Review Summary: The gate to success, containing many of their best, timeless songs.
X Japan surely is an exceptional band. They never cease to amaze me with their ability to make songs technically challenging and versatile, but at the same time giving them incredible hooks and making them a great listen overall. Their second, most popular and successful album Blue Blood is almost always a fan favorite, containing most of Yoshiki's famous compositions like Week End, Kurenai, X, Endless Rain and Orgasm. Therefore, it is generally much more well received than Jealousy, Vanishing Vision or Dahlia (not counting the masterpiece Art of Life here, due to it being only a "mini-album"). Is the top postion of this album really justfied or is it's good reputation only a matter of nostalgia?
First of all, the production of Blue Blood is a bit of a mixed bag. I own the remastered 2-disc version from 2007 and overall the sound is really good. What influences the experience are Yoshiki's drums and Toshi's voice: They're both a bit too loud and dominant, putting guitar and bass in the background. This is not a terrible flaw or anything, but if you listen to Jealousy or even Vanishing Vision, the guitars sound much clearer and well rounded.
The majority of the songs on Blue Blood were composed by Yoshiki (except Prologue, Easy Fight Rambling, XClamation and Celebration) which is a shame considering the musical abilities of the other members, especially hide and Taiji, though both of them got a chance to shine in the instrumental piece of the album. But I'll get to that later.
The first track "Prologue (~World Anthem)" turns out to be a cover of Frank Marinos song -you guessed it- World Anthem. Majestically sounding, it serves as a fitting intro to the album, preparing you for the rest of the ride. However, Yoshiki added a small, meaningful poem at the end to perfect the transition. Since their Blue Blood tour, it was always used as the playback opening song until getting replaced by "Amethyst", one of Yoshikis classical pieces. As soon as the melody is over, the title track bursts in with all its force and continues to run at an amazing speed. At first the main riff might seem a little underwhelming, but it soon changes into a much slower, melodical section where Toshi's voice really shines through. Two guitar solos by hide (and ocasionally Pata) add to that stylistic evolution and in the end make the song worthy of X Japan's repertoire. Sadly, its longevity in live performances was cut short by the next piece: Week End.
Week End (Yoshiki apparently likes to write it separately) is one of X Japan's most famous songs. Played at almost every live concert, it continues to be a favorite among fans, and it is easy to see why: The composition features a good example of Yoshiki's preferred "call-and-response" style (with Toshi and hide calling each other) and is not as fast-paced as the other speed metal songs, containing some balladesque passages. As of now, there exist no less than three versions of it: The first one is on this album, the second one was released as a single one year after with a new arrangement and better structured guitar solo, and the third is a slight variation of the single version that was only performed live after 1994, featuring almost the same guitar solo but without the pinch harmonic notes at the beginning and a different orchestral bridge. The title "Weekend" is actually a double entendre by Yoshiki, describing the end of the world for a person who decides to (or is already in the act of) commiting suicide. It is recommended to watch the promotional video for a more direct proof. If you're a beginner to X Japan, this is definitely one of the first songs you should listen to.
Just right after that, the next track immediately kicks in with a mid-tempo drum beat. This song, called "Easy Fight Rambling" is a harmless, very hair metal-esque work and is the only song of X Japan where every member contributed to the composition. It is definitely well put together and fun to listen to now and then. The live version is more interesting here, since Taiji gets more freedom in his bass work to play some nice licks and to make the song more dynamic. Following this we now have X Japans trademark song, "X". However, it is not that spectacular as a studio version, since the biggest charm to it is how on live performances the audience takes a big part in its execution, shouting "X" in cooperation with Toshi, who is masterful as an entertainer and motivator to keep the crowd in its highest spirit. Additional little extras are Pata's little guitar solo and hide's vocal barrage during the pause. Without all that, it falls a little bit flat and is more of a filler to the overall album structure.
Right at the middle of the album, one of X Japan's most popular ballads makes its entrance: "Endless Rain". With a sweet and simple piano intro, Toshi's voice develops emotional intensity, and the extremely catchy chorus and hide's solo finish it with a flourish. This is really a fan favorite and another audience-participation-song where they sing along the chorus even after the song has long ended. An instant classic, though not as complex as future ballads by Yoshiki. Blue Blood is certainly packed with classics, as proven by the next track, "Kurenai" (Deep Red). This one has almost become legendary, with its roots going back to their first album Vanishing Vision, which contained a version entirely with English lyrics. The new version, however, features little English, much Japanese and an orchestral intro and backup. Hide gently plays the guitar intro using fingerpicking, with Toshi singing along. After that comes silence pierced by Yoshiki's cymbals, and the whole thing gets rolling. The chorus is -again- quite catchy, and the guitar solos are intricately designed, multi-layered and played perfectly. And -you guessed it- it is also famous for audience participation.
Now it gets a little more mysterious. "XClamation", the instrumental piece, consists of two parts. One composed by hide alone and the other one in collaboration with bassist Taiji (although Taiji certainly did most of the work on it). The whole song gives a very oriental vibe underlined by Indian drums. The melody is ethereal, floating above everything, slowly growing in intensity. Everything is suddenly stopped by a chord played downward very fast. Taiji rips through the silence with an outstanding bass solo, the guitarists only taking background roles. After reaching its climax, the song fades away slowly with a leisurely played guitar riff. Afterwards, it's time to get to orgasm, musically speaking. The next track bearing the name of the highest sexual pleasure is sort of an exception compared to X Japan's other works. While still being fairly faithful to their speed metal style with crazy guitar solos and pounding drums (you can really hear the double bass on this one!), it is surprisingly short at about two and a half minutes. The live version is the other curious thing: It almost runs about 18 minutes most of the time, containing a huge jamming session in the middle where Yoshiki even gets off his drums (now supported by synth drums) and runs through the audience with a fire extinguisher, pouring out the white foam and making very clear what the lyrics are about.
The only complete song by hide on Blue Blood, "Celebration", is a faithful rock n' roll track that is very lighthearted in its nature. The promotional video to this is quite stretched, telling a story about a little girl (who happens to be a devoted X Japan fan) getting scolded by her mother for her one-sided interest. Suddenly "wizard" hide appears and teleports the girl away, meeting the rest of the members and celebrating with them. Quite bizarre, but at the same time delightful. The next song, the eleven-minute-epic "Rose of Pain", creates the opposite experience. It can roughly be divided into two parts, the first one beginning with an organ intro out of a piece by J.S. Bach, consisting of an ominous melody throughout while the second one being much faster and more riff-based. It really can be seen as a predecessor to Art of Life, boasting majestic orchestration and beautiful solo work by hide and Pata. The live, acoustic version is equally beatiful. A highlight right at the end of the album, only followed by "Unfinished", the ballad that was literally unfinished on Vanishing Vision and now completed. Quiet, the piano very dominant next to Toshis voice, it is a worthy ending. Even a little underrated, maybe.
A final judgement of the album is hard to make. As a structured order of songs it doesn't really work for me, as listening to it from the beginning to the end it is rather tiresome due to the tracks not being in a logical order from a musical standpoint. When I listen to it I almost always pick a certain song or two out of it and then move to another one. It almost seems more of a single collection to me, which is fine but not entirely satisfying. The next album, Jealousy, solved this much better. Don't get me wrong, every song on this album is to some degree great by itself. And that is already a great accomplishment. Without Blue Blood, X Japan would not be where they are now.
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