Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Osaka,Japan 2003 Update

Nowadays, I can’t help but feel estranged from Japan, but Neil Young continues to visit Japan for short intervals, and on top of that, he brings Crazy Horse with him, a period that seems unthinkable now. existed at the beginning of the 21st century. Even before that, he came to Japan in 1989 with his backing band Lost Dogs and performed at medium hall class venues, which was the end of a tunnel in which he stopped coming to Japan for a long time. did. The impetus was the huge success of their stage performance with Crazy Horse at Fuji Rock in 2001, and their appearance at the festival helped them gain new fans in Japan. Riding that momentum, the 2003 Japan tour was realized. While the memories and echoes of Fuji Rock were still fresh in the minds of Japanese fans, Neil came to Japan with “GREENDALE,” which is considered one of Neil’s masterpieces in the 2000s. At the time, this album was also attracting the attention of Japanese rock fans, so the timing couldn’t have been better, and the performance schedule included two performances at Budokan, making it a far cry from 1989 in terms of excitement. At that time, they had just come out of the period where they were called the Lost, but in 2003, their reappraisal image was sufficiently permeated that they were even given the title of “Godfather of Grunge”, and they were supported by a wide range of fans. It was a time when he could be called a great figure. Of course, all performances were released, but there were many enthusiasts who were dissatisfied. . Even at that time, Western music live performances were in an era where high-quality audience recordings were available, and there were only items recorded in Osaka with excellent sound quality. At Neil & Crazy Horse’s Osaka performance in 2003, “SUPORT OUR WAR” received high praise from enthusiasts as the highest quality audience recording. It was a release from what could be called a “regional label,” so to speak, which basically released Osaka performances, including items from the Stones, who had come to Japan six months ago. This “SUPORT OUR WAR” was a latecomer to the Neil 2003 Japan performance items that appeared on the market at the time, but you can’t imagine it from the plain artwork (lol) The superb quality audience recording gained a reputation, If anything, it was an item that was quietly but surely supported among enthusiasts. It’s been 15 years since its release, and most enthusiasts have forgotten that such an item even existed. However, this time, I got the master of “SUPORT OUR WAR”. According to the QSM staff who provided it, the master DAT from the time of recording has been discarded, so the CD release from that precious master is a great success! Even now, 15 years have passed since then, I am still amazed by its exceptional quality. If you’ve never heard “SUPORT OUR WAR”, you’ll definitely be on the edge of your seat. The sound image that is so on and the outstanding clearness have not faded at all. Moreover, it is an audience recording that boasts a high level of sound quality so that there is no need to add new equalization, but in making this CD, the only drawback was the localization where the performance tended to lean to the right. This instantly solved the discomfort that was noticeable when listening through headphones. When I listened to it again, I was surprised at how light the performance was, which was unexpected for Crazy Horse. The album “GREENDALE” is a masterpiece that can be called Neil’s version of a rock opera, breaking new ground by asking them to perform in a restrained manner. When I listen to the scene of Osaka captured by the QSM edition now, the light Crazy Horse sound still sounds fresh. Furthermore, perhaps because it was the first performance in Japan, there was an incident where Neil made a mistake in the lyrics of “Be The Rain”, which concludes the “GREENDALE” set where the entire album was played. However, it’s a song with long lyrics (lol), so to explain, when it should have been “Dream the hunter on the western plain~,” they sang the lyrics from the previous part, “Be the ocean when it meets the sky~.” That’s what happened. After all, the sound is good, so such happenings feel real, but the parts where classic numbers are played are also unusually light compared to other eras. Crazy Horse from the 90’s onwards has a strong image of a heavy groove, but it’s interesting because the “GREENDALE” era was dominated by a different sense of speed. “Crime In The City,” which has been the only live performance in Japan to date, was notable for its speed, and the ending, in which Neil forced the song to end as if suddenly applying the brakes, became a hot topic among enthusiasts. Ta. And since at that time there was only a press CD item available on the first day of Budokan (and a sound image with a sense of distance), this phantom masterpiece that boasted top-class sound quality among the performances in Japan in 2003 was released after 15 years. It has made a wonderful comeback! Live at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan 10th November 2003 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) GREENDALE (Disc 1 & 2) Disc 1 (50:37) 1. Falling From Above 2. Double E 3. Devil’s Sidewalk 4. Leave The Driving 5. Carmichael 6. Bandit Disc 2 (40:04) 1. Grandpa’s Interview 2. Bringin’ Down Dinner 3. Sun Green 4. Be The Rain Disc 3 (63:58) 1. Hey Hey, My My 2 . Crime In The City 3. Powderfinger 4. Love And Only Love 5. Cinnamon Girl 6. Cortez the Killer 7. Fuckin’ Up