Van Halen/Tokyo, Japan 1978

■ Complete recording of everything from the organizer’s opening greeting and notes. ■ A completely new sound source that has never been released before Van Halen is now a big artist and fills the Tokyo Dome to capacity, but when they first came to Japan in 1978, about 40 years ago, they were in Tokyo not only at the Budokan but also at the public welfare facility. The venues were Pension Hall and Nakano Sun Plaza. Moreover, Van Halen debuted in January 1978, and their first performance in Japan was in June 1978, making them a completely new band only half a year after their debut. On the other hand, an unknown newcomer who had only been around for half a year since their debut was coming to Japan to perform, and the flyer on the back jacket read, “This year’s best new hard rock band!” and “The long-awaited first performance.” Coming to Japan!”, it seems that their name was already well known in Japan as a new era hard rock band. At the time of their first visit to Japan, only their debut album “Flame no Tuse” had been released, and this visit to Japan itself was a pinch hitter that was decided in a hurry as other artists canceled. Even under these circumstances, the fact that they held a total of nine performances, four in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto, shows the high reputation they had in advance. And their previous reputation is real, with all of their performances in Japan from the following year onwards being at Budokan level, and their most recent visit to Japan in 2013 being at Tokyo Dome. In other words, being able to see Van Halen at small venues such as Shinjuku Welfare Pension Hall and Nakano Sunplaza, where this work was recorded, was special because it was only on this first visit to Japan. From then on, the band continued to grow. This work includes a complete recording of the Nakano Sunplaza performance on June 21, 1978, from their first performance in Japan. The source was provided by the person who was present at the time, and is a completely new source that has never been available before. As you can see by listening to the sample, the sound quality is extremely high and clear, making it an irresistible work for fans. This work begins with the organizer’s greetings and notes, and the BGM before the concert, and completely records the atmosphere of the day until the end of the concert, and the live in that suddenly appeared before our eyes after 40 years. It can be said that this is a valuable footprint of Japan. The concert itself was very enthusiastic, and I was surprised to see that they played all the songs from their first album except for “Jamie’s Tears”, and even played songs from their second album, which was not yet released. This proves that they already had material for several albums ready at the time of their debut. The song “Hang ‘Em High” being played on stage at this point in their first visit to Japan is a song from their fifth album, 1982’s “Diver Down.” Here you can see a youthful Van Halen full of the momentum, creative desire, and desire to perform that could only be found in the early days. From Van Halen’s first performance in Japan, the Nakano Sun Plaza performance on June 21, 1978 is completely recorded from the organizer’s greeting at the beginning to the end of the performance. NAKANO SUN PLAZA HALL TOKYO JAPAN June 21, 1978 01. Introduction 02. BGM before the show 03. On Fire 04. I’m The One 05. Bass Solo 06. Runnin’ With The Devil 07. Atomic Punk 08. Little Dreamer 09 Hang ‘Em High 10. Feel Your Love Tonight 11. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love 12. Ice Cream Man 13. Somebody Get Me A Doctor 14. Eruption 15. D.O.A. 16. You Really Got Me