Tears (X Japan song)

"Tears"
Single by X Japan
from the album Dahlia
Released November 10, 1993
Genre Heavy metal, classical
Length 15:36
Label MMG
Producer(s) Yoshiki
Certification Double Platinum (RIAJ)
X Japan singles chronology
"Say Anything"
(1991)		 "Tears"
(1993)		 "Rusty Nail"
(1994)
Music sample
"Tears"

"Tears" is a single released by X Japan on November 10, 1993.

Overview

It is the band's first single to be released under the name X Japan and the first to feature Heath on bass. The ballad was written and composed solely by Yoshiki about the death of his father, but he co-credited it to the alias Hitomi Shiratori (白鳥瞳) because he was concerned how fans would react to a softer song from the band.[1] It would later appear on the album Dahlia and the soundtrack for the South Korean film Windstruck.[2] The song was also used as the theme song for the Japanese TV drama Nikushimi ni Hohoende. The b-side is the lyric-less classical version of the song, which was previously on Yoshiki's album Eternal Melody and arranged by famed music producer George Martin.[3]

The title song was covered by South Korean rock band TRAX, as a b-side on the Japanese version of their "Scorpio" single, which was produced by Yoshiki.[4] They also covered it in Korean on the Korean version of their aforementioned single.

Yoshiki's MySpace currently streams a different version of the song entitled "Tears (Unreleased Version)".

Track listing

All music composed by Yoshiki, track 1 lyrics by Hitomi Shiratori and Yoshiki.

No. Title Length
1. "Tears"   10:28
2. "Tears (Classical Version)"   5:02

Commercial performance

The song reached number 2 on the Oricon charts, and charted for 16 weeks.[5] In 1993, with 380,150 copies sold was the 77th best-selling single of the year, and in 1994, with 456,790 copies sold was the 50th best-selling single. Certified as double Platinum by RIAJ, is the bands best-selling single.

Personnel

  • Co-Producer: 
 X Japan
  • Strings arranger: 
 Dick Marx
  • Conductor: 
 Dick Marx
  • Strings: 
 Y&D Orchestra
  • Engineers: 
 Rob Jacobs, Rich Breen, Mike Ging
  • Assistant engineers: 
 Mike Stock, Tal Miller
  • Mixing: 
 Mike Shipley
  • Mastering: 
 Stephen Marcussen (Precision Studio)

References

  1. ↑ Hartmann, Graham. "X Japan’s Yoshiki Plays ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’". Loudwire. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  2. ↑ "WINDSTRUCK - Original Soundtrack". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  3. ↑ Strauss, Neil (June 18, 1998). "THE POP LIFE; End of a Life, End of an Era". nytimes.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Scorpio". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  5. ↑ Ｘ　ＪＡＰＡＮのシングル売り上げランキング. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 10, 2011.