FRIENDS II
| FRIENDS II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Mini album by B'z | ||||
| Released | November 25, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Adult rock | |||
| Length | 27:35 | |||
| Label | Rooms Records | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z chronology | ||||
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FRIENDS II is the fifth mini album by B'z, released on November 25, 1996. Unlike its predecessor and fellow mini album FRIENDS, the album does not follow a continued narrative throughout its tracks. The songs included live up to the "AOR" genre: a well-publicized sub-genre in Japan that was an initialism for "adult oriented rock". This allowed the band the opportunity to utilize instruments and techniques not common within the band's discography. These include the flute and sax alongside falsetto vocals and bossa nova grooves.
According to Tak Matsumoto, all of the band's mini albums were used to grow as a band, and for this work in particular, the idea was to attempt a genre B'z had not previously explored. That genre would be "adult rock" and indeed, the lyrical content is less universal and more centered on adult content. Each song is written from the perspective of a difficult romance and building a future despite the tribulations of balancing adult life with the wants and needs of a relationship.
Interestingly, most of the album's songs have not been performed live. Third track "Shoushin" was performed on television, but never at a LIVE-GYM. The album's most popular track is the only song from the album to be performed at one of the band's concerts, and while it has never appeared on one of their home videos, it was collected on one compilation album: The Ballads ~Love & B'z~. This would be the only track from the mini album to appear on a subsequent work.
At release, FRIENDS II debuted at the top of the Weekly Oricon Album chart with 966,140 copies sold, which was a noted increase over the 706,950 sold by preceding holiday effort FRIENDS. As with all other B'z mini albums released to date, FRIENDS II has been certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for sales in excess of 1,466,650 physical copies sold.
Track listing
All music and guitar by Tak Matsumoto. All lyrics and lead vocals by Koshi Inaba.
- Friends II
- SNOW
- Shoushin — Heartbreak, 傷心
- BABY MOON
- sasanqua~Fuyuu no Hi — Winter Sun, 冬の陽
- Aru Hisokana Koi — A Secret Love, ある密かな恋
- Kimi wo Tsurete — Brought to You, きみをつれて
Live appearances
Live Performances
- SNOW [47 SHOWS]
B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'97 "FIREBALL" [9/9 SHOWS]- B'z SHOWCASE "GO! GO! HEAVEN" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '98 "SURVIVE" [29/49 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2008 "ACTION" [8/53 SHOWS]
- Shoushin
- BABY MOON
Template:sasanqua~Fuyuu no Hi Live
Home Videos
Template:sasanqua~Fuyuu no Hi Video
Sales data
| No. | Cover | Mini Album | Physical Copies Sold | Chart Positions | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST WEEK | LIFETIME | WEEK | MONTH | YEAR | ||||
| 5 | 
|
FRIENDS II |
966,140+ |
1,466,650+ |
1 |
— |
— |
Million |
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition, Arrangement, Chorus (Tracks 2-4, 6, 7)
Support Members
- Hideo Yamaki: Drums
- Koji "Kitaroh" Nakamura: Bass (Tracks 3, 5-7)
- Tomohito Aoki: Bass (Tracks 2 & 4)
- Akira Onozuka from DIMENSION: Piano, Electric Piano, Organ (Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
- Hidefumi Toki: Sax (Tracks 6 & 7)
- Nobu Saito: Percussion (Track 3)
- Shinozaki Strings: Strings
- Rie Akagi: Flute (Track 3)
- Yuiko Tsubokura: Chorus (Tracks 3 & 7)
Production
- Daisuke Ikeda: Arrangement