''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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

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. The album debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly albums chart and number two on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway compa ...

'' Hot Albums Chart.

Release and promotion

As it was their first album since the

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. "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; it was also used as an opening theme in the anime ''

Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its cha ...

''. "Comeback -Itoshiki Hahen-" was used as the theme for the Asahi TV drama ''Mirai e no 10 Count''. "Live" was used in the film ''Lie Eater''.

Track listing

Cassette

Personnel

B'z *

Koshi Inaba (born September 23, 1964 in Tsuyama, Okayama) is a Japanese vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He is best known as the singer and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He has also had a su ...

– vocals *

Tak Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the Rock music, rock duo B'z, the List of best-selling music artists in Japan, best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also ...

– guitars, background vocals on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Mamirena" Additional musicians * Yukihide "YT" Takiyama – bass on tracks 1, 8, 10 *

Rhonda Smith Rhonda Smith is a Canadian bassist, best known for her work with Prince and Jeff Beck. Biography Smith was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her family moved to Montreal when she was a child. She and her three siblings were encouraged to ...

– bass on tracks 2–5, 9 * Takeshi Taneda – bass on tracks 6–7, 11 *

Brian Tichy Brian Tichy (born August 18, 1968) is an American musician, best known as having been the drummer for Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Sass Jordan, and Ozzy Osbourne. He was the drummer of Whitesnake from 2010 to 2013. His surname means ''si ...

– 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 The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

on "Hard Rain Love" and "Mamirena", Clavinet on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Mamirena", synthesizer on "Mamirena", Mellotron on "Daydream" * Ken Kawamura – organ,

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

, 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 The reco-reco (also called the raspador, caracaxá or querequexé) is a scraper of African origin used as a percussion instrument in Brazilian music,ROCCA, Edgar Nunes "Bituca", ''Escola Brasileira de Música: Uma visão Brasileira no ensino da m� ...

on "Comeback -Itoshiki Hahen-", conga on "Yes Yes Yes" and "Yamate Doori ni Kaze",

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

on "Highway X",

wind chime Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or rod ...

s, shaker, and

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

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

Release and promotion

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References