B'z -- BLOWIN'

After hearing the musical tornado that was B'z throughout my 2 years in Gunma Prefecture, I missed out on this song for the most part by the duo since it was released during my three years of Toronto time between Japan stints.

"BLOWIN'" was another No. 1 for B'z. In fact, I would probably say rather cheekily that No. 1 and B'z were basically synonyms for the guys. All of the B'z tropes are in there: Takahiro Matsumoto's（松本孝弘）blistering guitar riffs, Koshi Inaba's（稲葉浩志）sultry and powerful vocals and all that booming arrangement. How could it not fail?

I had a friend of mine who I assume is still working for Studio Ghibli who had the CD single of "BLOWIN'" and somehow, I have been able to hear the song on the disc or through karaoke performances. But tonight, was actually the first time I was able to hear the whole thing in its entirety in several years.

Supposedly the title came about when Inaba heard Matsumoto's melody and exclaimed that it sounded like a wind blowing. Perhaps "wind" may have been too soft a word..."gale" was probably more like it. In any case, the single blew in like a lion, getting that aforementioned No. 1 ranking on Oricon and scoring the No. 3 ranking for the entire year after its release in May 1992 as B'z's 10th single. It also broke the million barrier, scoring 500,000 purchases in its first week of sales alone. At this time, "BLOWIN'" is the 41st-most successful single in Oricon history. Along with its availability as a single, it is also a track on the duo's BEST compilation "B'z The Best 'Treasure'" from 1998.