GARNET CROW 5th Anniversary DVD Feature

“le 5 eme anniversaire” L'Histoire de 2000 a 2005

On Sale July 20, 2005!

GARNET CROW debuted in 2000, the very year I moved to Osaka in earnest. When I heard that GARNET CROW would be releasing a DVD to commemorate the fifth anniversary of their debut, I found myself feeling deeply moved. Five years can feel long or short, but either way it is a span of time in which something is sure to change. Through those years, GARNET CROW kept pursuing their own musicality and established a worldview unlike anyone else’s. Fortunately, I have had many chances to interview them and to experience their live performances. This time, I would like to introduce the DVD while looking back on those impressions.

The title is “le 5 eme anniversaire” L'Histoire de 2000 a 2005. It is a French title. For Japanese ears, the sound “sankuem” for the fifth anniversary calls to mind the English “thank you,” and that kind of clever twist feels very GARNET CROW.

This work is offered as a two-disc set, and DISC1 is a history disc that condenses GARNET CROW’s five-year history. It traces their path from debut to the present in chronological order. The contents center on their video clips, with making-of footage, previously unreleased footage, and newly filmed interviews in which each member talks about the band.

For example, the video clips from their early debut period, made only from still photographs and given a painterly feel (“Mysterious Eyes” and others), still feel fresh today (and of course, the members’ fresh-faced charm is worth noting too). The many video clips shot afterward in all kinds of situations and with many different expressions are all beautiful, reflecting their artistic view of music. While the disc generously covers those visuals, the member comments inserted along the way are quite persuasive and make you listen closely. Among the rarer material, the making-of footage for “夢みたあとで” is especially interesting, and the disc also includes many previously unreleased shots. Being able to enjoy the members’ on and off expressions like this, with footage released so generously, must be something only a fifth-anniversary project could offer. Their unguarded selves contain both sides of their appeal: the artistic side and the easygoing personality side. At least here, the members I have met appear naturally just as they are, which surprised me.

The footage from GARNET CROW’s first outdoor event, the 2002 Kobe University school festival live, is also worth watching. It includes Hitoshi Okamoto’s Mix Ver. of “Crystal Gauge,” and it is generous of them to include video clips for album tracks that were not often seen on terrestrial TV. In just forty minutes, DISC1 condenses five years of GARNET CROW’s appeal; for fans, it is a treasure trove of irresistible footage.

Then there is DISC2. This is a live DVD containing the live tour “livescope2005 〜I'm waiting 4 you & live〜,” held at the beginning of this year. Since the tour had only three performances in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, fans had been eagerly waiting for it to be released on DVD. To answer the wishes of the many fans who could not experience those live shows, it includes almost the entire stage, just under two hours, from the opening through the final encore. Of course, the MC segments are included too. The numbers are given arrangements unique to live performances, and the content lets you fully enjoy them with a presence that makes it feel as if you are there in the venue.

Even so, when you watch the live performance objectively like this, you can once again sense how highly skilled each member is as a musician. Yuri Nakamura’s vocal ability is especially wonderful. It is also nice that the set list includes plenty of album numbers, not only their forte, the single numbers. The lyric subtitles running on the screen are a very GARNET CROW-like consideration, perfect for moments when you want to be moved by AZUKI Nana’s lyrics.

Together, DISC1 and DISC2 amount to a generous 145 minutes. First-press editions also come with a luxurious 40-page live photo booklet, and the package is released in a lavish three-sided slipcase BOX specification. This fifth-anniversary DVD from GARNET CROW is a permanent keepsake that should be essential both for fans who already know them and for people who are about to discover GARNET CROW. It is a DVD worth owning. (斉田 才)

GARNET CROW

Fifth Anniversary DVD

“le 5 eme anniversaire”

L'Histoire de 2000 a 2005

Release July 20, 2005

B-VISION

ONBD-7050〜51

￥4,800 (tax in)