Ongaku Cafe (The ’90s): Mr.Children – Hana -Memento Mori- (1996)

1. 花 -Memento-Mori-

Reviewed back in 1996:

In Japan, there are not many bands who can continuously get #1 hits. We see it with many pop artists but for rock bands, not many are consistent with #1 hits. But for Mr.Children, they are in a different position than most bands. Having won the Grand Prix for the Nihon Record Taishou Awards in 1994, the group has continued to release a string of #1’s and also have sold over a million copies of their CD singles. And this has been going on since 1994 with the release of “Innocent World”.

Their 11th CD single “Hana -Memento-Mori-” is their seventh consecutive #1 single and another single that has sold over a million copies in Japan.

The single marks a change in musical style for Mr.Children. The single is written and composed by lead vocalist Kazutoshi Sakurai and features an arrangement by Mr.Children and producer Takeshi Kobayashi. A more rock-driven style with an emphasis in electric guitar and a single that really showcases Sakurai’s vocals. “Hana -Memento-Mori-” is another outstanding single from the band.

The single is budget priced at Y500 and that is because there is only one track on this single. Unfortunately, there is no coupling track nor is there a karaoke/instrumental track of “Hana -Memento-Mori-” included on the single.

But for a one-track single, “Hana – Memento-Mori-” is an awesome song but I wish there was more included on this CD Single. Still, a must-buy for Misuchiru fans!