Gillan/Tokyo,Japan 1978

From the Japan tour in October 1978, when Ian Gillan came to Japan for the second time as a solo artist, the last day of the tour, the Tokyo Welfare Pension Hall performance on October 23rd, was recorded for the first time in the finest sound quality by Miracle Man. Introducing a complete 2-CD set that uses the audience master directly! Gillan left DEEP PURPLE in June 1973 and initially chose a career as a businessman, running a studio, but returned to music in a few years, and in 1976 collaborated with Ray Fenwick and Colin Towns. Formed “IAN GILLAN BAND”. They have produced three studio albums, and in 1977 they toured Japan including the Nippon Budokan. However, this IAN GILLAN BAND (mainly due to Fenwick’s musical background) is a complex and professional jazz fusion line. Their sound was far removed from the DEEP PURPLE-like hard rock one might imagine when hearing Gillan’s name, and some fans were confused when they performed in Japan in 1977. Furthermore, he had contract issues with the record company he was affiliated with at the time, and Gillan was looking for a new activity. So Gillan disbanded the band and replaced the members with the exception of Colin. The band made a fresh start under the name “GILLAN” with the addition of John McCoy, a unique bassist with a large body and shaved head. The band immediately produced a new album, “GILLAN”, which was released in September 1978 (this first album is commonly known as the “Japanese Album” because it was mainly distributed only in Japan). After playing live shows in Europe and the UK as a warm-up, they landed in Japan, where they released their album. Starting with the Nagoya performance on October 18th, we held a Japan tour with a total of 4 performances. In this work, the live performance on October 23rd, the last day of the concert, was recorded from No. 28, Row N on the 1st floor of the Welfare Pension Hall. You can enjoy the performance of a band that has developed a new charm with excellent audience sound. The live performance held on October 23rd was a half-official work “LIVE TOKYO, 23rd OCTOBER 1978” that used John McCoy’s own line sound source, which was released about 10 years ago, and included some core songs. It became a hot topic among GILLAN enthusiasts. However, that title is an incomplete version that lacks the beginning and encore parts of the live performance (the gaps between songs were also cut down in some places), and the sound quality is a bit dull, making it an item that has many drawbacks as an official product. Ta. On the other hand, this work allows you to enjoy the live performance almost completely for 100 minutes, from the opening BGM “Second Sight” that announces the start of the performance to the encore “Woman From Tokyo”. The clarity of the sound backed by the highest level of master freshness, the sound image that naturally captures the acoustics of the venue, and the ease of listening to the performance reproduced with clear outlines are all wonderful. This work fully satisfies the desires of enthusiasts who were not satisfied with the official version. The album opened with “Secret Of The Dance,” which featured a series of Gillan-like shouts and was hard from beginning to end, and fans at the time were happy, saying, “The rocking Gillan is back!” The PURPLE number “Child In Time” has also been changed from the fusion style of IAN GILLAN BAND to an arrangement closer to PURPLE. In the middle, Colin Towns’ keyboard and Steve Bird’s guitar intertwine, and you can see that PURPLE is being conscious here as well. After “Abbey Of Thelema”, where the contrast between stillness and movement is vivid, there is also a flute solo by Colin (it is like a light exchange with Guillain). McCoy’s bass solo, which is as heavy as his physique, takes up the band’s masterpiece “Dead Of Night”, greatly enlivening the first half of the live show. Disc 2 includes the famous ballad “Fighting Man”, the impressive shout “Back In The Game” (there is a lack of tape change in the middle), and numbers where Gillan’s personality shines strongly. When Steve Bird’s guitar solo “Tokyo Flight” was followed by the riff of “Smoke On The Water,” the venue became the most enthusiastic of the day. The song will be performed for about 10 minutes and will be the climax of the live performance. The encore will be “Lucille”, which was a staple in the second period of PURPLE, and “Woman From Tokyo”, which was also played by IAN GILLAN BAND, making the last of the show the most enjoyable. After the performance, Guillain ends the approximately 100-minute recording with a section where he thanks the fans in the venue, saying, “This is the last day of this tour. Thank you very much.” In addition to the aforementioned half-official works from GILLAN’s Japan tour in 1978, the Power Gate label has also released high-quality audience sources from the Nagoya and Osaka performances. Even when compared to those previously released titles, I can assure you that this work ranks higher in many aspects, such as sound quality, performance content, and the value of recording on the final day. A complete 2-CD set that will pique the interest of DEEP PURPLE enthusiasts as well as fans who love Ian Gillan’s hard-rocking style! Live at Koseinenkin Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan 23rd October 1978 PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (54:50) 1. Second Sight 2. Secret Of The Dance 3. I’m Your Man 4. Child In Time 5. Bringing Joanna Back 6. Abbey Of Thelema 7. Flute Solo 8. Bass Solo 9. Dead Of Night 10. Keyboard Solo 11. Drums Solo 12. Message In A Bottle Disc 2 (45:52) 1. Fighting Man 2. Back In The Game 3. Tokyo Flight(Guitar Solo) 4. Smoke On The Water 5. Member Introduction 6. Lucille 7. Woman From Tokyo 8. MC Ian Gillan – Vocals Steve Byrd – Guitar John McCoy – Bass Colin Towns – Keyboards Pete Barnacle – Drums