Elton John/Tokyo,Japan 11.15.2001

From the Japan tour accompanying the release of “SONGS FROM THE WEST” in 2001, the final day of the Budokan performance on November 15th is completely recorded with an astonishing ultra-high-quality audience recording that can only be described as “miraculous.” . Directly uses the original DAT master received from the recorder. Recorded by the miraculous taper, it would be no exaggeration to call him the “modern-day Mike Millard,” who was familiar with Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, Mick Jagger, and the Stones in the 1990s. (Metallica 93, Marillion 85, 94, and UFO94, which were just released earlier, were also amazing…). The first performance on the 13th was broadcast on TV, so I’m glad Mr. Taper recorded it on that day… Moreover, on this day, they performed a spectacular performance of 2 hours and 45 minutes following the first day, and it is a live performance that is still talked about among fans. Elton has visited Japan many times, but this is the first time in 27 years since 1974 that he has performed normally with his own band (and the drummer is Nigel Olson, who has returned to the band for the first time in 17 years!). On the 13th, the first day in Tokyo, he was suffering from a cold and had to blow his nose during the stage, but Elton was in great condition that day, his voice was improving and his performance was great! In every way, it’s better than the first day. And after all, the song selection was the best at this time, except for “SONGS FROM THE WEST”, no songs from 1984 or later and from the 1990s were played, and except for new songs, everything was from the golden age of the 70s, and moreover, from the early 1970s. It was a blissful long concert for the fans, as they played many carefully selected numbers. The concert started with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. At this point, in addition to the splendor of the performance, the fans will be in tears because of the great sound. It’s so clear that you can clearly hear everything, including the bass line. It’s really wonderful that even though it’s so clear and has a good sense of separation, you can feel the richness of the sound unique to audience recording at its best. Honestly, I’ve never heard such high quality sound before. Someone Saved My Life Tonight, which was played after the MC, was performed live for the first time on the 2001 Japan tour, and this song selection has made fans very happy. In the middle, they played Meal Ticket, which had never been played in Japan before. Elton’s “Country favorite song, from “Tumbleweed Connection”…” was played in Japan since his first visit to Japan, and Country Comfort etc. must have impressed the fans a lot. The characteristic of this time was that he played many numbers such as “Tumbleweed Connection” in 1970 and “Madman Across The Water” in 1971. I think the fans were deeply moved by the encore Crocodile Rock, etc., as the 2001 tour was the first performance in Japan since 1974. It is recorded with perfect sound from beginning to end, and fans are sure to be very satisfied. * Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 15th November 2001 ULTIMATE SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (67:10) 1. Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding 2. Someone Saved My Life Tonight 3. Bennie And The Jets 4. Philadelphia Freedom 5. Ballad Of The Boy With The Red Shoes 6. The Wasteland 7. Rocket Man 8. Daniel 9. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues 10. This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore Disc 2 (74:43 ) 1. (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket 2. I Want Love 3. Birds 4. Country Comfort 5. Take Me To The Pilot 6. Band Introductions 7. Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters 8. Holiday Inn 9. Tiny Dancer 10. Levon 11. American Triangle 12. Original Sin 13. I’m Still Standing 14. The Bitch Is Back 15. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) Disc 3 (21:45) 1. Your Song 2. Crocodile Rock 3. Don’ t Let The Sun Go Down On Me 4. Candle In The Wind Elton John – Vocal, Piano Davey Johnstone – Guitar, Vocals Guy Babylon – Keyboards Bob Birch – Bass, Vocals Nigel Olsson – Drums, Vocals John Mahon – Percussion, Vocals