"Itoshii Hito yo" Good Night...
| "Itoshii Hito yo" Good Night... | ||||
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| Single by B'z | ||||
| from the album RISKY | ||||
| Released | October 24, 1990 | |||
| Promotions | #1 (Daihyo Torishimari Yakudeka) | |||
| Length | 11:39 | |||
| Label | BMG Rooms | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z singles chronology | ||||
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"Itoshii Hito yo" Good Night... ("愛しい人よ"Good Night..., "Lovely One" Good Night...) is the seventh single by B'z, released on October 24, 1990. The single, the fourth and last of their breakout year of 1990, was the first in their catalogue to come in the form of a ballad. The song was not initially planned to be a single, but once it was made the theme to the TV Asahi drama Daihyo Torishimari Yakudeka, the release decision was made. As such, the prompt release came only three weeks after that of fellow hit single "Easy Come, Easy Go!", which remains as one of the shortest turnaround times in B'z history. Both singles would be featured on the band's next studio album, RISKY, which would be released just a month later. Two years after its initial release, a karaoke version of the song was released on the band's first karaoke album. Later collections that included the song removed the quotation marks from the title, rendering it as only "Itoshii Hito yo Good Night...". This is evidenced on both B'z The Best "Treasure" in 1998 and B'z The Best XXV 1988-1998 in 2013. It is one of the few songs, along with "Taiyou no Komachi Angel" to be collected on "Pleasure" or "Treasure" but not be included on either of their sequel packages in 2008.
The single was simultaneously remastered and re-released on March 26, 2003 along with nine other of the band's older singles and the then-latest single, "IT'S SHOWTIME!!". On the daily chart at launch, B'z held a monopoly over the chart's top eleven slots, with the new single ranking at the top and the re-issues covering the remaining ten. Ultimately, B'z would set a record that week for holding nine of the Top 10 slots for the week of release, with "'Itoshii Hito yo' Good Night..." coming in just shy in twelfth place.
No promotional video was filmed specifically for television viewing, although the song was used to close out the band's first home video release FILM RISKY, which was essentially an interconnected series of music videos filmed abroad for songs from the era. In the release, "'Itoshii Hito yo' Good Night..." is played at the very end, with B'z performing the song as the credits scroll over the screen. The B-side, a reversioning of "GUITAR KIDS RHAPSODY" from OFF THE LOCK, was also among the songs featured in the home video release and was filmed during the band's trip to London. Another performance of the song can be seen as the opener to the band's second home video release JUST ANOTHER LIFE. B'z also performed the song on television one time, on the October 26, 1990 episode of Music Station.
The title song was often played as one of the band's token ballads in the earlier years, with the last performance of the 1990s coming during B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER". The song specifically returned to the live stage when B'z added it to the Japanese leg of the Into Free tour in 2012. However, since it had been so long since the song had been featured on a B'z release or been performed live, Tak stated in Be With! Vol. 96 that many fans didn't recognize the song and that the reaction wasn't what he expected. Koshi said in turn: "Still, I thought it'd be great to perform such a song. A song not every fan would instantly recognize or know." Earlier in the interview, Koshi said with a laugh that some newer fans even thought that it was a new song.
Upon release, the single became yet another success for the young band, debuting at the top spot and becoming their third consecutive to do so with sales of 92,000 copies in the first week. Ultimately, the single would sell over 355,000 in total and spend twenty-three weeks on the charts.
Track listing
- "Itoshii Hito yo" Good Night... — "Lovely One" Good Night..., "愛しい人よ"Good Night...
- Originally not intended to be a single, "'Itoshii Hito yo' Good Night..." became one after it was decided to be the theme to the television drama Daihyo Torishimari Yakudeka for TV Asahi. It is considered one of the more obscure singles in the B'z catalogue, with its most recent performances coming in 1993 prior to a short revival in 2012. With its running time of over six minutes, it is the longest single of all that B'z have released.
- GUITAR KIDS RHAPSODY CAMDEN LOCK STYLE
- A remake of the similarly titled album song from the band's second album, "GUITAR KIDS RHAPSODY CAMDEN LOCK STYLE" is an extended update that was also featured in music video form on FILM RISKY. In the film, the song is performed on a rooftop in London and features segments with locals performing the English backing vocals. Although the song features live cheers from performances which are sampled from the aforementioned video, the version found here is a studio recording. The "CAMDEN LOCK" referred to in the title is a market area in London that the band visited in the course of filming. With a runtime of 5 minutes and 25 seconds, it is the longest B-side in their catalogue.
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition
Support Members
- Jun Aoyama: Drums
Production
- Masao Akashi: Arrangement
- Jason Corsaro: Mixing (Track 1)
- Masayuki Nomura: Mixing (Track 2)
- B+U+M
- Chris Bellman: Remastering (2003 reissue, Bernie Grundman Mastering L.A., U.S.A.)