Description
The legendary Cozy Powell tapes contained an incredible stereo soundboard recording of the 1983 Nippon Budokan concert. Now, a new, top-of-the-line version of this treasured recording has been polished and updated. This release captures the “February 22, 1983: Nippon Budokan” concert, a stereo soundboard recording. This soundboard is one of the most important recordings from the “SAINTS & SINNERS Tour” featuring Cozy Powell. It stands alongside West Germany’s “LIVE… IN THE WEST OF THE RHINE” and the official video “MONSTERS OF ROCK ’83” as one of the “three great soundboards.” And even among them, it is in a class of its own. To explain why, let’s first examine the context of their activities at the time. 1982: October – “SAINTS & SINNERS” completed; November – “-THROUGH REHEARSAL 1982 SOUNDBOARD”; December 10-31: Europe #1a (14 shows) 1983: January 1-31: Europe #1b (18 shows); February 7-23: Japan (10 shows) ←★HERE★; March 19 – “LIVE… IN THE WEST OF THE RHINE” (April – Production of “SLIDE IT IN” begins); August 14-September 6: Europe #2 (11 shows) ←※Official MONSTERS OF ROCK ’83 (September-December: Moody/Hodgkinson → Sykes/Murray change) The only leaked of the three major recordings / direct-to-board soundboard This is WHITESNAKE in 1982/1983. In April 1983, Cozy Powell traveled to West Germany to produce the masterpiece album “SLIDE IT IN,” and “LIVE… IN THE WEST OF THE RHINE” was a special live performance for TV/FM broadcast that he appeared in at that time. “MONSTERS OF ROCK ’83,” on the other hand, is a pro-shot recording for official release. Although there is a difference between broadcast and sales, both works were produced with the intention of being played on home equipment. In contrast, the Nippon Budokan soundboard (this work) is completely different. It is a raw, unprocessed real soundboard recording directly from the mixing console, taken from Cozy Powell’s treasured cassette, completely different from the neatly organized mix of the broadcast/official release. In fact, the directness of this soundboard… no, the sense of synchronization where your whole body is in perfect alignment with the live performance is on another level. The sense of intimacy as if your ear is pressed against the drumhead, the wide stereo panning from left to right, the reality that you can see the vibration of the strings right in front of you—it is truly a soundboard in a class of its own. LIVE AT Budokan, polished to perfection with meticulous mastering. This treasured soundboard recording has been used to create various acclaimed live albums, but this is its latest iteration. This is the highest-quality, updated version, refined by “GRAF ZEPPELIN.” “GRAF ZEPPELIN” mastering employs every possible technique to recreate the sound of the time, but perhaps the most effective aspect this time is the supplementary parts using audience recordings. The Cozy tapes have recording gaps in the opening, the latter half of “Crying In The Rain,” and parts of “Soldier Of Fortune,” and it has been a tradition to fill these gaps with audience recordings for this soundboard recording. This time, the same supplementation is used, but the precision of those parts has been greatly improved. In particular, the strict phase correction, which does not allow for deviations of even 1/1000th of a second, is superb, and the stereo image is perfectly centered. As a result, the connection with the soundboard is more natural, and the sense of unity as a full show is enhanced. Since the original soundboard recording was already extraordinary, the true essence of GRAF ZEPPELIN lies not in extreme improvement, but in the high level of precision that brings out the best in that source material. A powerful yet not-quite-metal full show of Whitesnake from 1983. This top-notch sound captures a Whitesnake unique to 1983, unlike any other era. The setlist is the same as in ‘LIVE… IN THE WEST OF THE RHINE’, but it differs from the official video ‘MONSTERS OF ROCK ’83’. Let’s compare and contrast them here. Saints and Sinners (3 songs) – Rough An’ Ready / Here I Go Again / Crying In The Rain (★*) Classics (9 songs + α) – Lovehunter: Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues (*) / Lovehunter – Fool For Your Loving: Ready An’ Willing / Fool For Your Loving – Come and Get It: Don’t Break My Heart Again (★) / Wine, Women An’ Song (Thank You Blues) (★) – Others: Soldier Of Fortune (*) / 633 Squadron & 1812 Overture (drum solo: ★) / (Ain’t No Love) In The Heart Of The City *Note: “★” indicates songs not included in the official video “MONSTERS OF ROCK 1983”. “＊” indicates songs partially completed by the audience. …and so on. This release features tracks not seen in official videos, such as “Crying In The Rain,” “Don’t Break My Heart Again,” and “Wine, Women An’ Song,” as well as Cozy Powell’s drum solo using “633 Squadron & 1812 Overture” as themes, all recorded directly from the mixing board. This is an experience that cannot be replaced by anything else. And the ensemble performing this set is the very essence of 1983. The beats by newly joined Cozy Powell and Colin Hodgkinson are incredibly powerful. Hodgkinson’s bass, with its soulful, bouncy sound reminiscent of the jazz-rock legend BACK DOOR, doesn’t back down an inch from Cozy’s powerful drumming. The fierce beat battle, where neither side seems to want to play a supporting role, is captured with terrifying force in this superb soundboard recording. Mel Galley’s rhythm guitar, which explored funk-rock in TRAPEZE, and Mickey Moody’s slide guitar, reminiscent of Elmore James, intertwine with the mix. John Lord himself declared it “the best performance in Japan so far,” showcasing his superb form, and lead singer Coverdale roared with a powerful, deep voice—all of it is directly injected into your brain by the superb soundboard recording from the Cozy Tapes. Looking back, from the moment Coverdale shifted from his blue-eyed soul solo career to forming a rock band, WHITESNAKE began its journey towards “powering up.” And in 1983, Whitesnake finally acquired Cozy’s powerful beat, while still barely clinging to the realm of blues rock. This soundboard album imprints that “powerful but not metal” ensemble onto your brain. A superb stereo soundboard recording of the “February 22, 1983: Nippon Budokan” performance. This is a top-of-the-line, updated version of a treasured recording taken from the legendary Cozy Tapes, polished to perfection by “GRAF ZEPPELIN.” The audience-enhanced sections have undergone rigorous phase correction, resulting in a more natural connection with the soundboard. This is an absolute masterpiece that stands alongside “LIVE… IN THE WEST OF THE RHINE” and “MONSTERS OF ROCK ’83” as one of the “three great soundboard recordings.” Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 22nd February 1983 STEREO SBD (from Original Masters)*UPGRADE Taken from the original cassette tape(TDK SA-X 90) belonged to Cozy Powell Disc 1 (41:40) 1. Intro. 2. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues 3. Rough An’ Ready 4. Ready An’ Willing 5. Don’t Break My Heart Again 6. Here I Go Again 7. Lovehunter 8. Micky Moody Solo 9. Colin Hodgkinson Solo 10. Micky Moody Solo (reprise) 11. Lovehunter(reprise) Disc 2 (56:57) 1. Crying In The Rain incl. Mel Galley Solo 2. Soldier Of Fortune 3. Jon Lord Solo 4. Cozy Powell Solo feat. 633 Squadron & 1812 Overture 5. (Ain’t No Love) In The Heart Of The City 6. Fool For Your Loving 7. Thank You / Wine, Women An’ Song 8. We Wish You Well David Coverdale – Vocals Mel Galley – Guitar, Vocals Micky Moody – Guitar, Vocals Jon Lord – Keyboards Colin Hodgkinson – Bass Cozy Powell – Drums
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