Joni Mitchell/Tokyo,Japan 2.28.1983

Joni Mitchell’s only Japan tour to date was in 1983. The first visit to Japan was originally supposed to take place in 1976, but it was canceled due to her illness (Wikipedia has a schedule for this time, but it never materialized), and it finally happened. But there it was. Since then, he has visited Japan for solo exhibitions and events in Nara, but 1983 is the only time he has toured alone. Above all, since she was one of the big names who had been waiting for her arrival in Japan, this Japan tour attracted a lot of attention. In 1983, Joni, who had never been active in live performances, went on a major world tour, completing his jazz fusion route and newly signing with Geffen Records, where he began to pursue aggressive rock music.・It was because they released the album “WILD THINGS RUN FAST” which moved to sound. Since this was a world tour that also served as a promotion for such an album, recording and filming were done at various locations. The most famous one is the Budokan radio broadcast that will be released this time, but there are also many other materials that have been created, such as the Wembley Arena TV broadcast and radio sound sources in Sydney and Brussels. It was probably a skill that could be achieved by the aggressive attitude that led to the release of the album. The starting point of such a world tour was Japan, and the Budokan performance was broadcast on the radio, making it remain in the memories of many fans. However, no Odin recordings other than Budokan were discovered or circulated among traders, and the situation continued to be extremely frustrating for enthusiasts. Far from making a difference in such a situation, the taper that has recorded the Stones, Clapton, Beck, Floyd, Genesis, etc. in ultra-high quality has provided the sound source of mania frenzy, and even Joni’s first performance in Japan. He was recording it. What’s more, the sound sources for two performances were discovered at once! The first release this time will be at the Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan on February 28th, which marked the first day of the Japan tour. The fact that a performance in Japan other than Budokan was finally discovered is an extremely valuable recording that is sure to attract attention from enthusiasts around the world, and at the same time, it is a valuable record of the first day of the world tour that featured “WILD THINGS RUN FAST”. It is also a sound source. It was also recorded by the taper that produced the masterpieces of the artists mentioned earlier, so it is surprising that the sound quality is very excellent. Not only does it realistically capture the “ringing” of the venue, which is unique to a concert hall different from the later Budokan, but the sound pressure of the performance is also high enough to make it worth listening to. Of course, there are no tape change cuts in the performance, and I can’t help but be surprised at the fact that the Odins recording, which boasts such high sound quality, has been dormant until now. It was also the first day of the world tour and the moment when Joni appeared on stage in Japan for the first time. On top of that, the sound quality is very good, and you can clearly hear her nervousness as she takes on the challenge of the live performance. She speaks to the Japanese audience for the first time after “Cotton Avenue”, and it’s funny to hear that she only understands the greeting “Hi!”, which is unique to the first day of a performance in Japan. That scene. Still, the level of performance of the backing band, which was formed by moving the musicians who participated in the recording of “WILD THINGS RUN FAST” in parallel, was so rock-solid that it was hard to believe it was the first day of the tour. Among them, bassist Larry Klein, who was newly married to Joni, is joined by Michael Landau on guitar and Vinny Colaiuta on drums to give a wonderful performance. This album was influenced by The Police and Talking Heads, and Joni was working on a new sound, so songs like “You Dream Flat Tires” and “Underneath The Streetlights” have the same hard atmosphere as the album. Not only is it played, but even in past numbers like “Raised On Robbery”, the rock-oriented arrangement featuring Landau’s hard-edged guitar at the front is very fresh and has not faded. By the way, before they started “Underneath The~”, they tried to make the venue go wild by saying “chotmatte” in Japanese, or the arrangement of “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio” was different. There are some incidents where Johnny starts singing at the right tempo, but the band follows him (as expected from a talented musician), and they have to start over again, creating a tense atmosphere that is completely different from Budokan, which was released at the same time, and it’s really interesting. Moreover, it is a historical excavation on the first day of Johnny’s first performance in Japan, which appeared with the best sound quality. This is a documentary about Showa’s performances in Japan that I highly recommend to all music fans! Koseinenkin Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan 28th February 1983 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1(60:20) 1. Intro. 2. Free Man In Paris 3. Coyote 4. Cotton Avenue 5. Edith And The Kingpin 6. I Heard It Through The Grapevine 7. You Dream Flat Tires 8. Song For Sharon 9. God Must Be A Boogie Man 10. For Free 11. Big Yellow Taxi 12. A Case Of You 13. Carey 14. Amelia Disc 2(61: 05) 1. Wild Things Run Fast 2. Ladies’ Man 3. Raised On Robbery 4. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow 5. Refuge Of The Roads 6. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care 7. Solid Love 8. Chinese Cafe 9. Help Me 10. You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio 11. Love 12. Both Sides Now 13. Band Introduction 14. Underneath The Streetlights 15. Woodstock Joni Mitchell – Guitar, Dulcimer & Piano Michael Landau – Guitar Larry Klein – Bass Russell Ferrante – Keyboards Vinnie Colaiuta – Drums