was the twelfth single by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese band

The Blue Hearts was a Japanese punk rock band active from 1985 to 1995. They have been compared to such bands as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Ramones.

and reached #29 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

charts in 1992.

Details

''Too Much Pain'' was released as part of The Blue Hearts' fifth album, ''

High Kicks is the fifth studio album released by the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. It was the first album by the band to reach #1 on the Oricon charts. Tracks #"Minagoroshi no Melody" (皆殺しのメロディ ''Massacre Melody'') #"Monkey" (M・O・N・K ...

'', which had been released on December 21, 1991, but the song itself was from the band's amateur days many years prior. They had planned on including it in the independent release with ''

Blue Hearts Theme was the fourth single by the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. Though it was released after their major debut, it was written before they signed with a major label. It was released as a "double A-side" track on July 1, 1988, with "Chernobyl" (チェ ...

'' and ''Chernobyl'', but the song ''Sha La La'' was thought to be a better fit. Up until 1987, the song was performed regularly, with nothing more than Mashima's guitar and

Hiroto Kōmoto is a Japanese rock singer who has fronted bands such as The Blue Hearts, The High-Lows and The Cro-Magnons. Early life Kōmoto was born in 1963 in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture and graduated from the junior high school attached to the School of E ...

's vocals. After that, they only played the song on special occasions. The last time that the two of them performed the song live by themselves was on May 31, 1989, on the last day of their ''On Tour'' tour in

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

. The two chose to perform that day because they had once seen

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

perform at a concert there and sang it as a tribute. The B-side track, , was also written by Mashima. It is still occasionally performed by The Blue Hearts' supporting member

Mikio Shirai Mikio (written: , , , , , , , , , in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese comedian *, Japanese composer, music arranger and producer *, Japanese pol ...

when he plays with his new band,

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References

{{The Blue Hearts 1992 singles The Blue Hearts songs Songs written by Masatoshi Mashima 1992 songs East West Records singles