Tokyo Jukebox 3 is Marty Friedman’s third installment to his Tokyo Jukebox series. This collection of albums feature the guitarist covering various J-pop hits. If you’ve ever wondered what a heavy metal musician performing Japanese pop songs sounds like, look no further.
Becoming a Musical Sensation (Again)
The first two volumes, beginning in 2009, were each a fantastic success and helped cement Friedman’s stardom overseas. In fact, love for the rocker only grew upon his arrival in Japan during the year 2000.
From selling out arenas with Megadeth to becoming a mainstream Japanese celebrity, Friedman’s seen it all. Tokyo Jukebox 3 is the pinnacle of that change in career path, repositioned success, and shift in passion.
Marty Friedman is a beloved musician across the globe, although over the past two decades, Tokyo has been home. The rockstar walked away from Megadeth right at the band’s peak. After a decade with the genre-defining group, he decided to put himself first. Fans are supremely thankful for that, because the music that’s come out of Friedman since then has been stellar.
This new installment, coming out April 16, is a long time coming. Friedman was diligent in creating the perfect album with a superb collection of tracks.
Tokyo Jukebox 3: A Love Letter to Fans Worldwide
In a press release, the guitarist explained how painstakingly he worked to curate this record. ““In Japan, you have to get permission to record and release cover versions, and that can be a very tricky and long process. So, the last thing I wanted to do was to ask permission to do a song, only to wind up not recording it for whatever reason. That would be very impolite. I spent several weeks choosing songs and demoing them to see whether I could create versions that I could get pumped up about, before I even approached any publishers. I came up with a short list of 20 songs, and from this chose about 15 that I knew I could really score with.”
There’s also a special track on this upcoming album that means a great deal to Friedman. Back in 2018, the musician wrote, recorded, and released his very own song, “The Perfect World.” It was a hit in Japan and was made to be the theme for the Netflix series, B: The Beginning.
The song took love and determination back then, so it felt right to include it on an equally as impassioned full-length. Friedman worked with J-pop megastar Alfakyun to reimagine and re-record the song’s vocals. It’s the only Tokyo Jukebox 3 track that has vocals, adding to the uniqueness of the song. Just like a deluxe edition speciality set within the original release!
It’s clear to all that Friedman is making music for others just as much as he is for himself. Tokyo Jukebox 3 showcases that on a new, even more personal level. It’s only a matter of time until the world gets to hear it and fall further in love with all Marty Friedman does.
