Eric Clapton/Tokyo,Japan 11.2.1974 Original 2LP Live in Japan

[The legendary OG record is now on CD for the first time in normal pitch! Second reissue] The reissue of the legendary OG label work “TOUR 74”, which was recently released and contains a complete recording of Eric Clapton’s first visit to Japan, November 5, 1974, Osaka performance, in a superb stereo audience recording, has been very well received. We believe that the fact that we have created an environment where people can easily listen to the famous Japanese analog bootlegs that were released only for a small number of enthusiasts in 1974, has been very well received. If that’s the case, then this week we have also decided to release a reissue of “LIVE IN JAPAN”, which was also released by the OG label at the same time as “TOUR 74”, and contains a complete recording of the additional performance at Nippon Budokan on November 2, 1974, in a good audience recording! This work was released at the end of 1974 by the now legendary OG label, which recorded the performances of big rock artists who came to Japan in the early 1970s in high-quality audience recordings and released them as analog LPs at the time, with a limited run of 200 copies (in the review of “TOUR 74” it was written that it was limited to 500 copies, but subsequent research revealed that it was only 200 copies. The selling price at the time was 6,800 yen, the same as “TOUR 74”). It was an analog 2LP released at the same time as “TOUR 74” at the end of 1974. We will upgrade that “LIVE IN JAPAN” and release it as a complete reprint! The master used was the master recording, which was in an excellent state of preservation. The value of this sound source will be well known to any long-time Clapton fan, but since its release, the original master tape has never been leaked until today, and therefore it has never been made into a CD. The performance on that day has been released by several labels, including our press 2CD “Light Up Your Face” (Tricone 059/060), so it is possible to appreciate it, but since this OG master is still not available to the public, it was a valuable sound source that could only be heard on this analog record. Although the sound image is different from “TOUR 74”, it is a powerful and excellent recording that is clear enough to convey the enthusiasm of that Budokan, full of realism and airiness. Although it rarely appears on the used market, if it does appear, the market price is said to be at the level of tens of thousands of yen. This time, our shop borrowed the master that had been held under good storage conditions for 47 years, played it on a modern high-end playback machine, digitized it, and upgraded it. In fact, this master was recorded with an abnormally fast pitch in order to record it completely on 2LP. The level was enough to change the quality of Clapton’s voice. Therefore, our shop has realized a complete reprint by correcting the pitch of the master and upgrading it by removing all the scratch noise of the master. The original sound that was trapped in the master recording is left as it is. This is a release that we are confident will be the only one that has faithfully reproduced the original recording while normalizing the pitch. I think that even old enthusiasts who own this master recording have never heard this sound source at a normal pitch. This will finally come true with this recording. This is a title that we would like you to pay attention to. [Time slip in front of the PA speaker at the Budokan on November 2, 1974!] If you listen to this legendary masterpiece at a normal pitch, it can be described in one word as a “tasty, high-quality audience recording.” The musical tones and vocals are very close, and after a little listening, it feels like a soundboard recording. The cheers of the audience seem a little far away. Although the sense of separation is sparse, it is recorded in stereo, and the balance is better than the soundboard recording of the PA out, and the drums are firmly captured, making it easy to listen to and a satisfying sound image. It is a guess, but it is a sound with a bone that makes you think it was recorded around the front of the PA speaker at the front of the Budokan floor seats. In the second half, Carl Radle’s bass sound is more emphasized, but that’s probably because of the PA output. Still, the sound balance is not disturbed. The sound is muffled for a moment at the beginning of Layla because the excited audience stood up and surrounded the recorder, and the sound was quickly improved when the recorder also stood up. The sound image is different from “TOUR 74”, but it is definitely high quality and can be said to be a masterpiece that is truly impressive as an OG label. Clapton’s MC on this day was light-hearted, perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, and before the opening number, he appeared in a cheerful mood and called out to the audience, “Written by Charlie Chaplin! Charie Chaplin? (It’s a Charlie Chaplin song! Do you know Charlie Chaplin?)” Before Layla, he spent a long time fooling around and inciting the audience, and before the encore Blues Power, he spat out “Shut up!” at the audience who were making a fuss. Clapton’s drunkenness during this period is famous, but looking back, I think he was a terrible artist for his reaction to the serious Japanese people who were finally excited about the superstar they had finally been able to see (laughs). Well, drunk people are like this in every country… The rich sound of the Martin 000-45 used on this tour is also beautifully captured, and it was also valuable to see him play Better Make It Through Today and Singin’ The Blues, which were not yet released at the time, from “THERE’S ONE IN EVERY CROWD”. The excitement of the audience from I Shot The Sheriff, which he switched to a Gibson Explorer, was also tremendous, and the recording has a great sense of realism that is not annoying. The second half of the album also captures the surprise and delight of Japanese fans in popular numbers such as Badge and Presence of the Lord. And the huge explosion of the venue at Layla. Please listen carefully. You can understand the feelings that Japanese fans had for Clapton at that time. And yet, you will realize that the sound quality, which captures the musical tones clearly, was of a quality that lived up to the name of the legendary OG label. The indescribable fat, warm and deep tone of the Explorer, a legendary vintage guitar that was only produced 17 times in 1958 and could only be seen on this tour, is also well captured. [A set list full of rare and representative songs unique to the first visit to Japan] Although it was a tour, the 1974 Japan tour was only five times in total. Here are the dates and venues at that time.・October 31st, Nippon Budokan – “BUDOKAN 1974 FIRST NIGHT”・November 1st, Nippon Budokan – “BUDOKAN 1974 2ND NIGHT”・November 2nd, Nippon Budokan (additional performance) ←★Main album “Light Up Your Face” “BUDOKAN 1974 3RD NIGHT”・November 5th, Osaka Welfare Pension Hall – “TOUR 74” “OSAKA 1974 (SBD)”・November 6th, Osaka Welfare Pension Hall – “OSAKA 1974 2ND NIGHT” *”” is the high quality title released by our shop. Although there were only a few performances, which only toured the two major cities of Tokyo and Osaka, the set list changed every day. Compared to the Osaka performance, the distinctive feature of the Tokyo performance was that the opening number was Smile. Actually, Clapton wanted to include this number in “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD”, but he eventually gave up on it, and it seems that he really wanted to perform it on the stage of his comeback tour. George Terry plays the solo in the song on electric guitar, which sounds like George Harrison’s slide play. It’s a tasteful performance. Taking over the gentle mood of this song, the masterpiece Let It Grow calms the audience’s strange excitement. Clapton’s falsetto chorus vocals can also be heard clearly. Clapton decides on the middle solo of Better Make It Through Today with an acoustic guitar. Since the studio version was electric, it can be said to be a valuable live take. You can see that these early acoustic parts relaxed the venue. The middle part of the album changes to electric and heats up with I Shot The Sheriff, but then calms down with numbers like Key To The Highway and Willie And The Hand Jive (Willie And The Hand Jive fades out just like the original. This was probably a measure to somehow fit it on the LP). Badge and Presence Of The Lord, masterpieces from his days with legendary bands like Cream and Blind Faith, get the audience excited again. It was the moment when the audience thought, “This is Eric Clapton standing here!” Singin’ The Blues is a passionate performance that lasts more than 10 minutes. Then they move on to the grand finale, Layla. The audience, who had been teased by Clapton’s MC before the intro, explodes here. You can see that the excitement in the venue has reached its peak. In the solo at the end, Clapton and George Terry’s twin leads unfold as if they are playing a harmony. Clapton’s playing is amazing, as he piles on fast passages. Instead of the piano coda of Layla, which Clapton intentionally disliked and did not play at the time, he played the Everly Brothers standard number All I Have To Do Is Dream in the second half of the song, and the regular set ended. After the show, Clapton left the stage cheerfully saying “Yes, bye-bye.” However, when he appeared for the encore, he seemed irritated by the audience’s excessive excitement and repeatedly said “Shut up!” The 14-minute Blues Power has an intro of 3 and a half minutes. In the break, Clapton plays a phrase from Yellow Submarine, and the drums and organ run into a free-spirited jam, and it includes some fun elements. In the middle of the main part, it develops like a jam session. The performance ended with a raging encore that showed the potential of the Tulsa Tops, who were so versatile. The whole picture is captured in this album. It is noteworthy that Clapton was quite drunk, but the quality of the performance was not low. The MC was freaky, but the performance was decent.He played the solos that were said not to be played, and I think it was a stage that left an impression of “Clapton is here”. At the time, the live reviews, including the press, were that “Clapton didn’t play the guitar much, leaving it to George Terry, which was disappointing”, and this had been the accepted theory for many years, but if you listen to this album, you will understand that this was clearly wrong. [A representative album of the 1974 Japan tour that shines brilliantly in bootleg history] At the time, there was no other audience source that boasted such high sound quality in the complete version of this day other than this OG album. Furthermore, now that we can see the entire performance of the three days in Tokyo and the two days in Osaka, although the quality of the performance was high, it can be said that it was only on the final day of the second day in Osaka and the additional performance in Tokyo that we were able to see a drunk Clapton. Although an incomplete recording of this day’s PA out leaked soundboard has also been released, this OG analog record, whose master tape is still out of the gate, has been upgraded with the best and most conceivable technology and completely reprinted, and it can be said that this record is far superior in terms of reality and quality to the existing soundboard source. First visit to Japan in 1974. As with “TOUR 74”, we are confident that you will be able to enjoy the greatness of Clapton that year with this work. The legendary OG record is now available on CD for the first time in normal pitch! Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 2nd November 1974 Taken from the original 2LP “Live In Japan” Disc 1 (50:28) 1. Intro 2. Smile 3. Let It Grow 4. Can’t Find My Way Home 5. Better Make It Through Today 6. I Shot The Sheriff 7. Key To The Highway 8. Willie And The Hand Jive Disc 2 (58:34) 1. Badge 2. ence of the Lord 3. Singing The Blues 4. Layla 5. All I Have To Do Is Dream 6. Blues Power Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals George Terry – guitar, vocals Dick Sims – keyboards Carl Radle – bass Jamie Oldaker – drums Yvonne Elliman – vocals Marcy Levy – vocals, harmonica