Description
The biggest topic of the Freshen Up Japan Tour 2018 was the small gig at Kokugikan, also known as “Rigoku Kokujikan.” The schedule from Tokyo Dome to Nagoya Dome is clearly open, and there is no doubt that other performances will be scheduled in between. The rumored performance in Asia (which meant a return trip to Japan) didn’t materialize, so will it be held at Budokan again this time? At the end of September, when the excitement was high, the Kokugikan stadium was announced. Paul, a big sumo fan, will perform live at a sacred venue. The announcement of this innovative gig came as a surprise to everyone. From an enthusiast’s point of view, although they were looking forward to Budokan, they also had to face the reality that they would be getting expensive tickets, so not only the venue but also the ticket pricing was innovative. And what was most revolutionary of all was that Paul would perform a gig at a venue smaller than Budokan. Understandably, there was a fierce battle for tickets starting with the pre-sale tickets, and there was a lot of buzz even before the concert took place. Expectations were high because it was not set on the first day of the tour like last year’s Budokan, but was a small gig that was incorporated after the regular large venue show. Even so, it was truly refreshing to be able to see Paul perform live at the Sumo Hall of Fame, and at the same time, I can’t help but hope that he will hold another live performance at the Kokugikan when he comes to Japan again. However, in terms of the song selection, it was essentially a shortened version of the first day of Tokyo Dome with “I Saw Her Standing There” added, and nothing special like that at Budokan happened. If you think about past gigs, everyone would want to expect something special, and in that respect, I can’t help but feel like they missed the mark this time. Rather, in addition to the fact that “Yesterday” was not played following the second day of Tokyo Dome, it was a stage that will remain in Paul’s live history in that it was not finally played until “Maybe I’m Amazed”. There was a lot of speculation as to why the former was not performed, but judging from the tone of his voice on the first day of the Dome, it seems like it was a result of the song becoming difficult to sing. Despite these changes, the content of the performance was overwhelmingly wonderful. On the first day of Tokyo Dome, Paul’s voice seemed to be painful from around “Live and Let Die”, but perhaps this was because he was too excited during the closed sound check the day before the Dome, which was revealed in this release. Maybe it’s because of this. However, his pole position at Kokugikan was in great condition. It had regained a good performance reminiscent of the two stages in Austin that were held before the Japan tour. Furthermore, as was the case at the Budokan, Paul greatly enjoyed the vibrancy of a small venue where, unlike the vast dome, he was able to interact with the Japanese audience without having to go through an interpreter system. For those who witnessed the Kokugikan gig three weeks ago, the image of Paul having fun will be etched in his memory. The Kokugikan gig that has generated the biggest buzz has already delivered “RYOGOKU 2018”. The sound quality is truly amazing, realistically capturing the sense of presence that can only be expected from a venue smaller than Budokan. However, this time too, a long-awaited CD with the best audience recording is now available. For the reasons mentioned above, this was the gig that caused the most buzz during this visit to Japan, and was also the most popular. As if to tell that, a number of high-quality audience recordings were provided, but due to the taper of “One On One At Budokan”, which captured the previous 2017 Budokan performance with miraculous ultra-high sound quality. He secured the back of the Masu seat, which is the featured position at Kokugikan. Since the overhead position is close to the floor of the second-floor seats, Paul’s performance from the stage can be caught with outstanding sound collection power. “RYOGOKU 2018” recorded from the second floor seats also captured the acoustics unique to a small venue, but this time, the realism of being in the box itself is exquisite. And the best thing about it is the closeness of Paul’s singing voice and performance. This is truly a first-class audience recording that is worthy of being called an “on sound image,” and the direct feeling and clearness unique to a small venue are also superb. This is probably the result of the recording made from the Masu seat by a rare and famous taper representing the Kanto area. The explosion in “Live and Let Die” is vivid, yet not saturated, which is perhaps unique to this position. Mr. Taper recently released his own sound source on the Internet under the title “ONE NIGHT IN A SUMO ARENA”, but this time he has released a CD based on the version provided directly by Taper himself without going through the Internet. It has become As proof of this, the part that captures the atmosphere in the venue before Paul’s appearance is recorded 6 minutes and 30 seconds longer than “ONE NIGHT ~”, and it is a realistic scene full of excitement and anticipation from fans waiting for the start of the special gig. It is a document of feeling. As he revealed on the internet, recordings using the Schoeps mk4 microphone showed some of the mk4’s characteristic lack of clarity, so for this release, we have applied equalization to create the strongest version with better clarity. I was reborn. And above all, the passionate performance by everyone, including Paul, who seemed to be really having fun in the small venue, and the superb sound quality were truly amazing. This is the definitive Kokugikan gig that we can proudly recommend! Live at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan 5th November 2018 ULTIMATE SOUND★Mk4 Used by Tadashi Masuseki 13th side. This is a high quality sound source provided by the recorder. (★ Recorded 6 minutes and 30 seconds longer at the beginning than the online sound source.) Taper of the previous “One On One At Budokan” (Remaster information) Although the sound quality is high, there is a feeling that the MK4 has a bad omission, so I improved the omission. , is an adjustment that improves the clarity while preserving the atmosphere of the original sound. Disc 1 (66:18) 1. Intro 2. A Hard Day’s Night 3. Hi, Hi, Hi 4. All My Loving 5. Letting Go 6. Come On to Me 7. Let Me Roll It 8. I’ve Got a Feeling 9. My Valentine 10. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 11. I’ve Just Seen A Face 12. In Spite of All the Danger 13. From Me to You 14. Love Me Do 15. Blackbird Disc 2 (75:40) 1. Queenie Eye 2. Lady Madonna 3. Fuh You 4. Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite! 5. Something 6. Ob- La-Di, Ob-La-Da 7. Band on the Run 8. Back in the USSR 9. Let It Be 10. Live and Let Die 11. Hey Jude 12. I Saw Her Standing There 13. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) 14. Helter Skelter 15. Golden Slumbers 16. Carry That Weight 17. The End
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