Eric Clapton/Fukuoka,Japan 1997 DAT Master

[Obtained the best stereo audience DAT master of the 1997 Japan tour Fukuoka performance!] Eric Clapton’s new release is the new definitive title of the 1997 Japan tour! This time, we obtained a stereo master DAT recording of the Marine Messe Fukuoka performance on October 20th, the 5th day of the 1997 Japan tour. From this tour, a 16CD box set of 8 performances in Tokyo called “ON GUITAR AND VOCALS, ME !” (Jungle Tiger) was released, and the local performances were released for 2 days in Osaka and Hiroshima, but the Fukuoka performance has not been released so far, and this is its first appearance in Japan. The previously released version has earned the highest score of “AUD6” on the famous bootleg evaluation site Geetarz, but this version was produced from a master with superb sound quality that exceeds that! The sound quality of this version is a superb stereo recording that is typical of DAT, which boasts high sound quality. It is very clear, has good stereo separation, and has a wide sound image. It can be said that this is an excellent recording in which each instrument and Clapton’s vocals are clearly heard. The moderate audience noise creates a sense of realism and makes it very easy to listen to. This sound was produced directly from the first generation DAT master handed over from the recorder himself, and we are confident that anyone will be surprised and welcomed by its perfection. From the Tokyo performance, sound board titles from the satellite broadcast video and leaked sound source at the time have been released, but it can be said that this board is probably the highest quality in the local performances. This is a famous sound source that you can listen to with a quality that is not inferior to the recently released superb sound quality board “Budokan 1997 1st Night DAT Master”. [Japan tour with an unprecedented “special” set list! ] Let’s look back at what position the 1997 Japan performance was in Clapton’s career. The following year, the US and European tours were held along with the album release, but the Japan tour the year before had a special meaning. Clapton’s activities this year were as follows: February 26: Attended the 39th Grammy Awards held at Madison Square Garden. Change The World won Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and performed with Babyface to celebrate the award. July 3-17: He embarked on a short European jazz festival tour under the name of Legends, a fusion unit he formed with Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, and Joe Sample. September 15: Appeared with a number of other artists at the Concert for Montserrat, a benefit concert held at the Royal Albert Hall in London at the invitation of George Martin to support the victims of the volcanic eruption on Montserrat Island. September 25: Appeared on Babyface’s MTV “Unplugged” show recorded at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, and performed with Babyface.・October 9th and 10th: Performances in Seoul, Korea ・October 13th to 31st: Japan Tour (13 performances in total) ←★Here★ ・December 31st: Organized and performed at the annual charity concert “New Year’s Eve Dance” in Woking, Surrey, England. From the above, you can see that he did not do a worldwide tour this year, and apart from appearing at spot events and short tours with a spot fusion unit, his only regular solo tours were this Japan performance and the Seoul performance just before, which served as a warm-up. This is because Clapton continued recording a memorial album with his late son (released the following year as “PILGRIM”), which he had been working on for six years since 1992, and he was focusing on that. It would have been expected that he would have wanted to devote himself to making an album, but Japan tours are customarily held “once every two or three years,” and it is believed that this was carried out because he had already booked for 1997 when he came to Japan in 1995. This situation made this year’s Japan tour “special.” The biggest reason for this is that he performed songs that were to be included in the album, which was still in production, on this Japan tour earlier than anywhere else in the world. It is rare for Clapton to perform unreleased new songs live, and the only previous Japan tour to do so was in 1977, before the release of “SLOWHAND.” However, when he came to Japan in 1977, the album was already completed and was waiting to be released, so he performed the completed songs, but in 1997, the album was not yet mixed down, so it was performed. Considering that the CD called “4th Equalized Version” of “PILGRIM” (the song title was still tentative) distributed to those involved later had a production credit of December 27, 1997, it could be said that the songs performed at the time of this Japan tour were in an unfinished, groping state, so to speak, that Clapton wanted to “complete it in this form”. In other words, Clapton really wanted to let his beloved Japanese fans hear the new songs as soon as possible. That part corresponds to 6. to 8. on Disc 1. As an aside, it is said that Clapton was unusually angry at the promoters who had hastily named this Japan tour “Change the World Japan Tour” and sold tickets for it. The promoters probably wanted to promote the fact that this was the only tour of the year, and that the Grammy-winning hit song could be heard for the first time, but Clapton himself wanted to focus on the new songs that he had finally completed in a satisfactory form. What’s interesting is that Broken Hearted was removed from the setlist and was no longer played on the world tour the following year after the album’s release. This song was never played outside of this Japan tour, except for the “Montserrat Island Relief Concert”. It was also dropped from the set of the large-scale “Pulgrim Tour” the following year. Unlike the “Montserrat Island” version, which was played with just an acoustic guitar, this version is played emotionally with an electric vibrato. It’s a masterpiece among masterpieces. It’s unclear why it was removed from the set after this wonderful masterpiece, but it can be said that the only live version of this song that can be heard in a form close to the album version is this Japan tour. And the aforementioned Change The World. This song, which won a Grammy Award earlier that year, was played on the Japan tour for the first time. Furthermore, Clapton’s solo on Old Love on this day was amazing! The song was performed every day, but the phrasing, which exquisitely combines long notes from choking and thrilling passages from fast playing, is full of Clapton’s true essence. It is a masterpiece that can be said to be the best performance of the day. He also performed two songs as an encore at this time. It is a service that is unthinkable after the 2000s. The two blues numbers that he plays like a fish in water are also worth listening to. The words that Clapton introduced himself after introducing each member, which is also the title of the already released board, were spoken at the Osaka performance on the 21st, but such a rare “self-introduction” was also only for this Japan tour. In that sense, this tour was “special”. A tour with a one-and-only set list that was realized only in Clapton’s beloved Japan and let us hear new songs early. It was captured in Fukuoka with the best sound ever. [The only tour in which piano virtuoso Joe Sample participated! 】And what was even more “special” was the use of the late Joe Sample (Crusaders), who had worked with him at “Legends” in July and had hit it off with him, on piano. It is said that Sample readily accepted Clapton’s invitation, and there was no doubt that his lyrical piano playing gave each song a special flavor. You can tell this by listening to the solo at the beginning of Layla. The highlight is the solo in Old Love. This piano solo, which expresses the way the quietly swaying folds of the heart finally transition into something that bursts with passion, is truly exquisite. It is a wonderful performance that is on par with Clapton’s emotional solo. It is safe to say that his playing is also a masterpiece. Furthermore, Andy Fairweather Low’s inside work throughout the album is also shining. The drummer was S. Gadd, who Clapton trusted completely. There was no way that the stage could be bad with the support of such talented musicians. In recent years, due to his physical weakness caused by aging, Clapton has avoided moving the venue and has only performed at the Budokan, but at this time he was still touring local cities in Japan and delighting local fans with his Japan tour. Among them, Fukuoka was the westernmost performance venue. This is the first appearance and the master of the best sound quality. Please enjoy the good sound source of the 1997 Japan tour, which was “special” on this board. Live at Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan 20th October 1997 ULTIMATE SOUND(from Original Masters) First appearance, ultra-high quality sound Disc 1 (54:24) 1. Intro 2. Layla 3. Change the World 4. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out 5. Tears in Heaven 6. Goin’ Down Slow 7. Broken Hearted 8. Pilgrim 9. Before You Accuse Me 10. I Shot the Sheriff Disc 2 (56:07) 1. Wonderful Tonight 2. I’m Tore Down 3. Have You Ever Loved a Woman 4. Cocaine 5. Tearing Us Apart 6. Old Love 7. Sunshine of Your Love 8. Every Day I Have the Blues Eric Clapton – guitar / vocals Andy Fairweather Low – guitar / vocals Chris Stainton – keyboards Joe Sample – piano Dave Bronze – bass Steve Gadd – drums Katie Kissoon – backing vocals Tessa Niles – backing vocals