B'z The Best "Pleasure II"
| B'z The Best "Pleasure II" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by B'z | ||||
| Released | November 30, 2005 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 1:11:11 | |||
| Label | Vermillion Records | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z chronology | ||||
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B'z The Best "Pleasure II" is the fifth compilation album by B'z, released on November 30, 2005. The album is one of many that compile past works by the band and is a direct sequel to the second best-selling album in Japanese history: 1998's tenth anniversary collection B'z The Best "Pleasure". As with the previous release, B'z The Best "Pleasure II" primarily compiles the band's singles, and here the singles are ones released between 1999 and 2005. The most recent song collected was "OCEAN" which was released nearly three months prior in August of 2005, while the oldest was 1998's "HOME" released months after the original "Pleasure" album. Ten of the album's tracks found their way to an album of any sort here for the first time, with others previously appearing on studio album ELEVEN from 2000 and 2002's ballads compilation The Ballads ~Love & B'z~.
Of special note is that the album represented one of the band's first foray into digital downloads. Limited first pressings at the time came packed with a color-coded download card that allowed a one-time redemption of a previously unreleased live performance via iTunes. It bears noting that months earlier, B'z began their initial partnership with Apple's service with the exclusive launch of The Complete B'z—a full collection of the band's works to that date that included exclusive tracks as well.
The packaging for the album is dressed in the color Ferrari Red, after Tak Matsumoto's favored car manufacturer—an entity from which he obtained permission to use the color for the cover. Both members were very satisfied with the move, with Koshi Inaba recalling, "I thought it was really beautiful" upon seeing the first proofs. The rear and inside cover arts that came packaged with the album also featured the band dressing in outfits they had previously worn at live shows. In the images, a mock-up of a crowd is populated just by the two members of the band in the various costumes. It was noted later that Koshi had developed more muscle over the years and had difficulty fitting into some of the older outfits.
Promotions for the album were substantial given its status as a compilation. An award-winning newspaper campaign in which the album was publicized with substitute advertisements parodying non-existent businesses themed after Tak and Koshi appeared in the Yomiuri Shimbun morning edition on October 28, 2005. Later, the band appeared on Music Station SUPER LIVE 2005 to perform "OCEAN" and "Itsuka no Merry Christmas", with the latter being played in its original incarnation instead of the version found here. Additionally, as they had for 2002's The Ballads ~Love & B'z~, a B'z-themed Christmas tree public exhibit was displayed in promotion of the release.
Apart from "Itsuka no Merry Christmas ~"Koisuru Hanikami!" Version~"—an acoustic rendition of the lead song from 1992's mini album FRIENDS—all of the songs have since been compiled on other compilations such as 2008's B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure" and 2013's B'z The Best XXV 1999-2012. All of the songs apart from the aforementioned reversion of "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" were also reprinted as singles for 2017's B'z COMPLETE SINGLE BOX.
Upon release, B'z The Best "Pleasure II" debuted at the top of the Weekly Oricon Album chart with 762,000 physical copies sold in the first week. Ultimately, the compilation would be the fifth highest-selling album of the year 2005. In total, it has sold 1,183,424 copies and has been certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
Track listing
All music and guitar by Tak Matsumoto. All lyrics and lead vocals by Koshi Inaba.
★ First time collected in a compilation in original form
※ Alternative version from source song
iTunes Video Download
Copies of the limited edition version of the album came bundled with a special "B'z/iTunes Custom Card" that allowed purchasers to redeem the included code for one of four different LIVE-GYM performances that had previously gone unreleased, depending on the color of the card received. The videos could only be downloaded once, with codes no longer being redeemable after May 31, 2006.
- HOME (GREEN)
- B'z LIVE-GYM '99 "Brotherhood" -EXTRA- (September 25, 1999 — Kyoto Kaikan)
- Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni (YELLOW)
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2000 "juice" (August 13, 2000 — Chiba Marine Stadium)
- ultra soul (PINK)
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BIG MACHINE" (December 27, 2003 — Tokyo Dome)
- OCEAN (BLUE)
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK" (September 19, 2005 — Kyocera Dome Osaka)
- NOTE: Video was later released in 2013 as part of B'z LIVE-GYM 2005 -CIRCLE OF ROCK-
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK" (September 19, 2005 — Kyocera Dome Osaka)
Sales data
| No. | Cover | Compilation | Physical Copies Sold | Chart Positions | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST WEEK | LIFETIME | WEEK | MONTH | YEAR | ||||
| 5 | 
|
B'z The Best "Pleasure II" |
762,000+ |
1,183,424+ |
1 |
— |
5 |
Million |