Fire Bomber Music

[Renato]

I noticed there wasn't a thread to discuss the many songs (despite the fact most of them aren't in the show ) of Fire Bomber, and by association, the other music by artists like Hummingbird, post-Humming Yoshiki Fukuyama, and also the elusive Chie Kajiura.

So I figured I would start one since we have just a few weeks to the release of the fourth album heralding Fire's triumphant return.

So let's use this thread to discuss the new song, "Burning Fire", which we can hear on Youtube and whatnot, or to reminisce about our favourite classics from the FB repertoire, or even to talk about alternate versions of Fire Bomber songs released over the years, such as the a capella version of Angel Voice on "Fukuyama Fire", or what I consider to be Fukuyama's masterpiece, the epic "Fukugan", a 9-minute long B-side on his last single (It's like if you cross Basara with Bohemian Rhapsody ).

I'll start the ball rolling by bringing up some stuff I've not heard mentioned before.

The basics: Hummingbird were a three-piece band -- Yoshiki Fukuyama (composer, guitarist, vocals), Toshiyuki Furuya (composer, bassist, vocalist) and Shoichiro Aso (drummer) -- active from 1990 or so until 2000. In 1994, band member Fukuyama was selected as the singing voice for Nekki Basara in M7. Chie Kajiura was NOT and never has been a member of Hummingbird, by the way.

Although my favourite Hummingbird albums are the first (self-titled) and second ("Timeless") ones, they actually came before Macross 7 and the Victor contract and therefore are less well-known. Thus, the Hummingbird albums, "1,2,3" and "Unsweet" might be more interesting for Fire Bomber fans. The latter in particular is interesting because one of the songs ("Sakana-tsuri no uta" -- "The Fishing Song") features none other than Peter Frampton as guest guitarist! The song ends with an epic four-way jam. Also on these albums are alternate versions of "Power to the Dream" ("Mada ma ni au sa"), "Dynamite Explosion", "My Soul For You", "I Call Your Name" (as "Bye-bye, O-jou-sama"), "Love Song" ("To Heart") and many more.

Most of the Hummingbird tracks sound much more "natural" and "raw" than the Fire Bomber versions of the songs, because the FB tracks are really over-produced. I mean, they sound good, but the HB versions just sound like three guys getting together and rocking out, and that's what it's all about.

Over the past couple of years we have seen both Fukuyama and Chie Kajiura go back and re-do Macross 7 songs in their own distinct styles, giving new life to those old classics. I think we should also take a look back at their own non-Macross material.

Anyway, this is a pretty messy post, but I hope the discussion will bring in FB fans into other related areas they never knew about. And we can discuss the new album as soon as it comes out (Yes, I am rushing out to buy it on the day of release!).

May be I should close with "BOMBAA!" or something, but I don't wanna get flamed for not using the correct font or shade of scarlet. So, I guess.... "Yippee!"..?

Edit -- The new FB album is the fourth, not the fifth. I think..

Edited September 27, 2009 by Renato

[Master Dex]

Re.Fire comes out on the 14th actually. However I am completely psyched for it! Wait.. hold on a sec...

BOMBAA!!

Ahem... continuing. I think this thread is a wonderful idea.

Macross 7, a show when I started watching I thought I would hate, ended up turning me into a full Fukuyama fan. I've listened to the majority of the songs from Fire Bomber but as far as Fukuyama's other stuff I've only every heard one JAM Project song, all of Fukuyama Fire (which is just remixed Fire Bomber as it is), and Yellow House (great album btw!). I've listened to several singles as well, like Wakugai with Fukugan (agreed Renato, amazing stuff), and Makka na Chikai (I just really like this song, and I've never even seen a lick of Bosou Renkin). I do plan to at some point buy the album Allegory, which I hear is great.

So far my favorite Fukuyama song has been and probably always will be Totsugeki Love Heart. Easily the best from Fire Bomber and I have liked every other version he's done, including the Fukuyama Fire mix. I am interested to hear the version that will be on Re.Fire.

As for Burning Fire, from what I've heard it sounds like a really amazing song, and I can't wait to hear it in full.

Edited September 27, 2009 by Master Dex

[Renato]

Kresphy posted this in the News thread:

FIRE BOMBER　「Re.FIRE!!」 試聴！！！！！！

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8345282

Sounds pretty cool so far!

Edit -- OK I had only listened to half of it as I typed that... It was a huge understatement, it sounds absolutely fantastic. Song of Eternity and Magic Rhapsody in particular stand out as freaking epic.

Damn, I can't wait for this. IMO Fukuyama's albums have had too many soft ballads in recent years, and this powerhouse seems to want to make up for that.

Edited September 27, 2009 by Renato

[Renato]

Makka na Chikai (I just really like this song, and I've never even seen a lick of Bosou Renkin). I do plan to at some point buy the album Allegory, which I hear is great.

Makka na Chikai is excellent. I haven't seen the show either, except for a few seconds when I turned on the TV and it just happened to be on. The song is really one of those that gets your blood pumping, then you're like, alright bring it on!!

Allegory and Yellow House both seem to gel into one entity in my mind... Except for Makka na Chikai and Hoshizora no Requiem, there aren't really many exceptional tracks. Don't Worry is quite a good ballad on Allegory... but I prefer the album Jungle Lady, with anthem songs like "Na na na" and the randomness of "Jealousy" (starts off cheery, then gets angry, then cute again, then insane..), so I would recommend that one.

"Rebirthday" might be worth checking out, too. It just came out a few months ago, DVD and CD set, it's basically a collection of re-worked re-recorded, re-written songs which are either old B-sides or songs Fukuyama wrote for other artists. Again, mostly ballads, but there are some gems like the extended version of "Fukugan" and "Kami no DNA, Majo no DNA". I prefer the original (now out-of-print) version of "Kaze to ki to hikari no machi de" to the one that's on here, though. The DVD has an awesome lengthy version of "Kimi ga Konai", showcasing some smart guitar moves.

[Gubaba]

The new album sounds great!

Renato, I know you and I have talked about this before, but I entirely agree that the early Fire Bomber stuff is overproduced...too much of an '80s sheen glossed over everything.

For me, the best "real" Fire Bomber album is Dynamite Fire, since on that one, it sounds like they're really just cutting loose and letting it ROAR. But I like both Fukuyama Fire and (to a lesser extent) Gift 25 much better than any of the official Fire Bomber albums.

Although I got all the Fire Bomber albums as they came out, I didn't start investigating Hummingbird's other music until last year. And yes, "1-2-3" was kind of a revelation, for its harder-edged versions of Fire Bomber songs with different titles, lyrics, and arragements.

But for me, the real treasure in my collection was the used copy of Chie's first album, "Loophole," that I found entirely by chance at a grubby little shop in downtown L.A. a little more than a year ago. I love psychedelia, and that album pretty much hit all the notes I like. And the "album Version" of Dakedo Baby was SO radically different from the version used in the show that it came as a complete, welcome surprise.

I'm stil trying to track down her Koi to Uso single to hear the "Gero Geroooo" version of Love It, which is one of my favorite Mylene songs (why didn't they ever use it in the show????).

Anyway, I'm glad they're still at it, and I've already reserved my copy of the new album at Kinokuniya.

[Master Dex]

I've also considered Jungle Lady, so thanks for the recommendation Renato, I'll look into it.

Right now I have to pick and chose the things I get. I am on a rather small budget right now and any of these CDs cost about $35 at least for me to get online (definitely nowhere I can get these where I live). So I don't quite know when I will be getting what, but based on that nico video link (which I actually saw earlier today before this topic was up) I think Re.Fire might be my next purchase.

While I agree that Fukuyama has a lot more ballads in his recent stuff, I still really like that stuff. I haven't heard anything from Allegory but I liked almost everything on Yellow House, some tracks more than others. Isshukan and Help Me are two that for some reason really stand out there.

Nonetheless I too am greatly anticipating the powerhouse tunes that video previewed for Re.Fire. Fukuyama's music is great all over but when he does Basara and Fire Bomber, he really lets the Fire Burn!

As for the overproduced nature of Fire Bomber... yeah it is, which is one reason I was so pleased with Fukuyama Fire and some of the concert performances like Electric Fire 2007. It was all the old stuff I loved (old is a relative term considering I didn't get into any of this until about a year and a half ago) but with a fresh and bold perspective.

I really haven't heard anything of Hummingbird, but I am interested. Even though I am sure many here can offer good suggestions, I'd like to be able to hear some of the stuff before I went about buying something (especially with my budget). That kind of opportunity doesn't come around very often with this type of music for me though.

[Renato]

While I agree that Fukuyama has a lot more ballads in his recent stuff, I still really like that stuff. I haven't heard anything from Allegory but I liked almost everything on Yellow House, some tracks more than others. Isshukan and Help Me are two that for some reason really stand out there.

I usually buy Fukuyama's solo albums as soon as they come out, but for some reason, the last two, "Yellow House" and "Rebirthday" slipped by and on both occassions I ordered them through Amazon when I noticed them on the site, after they had been out for a good few weeks."Allegory" and "Yellow House", to be honest, I got lazy and only really heard them all the way through a couple of times before I ripped the MP3s of the songs I liked and put them on my mp3 player, that's probably why they left less of an impression as albums. I have to agree, though, that Isshuukan and Help Me are great, and I kept them on my player for a good year or so.

As for CDs... hey, I was hardcore and bought most of the Hummingbird stuff back in 1999-2000, and when you import Japanese CDs in the UK you are expected to pay double.... I think every last Hummingbird album was totally worth it, though (yeah, even "A Piece of Cake", which is the weakest of the lot). I'm listening to Unsweet as I type this, and every song is perfect on it. They were really at their performing peak here.

If you want to "try before you buy", there are sources... and there is a nice guy called Markcell....

Gubaba, yeah, I haven't talked so much about Chie Kajiura yet. I read a few comments from the Japanese users at Amazon and many of them think that she was definitely ahead of her time. A big act who made her debut last year is Superfly, and she is basically Chie Kajiura with a great set of pipes, belting out all these 60s-70s-inspired rock songs Joplin-style. It's a shame that the Japanese market just wasn't ready for Kajiura at the time, or that she wasn't supported any stronger.

The past couple of years has seen her come out of "retirement"/"hiatus"/"child-upbringing?", she is touring again, and from the looks of things she has been involved in photography, painting, and short films, etc.

I actually own a couple of her singles and I have that "Love It gero-geroo version" B-side. It's pretty smooth. I'm sure I put the mp3 somewhere, when I find it I will let you know.

[Renato]

Hey, look what I found! It's my old website, still hangin' in there...

http://www.geocities.com/gunsight_one/humming.htm

This is the Hummingbird section, with a run-down of the main albums. There are of course, a few more but I hadn't bought them yet!

All of this is really old, like from at least ten years ago. Plus I hear that Geocities will shut down on October 29th, so you have about one month to check it out. Enjoy!

[IHATEYOU]

Chie Kajiura's second album, confusion, is even better than loophole. I picked it up on amazon.co.jp for something like $50 a year ago and don't feel one bit like I overpaid. Absolutely phenomenal album.

[Gubaba]

Chie Kajiura's second album, confusion, is even better than loophole. I picked it up on amazon.co.jp for something like $50 a year ago and don't feel one bit like I overpaid. Absolutely phenomenal album.

That one's high on my list to get, too. I found a crappy 128kbps version on Nicosound, and it just whetted my appetite to hear the real thing.

[Renato]

As posted by Kresphy in the News thread, here is the song list for "Re.Fire!!", this time with added translations for the Japanese titles:

1.弾丸ソウル (Dangan Soul =Bullet Soul)

2.Burning Fire

3.DAIMON

4.LOVE IT -A.D.2060-

5.ビッグバン (Big Bang)

6.Ready GO.

7.Song Of Eternity

8.星屑ハイウェイ (Hoshikuzu Highway = Star Trash Highway)

9.PLASTICS

10.突撃ラブハート -A.D.2060- (Totsugeki Love Heart AD 2060)

11.MAGIC RHAPSODY

12.Waiting for you

I have to say, "Re.Fire" is a stupid title, though. Why not Ultimate Fire or something? Only reason I can think is that "Ultimate" sounds too much like "Ultra" which already exists, but still...

Edited September 28, 2009 by Renato

[Gubaba]

I have to say, "Re.Fire" is a stupid title, though. Why not Ultimate Fire or something? Only reason I can think is that "Ultimate" sounds too much like "Ultra" which already exists, but still...

Enh, "Re.FIRE!!" gets the point across. It could've been "CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION FIRE!!" or "LONG-AWAITED REUNION ALBUM FIRE!!"

[Master Dex]

I don't mind Re.Fire. It is simple yes, but Gubaba has a point, it gets the point across. Naming it Ultimate Fire (despite the possible confusion with Ultra Fire) might be a bit presumptuous at this point as well.

[the_foul_fowl]

Macross 7, a show when I started watching I thought I would hate, ended up turning me into a full Fukuyama fan.

Count me in as one of the newly converted. I only recently completed M7 a couple of months ago, but one of the best things about M7 was the music. Heck, even Planet Dance, though played ad nauseum in the first few episodes, grew on me too. Picked up Ultra Fire during my recent trip to Tokyo as a 'best of' compilation.

Eh, I see lots of mentions of Fukuyama Fire. Issit good? I was under the impression that it was a compilation of his previous songs. There're a lot of 'Fire' CDs, don't really know which are the good ones.

Actually, this was mentioned on the MF thread months ago, but I think a May'NxFukuyama album would rock. Their performance of 'Totsugeki love heart' was great... FairyxFire anyone?

[Gubaba]

Count me in as one of the newly converted. I only recently completed M7 a couple of months ago, but one of the best things about M7 was the music. Heck, even Planet Dance, though played ad nauseum in the first few episodes, grew on me too. Picked up Ultra Fire during my recent trip to Tokyo as a 'best of' compilation.

Eh, I see lots of mentions of Fukuyama Fire. Issit good? I was under the impression that it was a compilation of his previous songs. There're a lot of 'Fire' CDs, don't really know which are the good ones.

Actually, this was mentioned on the MF thread months ago, but I think a May'NxFukuyama album would rock. Their performance of 'Totsugeki love heart' was great... FairyxFire anyone?

"Fukuyama Fire" is not a comilation...it's a "self-cover" album, like "Mari Iijima Sings Lynn Minmay."

On it, Fukuyama revisits a bunch of M7 songs, and remakes them. It's loud, raucous, fast, rough, and loose.

And it's GREAT.

[Renato]

Hey, what's this thread doing all the way down here?

OK, full versions of Bruning Fire and Dangan Soul are "out"!

http://nicosound.anyap.info/sound/sm8393379

Also, the "video" for Burning Fire on the Ultimate Frontier Limited UMD-Video is pretty damn cool, especially for those who enjoyed "All That VF".

Lastly, guess what I bought the other day for ONE YEN (that's right, 1 yen!)?

"Confusion", by Chie Kajiura!! Great album.

OK, I will post images and stuff probably next week, I will be out of town from tomorrow. By that time, Re.Fire might be out!

[Master Dex]

Wow, one yen, that is pretty good considering that is almost the equivalent of a penny in Yen to Dollar conversion rates today (I'm going off roughly 100 yen to a dollar).

I am only just listening to Burning Fire, but my response so far is this:

BOMBAA!!!

[Renegade Zentradi]

I'm watching Macross 7 for the first time right now...only 6 episodes intot it... And gawd dangit...! I already got Fire Bomber songs stuck in my head...!

[Master Dex]

I'm watching Macross 7 for the first time right now...only 6 episodes intot it... And gawd dangit...! I already got Fire Bomber songs stuck in my head...!

Learn to love them, you're only going to want more as time goes on now.

[Tochiro]

I've actually gotten back into FB over the past couple of years after a long hiatus.

They were THE band that defined my early years at university but there was always that disconnect due the Mac 7 itself - I adored the music but the story was just so damn cheesy. After Mac Plus I wanted the show to continue to mature and in that respect Mac 7 disappointed on every level. BUT goddamn the music rocked.

I owned all the FB albums back when I lived in Sydney, although I dont think I ever picked up Ultra Fire.

I also had the Birthday Cake - Best of Hummingbird CD - that was a pretty damn good introduction to Hummingbird and I recommend it to anyone wanting to try what the band had to offer. Unfortunately my copy was later swallowed by a renegade cd changer and never saw the light of day again (*cry*).

The great thing about FB is how the artists, both Fukuyama and Kajiura, have been allowed to continue using the songs and develop and mix them in their own styles. This doesnt happen all that often in anime music circles due to the companies owning the rights to the songs, but in this case its allowed the music to far surpass the longevity of Mac 7 itself imo.

Oh and more Mayn/Fukuyama WOULD be awesome. Fingers crossed we get some at the Macross Crossover Live next month ;-)

One of my personal faves which sadly has never been coveres or remixed to my knowledge, is Heart & Soul - probably because Fukuyama only comes in on the song during the last verse. I would so love to hear a redone version with him and May'n or even Kajiura. I mean, the song is epic - a friend and I backed up traffic on the way home once just so we could finish listening to the song before we arrived. going at 5kph does not make fellow Aussie drivers happy! hahaha.

At the very least I reckon we will see another live album come out of either the Crossover Live or the FB reunion concert in Nov., so we should have plenty more BOMBAA for some time to come.

REX: Where are you at by the way? While getting originals online can be expensive its well worth it. Oh and Electric Fire is now down to 5000yen on Amazon now if you are still interested ;-)

[Master Dex]

One of my personal faves which sadly has never been coveres or remixed to my knowledge, is Heart & Soul - probably because Fukuyama only comes in on the song during the last verse. I would so love to hear a redone version with him and May'n or even Kajiura. I mean, the song is epic - a friend and I backed up traffic on the way home once just so we could finish listening to the song before we arrived. going at 5kph does not make fellow Aussie drivers happy! hahaha.

At the very least I reckon we will see another live album come out of either the Crossover Live or the FB reunion concert in Nov., so we should have plenty more BOMBAA for some time to come.

REX: Where are you at by the way? While getting originals online can be expensive its well worth it. Oh and Electric Fire is now down to 5000yen on Amazon now if you are still interested ;-)

I assume you mean Dex so I'll reply, lol. I'm ok with Electric Fire, I may someday buy a copy but right now I'm fine. I definitely would feel buying all of these things to be worth it.. I am just poor so I can't, lol. I live in Arizona since you were curious, not much ways of getting Japanese material here save for the internet.

Also Heart & Soul was done by Fukuyama-san on Fukuyama Fire. I have listened to it often. It is all Fukuyama btw in case you are wondering. I personally like it better than the original for the most part, but the original is nice for the duet aspect of it or if you liked Emilia's singing (I don't know off hand who did her singing voice).

Edit: I am listing to Heart & Soul from Fukuyama Fire right now. Indeed awesome.

Edited October 7, 2009 by Master Dex

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

Hey, what's this thread doing all the way down here?

OK, full versions of Bruning Fire and Dangan Soul are "out"!

http://nicosound.anyap.info/sound/sm8393379

Also, the "video" for Burning Fire on the Ultimate Frontier Limited UMD-Video is pretty damn cool, especially for those who enjoyed "All That VF".

Lastly, guess what I bought the other day for ONE YEN (that's right, 1 yen!)?

"Confusion", by Chie Kajiura!! Great album.

OK, I will post images and stuff probably next week, I will be out of town from tomorrow. By that time, Re.Fire might be out!

I really want a mp3 of Burning Fire, but I don't understand this website, can someone help a non-Japanese MW member out? Thankyou in advance.

[Gubaba]

I really want a mp3 of Burning Fire, but I don't understand this website, can someone help a non-Japanese MW member out? Thankyou in advance.

At the bottom of the box containing all the information (time, file size, bitrate, all of that), there are two tabs. The right-hand one says "パソコンへ転送." That's the one you want to click.

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

At the bottom of the box containing all the information (time, file size, bitrate, all of that), there are two tabs. The right-hand one says "???????." That's the one you want to click.

I swear Gubaba your the bestest friend anyone could ask for!! You always have my back!! Thankyou!!!

Edit:

Gubaba you are a God (capital"G")among men!!!!! I'v been looking for this song for some time now. Now if only I could find a Mylene only version of "Light the Light".....

Edited October 8, 2009 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[Master Dex]

Wow, I didn't realize it was only 64 kbps, that isn't worth any free download in my book. Still good to hear the song though. I am still on the edge about preodering RE.Fire. I want to... but it costs money, lol. I need to stop being so poor, lol. Tis the life of a college student.

[Master Dex]

Damn the International Dateline! Re.Fire is released today in Japan. I forgot it worked like this. I have been having trouble deciding whether or not to preorder it. Guess I'll just be ordering it now. I think I've convinced myself I can spend the money (I know it is worth it of course). I just won't be buying a valkyrie this year like I once thought, but that is ok.

EDIT: Ok, I went ahead and order it, . It was still listed preorder where I ordered from so hopefully I'll still get it in good time (I think the place I ordered from is stationed in Hong Kong anyway).

Oh, and for the release:

BOMBAA!!!

Edited October 13, 2009 by Master Dex

[Tochiro]

Damn the International Dateline! Re.Fire is released today in Japan. I forgot it worked like this. I have been having trouble deciding whether or not to preorder it. Guess I'll just be ordering it now. I think I've convinced myself I can spend the money (I know it is worth it of course). I just won't be buying a valkyrie this year like I once thought, but that is ok.

EDIT: Ok, I went ahead and order it, . It was still listed preorder where I ordered from so hopefully I'll still get it in good time (I think the place I ordered from is stationed in Hong Kong anyway).

Oh, and for the release:

BOMBAA!!!

Good for you Dex!

I preordered mine a while back... and got an email from Amazon this morning saying it was running a few days late on the order. Sigh.

Still, that rarely happens so it looks like demand for it was greater than expected - always a good thing :-)

[Master Dex]

Indeed. I don't know when to expect shipping notice so I'm expecting a week or more before I get it.

[Master Dex]

So I tend to often put on music while I'm doing work (as in homework for my difficult and sometimes aggrivating engineering classes). Lately Fukuyama music has been a majority of the playlist because I am trying out a lot of Hummingbird stuff for the first time, but also my normal set of his solo or Fukuyama band songs. Today however I did something different, since I am now waiting for a new Fire Bomber album I set my playlist to randomize the Fire Bombers songs I have now (Let's Fire, Ultra Fire, and Dynamite Fire are all I have there).

I haven't listened to some of the songs in all of these albums in a long time because I had long ago picked out my favorites and only played them or made a new playlist with only those favorites. So I found myself hearing songs I hadn't heard in a long while. With all the other stuff I found myself liking the lot evenly but it was never the same with Fire Bomber in general for some reason. However despite picking out my favorites long ago I found it really refreshing to hear a lot of those other songs again. It was almost like hearing them for the first time (some it might have actually been the second time I listened to them).

I just thought it was interesting so I'd post it.

[MacrossCN]

I really want a mp3 of Burning Fire

SHARE out

1. [MP3] [091013] マクロス7 Re.FIRE!!-Fier Bomber-.rar.mp3

112,725,801 bytes

done~~~

It is 320kbps mp3

^^

Edited October 15, 2009 by kresphy

[Master Dex]

Heh, that was sure fast. Some people sure can't wait to serve the community... ah well I got the CD on the way. I'm good.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Master Dex

[Sketch]

Re.Fire is in the mail, so excited!

In the meantime I downloaded one of the rips that's kicking around the 'net, I can tell already that this is going to be a staple on my gym MP3 player for a while now.

FIRE!!

[Gubaba]

I'm listening to it right now, and...did Mylene just quote "Ticket to Ride"...?

Edited October 15, 2009 by Gubaba

[Master Dex]

I'm listening to it right now, and...did Mylene just quote "Ticket to Ride"...?

If she did in Japanese I wouldn't notice, but if it is one of those random English parts I would wonder myself (I haven't listened to any of it yet, I'm trying to wait for the CD, though I might break down and check a download since I already have it paid for anyway).

[Gubaba]

If she did in Japanese I wouldn't notice, but if it is one of those random English parts I would wonder myself (I haven't listened to any of it yet, I'm trying to wait for the CD, though I might break down and check a download since I already have it paid for anyway).

Towards the end of "Plastics," when she starts singing, over and over, "My baby don't care!"