B.O.X (Best of X Japan)

B.O.X (BEST OF X JAPAN)
Ki/oon / Sony Records
KSC 2 143-146
Disc One, 71:59 (13 tracks)
Disc Two, 61:11 (10 tracks)
Video, 82 minutes
4/26/1996
¥6000

--by R. Kowal

Total Length Disc One: 71:59

1. Silent Jealousy 6:15

2. Desperate Angel 5:54

3. Kurenai 6:18

(Crimson)

4. Weekend(Live) 6:03

5. Celebration 4:52

6. Endless Rain 6:36

7. Joker(Live) 5:19

8. Sadistic Desire 6:05

9. X(Live) 6:03

10. Say Anything(Live) 8:45

11. I'll Kill You 3:29

12. Kurenai 5:46

(English Version)

13. Unfinished 1:33

Total Length Disc Two: 61:11

1. Silent Jealousy(Live) 6:16

2. Desperate Angel 5:54

3. Kurenai 6:18

4. Weekend(Live) 6:03

5. Celebration 4:52

6. Endless Rain 6:36

7. Joker(Live) 5:19

8. Sadistic Desire 6:05

9. X 6:03

10. Say Anything 8:45

Video: 82 minutes

1. Silent Jealousy

2. Sadistic Desire

3. Desperate Angel

4. Weekend

5. Celebration

6. Kurenai

7. Joker

8. X

9. Endless Rain

10. Say Anything

The band X-Japan have been around for years now and have amassed a huge following in Japan and even the U.S. In April, they released a box set of their hits aptly titled B.O.X (BEST OF X). This set includes two CDs, a video, and a shirt from their "Violence in Jealousy" tour.

Back in 1993, Sony Entertainment put out a music video featuring four of X-Japan's songs put to various pieces of art from the manga title X (released by Viz as X:1999) (produced by the shoujo manga goddesses, CLAMP). The video was called X² (Double X), and the last song featured in the video also included an animated sequence, directed by Rin Taro, the director of KAMUI NO KEN (released by AnimEigo as DAGGER OF KAMUI) and TEITO MONOGATARI (released by Streamline Pictures as DOOMED MEGALOPOLIS).

The first CD is the actual song collection. For most eastern bands that have been influenced by a western style, a mimicry creeps in, sometimes to the point of regurgitation in extreme cases. X-Japan is refreshing because they keep this tendency to a minimum, and as a result, they sometimes turn out better than their original influences. The tracks range from energetic speed metal ("Kurenai," "I'll Kill You") to slow ballads ("Say Anything," "Endless Rain").

Surprisingly, the songs are mostly in English, which makes this collection very accessible for non-Japanese speaking listeners. The verdict on the CD itself is split, with some really great tracks such as "Unfinished" (a depressing minute and a half) and "Sadistic Desire" (a very energetic song with a catchy chorus) to just plain awful tracks like "Joker" (the cheesiest song I have ever heard) and "Desperate Angel" (see last comment). The songwriting really shows off on the good tracks. Suspiciously, the good tracks were written by the drummer, YOSHIKI, and the not so good tracks were written by other members in the band.

The second CD is not much to write home about unless you are a huge karaoke fan. All the tracks are karaoke versions of most of the songs on the first disc (The CD calls these back tracks.). This is strictly for karaoke fans. It has ten tracks on it, among them the studio version of "Silent Jealousy," suspiciously missing off the first CD.

The video is very humorous, yet strangely familar. When I was growing up, there was a monstrosity called "Scary Hair Metal Bands". Well, this video (from a 1992 performance at Tokyo Dome) shows that monster at work in Japan. Toshi(the singer)'s hair must be fake (It is at least a foot high and yellow.), and his taste in fashion (vinyl pants and no shirt) is just as awful. Imagine my surprise when I saw the people who make this good music. Thankfully, they look a little more subdued now.

All in all, X-Japan fans can count this as a good purchase. If you are a new fan, I would suggest getting a hold of the X Singles. It is much cheaper and has the good songs that were in the box set. If you can find this set at a decent price, do buy it. If you can sift through the bad songs, there are some real gems in it.