D’ERLANGER – PANDORA (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

January 12, 2009 by Dennis Amith 

“A band that was ahead of its time and help start the ‘visual kei’ trend in Japan, hardcore fans of the 80′s band D’ERLANGER can get nostalgic with the single CD and DVD ‘PANDORA’ box set.  Overall, a very cool album with video footage from the late 80′s and early 90′s that would be a fine addition to a fan’s collection.  The question is though, unless you’re a pretty big fan, this box set may be more than one would want to pay.”

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GROUP: D’ERLANGER

ALBUM: PANDORA

LABEL: Avex Entertainment

DURATION: 56:52

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2007

1. LA VIEN EN ROSE
2. SADISTIC EMOTION
3. DEAR SECRET LOVER
4. INCARNATION OF EROTICISM
5. MOON AND THE MEMORIES
6. 1999 -Shy Boy Story-
7. an aphrodisiac (Extended Version)
8. CRIME & PUNISHMENT
9. DARLIN’ (Album Version)
10. LULLABY (Ballad Type)
11. DARLIN’ (Uncomplete) – BONUS TRACK
12. CRIME & PUNISHMENT (Uncomplete) – BONUS TRACK
13. Lullaby (Original Version)

DVD: Region 2, 4:3, DURATION: 45 minutes

1. Special Shot
   

Known for their importance in the formation of Visual Kei in the early 80’s, D’ERLANGER called it quits in 1993. The group consists of members Kyo (vocals), Cipher (guitar), Seela (bass guitar) and Tetsu (drums) and the group still manages to keep their visual kei look and with this CD single, manages to retain the hard hitting sound as they did during their heyday.

The group has now returned 15 years later and released their fourth CD single “Zakuro”  and a new album titled “The Price of Being a Rose is Loneliness” in the Spring of 2008.

‘PANDORA’ features the group’s greatest hits.  A total of 10 tracks plus three bonus tracks and granted they only had two full length albums released in 1989 and 1990 but after listening to this greatest hits album, their style of music went from 1983-1993 and amassed a niche fanbase and I have to admit that their music was awesome and needless to say, these guys were ahead of their time.

“PANDORA” comes in a black box with metallic foil on the top.  Inside are two discs.  One is the album and the other is a DVD.  And also included is a 48-page photo booklet which fits with the nostalgic feel of this release.  Photos feature the band from the 80′s and early 90′s with some nostalgic photography such as the written lyrics for the songs.

The album comes with a good number of hits but since I never had listened to D’ERLANGER previously, I can’t comment if the right songs were chosen for this album.  I can say that of the three CD singles that they released during the ten years they were around back then, all songs are on this album with the exception of their 1987 single “Girl”.

The music of D’ERLANGER had the furious J-rock trademark of guitar riffs and clanging percussion with a dose of adrenaline and cool, charismatic vocals.  The music featured on the “PANDORA” album were just energetic and fun to listen to.  It didn’t have that musical, adrenaline punch of a band like early 90′s X Japan but the group had that fun musical/vocal style that if one not familiar to their music, for those acquainted with a band like BUCK-TICK, you can get an idea of their style of music.

As for the differences of the bonus track songs from their normal versions, for “Darlin’ (uncomplete)”, the track is not polished and not sure if it was a test track at the studio but it has that room sound in which the vocals are not as pronounced and the same can be said when comparing the uncomplete version of “CRIME & PUNISHMENT”.   A track like “Lullaby (Ballad Type)” is strictly a slow ballad but the bonus track “original version” of the song is more upbeat and fast.

And possibly the main thing that hardcore fans will probably want to get their hands on the most is the DVD. The DVD comes with a 45 minute concert DVD featuring the band’s performances from the 80′s and 90′s.  The footage is primarily handi-cam and footage that were typically on a 8mm or 16mm and you get a variety of video quality that looks like it was shot in SP and some that look like it was SLP.  So, quality for video and audio differs.   Footage from their 1989 performance looks as if they had a professional VHS release because of the varying camera cuts.

As for the CD insert booklet that comes with the album, the insert booklet comes with the lyrics but similar to the rear of the box and the lyrics text on the insert, dark gray over black is very hard to read unless you have it close to your face.

That visual kei J-rock style that many are accustomed to listening to now, these guys were the pioneers of it.  But the big question is if you own their previous album, is “PANDORA” worth it?   The album costs around Y8500 and it’s quite expensive.  Granted, it comes with a DVD that has so many various clips from the 80′s and early 90′s but do you want to play over $90 (USD) for a single album, a 45-minute DVD that doesn’t exactly have the greatest quality and a 48-page photobook?

I’m sure there are many hardcore fans that would say it’s all worth it but some who may feel it’s a bit overpriced.

“PANDORA” is not for one who is curious about D’ERLANGER to check out.  You can probably find their original releases at secondhand Japanese music stores online.  This box set release was specifically for the hardcore fans and a celebration for the band’s reunion 15 years after their breakup.  For their new label to offer their musical tracks to a new generation of visual kei fans who wanted to own a D’ERLANGER releases.  But if only it was priced nearly half for what it’s going for, I can easily say with confidence that this box set is worth it because the music is very catchy, addictive and quite enjoyable.  And the picture book and the rare footage on DVD are definitely things that the hardcore fan would want.  But only if it was sold for a lower price.

So, the decision is really up to you.  The box set has a lot going for it in terms of content but not for the $90 price tag.

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