Jeff Beck/Hokkaido, Japan 1975

Jeff Beck’s second visit to Japan in 1975 was unparalleled in its history. The first day of the event, “August 3, 1975, Makomanai Indoor Stadium, Sapporo” has been revived on a CD with the best sound. The key to this work is its wonderful sound, but before that, let’s look back at the situation at the time. This year’s performance in Japan was planned in conjunction with the now legendary rock event “1st WORLD ROCK FESTIVAL EASTLAND.” Jeff Beck, who had just released the famous album “BLOW BY BLOW”, was one of the highlights of the event, but Jeff, who was the key, became unwell. The incident started on July 26th, one week before I came to Japan. It was a stadium performance in New Orleans, but unfortunately it rained. Jeff caught a cold there, canceled his Atlanta show, and headed to Hawaii to recover. However, his condition worsened even further when he was forced to perform in Hawaii on July 30th without recovering as he had hoped. Normally, I would have arrived in Japan a few days early and be fully prepared, but in order to get my health back even a little, I was recuperating in Hawaii until the very last minute. The other members arrived in Sapporo earlier, but Jeff arrived at Haneda Airport just after 3pm on the day of the first Sapporo performance (!). And Jeff rushes from Haneda to Sapporo. What happened at the other venue? In modern terms, it had been canceled, but I was still waiting for Jeff’s arrival. Not only is it Jeff’s turn, but the entire band’s performance is long over, and it’s time for a long, long break. Apparently, an announcement was made in the venue that “Jeff, whose flight was delayed, has arrived at Chitose Airport and is heading to Sapporo.” Then, Jeff finally rushed over, spent about 10 minutes tuning the sound, and stood on stage 70 minutes after all the bands had finished. The venue where this work begins to talk was at such a moment. This work begins with the voice of the famous event organizer saying, “It’s been a long time coming, but Jeff Beck is finally here!” The sound is really, really great. The only recording of this day is the legendary analog “JEFF BECK LIVE IN JAPAN”, but this work is a direct CD from the original LP. There was also a previously released CD such as “WORLD ROCK 1975” from this LP, but the entire album was covered with harsh noise that was not present in the original LP, and there were some sound breaks. On the other hand, this work uses a top-quality record that was kept in mint condition by a core collector in Japan. Furthermore, we have performed mastering that carefully treats every single scratch and noise, and have also corrected the song order (Superstition and Air Blower), which had been changed due to restrictions on each side of the LP. Of course, the natural sound that was originally included in the original LP is maintained, and no excessive equalization is performed. We created a single piece that reproduces the entire concert that day as faithfully as possible. In fact, the sound is wonderfully clear while full of the warmth typical of analog. The groove played by the rhythm section made up of black members is vivid, and Jeff’s wayward guitar as he dances on top of it is also extremely vivid. The modest yet beautiful Max Middleton keyboard sound is also great. The live performance depicted with such a beautiful sound proves that it was not a mistake that he was recuperating until the last minute. He was still not in perfect condition, and although he gave a great performance in Nagoya, his condition worsened to the point of acute pneumonia and he had to cancel the Kyoto performance, but the performance of this work makes it hard to believe that he was in such a dire condition. The sweet tone, the sharp cutting, and the vividness of the crisp phrases. Jeff is great in any era and in any music, but the guitar speaks louder than a thousand words about how special “1975” was when he created the masterpiece “BLOW BY BLOW”. It is said that there was a noisy atmosphere at the scene at the time as the audience waited, and you can feel that atmosphere even at the beginning of this film. However, after Jeff played just a few bars, he was captivated by the tone, and Shin’s quiet state was also clearly engraved. Due to the delay, the live performance was about 44 minutes long without an encore, but it is a superb live album that revives the entire performance with the best possible sound. This is a documentary album that conveys to the present day the performances that were created in the turbulent atmosphere of the scene. Analog discs that have preserved the music for over 40 years, and the highest quality possible only with modern technology. Please come and experience the revived famous recording. Live at Okunai Kyogijo, Makomanai, Sapporo, Japan 3rd August 1975 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(UPGRADE) Taken from the original LP “Jeff Beck Live In Japan”(POTK-001) (43:53) 1. Intro 2. She’s A Woman 3 Freeway Jam 4. Definitely Maybe 5. Superstition 6. Air Blower 7. ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers 8. You Know What I Mean Jeff Beck – Guitar Wilber Bascomb – Bass Bernard Purdie – Drums Max Middleton – Keyboards