Glay, Unity Roots & Family, Away

(Albums the World Forgot #11, 2010)

Glay, Unity Roots & Family, Away (2002, Pony Canyon)

Everyone in the music business hopes to make it big someday, to have their face on the cover of The Rolling Stones magazine and their songs played on More FM. But can fame bring you true happiness? Try asking Japanese pop supergroup Glay. In the late ’90s, Glay was the biggest name in the J-Pop scene, having sold over forty million records and released seven #1 albums, as well as starring in their own television show and having songs featured in advertisements for NTT, Meiji, KDDI, the East Japan Railway Company and countless other big-name brands.

With such success, you would imagine Glay were on top of the world. Not so. In 1999, despite having their faces printed on the side of several Japan Airlines jumbo jets, the band claimed they felt “empty” and considered breaking up. They soon retreated from the spotlight and decided to work on something that would erase the void in their hearts that fame had failed to fill.

In 2002, they released the down-tempo Unity Roots & Family, Away. A stark departure from their signature bouncy J-pop sound, Unity was a record of slow, soulful songs focusing on family and friends. Gospel-tinged opener “We All Feel His Strength of Tender” sets the tone for the rest of the album: “Smile, smiles makes [sic] me happy / don’t be afraid, don’t worry kiss me” lead singer Teruhiko Kobashi croons, exuding the new-found peace within the band. Other highlights include slow-burning ballad “girlish MOON” and “Karera no HOLY X’MAS”, a tender Christmas-themed tune that would make even the Trans-Siberian Orchestra proud. However, Glay save the best until last with closing track “ALL STANDARD IS YOU ~END ROLL~”, in which guest rapper MC Headcrack laments: “The life of a hood nigga, heartbroken, still copin’ / shed so many tears got me soakin’ wet,” a hard-hitting couplet that serves as the logical conclusion to an album by a Japanese supergroup coming to terms with their millionaire lifestyle.

Unsurprisingly, the Japanese public were not impressed with Glay’s new softer, introspective sound. Despite going straight to number one, the album sold a paltry 400,000 copies, a far cry from the 2.5 million copies sold by earlier albums. This didn’t faze Glay, however, as they’d reached a point where they no longer needed the approval of their fans. Indeed, they felt the strength of tender from a higher place.