Alcatrazz Graham Bonnet Alcatrazz/Japan Tour 2017

“What happened!?” “This is unexpected”… Graham Bonnet’s latest Japan tour is one of those words that come out of your mouth for the first time since the Great East Japan Earthquake. The complete recording of all the performances will be released on 6 discs as soon as possible! What exactly is “unexpected” is interesting, but there are many other points about this work. First, let’s start with the basics. First, the performance summary. This work contains “all” of the 2017 Japan tour. From the start to the end of all the performances in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, not a single song, not even a second is missed, and it is captured with the best sound. Since it is “all”, there is no need to check the dates, but for those who went to the site, let’s check which discs are recorded. March 13: Osaka Umeda Club Quattro [Disc 1-2] March 14: Nagoya Club Quattro [Disc 3-4] March 16: Tokyo TSUTAYA O-EAST [Disc 5-6] These were the three performances in total. This time, they will be coming to Japan under the name “GRAHAM BONNET BAND / ALCATRAZZ”. The first half of the show is the GRAHAM BONNET BAND edition, which is discs 1, 3, and 5, and the second half of the show is the ALCATRAZZ edition, which is discs 2, 4, and 6. Although the names are different, the members are almost the same in the first and second halves. The bass in the first half is Ms. Beth Ami, while the bass in the second half is Gary Shea (the ALCATRAZZ trio is all together!). [Super quality with all the efforts of the masters] After the overview, the quality. This work, which contains three performances in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, is a collaboration between famous recording artists from all over the country. Although many recordings have been received from each performance, this is a 6-disc set that carefully selects the “best” from each performance. The quality of the audience sound is incredible because it was carefully selected. This tour is a small club, so the sense of closeness and closed room is amazing, but on top of that, the masters have put their skills into it, so it is a high-quality sound board. All the performances won the top, but the most amazing one is the “March 13: Osaka Umeda Club Quattro” performance on disc 1-2. In fact, this is a work by the “Western Japan’s Strongest Taper”, but it is a special one in his collection. The musical sounds and singing voices that have no sense of distance more than usual can only be heard on the sound board. No matter how much the provider says “I recorded it” in front of you, there is no way it is an audience recording. This should definitely be the line, what are you trying to deceive… I’m very sorry, but the quality even made me have such doubts. [The biggest shock: the best singing voice in your career (!?)] Now, finally, the main topic. The show was drawn with such quality. This is already “unexpected”. What could not be expected was the essential singing voice of Graham. He is in top form. There are many great songs. Speaking of Graham, he is a person who sings roughly and powerfully on stage, regardless of the way he sings in the studio. He measures his condition by how well he hits the high notes and how well he misses them. However! In this Japan tour, he carefully sings the melodies exactly as they are in the studio. “Eyes Of The World”, “Dancer”, and “God Blessed Video”. As expected, the highest notes are faked and the chorus helps out, and not every single note is the same as the original (this is natural since it’s live singing). However, the melodies of each song are carefully sung, and his voice is far, far better than in any of his previous Japan tours. Moreover, he has not weakened at all in the 22 songs x 3 days + α solo and ALCATRAZZ performances! In recent years, he has been told that his singing doesn’t make you feel his age during his solo and MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST (hereafter MSF) tours, but that is only in terms of his voice and momentary power. Who could have imagined that a singer who will be turning 70 this year would continue to perform at the peak of his career for more than 110 minutes per performance? Even the great Ronnie James Dio could not hide his decline in his later years… [A set that covers everything from classics to extremely rare songs] The super masterpieces drawn by his singing voice are also amazing. In the first half of the GRAHAM BONNET BAND edition, RAINBOW, solo, and MSG are performed, but what is particularly surprising is the three consecutive “Apocalypse” songs in the middle, “Dancer,” “Samurai,” and “Desert Song.” He sang at MSF last year and it was also released on the official DVD, but the official version was clearly replaced. However, this work sings with a live voice that is even better than the replaced take. On top of that, “Samurai”! You can hear the super masterpieces that were released for the first time in Japan, which you couldn’t hear at MSF, with this singing voice… By the way, the new song “California Air” from “THE BOOK” was performed for the first time in the world. The second half of ALCATRAZZ is even more amazing. Although it is surprising to hear “Night Of The Shooting Star” from the third album “DANGEROUS GAMES” suddenly, after that, a group of masterpieces from the three albums is lined up. Naturally, the main one is the first album, but there are also “God Blessed Video”, “Will You Be Home Tonight”, and “Skyfire” from the second album, and “The Witchwood” from the third album, and the final song is “Lost In Hollywood” by RAINBOW. This alone is not surprising, but the final day’s Tokyo performance is a surprise! In addition to “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, which was not performed in the Osaka and Nagoya performances, the shocking song “Ohayo Tokyo” is also sung! In this work, the conversation is recorded as they desperately search their memories from the intro, saying, “This is it! It’s that song from the third album. Ohayo Tokyo” and “Yes, yes, yes!” Although it wasn’t as loud as the other songs, the audience sang the chorus together…amazing. Too amazing. Above all, the 2017 Japan tour was a big shock to Graham’s singing voice. This is a superb 6-disc set that contains all three shocking performances in full with just the apex recording. Historical super masterpieces, unknown super masterpieces, and superb sounds with the pride of the master…all of them are special masterpieces. It’s important, so I’ll say it again. This is “unexpected” at the super level. Graham’s age and the arrangement without a guitar hero are an absolute product that will blow away easily. Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka, Japan 13th March 2017 ULTIMATE SOUND(from Original Masters) Club Quattro, Nagoya, Japan 14th March 2017 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Tsutaya O-East, Tokyo, Japan 16th March 2017 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Live at Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka, Japan 13th March 2 017 Disc 1 (65:19) GRAHAM BONNET BAND 1. Intro. 2. Eyes Of The World 3. California Air 4. SOS 5. Night Games 6. Stand In Line 7. Into The Night 8. Dancer 9. Samurai 10. Desert Song 11. Rider 12. Since You Been Gone 13. Assault Attack 14. All Night Long Disc 2 (45:09) ALCATRAZZ 1. Night Of The Shooting Star 2. Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live 3. Suffer Me 4. God Blessed Video 5. Will You Be Home Tonight 6. Jet To Jet 7. The Witchwood 8. Skyfire 9. Island In the Sun 10. Lost In Hollywood Live at Club Quattro, Nagoya, Japan 14th March 2017 Disc 3 (62:35) GR AHAM BONNET BAND 1. Intro. 2. Eyes Of The World 3. California Air 4. SOS 5. Night Games 6. Stand In Line 7. Into The Night 8. Dancer 9. Samurai 10. Desert Song 11. Rider 12. Since You Been Gone 13. Assault Attack 14. All Night Long Disc 4 (43:56) ALCATRAZZ 1. Night Of The Shooting Star 2. Too Young to Die, Too Drunk To Live 3. Suffer Me 4. God Blessed Video 5. Will You Be Home Tonight 6. Jet To Jet 7. The Witchwood 8. Skyfire 9. Island In the Sun 10. Lost In Hollywood Live at Tsutaya O-East, Tokyo, Japan 16th March 2017 Disc 5 (63:01) GRAHAM BONNET BAND 1. Intro. 2. Eye s Of The World 3. California Air 4. SOS 5. Night Games 6. Stand In Line 7. Into The Night 8. Dancer 9. Samurai 10. Desert Song 11. Rider 12. Since You Been Gone 13. Assault Attack 14. All Night Long Disc 6 (53:13) ALCATRAZZ 1. Night Of The Shooting Star 2. Ohayo Tokyo 3. Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live 4. Suffer Me 5. God Blessed Video 6. Will You Be Home Tonight 7. Jet To Jet 8. The Witchwood 9. Skyfire 10. Hiroshima Mon Amour 11. Island In The Sun 12. Lost In Hollywood Graham Bonnet – Vocals Conrado Pesinato – Guitars Beth-Ami Heavenstone – Bass Jimmy Waldo – Keyboards Mark Benquechea – Drums Special Guest : Gary Shea – Bass