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This impression only came after a while, though. Without immediately catching the ear, their songs kept growing on me and still are to this day. Their music is the ultimate feel-good experience, which is redefined in every album. Going further and further into uncharted territory yet mixing experiments with previous styles, these high school friends stayed together through thick and thin, and earned each of their number one spot on the charts.
His lyrics have been the object of much praise during his long career. From the most thought-provoking, sarcastic poems to the sweetest love songs, they characterize more than one generation. It is, however, quite possible to fall in love with this band long before finding a single lyric translation; Mr. Children plays the kind of music that simply is a bliss to lose yourself into. It makes you remember your better days as you hum their tunes through the harder ones. Sakurai is blessed with three formidable friends and musicians. Suzuki, nicknamed Jen, is a drummer who is not afraid to use all sorts of percussions beside his faithful drums. He also provides the backup vocals with a voice that resonates harmoniously with that of Sakurai. Don't expect back-breaking moves but his merry attitude and love for the camera make him just as important as any other Mr. Children member. Speaking of which, Tahara and Nakagawa usually keep low profiles during public appearances, but their recurring attempts to blend into the background keep failing, as it is hard for their talent and presence to go unnoticed.
As they exponentially gathered more and more fans, Mr. Children, who felt they were cheating their emotions in favour of popularity, started to lean towards experiments and progressiveness starting with Atomic Heart. The true side of the band stroke a cord with its listeners and, combined with the song Cross Road used as a theme for a dramatic series, the album broke the existing sales record in Japan with three million copies sold. The next few years were incredibly hectic for the band who kept pumping out wonderful albums while they were on constant tour. After taking a short break in 1997, they were back in action without the slightest trace of dimness.
Mr. Children releases are always greatly anticipated. Even if their sales in the late 90s were never matched, this band's fan base is still very strong. The latest of the children, I ♥ U, is a pretty decent work and singles or a future album have already started to surface.
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Shinkai
I just love every song of this album but the major bonus points come from the intense synergy and fluidity. Shinkai takes you to another world for a whopping 53 minutes with a succession of substantial orchestrated pieces and simple piano/guitar melodies. If you are looking for a first album to buy, I would recommend to make it either this one or the compilation set 1992-1995 and 1996-2000.
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Sakurai's simplest and best work. His voice is a bit shaky in this one but it sounds so sincere that way. You can really feel his pain and anguish throughout this smooth and melancholic piece. |
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Official Site: http://www.mrchildren.jp/ (Tip: use AltaVista's Babel Fish translator)
English Fan Site: Everything: http://www.geocities.com/everything_misuchiru/
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Yet
another band I recently discovered and cannot see myself living without. Hard to believe they
were right under my nose, since they have been one of the top selling bands
in Japan for almost twenty years. This is the solution for sadness,
boredom, loneliness... you name it. Fans of 
In
a nutshell, Mr. Children is the result of diverse, soft, acoustic
instruments, deep low-key vocals, intelligent lyrics and an acute sense of
music, mostly provided by the band's leader, Sakurai. He has assumed the
burden of being both the composer and writer for the band from its creation and
is justifiably regarded as one of the top musical minds in Japan and, in
my personal opinion, the world.
Like many of today's greatest bands, Mr. Children started as a bunch of long
time friends playing together for fun. When band members are consummate
enough about music, it sometimes goes a lot further. The WALLS was
the first name of the then trio before being changed to Mr.
Children a while after the enrolment of Hideya Suzuki. They spent seven
years underground, playing in clubs and failing auditions before Toy's
Factory (who also produced 