John Mayer/Tokyo,Japan 4.11.2019

John Mayer’s first performance in Japan in five years recently ended with great success. Two of the latest original recordings will be released simultaneously. This time, they will be performing in Japan for two consecutive days at Nippon Budokan. This work is a superb audience recording that completely records the final day “April 11th” performance. This work can be completed with the simultaneously released “BUDOKAN 2019 1ST NIGHT” and this work, but that is not all. In fact, “1ST NIGHT” and this work are sister works by the same recording artist. It is not only the same venue, but also the same recording person and equipment, making it a complete collection. “1ST NIGHT” is also a superb recording, but this work is also a great masterpiece. The sound is very similar since they are in the same environment, and the clarity and neat ringing are excellent. What’s even more surprising is that they have something in common, including the lack of audience noise. There is a huge applause between songs, but it is far away. All you can hear from your seats is the modest applause, and even though the cheers create a huge swell, they feel much further away than the sounds of the performance or singing. “1ST NIGHT” and this work have a lot of unity, not only in the sound but also in the mood of the special seats where the surroundings are not noisy, so you can enjoy the two for two whole days. Of course, the position is not the same, so the texture is not exactly the same. It’s difficult to compare it to those who haven’t experienced “1ST NIGHT” yet, but if I had to say it, this work has a deep sound. Perhaps the position is a little far away, but it picks up a lot of hall sound. That said, it’s not blurry or bobby (never!). Not only is there a slight difference, but the attack that penetrates the center of the sound is more powerful in this work. In other words, the onset of sounds such as drum hits, guitar picking, and the beginning of a song are sharp, and because they jump vividly into your hands, the direct feeling is not lost. Even if the hall sound is a little deep, it is cloudy and cannot be heard. Moreover, the sound of the hall is beautiful. The gentle melody is even warmer, and the sweetness of the guitar tone is even more mellow. Yet, even the delicate nuances of picking are delicate. In contrast to the very similar mood and sound, the show is completely different from “1ST NIGHT”. Perhaps because it was held at the same venue two days in a row, the set was changed significantly. It is a large-scale performance that replaces 16 songs out of a total of 24 songs. Let’s organize the contents of the set here, in order to compare it with the explanation of “1ST NIGHT”. ●“ROOM FOR SQUARES (3 songs)”・Why Georgia・Acoustic: Your Body Is a Wonderland, Neon ●“HEAVIER THINGS (none)”●“CONTINUUM (5 songs)”・Common for both days: Belief, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Gravity ・I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You), Waiting on the World to Change ●“WHERE THE LIGHT IS (1 song)”・Acoustic: In Your Atmosphere ●“BATTLE STUDIES (1 song)”・Who Says ●“BORN AND RAISED (3 songs)”・Common for both days: Something Like Olivia ・The Age of Worry, If I Ever Get Around to Living ●“PARADISE VALLEY (2 songs)”・Waitin’ on the Day, Dear Marie ● “THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING (6 songs)” ・Common for both days: Moving On and Getting Over, In the Blood ・Love on the Weekend, Changing, Rosie, You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me ●New songs・Other (3 songs)・Common for both days: New Light, I Guess I Just Feel Like, Acoustic: Buckets of Rain (Bob Dylan cover)…and it goes like this. “1ST NIGHT” was selected evenly from all works, but this one has a slightly stronger bias. While there are no selections from “HEAVIER THINGS”, there are 6 songs from the latest work “THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING”. Moreover, there are many replacements with “1ST NIGHT”, and when you combine the two songs, you can enjoy 8 out of the 12 songs on the album. This alone is fresh, but what’s even fresher is the new song. They also performed “New Light” released last year and their latest single “I Guess I Just Feel Like.” Together with the “THE SEARCH FOR EVERYTHING” number, it is a live album in which the numbers since the last visit to Japan are played in large numbers. Of course, it’s not just new songs. The album has a wonderful sense of balance, skillfully interweaving representative songs from other albums so as not to overlap with “1ST NIGHT”. Particularly valuable is “Buckets of Rain,” which is played in the acoustic corner in the middle. Although it is a Bob Dylan cover, I can count on one hand the number of times John has performed this song. You can enjoy such a valuable performance with the finest beautiful recording. In contrast to “BUDOKAN 2019 1ST NIGHT,” which depicts his career in total, this work features the latest versions of songs that have been performed for the first time in Japan. This is a sister work that allows you to enjoy shows with completely different colors with a superb sound with a sense of unity. I think there are many people who want it as a memento of the show they actually saw, but by combining the two, there are even more famous songs. It is also a double series where you can enjoy live performances for a total of 40 songs (48 takes). A sister work that combines the three elements of “good sound, good songs, and good performance” at a high level. Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 11th April 2019 TRULY PERFECT/ULTIMATE SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (76:20) 1. Intro. 2. Belief 3. Moving On and Getting Over 4. I Don’t Trust Myself ( With Loving You) 5. Who Says 6. Waitin’ on the Day 7. Love on the Weekend 8. Something Like Olivia 9. Changing 10. Why Georgia 11. New Light 12. Intro. 13. In Your Atmosphere 14. Buckets of Rain 15. Your Body Is a Wonderland Disc 2 (79:50) 1. Neon 2. I Guess I Just Feel Like 3. Rosie 4. In the Blood 5. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room 6. The Age of Worry 7. If I Ever Get Around to Living 8. Waiting on the World to Change 9. Band Introductions 10. Dear Marie 11. You’re Gonna Live Forever in Me 12. Gravity John Mayer – guitar, vocal Pino Palladino – bass David Ryan Harris – guitar Isiah Sharkey – guitar Aaron Sterling – drums Aaron draper – percussion Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards Carlos Ricketts – vocal Tiffany palmer – vocal