Description
A superb stereo audience recording master of the Hiroshima concert, the opening night of Eric Clapton’s 2003 Japan tour! This release features a superb stereo audience master of the November 15th Hiroshima Green Arena concert, the first night of Eric Clapton’s Japan tour held from November to December 2003! The master was provided by a veteran taper residing in the UK, a familiar name to Clapton fans. Through his unique network, he obtained this top-quality recording of the Japanese concert. Therefore, the sound quality is guaranteed. Furthermore, this release is provided on DAT, a digital copy of the original master. Consequently, the sound quality is superb. Clearness, stereo imaging, the sense of atmosphere in the silences, the clarity of each instrument and vocal—everything about this recording is “perfect.” Before discussing the content, let’s first look at the context of this concert in Clapton’s activities that year, considering the topics surrounding it. A day like this rarely happens! Clapton’s high-energy, wholehearted performance!・March 18, 2003: Performed at “Careers Night,” an event at Birkdale Secondary School in Sheffield, England (an event featuring performances by people who have achieved success in society). This was the school that Clapton’s daughter, Ruth, attended at the time, and the school welcomed her idea, leading to Clapton’s appearance. ・March 25, 2003: Performed at “Teenage Cancer,” a charity concert held at the Royal Albert Hall in London to support teenage cancer patients. ・April 9, 2003: Performed at Willie Nelson’s 70th birthday concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York. ・May 27, 2003: Performed at opera singer Luciano Pavarotti’s benefit concert in Modena, Italy. ・June 2, 2003: Guest appearance at jazz musician Wynton Marsalis’s benefit concert at the Apollo Theater in New York.・July 9, 2003: Appeared at John Mayall’s 70th birthday concert at King’s Dock Arena in Liverpool. ・November 15 – December 13, 2003: A Japan tour lasting almost a month ←★HERE★ ・December 20, 2003: Guest appearance at a concert by Gary Brooker’s band ‘No Stiletto Shoes’ in Chindingford, Surrey, England. ・December 31, 2003: Held the annual charity concert “New Year’s Eve Dance” for AA (Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous). Looking at this, it seems that aside from this Japan tour, his year consisted mostly of sporadic charity events. In other words, Clapton was off until winter that year, and this Japan tour in November was his only main job. For that reason, it’s safe to say that he focused all his attention and energy on this tour and gave it his all. The tour was named “JUST FOR YOU” to reflect that it was dedicated solely to his beloved Japan and his Japanese fans. At the opening night of the tour at Hiroshima Green Arena, Clapton performed a record-breaking 26 songs for a Japanese tour. However, the show ended late, and perhaps due to fatigue, the setlist was shortened to 22 songs from the second night onward (a whopping 4 songs were cut), and this became the standard thereafter. Therefore, this album features the most songs from this year’s Japan tour. Moreover, the intensity of each song heard on this album is among the highest of all his Japan tours. Most notably, the band at this time consisted of only five elite musicians, the bare minimum necessary for Clapton. Four veteran musicians with extensive experience provided solid support for Clapton; there are no sweet female backing vocals here. Andy and Nathan diligently provided the harmonies. It was a hardcore, all-male “rock band.” The five men poured their hearts and souls into playing, creating the best possible sound. The setlist was incredibly varied, ranging from Cream-era numbers to tracks from their most recent album at the time, “REPTILE.” The inclusion of songs like “Holy Mother” (1986) and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (1975) was particularly refreshing. Moreover, they performed “When You Got a Good Friend” and “Kind Hearted Woman,” which were already planned for inclusion on their next album, “ME AND MR. JOHNSON.” In “When You Got a Good Friend,” Clapton first appears on stage alone and plays acoustically, while the band members gradually take their positions. During Andy’s solo, Clapton switches to his “Crash Tocaster,” and the show culminates in an exciting electric medley of “Crossroads.” Regarding sound quality, the key to judging it was the sound at the point where all the band members come together and begin playing. Please listen to the powerful sound of this recording. The power, the clarity—it’s simply flawless. And I Shot The Sheriff’s performance that day was fantastic. In White Room, Clapton himself sings the chorus, showing his thoroughness (he sings “ooh” instead of “ahh”). This is probably the first time Clapton has sung chorus since Cream. His wah-wah-heavy solo in the outro is also good. The performance remains extremely high-energy from here on out. This level of energy is extraordinary, almost to the point of being “abnormal.” The highlight is almost every song, but if I had to pick, it would be Bell Bottom Blues and Layla. The performance by the five men in the former is fantastic! It’s so romantic even without female backing vocals. The latter is the original electric version, which is probably no longer heard today. In this version, the famous seven-note phrase in the middle of the song is deliberately omitted, and only used in the intro. As a result, Clapton’s solo in the outro is superb! No, wait, the solo in the outro of I Shot The Sheriff is undoubtedly one of the top ten performances of this song, and White Room’s solo is thrilling and intense! I Want a Little Girl features exceptional vocal work and a brilliant solo. Furthermore, the middle solo in Badge, like Cream’s original version, features soaring guitar solos that seem to pierce the sky. Cocaine’s solo is played fluidly with tasteful phrases interspersed with fast picking, and Five Long Years is simply breathtaking. Even the middle solo in Sunshine of Your Love isn’t a mediocre “Blue Moon,” but a rapid-fire barrage of brilliant phrases. And if I keep going like this, almost every song would be outstanding. That’s how incredible Clapton was that day. In short, the Hiroshima performance on the first day of the tour was simply fulfilling. This release captures that superb master recording. 2003 Japan Tour, First Day The highest sound quality recording of the Hiroshima concert. A record-breaking 26 songs for a Japan tour! The intensity of each song is among the best in the history of Japan tours! Green Arena, Hiroshima, Japan 15th November 2003 ULTIMATE SOUND (from Original Masters) Disc:1 (73:20) 1. Intro 2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out (Acoustic) 3. When You Got a Good Friend (Acoustic) 4. Crossroads 5. I Shot The Sheriff 6. Bell Bottom Blues 7. Reconsider Baby 8. Can’t Find My Way Home 9. White Room 10. I Want a Little Girl 11. Got My Mojo Working 12. Hoochie Coochie Man 13. Change The World 14. Before You Accuse Me 15. Kind Hearted Woman 16. Badge Disc:2 (69:30) 1. Holy Mother 2. My Father’s Eyes 3. River of Tears 4. Lay Down Sally 5. Wonderful Tonight 6. Cocaine 7. Five Long Years 8. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door 9. Layla 10. Sunshine of Your Love 11. Somewhere over The Rainbow Eric Clapton – Vocals, Guitar Nathan East – Bass Steve Gadd – Drums Andy Fairweather Low – Guitar Chris Stainton – Keyboards
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