Asia / Tokyo, Japan 12.08.1983 Soundcheck

This 1 hour and 48 minute recording captures the soundcheck held before the December 8th concert at the Nippon Budokan during the now-legendary “ASIA IN ASIA” Japan tour in 1983, captured with excellent audience recording quality. This precious rehearsal recording is believed to have been made by a member of the Japan Asia fan club at the time, with the band’s permission. It includes sound checks for each instrument, chorus practice in the dressing room and on stage, and the band’s overall sound check, and even includes a message for fan club members. This private recording was recently made public by the owner and has now been directly digitized from the cassette master. In particular, it captures Greg Lake, who joined the band as a last-minute replacement, meticulously checking not only the bass but also the vocals and chorus, and scenes of Steve Howe redoing parts of “Don’t Cry” that he struggles with, given that the song had been problematic in live performances several times before. Everything about it is incredibly real. Soundcheck at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 8th December 1983 : from Original Masters Disc 1 : 1. Keyboard & Bass Soundcheck 2. Drums Soundcheck 3. Chorus Check 4. Message from Brian Lane & Carl Palmer 5. Rehearsal & Soundcheck 6. Keyboard Soundcheck 1 7. Keyboard Soundcheck 2 Disc 2 : 1. Keyboard Soundcheck 3 2. Keyboard Soundcheck 4 3. Guitar Soundcheck 1 4. Guitar Soundcheck 2 5. Guitar Soundcheck 3 6. Guitar Soundcheck 4 7. Chorus Check 8. Don’t Cry 9. Soundcheck 10. Don’t Cry (Breakdown) 11. Don’t Cry Greg Lake – Lead Vocal, Bass / Steve Howe – Guitar, Vocal / Geoffrey Downes – Keyboards, Vocal / Carl Palmer – Drums, Percussion