Highway X Explained

Highway X
Type:	studio
Artist:	B'z
Cover:	B'z Highway X.png
Genre:	Hard rock
Label:	Vermillion
Producer:	Tak Matsumoto
Prev Title:	New Love
Prev Year:	2019

Highway X is the twenty-second studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on August 10, 2022, and was their first album released after the COVID-19 pandemic started.

The album was released in three editions: A standard edition, a first press edition with a DVD and a photo book, and a first production limited edition featuring the DVD and photo book as well as a cassette.^[1]

The album debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly albums chart and number two on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums Chart.^{[2] [3]}

Release and promotion

As it was their first album since the COVID-19 pandemic had started, the band said the album presented "the trajectory of two years that have been running through this chaotic era without stopping, and the current state of the present." Unlike other albums, the album was released right before the supporting tour ended, meaning that most of the songs were first heard live.

"Unite" was released as the first digital single on October 1, 2021, where it debuted at number 1 on the Oricon weekly digital singles chart.^{[4] [5]} "Sleepless" was released as the second digital single on June 24, 2022, where it also debuted at number 1 on the Oricon weekly digital singles chart;^[6] it was also used as an opening theme in the anime Detective Conan.^[7] "Comeback -Itoshiki Hahen-" was used as the theme for the Asahi TV drama Mirai e no 10 Count.^[8] "Live" was used in the film Lie Eater.^[9]

Track listing

Cassette

Personnel

B'z

• Koshi Inaba – vocals
• Tak Matsumoto – guitars, background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Mamirena"

Additional musicians

• Yukihide "YT" Takiyama – bass on tracks 1, 8, 10
• Rhonda Smith – bass on tracks 2–5, 9
• Takeshi Taneda – bass on tracks 6–7, 11
• Brian Tichy – drums on tracks 1–5, 8–10
• Tom Tamada – drums on tracks 6–7, 11
• Akira Onozuka – piano on tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 11, organ on tracks 1–2, 4, 7–9, Wurlitzer on "Hard Rain Love" and "Mamirena", Clavinet on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Mamirena", synthesizer on "Mamirena", Mellotron on "Daydream"
• Ken Kawamura – organ, theremin, and synthesizer on "Unite"
• Watanabe Fire – tenor saxophone on "Hard Rain Love" and "Live"
• Takahiro Miyazaki – baritone saxophone on "Hard Rain Love"
• Osamu Ueishi – trumpet on "Hard Rain Love" and "Live"
• Motoko Hasegawa – trumpet on "Hard Rain Love" and "Live"
• Azusa Tojo – trombone on "Hard Rain Love" and "Live"
• Nobu Saito – tambourine on tracks 3–5, 7, 11, reco-reco on "Comeback -Itoshiki Hahen-", conga on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Yamate Doori ni Kaze", cowbell on "Highway X", wind chimes, shaker, and triangle on "Yamate Doori ni Kaze"
• Mai Origami – background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Unite"
• MissTy – background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Unite"
• Yuki Asanuma – background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes"
• Michiya Nakahara – background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes"
• Rie Kodera with Lime Ladies Orchestra – strings on "Live" and "You Are My Best"

Production

• Yukihide "YT" Takiyama – arrangement on tracks 1–9, recording
• Yoshinobu Ohga – arrangement on "Unite"
• Hideyuki Terachi – arrangement on "Unite" and "You Are My Best", vocal direction
• Hiroyuki Kobayashi – recording, mixing

B'z Live-Gym 2022 -Highway X- support members

• Yukihide "YT" Takiyama – guitar
• Kiyoshi – bass
• Ken Kawamura – keyboards
• Hideki Aoyama – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[10]	1
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2022)	Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[11]	22
Japanese Albums (Billboard Japan)^[12]	25

Certifications

^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: B'z、22thフルアルバム『Highway X』を8月リリース . 2022-11-09 . BARKS . 12 May 2022 . ja.
2. Web site: 2022年08月08日～2022年08月14日 オリコン週間 アルバムランキング . 2022-08-19 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
3. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums 2022/08/17 . Billboard Japan . Japanese.
4. Web site: B'z新曲「UNITE」自身初のデジタルシングル1位獲得【オリコンランキング】 . 2022-11-09 . ORICON NEWS. 7 October 2021 . ja.
5. Web site: オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年09月27日～2021年10月03日 . 2022-11-09 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
6. Web site: オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2022年06月20日～2022年06月26日 . 2022-11-09 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
7. Web site: B'z新曲「SLEEPLESS」、「デジタルシングル」初登場1位【オリコンランキング】 . 2022-11-09 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
8. Web site: B'zニューアルバム「Highway X」全国ツアー終盤の8月にリリース . 2022-11-09 . 音楽ナタリー . ja.
9. Web site: B'zが横浜流星主演の映画「嘘喰い」に主題歌「リヴ」書き下ろし（コメントあり / 動画あり） . 2022-11-09 . 音楽ナタリー . ja.
10. Web site: Highway X B'z . 2022-08-19 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
11. Web site: 2022年度 オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 21～30位 . 2023-02-01 . ORICON NEWS. ja.
12. Web site: Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales Year End Charts . 2023-02-01 . Billboard Japan. ja.
13. Web site: 編集部 . INI、3rdシングルがレコ協トリプル・プラチナ獲得 自身の記録を更新 . 2022-11-09 . MusicVoice . ja.