Ray (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) explained

Ray
Type:	studio
Artist:	L'Arc-en-Ciel
Cover:	Ray-L'arc-.jpg
Released:	July 1, 1999
Length:	49:24
Label:	Ki/oon
Producer:	L'Arc-en-Ciel, Hajime Okano
Prev Title:	Ark
Prev Year:	1999
Next Title:	Ectomorphed Works
Next Year:	2000

Ray is the seventh album by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with Ark. It reached number two on the Oricon chart, behind only Ark, and sold over two million copies, being certified by the RIAJ.^[1]

Covers

"Shinshoku ~lose control~" was covered by Fantôme Iris, a fictional visual kei band from multimedia franchise Argonavis from BanG Dream! on their first solo live Fantôme Iris 1st LIVE -C'est la vie!-.^[2] "Honey" and "Snow Drop" were covered by Eric Martin and Boyz II Men, respectively, on L'Arc-en-Ciel Tribute; a different mix of Martin's cover was later included on his cover album Mr. Rock Vocalist.^{[3] [4]}

Personnel

• hyde – vocals
• ken – guitar, chromaharp on track 1, keyboards on tracks 2, 7, 8 and 11, tambourine on tracks 3, 5 and 11
• tetsu – bass guitar, backing vocals
• yukihiro – drums, tambourine and shaker on track 2, guitar and keyboards on track 9
• Hajime Okano – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11
• Hitoshi Saitou – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11
• Shinri Sasaki – piano on track 4
• Sylvie – fills on track 6

Charts

Weekly charts

Original release

15th Anniversary Edition

Year-end charts

Notes and References

1. Web site: RIAJ CERTIFIED MILLION SELLER ALBUMS. ocn.ne.jp. February 13, 2015. dead. https://archive.today/20120805230217/http://www18.ocn.ne.jp/~hbr/jp1mal_e.htm. August 5, 2012.
2. Web site: それは幻想の一夜ーー「Fantôme Iris 1st LIVE -C'est la vie!-」ライブレポート。眷属たちの目に映る，銀の百合咲き乱れし王国 . 4gamer.net. 2021-05-07. ja.
3. Web site: 2012-07-30 . エリック・マーティン、B'zからBOΦWY、LUNA SEAまで今度は男性J-ROCKの名曲を鮮烈カバー . 2024-05-22 . BARKS . ja.
4. Web site: 2012-06-13 . ラルクトリビュート世界配信開始、PVもYouTube公開 . 2024-05-22 . 音楽ナタリー . ja.
5. Web site: ray L’Arc～en～Ciel . 2024-05-22 . ORICON NEWS.
6. Web site: 『ray』15th Anniversary Expanded Edition L’Arc～en～Ciel . 2024-05-22 . ORICON NEWS.