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Forever Love (X Japan song)

"Forever Love" is the fourteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on July 8, 1996.

"Forever Love"
Original release
Single by X Japan
from the album Dahlia
ReleasedJuly 8, 1996 (1996-07-08)
RecordedOne on One Recording, Hit Factory, December 31, 1997 at Tokyo Dome (track 2, 1997 reissue & 2001 reissue)
GenreSymphonic rock
Length17:20 (original release)
LabelAtlantic, Polydor (1997 reissue)
Songwriter(s)Yoshiki
Producer(s)Yoshiki
X Japan singles chronology
"Dahlia"
(1996) 		"Forever Love"
(1996) 		"Crucify My Love"
(1996)

Summary

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The song was written and composed by Yoshiki. An acoustic version appears on their album Dahlia.

The single has been reissued several times. On December 18, 1997, following the announcement of the band's breakup, a different mixed version was released with a live version of "Longing" (recorded at "The Last Live" concert) as a B-side. The original single was reissued again on July 22, 1998, after the death of guitarist hide. A single containing all previous versions (except original karaoke version), as well as a live recording (also recorded at "The Last Live" concert) of the song was released on July 11, 2001.

Also in 2001, the song was used as background music in several commercials for the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party. LDP member Junichiro Koizumi, at that time the country's Prime Minister has expressed fondness for X Japan's music.[1] "Forever Love" appears on the soundtrack of the 1996 animated feature film X.[2]

In 2012, "Forever Love" was covered by both Mr. Big singer Eric Martin in Mr. Rock Vocalist[3] and Megamasso singer Inzargi in Visualist: Precious Hits of V-Rock Cover Song for their respective cover albums.[4] Awoi covered it for the compilation album Counteraction - V-Rock covered Visual Anime songs Compilation-, which was released on May 23, 2012 and features covers of songs by visual kei bands that were used in anime.[5] Death metal band Gyze included a cover of the song on the Japanese edition of their 2019 album Asian Chaos.[6] It was also covered by Mary's Blood for their 2020 cover album Re>Animator, and by Mayo Suzukaze for her 2021 album Fairy ~A・I~ Ai.[7][8]

In 2019, the city of Tateyama, Chiba (where Yoshiki and Toshi were born) decided to change the departure signal of trains at Tateyama Station to "Forever Love".[9]

Alternative covers

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  • 1997 reissue 
    1997 reissue
  • 1998 reissue 
    1998 reissue
  • 2001 reissue 
    2001 reissue

Commercial performance

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The single reached number 1 on the Oricon charts, and charted for 15 weeks.[10] In 1996, with 509,920 copies sold was the 47th best-selling single of the year,[11] being certified Platinum by RIAJ.[12] The edition released in 1997 reached number 13, and charted for 11 weeks, while those in 1998 and 2001 reached number 18 and 19 respectively, and both charted for 4 weeks.[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Yoshiki

Original release/1998 reissue
No.TitleLength
1."Forever Love"8:41
2."Forever Love (Original Karaoke)"8:38
1997 reissue
No.TitleLength
1."Forever Love (Last Mix)"8:31
2."Longing (Bootleg)"7:56
2001 reissue
No.TitleLength
1."Forever Love"8:41
2."Forever Love (Live)"8:06
3."Forever Love (Acoustic Version)"7:55
4."Forever Love (Last Mix)"8:31

Personnel

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  • Co-Producer – X Japan
  • Orchestra arranged by – Yoshiki, Dick Marx, Shelly Berg
  • Scored by – Tom Halm
  • Orchestra – American Symphony Orchestra
  • Mixed by – Mike Ging
  • Recorded by – Mike Ging, Rich Breen, Stan Katayama, Kazuhiko Inada
  • Assistant engineers – Tal Miller, C.J. Devillar, Dokk Knight, Carl Nappa, Paul Falcone
  • Mastered by – Stephen Marcussen (Precision Studio)
  • A&R directed by – Osamu Nagashima
  • Art directed by – Shige#11
  • Executive producers – Ryuzo "Jr." Kosugi, Yukitaka Mashimo
  • Acoustic guitar – Bill Whiteacre ("Forever Love (Last Mix)")

References

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  1. ^ "LDP unveils new TV commercials, poster featuring Koizumi". findarticles.com. 2001-05-16. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  2. ^ Brian Camp, Julie Davis (2007). Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces. Stone Bridge Press. p. 402. ISBN 9781933330228.
  3. ^ "エリック・マーティン、B'zからBOΦWY、LUNA SEAまで今度は男性J-ROCKの名曲を鮮烈カバー". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  4. ^ "Megamasso's Vocalist INZARGI to Release Cover Album". jpopasia.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  5. ^ "V-Kei Anime Song Cover Compilation "Counteraction!" and MJP TV to Collaborate! Live Talk Program with Asai Hiroaki and the Artists Participating!". musicjapanplus.jp. Archived from the original on 2012-05-19. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  6. ^ "Japan's GYZE To Release New Album Next Week; "Asian Chaos" Official Video Posted". BraveWords. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  7. ^ "Mary's Blood、アニソンカバーアルバムをリリース". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  8. ^ "涼風真世、40周年記念盤『Fairy ～A・I～ 愛』に小池修一郎×SUGIZOによる新曲収録". Barks.jp (in Japanese). 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  9. ^ "JR東日本・館山駅の発車メロディーが「Forever Love」に" (in Japanese). Barks. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  10. ^ a b 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.
  11. ^ "What's This Year / 1996". interq.or.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  12. ^ "月次認定作品 認定年月：1996年 8月" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
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