98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare

98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare (98.12.28 男達の別れ, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare) is the third and final live album by Japanese dub band Fishmans. It documents the band's last ever live performance under the Fishmans name. The show was recorded and filmed at Akasaka Blitz on December 28, 1998, and was first released on September 29, 1999 by Polydor Records in Japan. The album title roughly translates to "A Men's Farewell: December 28th, 1998", a reference to the tour name and to bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara's departure from the band and to signal the "end of an era" for the band's three piece era. The performance was released on DVD under the name Otokotachi no Wakare 98.12.28 @ Akasaka Blitz (男達の別れ 98.12.28 @赤坂Blitz) in 2005. The album has garnered much underground acclaim.

98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare
Live album by
Fishmans
ReleasedSeptember 29, 1999[1]
RecordedDecember 28, 1998[2]
VenueAkasaka Blitz
Length130:32
LabelPolydor
Fishmans chronology
8 Tsuki no Genjō
(1998)		 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare
(1999)

Background

On December 28, 1998 on the last day of the Otokotachi no Wakara tour, Fishmans would perform their final concert at Akasaka Blitz. While initially meant to be a farewell to bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara who would be departing from the band, it would rather be a farewell to frontman Shinji Sato and to Fishmans as a whole, as Sato would suddenly die months later.

Performance

Fishmans performed a multitude of their most beloved songs and singles, including "Hikōki", "Ikareta Baby", "Night Cruising", "Melody", "Walking in the Rhythm", and "Yurameki in the Air". They also played their sixth studio album Long Season in its entirety as the finale. The concert showed the band's progression stylistically from playing music heavily influenced by reggae and dub, to finishing their career playing dream pop and neo-psychedelia.

Underground recognition

While Fishmans received only scarce international recognition during their active years, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare has become lauded among several online music communities. Rating aggregate website RateYourMusic has made the album chart in the top 20 albums of all time,[3] ranking it as the best album of 1999[4] and as the highest-rated live album of all time.[5]

In a review for The Michigan Daily, Sayan Ghosh wrote the album is "a triumph", specifically praising Sato's powerful and passionate voice and the embellishments on "Long Season" that "add new dimensions to the music".[6]

Track listing
Disc 1
No.TitleAlso onLength
1."Oh! Slime" (Lead-in)Oh! Mountain7:52
2."Night Cruising" (ナイトクルージング; Naito Kurūjingu)Kūchū Camp6:25
3."Nante tta No" (なんてったの; What Was It)King Master George6:26
4."Thank You"Oh! Mountain2:58
5."Shiawase-sha" (幸せ者; A Happy Person)Kūchū Camp4:05
6."Tayorinai Tenshi" (頼りない天使; Unreliable Angel)King Master George4:53
7."Hikōki" (ひこうき; Airplane)Chappie, Don't Cry9:11
8."In the Flight"Uchū Nippon Setagaya6:49
9."Walking in the Rhythm"Uchū Nippon Setagaya7:44
10."Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday"Neo Yankees' Holiday4:57
11."Melody"Orange5:50
Total length:67:17
Disc 2
No.TitleAlso onLength
12."Yurameki in the Air" (ゆらめき in the Air; Flickering in the Air)Single only16:00
13."Ikareta Baby" (いかれた Baby; Crazy Baby)Neo Yankees' Holiday5:38
14."Long Season"Long Season41:31
Total length:63:15

Personnel

Fishmans

  • Shinji Sato – vocals, guitar
  • Yuzuru Kashiwabara – bass guitar, chorus
  • Kin-ichi Motegi – guitar, drums, chorus, sampler

Supporting guest musicians

  • Honzi – keyboards, violin, chorus
  • Michio "Darts" Sekiguchi – guitar, chorus

Technical personnel

References
  1. Rateyourmusic 98.12.28 男達の別れ album page
  2. Rateyourmusic 98.12.28 男達の別れ album description page
  3. "Album Charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  4. "1999 Album charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  5. "Live album charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
  6. Ghosh, Sayan. "Sayan Ghosh: Fishman's '98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare'". The Michigan Daily. University of Michigan. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
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