GiGinJapan Artwork of Japanese CDs (mostly) Judas Priest / Oakland 2022 / 2CDR / Shades
Fox Theater, Oakland, CA, USA 12th March 2022
Play sample :
The 2022 steel god who resumed the postponed 50th anniversary tour. The latest live album is here.
It is “March 12, 2022 Auckland performance” that is imbued with such a work. It is the excellent audience recording. Their 50th anniversary tour was scheduled for 2021, but Richie Faulkner collapsed due to an aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection soon after the start of emergency surgery. Although he died in nine deaths, he was not able to return to the tour immediately due to a serious illness, and was carried over to 2022. In order to sort out such a situation, let’s first check their recent situation on a schedule.
● 2021
・ June 26 + July 1: Europe (2 performances)
・ August 15 “BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2021”
・ September 8-26: North America # 1 (13 performances)
《September 26: Richie Faulkner Emergency Surgery》
× September 29-November 5: North America (postponed)
● 2022
・ March 4th-April 13th: North America # 2 (24 performances) ← ★ Coco ★
× May 27-June 1: Russia / Ukraine (cancelled)
・ June 3-August 4: Europe # 1 (31 performances)
・ October 7: Sacramento performance
● 2023
・ May 3rd-June 14th: Europe # 2 (19 performances)
This is the schedule from 2021 to 2023 that has been announced so far. Falkner collapsed in late September. It was restarted after about half a year. By the way, a European tour is scheduled for the summer, but the Russian / Ukraine performance that was set at the beginning of the tour is naturally canceled due to the recent situation. There are no announcements of changes to the dates after that, but it is unpredictable. It’s a difficult 50th anniversary tour, but for the time being, the US edition has been realized. The Oakland performance of this work was the sixth performance of “North America # 2”, which was the beginning of the reopening.
This work that recorded such a show is a superb audience recording that can be said to be a signal smoke of resuming activities. The master is a hot topic because he can listen to the latest tour, but this work is not the original sound itself, but is refined by his own meticulous mastering. This is also a great effect. If you are a customer of our shop, you understand that digital mastering is not magic, and depending on the individuality of the original sound, it may be garbled or hardly improved. This work is a good example of the former. It’s an exquisite live album that has been reborn as “It’s like a different thing!”
Of course, the original sound on the internet is not bad because it is a hot topic. Some of you may have already obtained it and listened to it. However, it is exploding from there. The clearness and vividness of the outline have been extremely improved, and Rob’s singing voice with clear lyrics and one bass drum with a lot of density feel that the recording position is about 20 meters closer. Moreover, there is no unpleasant processing feeling. Let’s reborn just by organizing the sounds with band analysis. It makes me realize that “remastering depends on the original sound”.
The clear and direct sound is drawn on the 50th anniversary set, which is a bit different from last year. Speaking of before the tour was interrupted, “BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2021 (Shades 1391)” is also popular, so let’s organize it while comparing.
・ Rocka Rolla: Rocka Rolla
・ Wings of Destiny: Victim Of Changes
・ Sin After Sin: Diamonds & Rust (★)
× Stained class: None
・ Killing Machine: Hell Bent For Leather
○ British Steel: Metal Gods / Breaking The Law / Living After Midnight
-Golden spectrum: Desert Plains
○ Screaming for Vengeance: You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’/The Hellion / Electric Eye
○ Defenders of the Immorality: Freewheel Burning (★) / The Sentinel
・ Turbo: Turbo Lover
Ram It Down: Blood Red Skies
○ Painkiller: Battle Hymn / One Shot At Glory / A Touch Of Evil / Painkiller
× Jugulator / Demolition: None
× Angel of Retribution / Nostradamus / Redeemer of Souls: None
・ Firepower: Lightning Strike
* Note: The “x” mark is an album in which no song was played, and the “○” mark is an album in which two or more songs are adopted. The “★” mark is a song that I couldn’t listen to in “BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2021”.
…… And it looks like this. The 50th anniversary tour is studded with famous songs from each album as a catalog, but the details have changed. “Diamonds & Rust” is back for the first time in 10 years. It will be shown in the electric version. On the other hand, if there are songs that come in, there are always songs that come off, and unfortunately the “Invader” and “Hell Patrol” that were talked about last year are also dropped. Along with that, the selection from “Stained Class” and “Redeemer of Souls” has disappeared, and the sense of culmination has changed a little.
However, other valuable songs are maintained, and “Rocka Rolla” and “Blood Red Skies” are also kept. You can also enjoy the opening of “Battle Hymn / One Shot At Glory”, which is becoming a symbol of the 50th anniversary, with the best sound.
JUDAS PRIEST felt stray, such as planning to make a single guitar during the break, but the appearance of returning to the road is dignified. He showed off a divine stage. It is a 2-disc set that you can enjoy such a latest show with a wonderful sound. An upgrade album that I would like people who are looking at the original sound of the net to touch. Please enjoy it to your heart’s content.
★ Excellent audience recording of “March 12, 2022 Auckland Performance”. The topical net original sound was not bad, but the original meticulous mastering was excellent. The sound that has been reborn as a different thing has extremely improved clarity and vividness of the outline, and Rob’s singing voice with clear lyrics and one shot of a dense bass drum feel like the recording position is about 20 meters closer. In addition to “Diamonds & Rust” which has been revived for the first time in 10 years, you can experience the best 50th anniversary tour full of rare songs such as “One Shot At Glory”, “Rocka Rolla” and “Blood Red Skies”.
