Beck, Bogert and Appice/Tokyo, Japan 1973

The world premiere master of the legendary first visit to Japan has been unexpectedly unearthed. This work contains “May 14, 1973: Nippon Budokan performance”. This Japan tour was the first visit of the legendary trio BBA, and also Jeff Beck’s first visit to Japan. First, let’s take a look back at the schedule at that time. May 14: Nippon Budokan [this work] May 16: Nagoya Civic Hall May 18: Osaka Welfare Pension Hall *Official May 19: Osaka Welfare Pension Hall *Official That’s a total of four performances. The traditional official live album was produced from the final Osaka performance, while this work’s Nippon Budokan was the first day. It was genuinely Jeff’s first stage in Japan. Such Nippon Budokan performances have been conveyed through numerous audience recordings such as “TOKYO BUDOKAN TAPES”, “TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN'” and “FIRST LIVE IN JAPAN” for a long time. Currently, the highest peak is “ENCOUNTER VELOCITY”, but this work is a master different from any of them. It is a new excavation of the century that was made into a CD directly from the original cassette that was kept secret by a famous recording artist representing Japan. Moreover, this work is not just a first public release. The quality is also wonderful, updating the best ever. Since the texture is different from each recording including “ENCOUNTER VELOCITY”, it is not easy to talk about superiority or inferiority, but to put it mildly, it is “much easier to listen to than the existing group”. What is most wonderful is the extremely thick “core”, fat and rich “sound”, and lustrous “smoothness”. Even the previously released group is good, but the sound is solid, there is a little distance, and the bass is cracked. In such a situation, it felt like looking for the advantages, such as “the guitar is floating” and “the vocals are clear”. However, this work has a very thick performance and vocals that approach you. Although it has a powerful sound that makes you feel a lot of response, there is almost no cracking or noise. In fact, this new master is not perfect either. As expected, since it was recorded about 45 years ago, there is some (slight) shaking in the first three songs. However, after that, the vintage sound that shines black with an immovable sense of stability continues to flow endlessly. There were also some slight cuts (24 seconds after the end of the drum solo and 19 seconds of the break part of “Why Should I Care”). Although neither part is of great importance to the performance, in this work, we carefully connected it with the already released “ENCOUNTER VELOCITY” and seamlessly reproduced the full show. Such a world premiere sound depicts Jeff’s first Japan and the legendary Nippon Budokan. All shows of the 1973 Japan tour have full audience recordings except for the final day in Osaka, but this Nippon Budokan is known as the best. There are also “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” and “People Get Ready” only for this day, but the performance itself is even better than that. After Jeff spoke a word, the Talking Modulator opened the legendary curtain, and the tension unique to the first time in Asia and the first time in Japan exploded. Tension can go both good and bad, but on this day it definitely went for the better. Beck was engrossed and kept playing crisp phrases, and Tim and Carmine were both completely focused. There were scenes where Tim lost his motivation on the first day in Osaka, where the PA was not working well, and the balance was not so good, but this work does not have such “dents”. The tension of the first time is uninterrupted and continues to rise to the tremendous phrases in the final song “Boogie”. In addition, this work includes two precious TV broadcast soundboards from the Santa Monica performance in May 1973 at the end of the newly excavated master. Although these two songs are live overseas performances, they are broadcast in Japan. This is also not an ordinary sound source. The live itself is wonderful, but the comments of the Japanese male and female hosts are full of era. Men seem to like rock music, but women’s comments are very destructive. Here are some of them… Man: “Wow, I’m really overwhelmed!” Woman: “Jeff Beck is so cute. He even wipes his mouth!” Woman: “Last month, they were supposed to have a concert in Paris, but they had to cancel it because of a power shortage. The only place you can see this super group is “IN CONCERT”! Man: “They’re good!” … They talk excitedly and get dizzy. And before and after that, BB&A’s fierce improvisation. This incredible contrast is what “1973” is all about. It’s a short bonus, but I can’t help but keep it forever. It’s a scene I’d love you to experience. “May 14, 1973: Nippon Budokan” has long been said to be “a more fulfilling performance than the official version”. The legendary trio’s legendary first visit to Japan, the legendary performance, is depicted with a new, superb sound and a new expression. A masterpiece live album that has appeared after 45 years. Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 14th May 1973 TRULY AMAZING/PREFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (59:54) 01. Intro 02. Superstition 03. Livin’ Alone 04. I’m So Proud 05. Lady 06. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You 07. People Get Ready 08. Morning Dew / Drum Solo ★12:17 – 12:41 Previously released supplement 09. Sweet Sweet Surrender 10. Lose Myself With You / Bass Solo Disc 2 (50:00) 01. Black Cat Moan 02. Jeff’s Boogie 03. Why Should I Care ★6:22 – 6:43 Previously released supplement 04. Plynth / Shotgun 05. Going Down 06. Oleo 07. Boogie Bonus Tracks TV Broadcast In Japan “In Concert” Civic Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA May 1973 08. Superstition 09. Morning Dew / Drum Solo