Rainbow/Hiroshima,Japan 1978

A new treasure has appeared from that wonderful second visit to Japan. The miraculous excavated sound source has been decided to be released urgently. This work was recorded on “January 12, 1978: Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium”. The 1978 Japan tour was a huge scale of 16 performances due to the peak of its popularity. Let’s check the first half of the schedule here. ・January 11, 1978: Nagoya City Public Hall (first day) ・January 12, 1978: Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium [This work] ・January 13, 1978: Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium ・January 14, 1978: Fukuoka Kyuden Memorial Gymnasium ・January 16 + 17, 1978: Osaka Welfare Pension Hall ・January 18, 1978: Kyoto Hall ・January 20, 1978: Osaka Welfare Pension Hall (Note: Only the first 8 performances) The above are the first 8 performances of the total 16 performances. This was the second performance in Hiroshima. There are famous recordings of this live performance, including “THE SHIP FROM HIROSHIMA”, but this time it is a completely different front row recording. The quality that concerns me is the truly wonderful audience sound. The best thing about it is the main musical sound. It is as close as you would expect from the front row, so close, detailed and clear, almost like a line recording. Even if Ritchie Blackmore plucks quietly, the effect vibrations that hang over it are super clear. It is not uncommon for the sound to get too close to the front row, but this work does not have that, and you can hear plenty of glossy sound. On top of that, the master freshness is also super-class. In fact, the recorder himself made it public in modern times, and there is absolutely no analog dubbing. The freshness that is too fresh is dizzying. No matter how much it is “like a line recording”, this work is undoubtedly an audience recording. The recorder himself has confessed that the realism is even more intense than that. 1978 is famous for the “Sapporo Tragedy,” but here in Hiroshima, there was a frenzy that foreshadowed a tragedy. After the show started, a wave of people surged forward, and the packed audience was on the verge of an explosion. Around the recorder, a group of delinquents went wild like wrestlers, and a fight broke out. From “Over The Rainbow,” where the commotion was intense, to the first half of “Mistreated,” and even “Do You Close Your Eyes,” were cut by the recorder himself, but the remaining parts clearly conveyed the brutal mood. While Richie strummed a moist guitar solo in the second half of “Mistreated,” the sound of banging pipe chairs colliding with each other reverberated, and the angry voices of the people fighting could be clearly heard. It was impossible to distinguish between cheers for the band and screams from those caught up in the brawl. The guitar was so glossy that the tone was so overwhelmingly close that it created a strange space. This is a super-realistic depiction of the truth that was happening in the front row of Hiroshima. Apparently the recorder cut the fight scene because “the screams were too loud to listen to,” but although I think it was a bit modest, it’s a pity. Too bad… The dazzling rainbow-colored show of 1978 and the frenzy in the front row that witnessed it. This is a realistic documentary album that flows with a wonderful clear sound. Live at Hiroshima Kenritsu Taiikukan, Hiroshima, Japan 12th January 1978 Disc 1(44:49) 01. Mistreated 02. 16th Century Greensleeves 03. Catch The Rainbow 04. Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll Disc 2(43:43) 01. Lazy Intro/Man On The Silver Mountain 02. Blues/Starstruck/Night People 03. Man On The Silver Mountain (reprise) 04. Keyboard Solo #1 05. Still I’m Sad 06. Beethoven 9th 07. Keyboard Solo #2 08. Drums Solo incl. 1812 Overture 09. Still I’m Sad (reprise) 10. Guitar Noise/Swan Lake (outro.) Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar Ronnie James Dio – Vocals Cozy Powell – Drums Bob Daisley – Bass David Stone – Keyboards