Eric Clapton/Tokyo,Japan 10.6.1977

The first upgraded audience master in Japan! We will release the new audience master on October 6th, the first day of the final leg of Eric Clapton’s 1977 Japan tour, the Nippon Budokan 2DAYS performance! Speaking of the sound source of that day, there was only a previously released mono audience recording of a normal level, but the pitch was about 70% higher than a semitone, which was by no means satisfactory. However, this time, we were finally able to provide Taper’s own first generation cassette tape, which recorded the performance of that day, completely different from the previously released master, and when we checked the sound quality, we found that the sound was better than the previously released version and the distance of the performance was closer. We were finally able to update the sound quality of the sound source of that day. The donor himself also brought his ticket from that time, and according to it, the seat was a good position, number 33 in the arena G row. There was also hiss noise because of the era, but our engineer equalized the original sound and upgraded it to suppress the hiss as much as possible. Although there were tape changes and pauses, the advantage was that the overall recording was longer than the previous version. The characteristic of the sound of this new master is that it captures the atmosphere of the Budokan arena seats very well while having an exquisite sense of distance from the musical sounds. It was recorded with a wide mono audience recording, and compared to the previously released version, which had a somewhat unsettling and clattering sound, this version has a smart and easy-to-listen-to sound. One of the factors that makes it easy to listen to is the extremely small amount of audience noise around the recorder. Although it is not a powerful sound like the Mike Millard recording, there is no doubt that it is the best recording of the day. I hope you will enjoy the new master, which will be released for the first time in Japan. A rare set list only for the Budokan performance In fact, the set list of this Japan tour had a rare and valuable meaning in Clapton’s career. Let’s recap Clapton’s activities for the year:・February 14th: Appeared at a charity concert in his hometown of Cranley, Surrey, England (under the band name “Eddie Earthquake and His Tremors”)・April 20th to 29th: Short UK tour・June 4th to 20th: Short European tour・August 5th: Spot performance in Iviza, Spain・August 11th: Followed by a performance in Barcelona・September 26th to October 7th: Japan tourSeptember 26th: Performance at Osaka Festival HallSeptember 27th: Performance at Okayama Prefectural GymnasiumSeptember 28th: ​​Performance at Kyoto Kaikan First HallSeptember 30th: Performance at Nagoya City Public HallOctober 1st: Performance at Osaka Festival HallOctober 4th: Performance at Sapporo Makomanai Ice ArenaOctober 6th: Performance at Nippon Budokan←★This work★ October 7: Nippon Budokan performance October 9, 10: Honolulu, Hawaii In the gap between these schedules, in May, Clapton recorded the masterpiece “SLOWHAND” at Olympic Studios in London, and during this Japan tour that was organized afterwards, he performed songs from the new album “SLOWHAND” for the first time live, even though it had not yet been released. This was an unusual thing in Clapton’s career. The set list for this Budokan performance was different from that of other local performances. The same new songs as the other performances, The Core and We’re All The Way, were performed, but at this final Budokan 2-day performance, Cocaine was performed live for the first time. Since 1978, this song has played a role as a standard song at the end of the live performance to liven up the stage, but this day was the first time that it was performed live in his career. Therefore, the ending was naturally not at all like today, where the audience sings the chorus to end the performance, but rather ended with the band pulling the theme riff. While enjoying this fresh ending, Clapton’s solo in the middle is very sharp. You can see Clapton’s enthusiasm for this new song. This is the first performance to be remembered in the history of Clapton’s live performances. But there’s more to listen to than just that. He played the blues number It’s Too Bad Things Are Going So Tough, which is probably the only day that Clapton has featured on his live stage over the course of his career spanning about 40 years from the 1970s to the early 2000s (this song is also known as Tuff Luck Blues, and after a long break, he suddenly set it up and played it on the 2010 tour). The tension of the vocals and play in this number is incredible! With a furious momentum, this song is medleyed into Ramblin’ on My Mind. This is definitely a masterpiece! After captivating the audience with slow blues, he goes into Layla with a brilliant contrast. Clapton was in good shape that day! In the solo at the end of Layla, Clapton, who sometimes left more than half of the solo to George Terry on some days, decided the solo himself without worrying about George Terry. This solo is hot and cool! (George Terry plays a little at the end). The encore Further On Up The Road is a dignified play. The first day of the Budokan performance ended with a performance that is unwavering and truly Clapton. Clapton was not the only one who was wonderful. If you listen to this album, you will once again notice the greatness of Clapton’s backing band, the Tulsa Tops. The rhythm section of Carl Radle and Jamie Oldaker, who support the backbone with a tight rhythm. Dick Sims, who supports the songs with an organ play that runs freely in all directions like never before. Their skills are also amazing. Their ability to support the band unwaveringly even when they became a four-piece band the following year is already proven here. Marcy Levy, the only female member of the band, is also active in blues harp and guitar in addition to vocals. Her acoustic guitar skills in the lead numbers featured in two songs are quite good, and her contributions to the blues numbers and harmonica in Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door are so great that they would not have been possible without her (George Terry, the second guitarist, also does his best, but the difference in ability between him and Clapton is inevitable). This is finally a new master that surpasses the previous releases. In order to make this album even more perfect, the tape changes and the cuts between songs have been corrected to the correct pitch on the previous releases and then filled in. Recorded in row G of the arena. This is definitely the best and definitive album of the day. There will probably never be another title better than this. Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 6th October 1977 TRULY AMAZING SOUND(from Original Masters)★First appearance Disc 1 (58:11) 1. Intro 2. The Core 3. I Shot the Sheriff 4. Double Trouble 5. Badge 6. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out 7. One Night 8. We’re All the Way 9. Sign Language 10. Alberta Disc :2 (38:52) 1. Cocaine 2. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door 3. It’s Too Bad Things Are Going So Tough★Super rare blues cover. This is the only live performance of Clapton in the 20th century that was confirmed. 4. Ramblin’ on My Mind 5. Layla 6. All I Have to Do Is Dream 7. Farther Up the Road Eric Clapton – Guitar, Vocals George Terry – Guitar Dicks Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums Marcy Levy – Backing Vocals, Harmonica