Description
This is the stereo soundboard master recording of the 1997 Budokan concert, broadcast exclusively on satellite television! Taper, a veteran British purveyor of Eric Clapton’s treasured recordings, has delivered yet another original master! This time, we have the stereo soundboard recording from the Nippon Budokan concert broadcast on October 27, 1997, during the Japan tour. The footage from that day was heavily promoted and aired as a highlight program to celebrate the launch of the then-launched satellite channel “DirecTV.” The master recording made for that broadcast is of the best quality to date. The entire tour was released in the box set “ON GUITAR AND VOCALS, ME!”, and this performance was also included on that set. However, this is a different master, making it the first time it has been released in Japan. What makes this release so valuable is the inclusion of “Broken Hearted” and “Pilgrim,” which were cut from the original broadcast. For some reason, these two songs were cut from the television broadcast, but they were properly recorded in the recording for the broadcast. While there are several previously released soundboard masters of the broadcast footage, these two songs are not included on any of them (because they were not broadcast). Therefore, you can see that this is the only release that includes these two songs in the highest quality. The sound quality of these two songs is truly amazing. Let’s take a look back at how Clapton’s 1997 Japan tour positioned in his career. Clapton’s activities that year were as follows: February 26: Attended the 39th Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden. Change the World won “Record of the Year” and “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance,” and performed a commemorative performance with Babyface.・July 3rd to 17th: Embarked on a short European jazz festival tour under the name of “Legends,” a fusion unit formed with Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, and Joe Sample. ・September 15th: Appeared alongside a number of other artists at the “Concert for Montserrat,” a benefit concert held at London’s Royal Albert Hall at the request of George Martin to support victims of the volcanic eruption on Montserrat Island. ・September 25th: Appeared alongside Babyface on his MTV “Unplugged” show filmed at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, performing with Babyface. ・October 9th and 10th: Performance in Seoul, South 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. What we can see from the above is that Clapton did not tour worldwide that year; apart from appearing at occasional events and a short tour with a fusion unit, his only official solo tours were this Japan performance and a warm-up performance in Seoul just before the tour. This was because Clapton was focusing on recording a memorial album for his late son (released the following year as “Pilgrim”), which he had been working on for six years since 1992. While he would have preferred to devote himself to album production, Japan tours had become a tradition “every two or three years,” and it was likely due to the fact that he had booked a 1997 tour during his 1995 visit. This made this year’s Japan tour “special.” The main reason for this was that he performed songs that were scheduled to appear on the album, which was still in production, earlier than anywhere else in the world. Clapton rarely performs unreleased new songs live; his only previous tour in Japan was in 1977, before the release of “SLOWHAND.” However, the album was already completed and awaiting release during his 1977 visit, so he performed the finished songs. However, the 1997 performance featured the album in its pre-mixdown stage. Considering that the sample CD later distributed to those involved, known as the fourth equalized version of “Pilgrim” (still with tentative track titles), was produced on December 27, 1997, it’s safe to say that Clapton’s performances of the songs during this Japan tour were incomplete and inexplicable, as he wanted to “roughly complete” the album. In other words, Clapton wanted to give his beloved Japanese fans a taste of the new material as soon as possible. The performances are on Disc 1, tracks 6-8. Interestingly, Broken Hearted was removed from the setlist and no longer performed on the world tour the following year after the album’s release. It’s unclear why, despite it being such a great classic, but the Japan tour was the only live version of this song close to the album version. Furthermore, since this was the recording of footage for Clapton’s first Japan performance, Clapton seemed excited to prepare something special, and White Room was quickly rehearsed and set up on the day (for some reason, the setlist sheet read “White’o Room’o” in Latin). So, it was a special treat to hear this song only on this day. What made it even more special was the fact that the late Joe Sample (of the Crusaders), with whom he’d collaborated on “Legends” in July, was hired to play piano. It’s said that Sample readily accepted Clapton’s invitation, and his lyrical piano playing undoubtedly added a special flavor to each track. You can hear this just by listening to the solo in “Layla” at the beginning. The highlight is the solo in “Old Love.” This piano solo, expressing the transition from the quietly swaying folds of the heart to a final burst of passionate passion, is truly exquisite. It’s safe to say it’s a masterpiece. The sound quality of this album, capturing such a “special” moment, is superb, featuring a crisp stereo soundboard and an audience recording matrixed to further enhance the sense of realism. It offers exceptional clarity, excellent stereo separation, and a wide sound image. This is an outstanding recording, with each instrument and Clapton’s vocals clearly audible. The audience’s cheers and applause add a sense of realism and bring the performance to life. It’s clear enough to be released as an official live album. As expected from a veteran Taper master. Please enjoy this definitive edition of the “special” 1997 Japan tour. The mix, texture, and content are completely different from the audio of TV broadcasts. It’s far clearer! The sound is incredibly fresh. Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 27th October 1997 STEREO SBD UPGRADE Disc:1 (63:28) 1. Introduction 2. Layla (acoustic) 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 11. White Room 12. Wonderful Tonight Disc:2 (44:50) 1. I’m Tore Down 2. Have You Ever Loved A Woman 3. Cocaine 4. Tearing Us Apart 5. Old Love 6. Sunshine Of Your Love 7. Everyday I Have The Blues STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING 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
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