MOTEL

MOTEL
Single by B'z
Released	November 21, 1994
Promotions	#1 (Miki Boutique JOY CM)
Length	7:43
Label	BMG Rooms
Producer	Tak Matsumoto
B'z singles chronology
"Don't Leave Me" (1994) "MOTEL" (1994) "Negai" (1995)

MOTEL is the fifteenth single by B'z, released on November 21, 1994. It was the band's first single in nine months, since the release of "Don't Leave Me" in February. As for the lull between this single and its predecessor, Tak explained: "After creating what we felt was an epic two-disc set, we didn't have the urge to make new music for a while." While a non-album single in itself, the title song of the single would be collected on both of the fan-selected anniversary compilations, with an appearance on B'z The Best "Treasure" in 1998 and again on B'z The Best "ULTRA Treasure" in 2008.

The single's release came in the midst of the band's "The 9th Blues" PART 2 tour, where the song was premiered live two months prior to its official release. The tour of "The 9th Blues" was split into two halves, with the first part running from February to July and the follow-up lasting from September to December. The A-side and B-side to this single were recorded in the break between the two halves of the year-long tour, but they were not the only ones. Future B-side titled "Tokyo", which would be on the band's second 1995 single "love me, I love you", was also recorded in the same sessions, along with another song entitled "Teki ga Inakerya" that would be found on the band's seminal 1995 album, LOOSE.

The release of "MOTEL" would also be the last before the recording and studio production assembly previously credited as B+U+M would be dissolved. The team, whose moniker stood for "B'z Unreal Music", consisted of Tak and Koshi and a number of frequent studio collaborators such as recording engineer Masayuki Nomura, manipulator Masao Akashi, and guitar technician Katsunori Hatakeyama.

The promotional video for the song was short in length and featured Tak and Koshi in a desert jail setting. While no video was filmed for the B-side, a second video for the title song would be available later, featuring an excerpt of a performance from B'z LIVE-GYM '96 "Spirit LOOSE".

The single topped the Weekly Oricon Singles chart, becoming the eleventh single for the band to do so consecutively. The song was at the top of the December 1994 charts as well, and ranked 18th for the year of 1995 despite being released in November 1994. The Recording Industry Association of Japan certified the single Million for its sales of over 1.3 million copies, with 784,000 of those coming in the first week.

Track listing

1. MOTEL

   Tak stated about the song reaching number one at the time: "Boring music has become fashionable, so having a song like this at the top of the charts is interesting." Koshi explained that the lyrics are about "making amends for what has happened in the past." Although the song shares the same atmosphere present on The 7th Blues from earlier in the year, this was an organic coincidence rather than a conscious decision, according to Tak. Of the four songs recorded at the time, it is the only one to be played live as of 2012. The song is notable for a number of other reasons, including originally being premiered live and being one of the few songs performed on more than one North American tour, with performances during both B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA" and B'z LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free-.

2. hole in my heart — Found on B'z The "Mixture" (2000)

   While the original version has not yet been collected, a remixed version would be found as "hole in my heart -Mixture mix-" on B'z The "Mixture", released in 2000. As of 2012, the song has not yet been played live.

Personnel

B'z

• Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
• Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition

Drums

• Jun Aoyama

Bass

• Masao Akashi: Bass, Arrangement

Keyboards

• Takanobu Matsuda: Hammond Organ
• Akira Onozuka: Piano (Track 1)

Production

• JUNICHI HIIRO Strings: Strings (Track 1)
• Kazu Harashin Brass Section: Brass (Track 2)
• Yasushi Suzuki: Chorus (Track 1)
• B+U+M