98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare

98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare (98.12.28 男達の別れ, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no wakare) is the third and final live album by Japanese dub band Fishmans. It documents the band's last ever live performance under the Fishmans name. The show was recorded and filmed at Akasaka Blitz on December 28, 1998, and was first released on September 29, 1999 by Polydor Records in Japan. The album title roughly translates to "A Men's Farewell: December 28th, 1998", a reference to the tour name and to bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara's departure from the band and to signal the "end of an era" for the band's three piece era. The performance was released on DVD under the name "男達の別れ 98.12.28 @赤坂Blitz" in 2005. The album has garnered much underground acclaim.

98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare
Live album by Fishmans
Released	September 29, 1999 [1]
Recorded	December 28, 1998 [2]
Genre	Dub, dream pop, neo-psychedelia, ambient pop, progressive pop
Length	130:32
Label	Polydor Records
Fishmans chronology
8月の現状 (1998) 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare (1999)

Background

On December 28, 1998 on the last day of the 男達の別れ tour, Fishmans would perform their final concert at Akasaka Blitz. While initially meant to be a farewell to bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara who would be departing from the band, it would rather be a farewell to frontman Shinji Sato and to Fishmans as a whole, as Sato would suddenly die months later.

Performance

Fishmans performed a multitude of their most beloved songs and singles, including "ひこうき", "いかれた Baby", "ナイトクルージング", "Melody", "Walking in the Rhythm", and "ゆらめき in the Air". They also played their sixth studio album Long Season in its entirety as the finale. The concert showed the band's progression stylistically from playing music heavily influenced by reggae and dub, to finishing their career playing dream pop and neo-psychedelia.

Underground recognition

While Fishmans received only scarce international recognition during their active years, 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare has become lauded among several online music communities. Rating aggregate website RateYourMusic has made the album chart in the top 100 albums of all time[3], as well as the second-best album of 1999[4]. It is also the highest-rated live album of all time[5]. The high ranking is despite having significantly fewer ratings than all the other albums in RYM's overall top 100.

Track listing

Disc 1

No.	Title	Also on	Length
1.	"Oh! Slime" (Lead-in)	None	7:52
2.	"ナイトクルージング" ("Night Cruising")	Kūchū Camp	6:25
3.	"なんてったの" ("What Was It")	King Master George	6:26
4.	"Thank You"	None	2:58
5.	"幸せ者" ("A Happy Person")	Kūchū Camp	4:05
6.	"頼りない天使" ("Unreliable Angel")	King Master George	4:53
7.	"ひこうき" ("Airplane")	Chappie, Don't Cry	9:11
8.	"In the Flight"	Uchu Nippon Setagaya	6:49
9.	"Walking in the Rhythm"	Uchu Nippon Setagaya	7:44
10.	"Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday"	Neo Yankees' Holiday	4:57
11.	"Melody"	Orange	5:50
Total length:			67:17

Disc 2

No.	Title	Also on	Length
12.	"ゆらめき in the Air" ("Flickering in the Air")	Single only	16:00
13.	"いかれた Baby" ("Crazy Baby")	Neo Yankees' Holiday	5:38
14.	"Long Season"	Long Season	41:31
Total length:			63:15

Personnel

Fishmans

• Shinji Sato – vocals, guitar
• Yuzuru Kashiwabara – bass guitar, chorus
• Kin-ichi Motegi – guitar, drums, chorus, sampler

Supporting guest musicians

• Honzi – keyboards, violin, chorus
• Michio "Darts" Sekiguchi – guitar, chorus

Technical personnel

• Zak – recording
• Yuka Koizumi – mastering

References

1. Rateyourmusic 98.12.28 男達の別れ album page
2. manifo 98.12.28 男達の別れ album description page
3. "Album Charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
4. "1999 Album charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
5. "Live album charts". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.