Red Dragon Cartel/Osaka,Japan 2019

Jake E. Lee’s RED DRAGON CARTEL, who came to Japan for the first time in four years with their ambitious work “PATINA”, is here. This is the super original recording. This work contains the “April 18, 2019: Umeda Club Quattro” performance. This is the super-excellent audience recording. First of all, let’s check the position of the show on this date for the sake of record. April 17: Shibuya Club Quattro April 18: Umeda Club Quattro [This work] April 19: Nagoya Club Quattro All three performances. Like their first visit to Japan in 2014 and their second visit to Japan in 2015, this was a tour around the Quattro in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. This work is a live album that contains the complete Osaka edition. This work is so amazing that you will be blown away by the strange high-quality sound that makes you want to line up dozens of “super”. This is the latest work by Mr. “Western Japan’s Strongest Taper”, who is familiar to us at our shop, and this work is outstanding even in his collection. He always makes famous recordings that are “like a sound board”, but this work “can only be heard on a sound board”. And only on those directly connected to the table. The vocals are at a level that invades the brain, and the bass is also in close contact. As for the guitar, not only the picking nuances, but it seems as if you can see the vibrating strings in front of you. How cool is the drum solo where the vibration of the skin feels like skin (By the way, drummer Phil Varone is retiring from drumming after this performance in Japan. What a waste…). Moreover, it is strangely far from completion. No matter how loud the performance sound is, the cheers that can be heard faintly in the distance can only be thought of as a sound board directly connected to the table. Since it is a master handed over by the recording artist himself, it is definitely an audience recording, but even if you know that, your brain is confused by the gap with the real sound. It would be better if they said “actually the best IEMs”… but there was no cloudiness, no airiness, and no sense of audience. Even in 2019, when equipment has advanced, it is an amazing sound that I have never heard before. It is a sound that makes you want to describe it as “direct audience”. The superb quality depicts the current Jake E. Lee. When he returned five years ago, I was awakened by the sound that also took the Ozzy Osbourne era into consideration, but in this work, he has evolved further. The set is a generous performance of the new work “PATINA” as well as the overseas performance. In a pre-interview, he said “I might do all the songs,” but although it is not that far, 8 out of the 11 songs on the album are used. It shows plenty of blues rock that seems to have revived the BADLANDS era. Moreover, the guitar is scorching hot. When you say blues, you may have an image of a good and good blues, but Jake is different. Jake’s unique scratching picking creates a unique groove, and its sharpness highlights the “space”. The blues that only a master like Jake can draw drips out. Of course, not only the pile of new songs, but also the classics scattered throughout are delicious. The opening and closing songs are “Wasted” and “Feeder” from the previous album, and BADLANDS’ “3 Day Funk” and “Highwire” are placed at key points. The selection of “3 Day Funk” is very cool, but what’s even more surprising is the number from the Ozzy era. It’s not “Bark At The Moon” or “Shot In The Dark”, but “Spiders In The Night”. It’s a very rare song that was only available on the European version of “Howling at the Moon”, and the selection is so cool that you might think “Is this a joke for enthusiasts?”. However, when you actually listen to it during the show, it goes extremely well with “PATINA”. Darren Smith sings in a way that is conscious of Ozzy, but it might have been better if he had sung it normally, as it would have been more serious. Jake’s choice of this song is not a joke or humor…more than anything, the music itself speaks so (even so, it’s amazing that the audience can sing along to this song). Also, this work has a lively dynamism that can only be achieved through a live performance. The most notable is the second song, “Havana.” In the middle of the performance, a problem occurs at the timing of “Now, guitar solo!” When Jake steps on the effector, the guitar suddenly stops making sound and the solo becomes messy. Normally, this would be a scene of bitter laughter, but this work is different. This trouble creates a sense of unity in the venue and leads to the excitement that follows, which is amazing. “Live is a living thing” “The audience is also a part of the show”… This live album makes you realize such obvious things!!! RED DRAGON CARTEL strongly appealed to “the current Jake” with “PATINA”, which is like an evolution of BADLANDS. That blues rock is even hotter and more mellow on stage. This work is a proof of that sound. Moreover, it is the best. A miraculous live album that will drastically change the common sense of the cutting-edge audience in 2019. Live at Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka, Japan 18th April 2019 ULTIMATE SOUND (from Original Masters) Disc 1 (41:35) 1. Intro 2. Wasted 3. Havana 4. Punchclown 5. Speedbag 6. Bitter 7. Chasing Ghosts 8. 3 Day Funk Disc 2 (51:02) 1. MC 2. The Luxury of Breathing 3. Drum Solo 4. Crooked Man 5. Spiders in the Night 6. Ink & Water 7. High Wire 8. Feeder Jake E. Lee – Guitar Darren Smith – Vocals Anthony Esposito – Bass Phil Varone – Drums