As soon as the guys hit the stage in their dapper wear and the music for "Fukkatsu LOVE" (Revival Love) started playing, I could say that this is definitely one song I would like. Although it hasn't become an earworm yet, Arashi's 48th single which came out just last month is pretty darn cool with that urban contemporary beat and a Prince-like riff.
In fact, I would say that the song would also have been ideal for Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）to try out as well, and Martin has also had the privilege of getting a Yamashita/Takeuchi creation to become one of his well-known songs. And just like "Misty Mauve", Takeuchi has written up something nice and dramatic of a woman flying out of her perhaps former beau's apartment and into a taxi after a final straw broke, and the guy has to spend the rest of the song trying to get her back.
"Fukkatsu LOVE" was released in late February, and it hit No. 1 on Oricon. According to J-Wiki, it is Arashi's 44th No. 1 single in their career as well as their 37th consecutive No.1 going all the way back to 2004. In the last couple of weeks, it has sold close to half a million copies already. At this point, Arashi is now No. 2 behind B'z as the group with the largest number of No. 1 singles.
And to think, I've only been really appreciating Ono-kun and the guys for their antics on their game show. My former student/rabid Arashi fan is probably bouncing off the walls right now since her favourite member, Aiba-kun seems to be the one with the final word as far as the song is concerned.
Hi J-Canuck.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you came across "Fukkatsu LOVE" soon enough. I thought about writing an article for the song when it was released, but the videos were just going away too fast (as it's common when it comes to Arashi or other Johnny's acts).
About the song, I thought about you as soon as I heard it for the first time. It's a great throwback to 80s City Pop. Also, while everything works great (the arrangement is a standout, for sure), my favorite part is the pre-chorus (there's a bit of sadness in some of the notes that takes the song to another level). And that Ono a capella solo right before Aiba ends the song with the "okaeri" line is just gorgeous.
As for Arashi, they're on a roll lately. Their album "Japonism" offered some pretty good songs ("miyabi-night" and Ono's solo "Akatsuki"), and few months after they come back with this solid single. I hope they keep the good moment and don't fall on the trap of recording silly/goofy songs. Well, it's not their choices...
You mentioned Aiba-chan, and your student must be thrilled, because he gets more lines than usual in "Fukkatsu LOVE". He even delivers them quite well, if we consider he's probably the weakest singer of the group.
Hello, Marcos.
DeleteYeah, I gather that it won't be too long before the powers-that be take down the videos...in which case, I'll have to depend on the karaoke videos.
It's that 80s City Pop that I love about "Fukkatsu LOVE"...good ol' Tats still has the music for that. I do have to say that Ono does have the voice. Surprised that he hasn't done a solo single yet.