OCEAN
| OCEAN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by B'z | ||||
| from the album MONSTER | ||||
| Released | August 10, 2005 | |||
| Promotions | #1 (Umizaru Drama Theme) #2 (Asahi Shimbun Soccer Theme) | |||
| Length | 12:52 | |||
| Label | Vermillion Records | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
OCEAN is the thirty-ninth single by B'z, released on August 10, 2005. A gentle power ballad in every sense, the single's title song is a love song that has become one of the band's most requested and most widely-recognized songs, let alone ballads. Prior to its release, the single was tied into the Fuji TV television drama Umizaru Evolution, based on the popular open sea rescue manga series by Shuho Sato. The song's popularity as one of the band's staple ballads is rivaled only by the 2000 single "Konya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni", which also served as a drama theme five years earlier. Additionally, it remains one of the band's most performed songs not only on their own stage but in karaoke establishments across Japan.
The single was first collected on a compilation album three months after its original release as the flagship song on B'z The Best "Pleasure II", which would go on to sell over 750,000 copies in its first week alone. The following summer, a remixed version titled "OCEAN ~2006 MiX~" was found on the band's next studio album, MONSTER. This rendition of the song—the only alternate version to date—was remixed by American producer Jay Baumgardner, with added emphasis on the guitar and various portions of the instrumentation. In 2008, the single version of the song would be collected once more on B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure" and would again be included in 2013's B'z The Best XXV 1999-2012 along with other era-appropriate singles.
The title song has been performed on a great deal of LIVE-GYMs in the relatively short time span since its release, including seeing its premiere on the live stage during LIVE-GYM 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK". The song would again return the next summer for LIVE-GYM 2006 "MONSTER'S GARAGE", as well as for the twentieth anniversary tour LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS- two years later. In addition to North American performances during LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see-, a particularly high-production version of the song was performed during LIVE-GYM 2010 "Ain't No Magic" in which a large rounded screen behind the band depicted footage of the ocean timed to their performance. Despite its immense popularity, it has only been performed on television once, during 2005's Music Station Super Live when it was coupled with fellow ballad classic "Itsuka no Merry Christmas".
Track listing
- OCEAN
- Narifuri Kamawazu Dakishimete — Embrace Closely Regardless of Appearance, なりふりかまわず抱きしめて
- Dead stock leftover from the band's fourteenth studio album, THE CIRCLE. Although it did not make the aforementioned album, it would go on to become the soccer cheer song for Asahi Shimbun's soccer coverage when included here. The song has not been performed live nor has it been collected elsewhere.
- Dear my lovely pain
- Originally used as the ending music for B'z LIVE-GYM 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK". The demo presented there differs from that of the final released version found here. The song has never been performed live in either form, nor has it been collected on subsequent albums or compilations.
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition, Arrangement
Drums
- Shane Gaalaas: Drums, Percussion
Bass
- Akihito Tokunaga: Bass, Arrangement
Production
- Daisuke Ikeda: Arrangement (Track 1)
- TAMA Strings: Strings (Track 1)
- Shinichirou Ohta: Chorus (Track 1)