Flash Back: B'z Early Special Titles cover

Flash Back: B'z Early Special Titles

B'z · 1997

115 min · 24 tracks · hard rock

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Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

44 /100
Lowland
Higher than 1% of albums we've rated

A useful run through B'z's early guitar-and-programming sound, but the compilation format and long, weakly arced sequence limit its identity as an album.

What we noticed

  • The 24-track sequence moves through early B'z material and closes with an alternate ‘OFF THE LOCK STYLE’ take of ‘だからその手を離して,’ rather than ending on a newly introduced song.
  • Guitar-led rock arrangements sit alongside prominent programmed rhythms and keyboards, giving many tracks a dance-pop pulse beneath the hard-rock instrumentation.
  • Japanese and English lines recur across the tracklist, while the order groups related early material more than it builds a rising or falling album-length arc.
Composition 25% of the score
5/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
6/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
5/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
4/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
3/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 2/10

Little footprint beyond its audience. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

Disc 1

  • 1 It’s not a dream 3:55
  • 2 LOVE & CHAIN 4:52
  • 3 SAFETY LOVE 4:10
  • 4 となりでねむらせて 4:11
  • 5 君の中で踊りたい 3:46
  • 6 LADY-GO-ROUND 4:21
  • 7 HURRY UP! 3:49
  • 8 Half Tone Lady 3:36
  • 9 Guitarは泣いている 6:29
  • 10 OUT OF THE RAIN -OFF THE LOCK STYLE- 7:38
  • 11 GUITAR KIDS RHAPSODY 4:42
  • 12 だからその手を離して 3:48

Disc 2

  • 1 OH! GIRL 4:11
  • 2 夜にふられても 3:55
  • 3 LOVING ALL NIGHT 5:22
  • 4 Nothing To Change 4:36
  • 5 BREAK THROUGH 4:25
  • 6 NEVER LET YOU GO 5:42
  • 7 君を今抱きたい 4:13
  • 8 STARDUST TRAIN 4:42
  • 9 SAVE ME!? 3:28
  • 10 BAD COMMUNICATION 7:22
  • 11 ROSY 4:56
  • 12 DA・KA・RA・SO・NO・TE・O・HA・NA・SHI・TE -OFF THE LOCK STYLE- 7:15

What to play next

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Reference: MusicBrainz · Wikidata