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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Strings Of My Soul}}
{{TakAlbum
| title = Strings Of My Soul
| type = takalbum
| count = ninth
| date = June 20, 2012
| genre = Instrumental, Rock, Jazz
| cover = ta09large.jpg
| length = 53:52 (Japan)<br>1:02:03 (Japan Bonus DVD)<br>45:53 (International)
| label = Vermillion Records<br>House Of Strings (Japan)<br>335 Records (International)
}} Following its domestic Japanese release, the album was issued physically and digitally in the United States and Europe by 335 Records on August 7, 2012. The release is between a traditional studio album and compilation, featuring both new and old tracks alike with previously released songs featuring re-recorded guitar alongside numerous other updates throughout. Included in the limited edition of the Japanese release was a DVD disc containing all of Tak's solo music videos to date along with previously unreleased live footage from [[B'z]] concerts as well as excerpts from Tak's showing with the [[Tak Matsumoto & Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Special Collaboration 2004: "Hana"|Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in 2004]].
[[Image:Tak Matsumoto Strings Of My Soul release message.png|thumb|right|240px|'''Release Message:'''<br>"This is my latest solo album ''Strings Of My Soul''! The CD contains all the gems I consider the best and have played the best. Please feel free to listen to the sound the strings of my soul."]]
[[Image:Tak Matsumoto Strings Of My Soul Promo 2.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Tak in an alternate promo image with one of his signature Double Cutaways. For the recording of the album, Tak used his custom Double Cutaways from Gibson, a 1958 Les Paul Gold Top, a 1954 Fender Stratocaster and Martin and Yaili acoustic guitars.]]
[[Image:Tak & Larry Grammy.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Tak Matsumoto & Larry Carlton at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 14, 2011 where ''[[TAKE YOUR PICK]]'' took home Best Pop Instrumental Album. The collaboration led to Larry and his 335 Records label collaborating with Tak on this release.]]
The album would be the work that was Tak's first created with an international team at heart, with Tak producing the album alongside [[Paul Brown]] and [[Robert Williams]], the president of 335 Records. Williams was also asked by Tak to give input on which songs should be included on the release. Brown, an engineer, mixer, producer and fellow Grammy Award winner alongside Tak also co-wrote the lyrics to the album's only vocal song, "[[Live Life]]", with [[Dax Reynosa]] as well as contributing to the arrangement. Several months following the album's release, the track was released as a digital single in the United States and Japan with both a new instrumental version and the original vocal rendition included.

Larry Carlton, with whom Tak had previously teamed for their East-meets-West jazz album ''[[TAKE YOUR PICK]]'' in 2010 that subsequently won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, returned to join Tak on guitar for a cover of the popular 1961 song "SUKIYAKI". The song is the only Japanese-language song to have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and thus was considered an apt choice to cover for the album. While mostly a release of originals, two other covers are also included, being "MY FAVORITE THINGS" from ''The Sound of Music'' as Tak had covered from ''[[Theatre Of Strings]]'' in 2005 and "Romeo & Juliet" from the 1968 film of the same name that was originally covered on ''[[Hana]]''.

''Strings Of My Soul'' debuted at number four on the Weekly Oricon Albums chart and was the winner of Best Instrumental Album at the 27th Japan Gold Disc Awards. The album is available internationally on various outlets in both physical and digital forms, being sold on Amazon in both forms as well as being available on iTunes in several countries.

==Production and information==
The genesis for the album came about as Tak was looking to produce an album that culled his most representative solo material to date into a single work. In an interview with Gibson's online website, Tak described the album as different from his B'z output in that the album was "basically instrumental, more bluesy and mellower". Tak wished to establish a "melodic story of guitar instrumentals" with the work and decided to re-record the guitar work for consistency throughout the album. In the press release for 335 Records, the company that distributed the album internationally, he said of the release:

{{cquote|To begin with, the idea of making this album was to make an album with all of my favorite songs I've encountered during my solo career. Not just a best-of album, but I wanted to try playing them again with my current style. More like "A new album of myself".}}

The title of the album is drawn from an instrumental composition of Tak's from the [[B'z]] double album ''[[The 7th Blues]]'' in 1994. While the song itself is not included on the album, two different performances are included on the bonus DVD. Tak mentioned at the time of release that while he felt the title lended itself very well to the project, the song itself was not one he saw as mixing well with the other tracks.

While fundamentally the same, differences exist between the Japanese and international editions of the album. The tracks "#1090 Sen Mu Ichiya", collected here but originally from 2002's ''[[Hana]]'', and "99", originally from 1992's ''[[Wanna Go Home]]'', were not included for the international edition, leaving "The Moment" and "Romeo & Juliet" to open and close the album, respectively. Additionally, the album's cover of "SUKIYAKI" featuring [[Larry Carlton]] was given a different mix in the international edition compared to the original, while "THE WINGS" would be shortened with slightly different guitar work outside of Japan. Work from the album was later played consistently on various genre radio stations in the United States at the time of release.

The album was met with extremely positive reception in foreign markets that had previously been unfamiliar with Tak's music. Wave.fm awarded the album a glowing review, stating, "The man can play any style, any time and play it astonishly well" and adding, "Breathtaking. That’s all I can say. Absolutely exquisitely breathtaking. Drama, poignancy, rockin’ riffs and oriental nuance, Tak finds it all and steals my breath in the process." Allmusic.com likewise reviewed the album positively, writing, "There are moments when the crackling rock energy simmers down to a vibe that would fit comfortably in the smooth jazz format, but even on those, Matsumoto's precision and intimacy (with the expectation of powerful explosions in the distance) are awe-inspiring."

== Track listing ==
All music composed by and guitar performed by [[Tak Matsumoto]] unless otherwise noted.

#'''[[Hana|#1090 Sen Mu Ichiya]]''' — ''Thousand Dreams'', 千夢一夜
#:Based on the version found on the 2002 studio album ''[[Hana]]''. The song is a reinterpretation of Tak's second, most successful, and most recognizable solo single, "[[1090 ~Thousand Dreams~|#1090 ~Thousand Dreams~]]". The version found here is roughly the same as that found on the aforementioned album but has been remixed to raise the volume of the guitar throughout and features a new guitar solo. The ''[[Hana]]'' version of the song has also long served as the ending theme to the television music program ''[[Music Station]]'', on which the original version has opened the show for decades. The song was not included on the international version of the album.
#'''[[THE CHANGING|The Moment]]'''
#: Originally found under the title of "ONE FOR THE ROAD" as a B-side to Tak's 1999 single "[[THE CHANGING]]". Though released there for the first time, it was first heard as the ending music on the [[B'z Home Videos|B'z home video]] entitled ''[[LIVE RIPPER]]''. Changes from the original track include the guitar being re-recorded and the keyboard solo being altered at Paul Brown's discretion. The original title was given by Koshi, who made the remark that it was "one for the road" as they viewed the tour images in the credits. However, in retrospect as he was preparing this album, Tak felt it did not entirely sum up his image of the song, leading to the new title of "The Moment".
#'''[[Live Life (Lyrics)|Live Life]]'''
#: 
#'''[[DRAGON FROM THE WEST|TRINITY]]'''
#: 
#'''[[House Of Strings|BLUE]]'''
#: 
#'''[[Hana]]''' — ''Flower'', 華
#: The title song from Tak's 2002 studio album ''[[Hana]]''. The D melody was re-played and re-recorded for the release.
#'''[[Hana|Koi Uta]]''' — ''Love Song'', 恋歌
#: The opening song from Tak's 2002 studio album ''[[Hana]]''. The guitar solo from the second half of the song was re-played in its entirety.
#'''[[FRIENDS II|sasanqua~Fuyu no Hi]]''' — ''Winter Sun'', 冬の陽
#: From the 1996 [[B'z]] mini-album ''[[FRIENDS II]]''. The harmony from the final solo was altered and is the only change, as Tak said he didn't feel it necessary to rework the track very much.
#'''THE WINGS'''
#: Released here for the first time but created as an image song for the 2007 World War II period film ''For Those We Love''. The composition is derived and utlizes the melody from the B'z single "[[Eien no Tsubasa]]", which served as the theme to the aforementioned film. The core guitar part was re-recorded from the original version but otherwise is similar to the original composition. It bears noting that this is the third song that Tak was inspired to make from the original image of "[[Eien no Tsubasa]]", with the album track "hotalu" from ''[[TAKE YOUR PICK]]'' coming from the same original vision. The international version of the song was shortened by over a minute and features added guitar phrases by producer Paul Brown. This resulted in two different versions of the song, with the Japanese version featuring Tak's solo and the full runtime. Tak later recounted that the song was the point of the most contention during production, as it was the one song that the Western producers didn't feel worked within the album.
#'''SUKIYAKI featuring [[Larry Carlton|LARRY CARLTON]]'''
#: The domestic Japanese version of the song was mixed by [[Hiroyuki Kobayashi]], while [[Paul Brown]] was responsible for the American version's mixing.
#'''[[Theatre Of Strings|MY FAVORITE THINGS]]'''
#: 
#'''[[Hana|Romeo & Juliet]]'''
#: 
#'''[[Wanna Go Home|99]]'''
#: Based on the version of the song from Tak's second solo album, 1992's ''[[Wanna Go Home]]''. The song itself was based upon a composition from his 1988 debut album ''[[Thousand Wave]]'' but was updated significantly for the later release. The version found here has been further altered from the 1992 recording, with the runtime reduced by over a minute and much of the guitar being re-played. Not included in the international edition.
<br>
<big>'''Limited Edition (CD+DVD)'''<br>
</big>
{|class=wikitable width="90%"
|-
! width="33%"| Music Videos
! width="33%"| B'z LIVE-GYM Excerpts
! width="33%"| Orchestra Collaboration 2004
|- valign="top"
!style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; background:#f9f9f9; font-size:9pt; padding:8px 8px 8px 8px;"|
#'''[[THE CHANGING]]'''
#:Song released as single with Tak on vocals in 1999.
#'''[[DRAGON FROM THE WEST|SACRED FIELD]]'''
#:Song from ''[[DRAGON FROM THE WEST]]'' in 2002.
#'''[[Hana|Koi Uta]]'''
#:Song from ''[[Hana]]'' in 2002.
#'''[[OH JAPAN ~OUR TIME IS NOW~]]'''
#:Song released as [[TMG]] single in 2004.
#'''[[House Of Strings|Itsuka no Merry Christmas]]'''
#:Song from ''[[House Of Strings]]'' in 2004.

!style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; background:#f9f9f9; font-size:9pt; padding:8px 8px 8px 8px;"|
Special excerpts from two [[LIVE-GYM|B'z LIVE-GYM]] concerts during which Tak performed his customary solo section. Neither show has ever been released in full, making the inclusion here the home video debuts for both of the included performances.
#'''[[The 7th Blues|Strings of My Soul]]'''
#:Tak's solo from [[B'z LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN"]]
#'''[[Hana|Romeo & Juliet]]'''
#:Tak's solo from [[B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'97 "FIREBALL"]]

!style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal; background:#f9f9f9; font-size:9pt; padding:8px 8px 8px 8px;"|
Footage previously not released on home video from the July 2004 performances of [[Tak Matsumoto & Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Special Collaboration 2004: "Hana"]]. The three-night showing featured Tak performing several of his solo collaborations along with [[B'z]] songs.
#'''[[House Of Strings|SACRED FIELD~RED SUN~GO FURTHER]]'''
#'''[[House Of Strings|BLUE]]'''
#'''[[House Of Strings|Koi Uta]]'''
#'''[[House Of Strings|#1090]]'''
#'''[[House Of Strings|Hana]]'''
#'''[[House Of Strings|Strings of My Soul]]'''
|}

==International Edition==
The international edition released in the United States and Europe by 335 Records contained eleven tracks, with "#1090 Sen Mu Ichiya" and "99" removed from the original track listing. This was done as the producers feared the two songs would not appeal to Western audiences. "The Wings" has been shortened and edited, while "Sukiyaki" features a different sound mix than the Japanese release. Apart from these differences, the releases are the same.
#'''The Moment'''
#'''Live Life'''
#'''Trinity'''
#'''Blue'''
#'''Hana'''
#'''Koi-Uta'''
#'''Sasanqua~Winter Sun'''
#'''The Wings'''
#'''Sukiyaki (feat. [[Larry Carlton]])'''
#'''My Favorite Things'''
#'''Romeo & Juliet'''

===External links===
[http://itunes.apple.com/album/strings-of-my-soul/id549718055 iTunes (Digital Edition)]

[http://www.amazon.com/Strings-Of-Soul-Tak-Matsumoto/dp/B0085X312S Amazon.com (Physical)]

[http://www.amazon.com/Strings-My-Soul-Tak-Matsumoto/dp/B008S682NK Amazon.com (Digital Edition)]

== Personnel ==
''Credits apply to original Japanese track order''
*[[Tak Matsumoto]]: Guitar, Music Composition <small>(Tracks 1-9, 13)</small>, Arrangement

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
'''Support Members'''
*[[Sam Drysdale]]: Vocals <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Larry Carlton]]: Guitar <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Hideo Yamaki]]: Drums <small>(Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10)</small>
*[[Josh Freese]]: Drums <small>(Track 9)</small>
*[[Ricky Lawson]]: Drums <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Akihito Tokunaga]]: Bass <small>(Track 1)</small>, Arrangement <small>(Tracks 1, 7, 9)</small>
*[[Roberto Vally]]: Bass <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Vagabond Suzuki]]: Bass <small>(Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6)</small>
*[[Koji Nakamura|Koji "Kitaroh" Nakamura]]: Bass <small>(Track 8)</small>
*[[Sean Hurley]]: Bass <small>(Track 9)</small>
*[[Koichi Osamu]]: Bass <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Hirotaka Izumi]]: Piano <small>(Track 1)</small>
*[[Akira Onozuka]] <small>from DIMENSION</small>: Piano <small>(Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)</small>
*[[Marco Basci]]: Organ <small>(Track 2)</small>, Piano <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Kazuki Katsuta]] <small>from DIMENSION</small>: Saxophone <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Fussy Kobayashi]]: Trumpet <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Takushi Toyama]]: Trumpet <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Hiroyuki Nomura]]: Trombone <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Shinozaki Strings]]: Strings <small>(Tracks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11)</small>
*[[TAMA MUSIC]]: Strings <small>(Track 9)</small>
*[[HIIRO Strings]]: Strings <small>(Track 12)</small>
*[[Liou Chin-Ling]]: Voice <small>(Track 1)</small>
*[[Maho Furukawa]]: Chorus <small>(Track 1)</small>
*[[Steve Vai]]: Voice <small>(Track 12)</small>
*[[Joey McCoy]]: Chorus <small>(Track 13)</small>
*[[Jerry Hey]]: Horns Arrangement <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Victor Reyes]]: Saxophone <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Jeff Lewis]]: Trumpet <small>(Track 3)</small>
{{col-break}}
'''Production'''
*[[Dax Reynosa]]: Lyric Composition <small>(Track 3)</small>, Backing Vocals <small>(Track 3)</small>
*[[Paul Brown]]: Lyric Composition <small>(Track 3)</small>, Arrangement <small>(Tracks 2 & 3)</small>,<br> Mixing <small>(Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9)</small>, Percussion <small>(Track 2)</small>, Guitar <small>(Track 9)</small>
*[[Wachidai Nakamura]]: Music Composition <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Rokusuke Ei]]: Lyric Composition <small>(Track 10)</small>
*[[Richard Rogers]]: Music Composition <small>(Track 11)</small>
*[[Oscar Hammerstein II]]: Lyric Composition <small>(Track 11)</small>
*[[Nino Rota]]: Music Composition <small>(Track 12)</small>
*[[Hideyuki Terachi]]: Arrangement <small>(Tracks 2, 3, 6, 10, 13)</small>
*[[Daisuke Ikeda]]: Arrangement <small>(Tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12)</small>
*[[t2o]]: Arrangement <small>(Track 7)</small>
*[[Takeshi Hayama]]: Arrangement <small>(Track 13)</small>
*[[Masao Akashi]]: Arrangement <small>(Track 13)</small>
*[[Hiroyuki Kobayashi]]: Mixing <small>(Tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13)</small>
{{col-break}}
{{col-end}}