[quote]And that's why the Predators will always suck.[/quote]Haha, I have to agree. I like the Predators, but their songs are just... lacking. They don't have the nice riffs I've grown to love and expect from Sawao. I also agree-- Sawao is the heart, Manabe the brains. Their stage presence sort of accentuates the difference.

I'd just like to know how the other band members feel about Sawao calling all the shots. In the band Blur, Damian's control was a bit of an issue.

I'm surprised "Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!" hasn't been mentioned. It combines their new style with a lot of Manabe leads and solos, and to me it's a very soulful album. (Just read the translation for Wake Up! Dodo, so uplifting!)

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="Marekenshin"]amazing sense of what the song needs.[/quote]

Yeah, except for Sweet Baggy Days[/quote]

... I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

[quote="gloriouspeanut"]I'm surprised "Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!" hasn't been mentioned. It combines their new style with a lot of Manabe leads and solos, and to me it's a very soulful album. (Just read the translation for Wake Up! Dodo, so uplifting!)

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="Marekenshin"]amazing sense of what the song needs.[/quote]

Yeah, except for Sweet Baggy Days[/quote]

... I'm going to have to disagree with you there. [/quote]

New posters, earning all the brownie points.

[quote="gloriouspeanut"]I'm surprised "Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!" hasn't been mentioned. It combines their new style with a lot of Manabe leads and solos, and to me it's a very soulful album. (Just read the translation for Wake Up! Dodo, so uplifting!)
[/quote]

Wake Up x3 is seriously under appreciated, it has such a nice and clean sound to the songs. And Century Creepers is fucking badass

Wake Up! Is definitely one of my favorite albums by them.

Welcome.

That's a great point, and I would absolutely agree that Manabe holds the soul of the band in his guitar skills. Personally I also enjoy when they have a good bassline going. It can get so boring when each measure is the same four notes being strung along. I enjoy pillows songs that have a dynamic, leading bassline (Funny Bunny, the chorus of Wake Up! Dodo, etc.)

[quote="SaferSaturnX"]It can get so boring when each measure is the same four notes being strung along. I enjoy pillows songs that have a dynamic, leading bassline (Funny Bunny, the chorus of Wake Up! Dodo, etc.)[/quote]
As much as we gush over Kashima, Jun is a pretty talented bassist himself. He's interesting in that he's a pretty all-around bassist: does well with simple accompaniment, driving riffy basslines (e.g. Terminal Heaven's Rock, Sleepy Head), and also just, like, amazingly sexy groove bass (e.g. Last Dinosaur, Back Seat Dog, and also She Is Perfect I mean like holy fuck listen to that chorus).

Kashima got to have sexy basslines primarily because of the songs he was playing along to. Jun definitely has moments where he gets to show off just how awesome he is, though.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Kashima got to have sexy basslines primarily because of the songs he was playing along to.[/quote]

I definitely agree with this. Kashima is certainly an amazing bassist, but it feels to me like he really did better with all that jazzy-lounge stuff in Kool Spice and Living Field. Not that he was by any means lacking in PML, but by the time Runners High comes around, and even a bit of LB, there's a lot of drastically simpler bass lines, which are clearly an attribute of the style change.

Jun is very talented himself. I think his bass lines are some of the best bits of some more recent songs. I'm not a huge fan of Brilliant Crown, but that bass line holds my attention longer than any other part.

And since this thread is about Manabe and lead guitar parts, I'll also agree that more activity (or rather, songs he feels have room for more activity) would be very much welcome right about now. Horn Again is the dullest when it comes to those guitar riffs.*


*Recent singles and such excluded.

I'd like to hear Jun tackle some of those older songs that featured Kashima; it'd probably be much easier to get a feel for his skill if he were to play more varied material.

[quote="Lesser_Hamster"]I'd like to hear Jun tackle some of those older songs that featured Kashima; it'd probably be much easier to get a feel for his skill if he were to play more varied material.[/quote]

Watch the performance of In Front of a Locked Door on the LGTY DVD. Then you'll get a feel.


Also, to make it relevant to the topic, Manabe also kicks all kind of ass on there.

[quote="Lesser_Hamster"]I'd like to hear Jun tackle some of those older songs that featured Kashima; it'd probably be much easier to get a feel for his skill if he were to play more varied material.[/quote]
In addition to what Son Goshin said:

- Strange Chameleon and Swanky Street off of Rock Stock
- Tiny Boat off of Turn Back

He plays those bass fills at the end of Strange Chameleon pretty much exactly the same as Kashima did. However, I think the more interesting example is Tiny Boat, since he gives it his own interpretation and feel, instead of just regurgitating Kashima's bassline. It's not dumbed down, it's just…different.

But getting back on topic, listening to Manabe's playing on the two versions of Tiny Boat is really interesting, actually. I mean, we all know that his guitar accompaniment style changed around PML/Runners High, but Tiny Boat gives us a nice overlayed view of how he approaches songs now. He still writes "active guitar lines", but instead of the kind of dancing, jazz fusion melodic guitar lines, you can see exactly how much his playing is more chord/rhythm oriented now. I thought it was pretty cool.

(I imagine the version of In Front of a Locked Door off of Lostman Go To Yesterday would have a similar effect, but I've never heard it, so I can't say anything directly about it.)

[quote="Lesser_Hamster"]I'd like to hear Jun tackle some of those older songs that featured Kashima; it'd probably be much easier to get a feel for his skill if he were to play more varied material.[/quote]

He's played Akanai, Girlfriend, Daydream Wonder, Ice Pick, etc. from that period.

/r/ an upload or rip of live Akanai