Home by Mr.children - DeepRiffs

ALBUM

Mr. Children belongs to the circle of Japanese heavyweights of the '90s who have set the blueprint for much of the J-rock of the next decade. Other luminaries of this sort include B'z, Glay, and Luna Sea; Mr. Children, however, occupies a warmer and shinier part of the Japanese rock spectrum -- the group is responsible for the lighthearted and sentimental pop/rock that later made Kobukuro and Monkey Majik big stars and was mined by female performers such as Onitsuka Chihiro, Aki Angela, and the lady-fronted Remioromen (not to mention selling millions of units of the band's own albums). Such precise pigeonholing is warranted in this case, because the sound in question is very well defined and changes little from artist to artist: this is midtempo soft guitar music reminding of Mike + the Mechanics and the Eagles, but with hooks not being a top priority -- more attention is paid to melodies, which are romantic and heartfelt. The big advantage of this sound is that it's very pleasing to the ear, sometimes soothing, sometimes uplifting. The drawback is that it's antiseptic: one can only take so much guitar chord strumming and tender vocalizing, even if it's pretty fast and backed by huge (and uninventive) strings -- it eventually fades into the background, which happens around "Another Story" on Home. The album is far from being uniform -- there are, for instance, touches of jazz on "Piano Man," or little dance-rock hits like "Fake" tucked in the latter half of the CD, and besides, Mr. Children get the benefit of being one of the first Japanese bands to establish this kind of sound. But still, by 2007 they're virtually undistinguishable from their own followers. ~ Alexey Eremenko

1. Sakebi Inori

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

2. Wake Me Up

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

3. Irodori

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

4. Houkiboshi

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

5. Another Story

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

6. Piano Man

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

7. Motto

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

8. Yawarakaikaze

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

9. Fake

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

10. Pocket Castanet

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

11. Sunrise

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

12. Shirushi

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

13. Tooriame

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

14. Anmarioboetenaiya

Primary Artist: Mr.children; Main Performer
Performer: Mr.children; Performer
Arranger: Takeshi Kobayashi
Mr.children; Composer
Composer: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer
Lyricist: Kazutoshi Sakurai; Composer

Technical Specifications

Volume

1 volume only

Tracks

14 tracks available

Type

ALBUM

Format

Digital Media

Duration

1 hour, 11 minutes and 55 seconds

Explicit

None

Coverart

Available and up to 3000x3000 px

Booklet

Not available

Max Quality

CD Quality (Lossless)

16bit / 44.1 kHz

Stereo

Audio Extension

Lossless: FLAC, M4A, WAV, WV, AIFF

Lossy: AAC, MP3, M4A, MP4, OGA, OGG, OPUS, WMA

Archive Format

Available in these formats: ZIP, TAR, RAR

Lyrics

All tracks have lyrics

Synchronized Lyrics

13/14 tracks have synced lyrics

Genres

Pop/Rock, J-Pop

Label

Toy's Factory

Music Distribution Service

Sony

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese

Popularity

Release Date

Mar 13, 2007

Track Preview

Available

Delivery Charge

Free

Delivery Method

Digital download link via Email or Personal Dashboard on this site

UPC

4517331068754