Six/Nine
Studio album
ArtistBuck-Tick
CoverSix-Nine - BUCK-TICK.jpg
ReleasedMay 15, 1995
September 21, 1995 (reissue)
September 19, 2002 (digital remaster)
September 5, 2007 (remaster)
RecordedDecember 1994–March 1995 at Sound Sky Studio in Tokyo; Sound Sky Kawana in Tokyo; Sound Atelier in Osaka; Aobadai Studio in Tokyo; Avaco Studio in Tokyo; Cats Studio in Tokyo; Master Rock Studios in London, England; Crescente Studio in Tokyo
GenrePost-punk · industrial rock
Length71:11
LanguageJapanese, English
LabelVictor
ProducerHitoshi Hiruma, Gary Stout, Buck-Tick and Imai
Prev year1993
Next year1996

Six/Nine is the eighth studio album by the Japanese rock band Buck-Tick. It was released in a clear purple case on May 15, 1995, through Victor Entertainment.[1]

It peaked at number one on the Oricon chart.[2] It was certified gold in the same month[3] and sold over 240,760 copies in the first year.[4][5] The album was digitally remastered and re-released on September 19, 2002 with a bonus track. The album was remastered once again and released on September 5, 2007.

The single "Uta" is band's 2nd best-selling single, with over 200,000 copies sold.[6]

Issay (Der Zibet) provides vocals for "Itoshi no Rock Star".[7]

Controversy

The hard-industrial rock song "Rakuen" (4:48) was released as a B-side to the single "Kodou". An alternative version is featured in the album, entitled "Rakuen (Inori Negai)" (4:37), featuring an oriental arrangement in an instrumental-acoustic style. During the tours the band usually performed the original rock version.

Sakurai's lyrics are socially conscious and critical of the people seeing the political and war situation in the Middle East. They talk how in a country/garden of love and peace (Garden of Eden) suddenly there is bloodshed, children of God kill each other with gunfire, but on the TV it is showcased as a melodrama while "I" (Sakurai, in other sense, the listener/viewer) is indifferent, pretends to show tears and shuts their eyes (willful blindness).

The song caused controversy with the Japanese Islamic community because the album version featured a sample of a passage from the Quran. The album was re-issued with the offending part removed by November 1995 in a clear red case.[8]

Personnel

Additional performers

  • Susanne Bramson - backing vocals
  • Aska Strings - violin
  • Kazutoshi Yokoyama - keyboards
  • Issay - vocals on "Itoshi no Rock Star"

Production

References

  1. ^ "Six/Nine". jame-world.com. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  2. ^ "BUCK-TICKのアルバム売り上げランキング". oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  3. ^ "月次認定作品 認定年月：1995年 5月 (Dropdown menu: 1995年 5月)" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  4. ^ "1995年 アルバム年間TOP100" (in Japanese). Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "Buck-Tickの主な記録 『悪の華』など5作でオリコン週間アルバムランキング1位獲得" [Buck-Tick's main records: Achieved 1st place in the Oricon weekly album rankings with 5 albums including "Aku no Hana"] (in Japanese). Oricon. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Buck-Tickの主な記録 『悪の華』など5作でオリコン週間アルバムランキング1位獲得" [Buck-Tick's main records: Achieved 1st place in the Oricon weekly album rankings with 5 albums including "Aku no Hana"] (in Japanese). Oricon. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  7. ^ "ISSAY Personal Interview". BUCK-TICK Club. ' (29). 1995.
  8. ^ Steve McClure (18 November 1995). Japanese Label Recalls Album: Muslims Outraged By Koran Sample. Billboard (Nielsen Business Media). pp. 59–60.