Barādon

Barādon
バラー丼
Barādon; バラー丼
Greatest hits album by Ikimono-gakari
Released	December 19, 2012 (Japan)
Genre	J-pop, pop rock
Length	79:06
Language	Japanese
Label	EPIC
Ikimono-gakari chronology
Singles from Barādon
	"SAKURA"; Released: March 5, 2006; "Koisuru Otome"; Released: October 18, 2006; "Akaneiro no Yakusoku"; Released: October 24, 2007; "Kaeritaku Natta yo"; Released: April 16, 2008; "Planetarium"; Released: October 15, 2008; "Futari"; Released: May 27, 2009; "YELL"; Released: September 23, 2009; "Arigatō"; Released: May 5, 2010; "Aruite Ikō"; Released: November 23, 2011; "Kaze ga Fuiteiru"; Released: July 18, 2012;

Barādon (バラー丼) is the first ballad greatest hits album released by Japanese pop rock band Ikimono-gakari.^[1] It was released on December 19, 2012 and contains twelve previously released tracks plus a version of the single "Kaze ga Fuiteiru" recorded in the United Kingdom.^[2] Having sold 108,000 copies in its first week of sales, it reached number 1 on the Oricon weekly charts for the week ending December 31, 2012 making it the group's fifth consecutive number one album.^[3] Consequently, Ikimono-gakari became the first mixed group in over sixteen years to achieve five consecutive number one albums on the Oricon weekly chart.^[4]

Release

Editions

The album was released in Japan on December 19, 2012 in two editions: the regular edition (ESCL-4010) and the limited edition (ESCL-4008-9).^[5]^[6] As well as the CD contained in the regular edition, the limited edition contained an Ikimono-gakari Barādon scarf and the Ikimono card #031.^[7]

Title

The title is a combination of the words "ballad" and "donburi"(丼), the latter being a rice dish served with a variety of fish, meat and vegetable toppings served in an oversized rice bowl. The band claim to have decided upon the name whilst touring in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. Originally the band's guitarist, Yamashita Hotaka, was planning on naming the album "バラードだべ" (Barādo-dabe) where "dabe" is a copula in the Hokkaidō dialect, but the band settled for the current title after concluding that "Barādo-dabe" was of poor quality.^[8]^[9] As a result of the use of "donburi" in the title, the lead singer (Kiyoe Yoshioka) and the two guitarists (Yoshiki Mizuno and Hotaka Yamashita) dressed up as a restaurant landlady and Itamaes respectively for both promotional appearances and the album cover.^[10]

Track list

Source for romanized title tracks: Jpopasia.com^[11]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music
1.	"Kaze ga Fuiteiru -UK recorded version- (風が吹いている -UK recorded version-, The Wind is Blowing)"	Yoshiki Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
2.	"Arigatō (ありがとう, Thank you)"	Y. Mizuno
3.	"Planetarium (プラネタリウム)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
4.	"Kaeritaku Natta yo (帰りたくなったよ, I Want to go Home, Now)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
5.	"SAKURA"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
6.	"YELL"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
7.	"Aruiteikō　-piano intro version- (歩いていこう -piano intro version-, Let's Walk)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
8.	"Kokoro no Hana wo Sakaseyō (心の花を咲かせよう, Grow the Flower of your Heart)"	Hotaka Yamashita	H. Yamashita
9.	"Akane Iro no Yakusoku (茜色の約束, The Madder Red Promise)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
10.	"Futari (ふたり, The Two of Us)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
11.	"Ashita e Mukau Kaerimichi (明日へ向かう帰り道, The Road Back to Tomorrow)"	H. Yamashita	H. Yamashita
12.	"Koisuruotome (コイスルオトメ, Loved Maiden)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno
13.	"Kaze ga Fuiteiru (風が吹いている, The Wind is Blowing)"	Y. Mizuno	Y. Mizuno

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Japan	December 19, 2012	digital download^[12]	Epic Records Japan
Japan	December 19, 2012	CD (ESCL-4010),^[13] limited edition CD (ESCL-4008-9)^[14]	Epic Records Japan

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak positions	Sales	References
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	1	108,000	^[15]
Japan Billboard Top Albums	1	108,000	^[16]

References

^ いきものがかり冒頭に9分以上の超大作にして最高傑作を [Ikimono-gakari, from the outset there's an epic of over nine minutes - a tru masterpiece] (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ いきものがかり、初のバラードベストは『バラー丼』 [Ikimono-gakari's first ballad best album is "Barādon"] (in Japanese). Oricon. October 10, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ いきものがかり、アルバム5作連続オリコン首位！ [Ikimono-gakari's album makes five consecutive number ones] (in Japanese). music-lounge. December 25, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ いきものがかり、アルバム5作連続オリコン首位でサザン以来16年5ヶ月ぶりの快挙 [Ikimono-gakari's album makes five consecutive number ones, the first time in sixteen years and five months since Sazan - a brilliant achievement] (in Japanese). music man. December 25, 2012. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ バラー丼（初回生産限定盤） [Barādon Limited edition] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
^ バラー丼 [Barādon] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
^ バラー丼バラー丼【初回生産限定盤】 [Barādon Limited Edition] (in Japanese). Sony Music. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
^ いきものがかりの"原点"、彼らのバラード観とは？ [Ikimono-gakari's "origins". What is their view of ballads?] (in Japanese). Oricon. December 19, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ だべさ:方言(北海道弁) ["Dabesa", Hokkaidō Dialect] (in Japanese). Hokkaidō Fan Magazine. August 2, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ "いきものがかり、コラボ弁当の人気に嫉妬「CDより売れてるんじゃない？」" [Ikimono-gakari are jealous of the lunch boxes which were released with their album - "aren't they selling better than our CD?"] (in Japanese). Oricon. December 22, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ "Ikimonogakari - band - jpop". Jpopasia.com. December 19, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ "iTunes - バラー丼 - いきものがかり". iTunes. December 19, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ バラー丼 [Barādon] (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ バラー丼 [Barādon] (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ いきものがかり、アルバム5作連続首位　サザン以来男女グループ16年ぶり [Ikimono-gakari's album makes five consecutive number ones, the first time in sixteen years and five months since Sazan] (in Japanese). Oricon. December 25, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
^ "Top Albums - JAPAN Charts - Billboard JAPAN". Billboard (in Japanese). December 31, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.