Best version of a song: original vs. re-recorded/remastered?

Japanese Music
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Obviously we all know VK bands like to remake songs of theirs if they last long enough, which is completely fine. However sometimes they ruin it and other times they make it better.
Which are your favorites?

Mine aren’t really controversial i don’t think:

Dir en grey:

Obviously we all know the OG Clever sleazoid is the elite version of the song.

The domestic fucker family is imo heavier than TDFF. I like both but the original is top.

Similarly on kisou, karasu is one that’s difficult to choose because i like both versions but i’ve got to go with the original too

Tsumi to kisei and tsumi to batsu are different songs in my opinion so i can’t choose

The original IIID empire, and beautiful dirt i think skirt by as better but the remakes of deeper vileness and fukai i like more

Obscure, again, is two completely different songs to me

Lynch.

While i’m grateful for their remake albums, i prefer the original versions of songs like Cultic my execution, prominence, pulse, and stuck pain
However my favorite version of i’m sick bcuz i love you is the second version they put on anathema. Best version easily

Sadie

Grieving the dead soul is a good song in general but i like their newest version best
I think they did a good job on their remakes because Mao’s voice used to not be the best

HOWEVER the BIGGEST downgrade of any remake in vk history in my personal opinion is how they RUINED sexual affection. How do you can that groovy, atmospheric, sensual sound of the original for the god awful remake that has no personality? Whoever decided that was a good idea was horribly wrong.

If i remember any more i’ll post them but these are the main ones that come to mind

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Otsuka Headlock, Ikaiyou to rousseau no sakkaku, Noumisokun and Isho by DEZERT, Chiaki has definitely improved his vocals over the years so I feel like the re-recorded versiona are a lot better

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Ngl i miss old dezert

They went from having the numetal scene on lock to just another jpop rock band

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PIERROT:

I like the original SEPIA (1996) better than the remake (2003). Just something overtly 90s about it that I love. Probably the guitar tone haha

That said, Tomei Yue Ningen Nari (2003) is peak PIERROT.

Alice Nine:

Man… that Time Machine remake hurt me personally. And though this one isn’t technically a studio recording, their live performances of Kowloon- Nine Heads Rodeo Show past like… 2018 are offensive.

MUCC:

Boku ga Hontou No Boku Ni Taekirezu and Suimin (2017) have a soft spot in my heart. The entirety of Shin Homura Uta is super solid, but those stand on top as the best imo.

Around the time they started working with that keyboardist (don’t remember his name), they released a remake of Shoufu with him… not it. Butchered.

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Tweaked the thread title for clarity!

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I surprisingly found myself liking the original version of Silent Eve more, but probably because of the rawness, though I had no problems just enjoying it as it was when they played it out live. Two cakes for me!

That’s Tooru Yoshida! I like him in general, though I haven’t listened to this song and the remake to pass a judgement.

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That new Sexual Affection was yikes. May as well have been a new track.

Speaking of Sadie, the UNDEAD13+2 performance of M.F.P was solid.

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Saide’s original Bleach was less goofy, like I just can’t bring myself to listen to the new one, same for Meteor.
For Gazette I like the original mix of Falling that was uploaded to their website when the pv premiered there.

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I don’t think i’ve heard the original and now the ninth mix in the title makes sense

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It makes perfect sense to me why there are so many versions of Melty Love by SHAZNA. It’s by far their most popular song, launching them into success, and is still a pop culture fixture of the vkei boom of the 90s in Japan, so one would naturally come to re-record it at some point. However, the sheer quantity of versions released is baffling. There’s a great many, but the main five versions to take into account (though there are yet more) are the first ep version, the second ep version, the singles version, the album version and the anthology version. The most popular is the singles version, that being the third edition of the piece and the second release of the band under a major label. It’s gained its position as the dominant option of the song from being the chart topping single that launched SHAZNA to stardom, topping the oricon charts at no.2 and selling over 900,000 copies, but not because it is necessarily the ‘best’ one. It’s the iconic one, being the most culturally significant and widely listened to. Prior to that, the ep ‘Promise Eve’, was released the same year featuring the track (the second ep version), along with five other original songs, and is SHAZNA’s strongest and most cohesive release in my opinion. It’s by far my favourite, with a rich, saturated sound not quite found on any other recording, SHAZNA leaning in to it’s sugary sound to create a passionate and almost sickeningly sweet love song I’ll never forget. Even before that, a more rudimentary but still sonically compelling take on Melty Love was put on the Melty Case ep, getting Shazna into a deal with a major record label. It’s still got that wonderfully catchy and timeless chorus, but it lacks a depth to its sound and I would consider it the weakest of the five. After Promise Eve, Melty Love was re-recorded yet again for the aforementioned single, accompanied by a re-recorded version of the song Raspberry Time, to an explosive response. I like it more than the first ep version, but it feels a little hollow compared to the second ep, not so much filling the space with everything it can give but still delivering as much as it needed to. It then featured yet again on the timeless studio album ‘Gold Sun and Silver Moon’ of 1998. It was something of a middle ground between the second ep and singles version, mixing the powerful guitar of the ep with the succinct simplicity of the single. Then, somehow, for a fifth time, it was re-recorded again for the ‘Oldies’ anthology album, a collection of the band’s greatest hit’s to commemorate its disbandment in 2000. It’s the still the same bloody song that came out more than half a decade before this one, so I still like it, but it must be said that the vocalist, IZAM, was kind of straining his voice to sound more feminine on the track, giving it an awkwardness not present on it’s earlier editions. It returned to the more second ep sound, packing a stronger punch than the singles version, but retaining the charming delivery of the album version, despite the attempts to hit a higher pitch it doesn’t really work with. The song is a damn masterpiece and I couldn’t recommend it more, but I’m getting a bit sick of re-recordings.

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Another one i got

Dir en grey’s cover of warsaw no gensou is far better than the stalins original

WHY didn’t they do more songs like this? Kyo shows damn near his full range, and even though i’m not a fan of tunings lower than A usually, the G tuning kicks ass here. Its such a haunting and heavy song yet it was wasted on a compilation/appreciation album

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Mucc Zetsubou from Shin Homura Uta was nice and all but it still cannot beat the original where younger Tatsuro sounds angrier compared to older Tatsuro that sounds matured but less in pain ig

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the Obscure remake feels like a personal attack against me

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Them raising the key of Melty Love every time they remade it is soo funny.

I have a LOT I can (and will) say about cali≠gari’s many (MANY) remakes, but the absolute worst one they have is Galaxy-BrandNew 2026-. It actually REMOVES some of the best parts of the song!

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I personally think NIGHTMARE’s 2010 re-recordings of their old material is generally solid , but very few I think are better than the original ‘Jibun no hana’, ‘Fly Me To The Zenith’ and ‘Akane’ are probably the three I prefer the re-recordings of. Their 2016 re-recordings for clowns…nahhhhh.

I also really liked a lot of the re-recordings from DEZERT that they did not so long ago. Really liked ‘Zetsuran’ especially.

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Double posting but can i just say how much i hate traces volume.2 from the gazette.They butchered everything that makes the original good like Cassis acoustic intro was turned to piano??? And apparently Kai didn’t even play the drums for most of them iirc.Also the mixing or mastering was done by Uruha which wasn’t that good.Everything just sucks the only good thing was Ruki rewriting the gibberish English in Taion.

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I agree with this. Traces Vol. 2 was rough and honestly some of the songs didn’t need re-recording, particularly songs like ‘PLEDGE’ and ‘UNTITLED’. And yeah, Uruha did the mixing etc. on this release and it’s not great.

However, I do still enjoy ‘reila’ and ‘Ito’ on Traces Vol.2, although it’s criminal that they didn’t do ‘Okuribi’ or ‘Sumire’ on an album specifically filled with re-recordings of their ballads/softer material.

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Big agree. I was excited and hoping to hear those. I was personally hoping for Juunana Sai

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But I guess that they didn’t because there’re already two versions (not that this kept them from including Guren).

I know, I’m an exception but I really love the versions on Traces Vol. 2. Yeah, I’m aware of the mixing and so on but the songs themselves… Taion from it is one of my most favorite songs by them.

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The live dist version is already perfect why butcher it?

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