''Smile'' is the ninth album by

L'Arc-en-Ciel , stylized as L'Arc〜en〜Ciel and abbreviated as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist Tetsuya and vocalist Hyde. Following the departure of original members Hiro and Pero, guitarist Ken and drummer Sakura were ...

, released on March 31, 2004. It was the band's first original studio album after a prolonged hiatus. ''Smile'' was later given a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

release by

Tofu Records was a US record label of Sony Music Entertainment Japan that was launched in 2003 to distribute Japanese Sony artists in the United States until its closure in 2007. Their first signed artist was T.M.Revolution, and they used the anime fandom ...

, for which all Japanese song titles received English translations in the linear notes. The song "

Ready Steady Go Ready Steady Go may refer to: Television * ''Ready Steady Go!'', a 1963–1966 British music TV programme * Ready Steady Go (Pakistani TV series), a 2017–2020 sitcom * "Ready, Steady, Go!", an episode of the TV series ''Pocoyo'' Music * ''Rea ...

" was used as the second opening for the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' anime.

Track listing

Personnel

* hyde –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

on track 10 *

ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer * ''Ken'' (film), a 1965 Japanese film * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine * Ken Masters, a main character in th ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

, keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10,

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

on track 10 *

tetsu Tetsu (written: 哲, 徹, 鉄 or テツ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese musician *, Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals, keyboards on tracks 2, 5 and 9, guitar solo on track 5 *

yukihiro Yukihiro is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Yukihiro can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸弘, "happiness, vast" *幸宏, "happiness, wide" *幸浩, "happiness, wide" *幸� ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion, backing vocals, metal percussion on track 3 * Hajime Okano – keyboards on tracks 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10, backing vocals on track 8 * Hiroaki Sugawara – keyboards on track 6,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

on track 10 * Asuka Kaneko – strings on track 6 * Jack Danger – backing vocals on track 8 * Hal-Oh Togashi –

acoustic piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempe ...

on track 9

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

2001 albums L'Arc-en-Ciel albums Tofu Records albums {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub