Steve Hackett/Tokyo,Japan 1996

This is the first visit to Japan of Steve Hackett, who has become a hot topic as a “prog rock all-star”. The audience album containing the first day’s “December 16, 1996 Welfare Pension Hall” performance with the best sound is back. After all, in addition to Hackett, John Wetton, Ian Macdonald, Chester Thompson, and Julian Colbeck were all great. It was an incredible concert in which the band’s titles were GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, AISA, and YES, and they performed their representative songs with a gorgeous lineup that makes you dizzy even 20 years later. First, let’s check the schedule for the monument’s visit to Japan. ・December 16th: Tokyo Employees’ Pension Hall [This work] ・December 17th: Tokyo Employees’ Pension Center ・December 19th: Osaka Employees’ Pension Center ・December 20th: Aichi Employees’ Pension Center It was a schedule of 4 performances in total. The pattern is the same in the official version “THE TOKYO TAPES”, but the official version is the edited and corrected version of “December 16th” and “December 17th”. The main event was the second day, December 17th. On the other hand, this work is a 100% audience album of “December 16th”. The biggest flavor of this work is the extremely high sound quality. The phrase “just like a soundboard” is often used, but beyond that dimension, it is “Isn’t this a soundboard!?” Perhaps due to the attention-grabbing performance of the gorgeous members, various audience recordings were released at each performance, but this is a super masterpiece recording that ranked No. 1 among them. A specialty magazine at the time said, “Although it was an audience recording, the balance and sense of presence were perfect.” “Whether the people around were quiet or far away, the cheers were recorded without breaking apart at all. This is a gem among gems that has been praised with words such as “The performance itself is realistic” and “The quality is good enough to be used as an official edition.” In fact, even if you listen to it with modern ears in the age of digital recording, not even one recording like this comes out a year. Even if you put all the artists together. The first day depicted with such an “official audience” is also extremely thrilling. I wrote earlier that “the official main event is on the second day,” but that’s obvious without even checking it closely. The first day that you can hear in this work is Hackett’s first live performance in about two years, and he is nervous and stiff. The lack of rehearsal was exposed on the first stage before he was even able to perform as an ensemble with the gorgeous members. After all, it’s intense from the first song’s intro. While being enthusiastic about the stars who are lined up, that Mellotron of “Watcher Of The Skies” sounds and the big applause gets angry, but the sound is greatly missed here. The moment when the opening scene, which had many people holding their breath and was filled with a sense of tension, suddenly turned to anxiety. Afterwards, when Wetton begins to sing with a beautiful voice, there is applause, but it is slightly different from the applause at the beginning of the performance, and the confusion of the audience is clearly engraved. Of course, the show won’t be a failure because there are all the veteran performers, but there are some mistones that make you want to say, “No, it’s okay!?” at various places in the concert. Even with such suspense, the amazingness of the luxurious set of luxurious members is still vivid. The famous songs that represent the scene are spun one after another. In particular, KING CRIMSON’s popularity is still tremendous, and Wetton fully demonstrates his buriburi bass for the first time in a while (this may be the last time I hear that aggressive bass sound…). You can enjoy all of it with the reality and quality of the “official audience”. I don’t know how much the official “THE TOKYO TAPES” has been revised, but this work is 100% original without any doubt. It is a masterpiece of documentation that vacuum-packs the historical facts and depicts it with a superb sound that is comparable to the official version. If you think about it, Hackett expressed his feelings for the GENESIS gold sign during this time, which is why we are where we are today. This is a masterpiece that you should look back on in 2016, when Hackett summed up his “progressive rock” style. It is also a turning point for Hackett, and is also a transcendent high quality record that shines in recording history. Please enjoy it to the fullest. Live at Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan 16th December 1996 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 1. Watcher Of The Skies 2. Riding The Colossus 3. Firth Of Fifth 4. Battle Lines 5. Camino Royale 6. In The Court of The Crimson King 7. Horizons 8. Walking Away From Rainbows 9. Heat Of The Moment Disc 2 1. In That Quiet Earth 2. A Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite 3. Talk To The Wind 4. I Know What I Like 5. Shadow Of The Hierophant 6. Drums Solo 7. Los Endos 8. Black Light 9. The Steppes Steve Hackett – Guitars John Wetton – Bass, Guitars & Vocals Chester Thompson – Drums & Percussion Ian McDonald – Flute, Sax & Keyboards Julian Colbeck – Keyboards