified: a sweet, high vocal; a bare-bones piano part; and lyrics that simply melt with sadness.
highlight: 5.19, the entrance of the second chorus, when singing and silence are equally effective.
13. SAY ANYTHING (ACOUSTIC LIVE VERSION)
album: live live live 1993-1996
artist: x japan
yoshiki: piano, comp
Although this version of 'Say Anything' - an X classic - runs only three minutes, covering the first verse and chorus, they are three of the most amazing minues ever captured on audio. It's just Toshi singing and Yoshiki accompanying him on the piano. The vocals are gorgeous and emotive, and the piano is played with such feeling that this small collection of minutes easily becomes the most romantic thing in the world.
hightlight: at 2.07, the flirting finally over with, yoshiki begins to pound the keys with a purpose as the chorus comes in.
12. LOVE REPLICA (ORCHESTRAL VERSION)
album: eternal melody
artist: yoshiki with george martin and the london philharmonic orchestra
yoshiki: piano, arrange
'Love Replica' was originally a quirky, hide-inspired instrumental piece on the X album Jealousy. Here, Yoshiki gives it the classical treatment, and the results are awesome. The motif is alternated between the violin and Yoshiki's piano; the arrangement is perfect, and somehow, a very strange ditty with French dialogue in the background is transformed into a gorgeous symphony piece. I don't know how he does it, but it works. Beautifully.
highlight: a version of the motif ends at 3.20, but instead of beginning again, the strings reach upwards in this amazing musical arc.
11. GOODBYE
album: hide tribute
artist: yoshiki
yoshiki: piano, arrange
This cover probably carries more weight with it than anything else Yoshiki has ever recorded. For the longest time, I couldn't listen to it. I wouldn't allow myself to; the emotional effect was just too overwhelming. 'Goodbye' is a hide song, and a beautiful one. The lyrics, in retrospect, are bittersweet. Yoshiki playing the song is, in effect, almost like he's saying 'Goodbye' to hide. You can hear the melancholy weighing his fingers down as he presses the keys. The string arrangement compliments but never takes over; it simply croons in the background, exquisite. This piece renders most people speechless. I don't know how Yoshiki ever got through the recording session.
highlight: the entrance of yoshiki's pure piano genius at 2.26. no bullshit, nothing to hold him back, just the kind of playing that is so yoshiki it makes you smile despite it all.
10. BLUE BLOOD
album: blue blood
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, voice, comp
Doubting this guy's ability to rock? Look no further than the title track of X's first major label album. Yoshiki's drumming, for one thing, is absolutely otherworldly. The guitars, for another, could cause major traffic accidents from inciting you to headbang like a maniac. The composition is brilliant, keeping you hooked right until the end, and hide's perfectly placed guitar solo will knock your socks off. The changing tempos and 80s-metal shouts just add to this ingenius mess. A rock song to stand head and shoulders above the rest.
highlight: the last note of the solo, 3.06, when the key changes and toshi's voice returns with a vengeance.
9. SILENT JEALOUSY
album: jealousy
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, piano, voice, comp, arrange
'Silent Jealousy', I like to say, is Yoshiki's classical training and sensibility manifesting itself in a rock song. It doesn't even sound like a rock song; it's more of a symphony with vocals. He uses the guitars like strings, and the melody sounds more like Mozart than metal. Just the same, this was a huge hit in Japan, and for good reason - it utilises all the band's talents to their utmost capability, and it packs such a punch in 7 minutes that when it's over you think, 'Whoa. What happened?' Yoshiki's recitatif right before the bridge has a kind of soap opera sensitivity that's as sappy as it is irresistible.
highlight: 7.04, the first in a series of modulations that close off the song.
8. BLACK DIAMOND
album: kiss tribute
artist: yoshiki
yoshiki: piano, arrange
Another tribute, you say? In the top ten? Oh, but this is no ordinary cover, my friend. Yoshiki has somehow managed to turn a Kiss song into a sweeping classical epic that seems more like the soundtrack to a samurai movie than any derivation of rock and roll. The strings are positively gorgeous, and the piece features some of the most incredible piano playing I've ever heard from him (you know he's capable of stuff like this; it's just too out of place in a rock song). Now I'm curious enough to hear the original, although this amazing rendition may have me spoiled.
highlight: the alternating piano arpeggios and string cascades beginning at 1.57.
7. ROSE OF PAIN
album: blue blood
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, piano, voice, comp, arrange
A twelve minute epic that is so entirely engaging it doesn't feel like twelve minutes. Another showcase of Yoshiki's classical influences, 'Rose' goes through several different 'movements' before culminating in its final guitar anthemic ending. The main theme is hauntingly beautiful it itself; to hear it go through several phases is captivating, and often thrilling. X manage to capture the obvious emotion of the song without losing any of their technical excellence.
highlight: 8.39. the entrance of the electric guitars is so utterly satisfying.
6. UNFINISHED
album: blue blood
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, piano, comp, arrange
'Unfinished' is my favourite X ballad. The beauty of the opening piano has you catching your breath, and in just over four minutes, this little song grabs you with a melody to die for, lyrics to cry over, and an earnest roughness that makes it that much more tender. Yoshiki's piano is the standout; it just swallows you whole, then spits you back out on the other side aching and wanting more. Four minutes never went by so quickly, or so gracefully.
highlight: the final piano exposition at 3.49 is pretty enough to warrant swooning.
and we're down to the top five, folks...
5. AMETHYST
album: eternal melody
artist: yoshiki with george martin and the london philharmonic orchestra
yoshiki: comp, arrange
The single most dramatic piece of music ever. It's a symphonic instrumental that evokes more emotion than lyrics ever could. This is the kind of thing you'd want to have played for the opening credits of a Shakespearean tragedy. Each of the melodic entrances by the strings are worthy of spine shivers, and when the final buildup occurs, you almost expect to see fireworks exploding out of your stereo. Great stuff.
highlight: 4.59, the fireworks part. music should not be this thrilling. I want to jump up and start waving my hands around like a conductor.
4. TEARS
album: dahlia
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, piano, voice, comp, arrange
What's to say? Classic is an understatement. 'Tears' is simply THE X Japan song. Yoshiki wrote it for his father; then, after hide died, re-released the song with a new dedication to hide. Its power is unimaginable unless you've heard it. The opening strings alone send me into a state of unabashed sentimentality. The guitar solo is as memorable as any Zeppelin lick. The poem Yoshiki recites at the end has the kind of poignant honesty that few are able to achieve. How many songs can keep going for five minutes after the vocals have stopped and hold your attention just as well as the first five? It's an opus.
highlight: 3.43, right before the guitar solo, when the music and emotion are swollen to the point of bursting.
3. DAHLIA
album: dahlia
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, voice, comp, arrange
'Dahlia' is the most perfect song ever composed. There's the opening, with Yoshiki's drumming sounding like a spastic machine, and then hide and Pata's guitars that rip the chords apart, and then Toshi's ethereal voice hitting each note of a perfect melody on key. It has everything a song could ever want or need. Verses, choruses, a slow spacey section, a dramatic pause with violins and Yoshiki's whispering voice, and a finish that leaves you fucking hitting your ceiling with the string symphony and speed metal riffing coming together simultaneously. Bloody brilliant is all I can say.
highlight: the return of the chorus at 6.50 is the definition of musical euphoria.
2. ART OF LIFE
album: art of life
artist: x japan
yoshiki: drums, piano, comp, arrange
Ah, 'Art of Life'. The song that is thirty minutes long, the quintessential rock symphony, the album with only one track on it. When it's over you feel like you've been to the end of the world and back. The lengthy dischordant piano solo aside [it's all right Yoshiki, I forgive you], this piece is one of the most awesome things that ever happened to rock music. I can't even rightly call it a 'song'; it's so much more than that. From the opening notes to the speed metal riffing to the harpsichord interlude and onward to, yes, even the gigantic pounding-on-the-keys piano solo, 'Art of Life' is a force to be reckoned with. It has some damn fine lyrics as well.
highlight: when the main theme finally comes back (after 20+ minutes) at 27.14, and it's so goddamn exciting you could cry.
1. FOREVER LOVE (LAST LIVE VERSION)
album: the last live
artist: x japan
yoshiki: piano, drums, comp
'Forever Love' goes beyond the emblem of classic. It's one of the greatest songs of all time. Something about the music seeps into your being. There's a pervasive sadness to it that's impossible to escape. It makes more people cry than any other song I know. Some people relate to the lyrics; some like to sing the melody; some just bask in the glory of the guitar solo. But whatever you do, you're never the same once you hear it. Why the live version? Because it combines the beauty of the acoustic orchestral opening with the triumphant entrance of the guitars. Why the Last Live, specifically? Because you know when Toshi stops singing it's because he's holding on to Yoshiki. Because you know when Yoshiki hits the wrong notes and then stops playing, it's not for lack of precision, but for the fact that he's sobbing so hard he can barely move his hands.
highlight: 4.11. the strings and second guitar come in with such majesty that you forget about everything else.
'where's crucify my love?' 'what about kurenai?' 'how dare you leave off [insert favourite yoshiki song here]?'
comments, complaints, and flying vegetables may be directed to my email.
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