Scorpions / Nagoya 1985 / 2CDR

Scorpions / Nagoya 1985 / 2CDR / Shades
Live at Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall, Nagoya, Japan 2nd February 1985

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After the release of “LOVE AT FIRST STING”, SCORPIONS continued their active live activities with North America and Europe, and also appeared in “Rock in Rio” held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the first half of January 1985. Finally, it will start to play an active part as a global band.
In that “LOVE AT FIRST STING” tour, they have realized two Japan tours. One of them appeared in “Super Rock ’84”. At this time, although it was a set of about 1 hour, he showed an enthusiastic and energetic performance that was comparable to the main WHITESNAKE and M.S.G.
On the other hand, the second performance in Japan from the end of January to the beginning of February 1985 was a big one including the band’s first Budokan performance. Of course, the performance time was also a full set, and we showed off a large-scale professional-like stage like SCORPIONS, which became world class. In this work, you can enjoy the live performance at Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall on February 2nd from the 1985 Japan Tour with the highest quality audience sound!

In this 1985 tour, “UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT”, which recorded the performance at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on February 7, is now a big staple. The sound that makes you feel the size of the scale in both the sound image and the performance is exactly the impression of SCORPIONS as a global band. On the other hand, this work “NAGOYA 1985” is an excellent recording that seems to have a sound quality that is as clear and bright as that, but the close mood of the venue and the direct feeling of the performance are more than that! While capturing the excitement of the audience with a wonderful sense of presence, the wonderfulness of the performance that was contained in the realism and closeness like a sound board should overwhelm the listener from the opening “Coming Home”. The vividly emerging vocals of Klaus Meine, the guitars of Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, as well as the Herman Rarebell drums resounding in the louds are impressive! The ensemble of these bands is clearly reproduced with exquisite balance and vividness.
“Blackout” where Rudolph cuts sharply to cut the listener, “Bad Boys Running Wild” which pushes forward as the song name, and “Loving You Sunday Morning” and “Make It” which captivates the listener with a unique groove. Lives such as “Real” are a series of famous scenes from the first half. The listener will not be able to take his or her ear off the performance for a moment.
The chorus part of “Big City Nights” where Klaus’s melodious vocals unite the venue is already a masterpiece. In the following “Coast To Coast”, the melody is spun as if Rudolph and Matthias’s guitars were singing, and the height of the melody sense of the whole band can be re-recognized.
The opening “Holiday” and “Still Loving You” of Disc 2 let you enjoy the splendor of Ballard, which is a big attraction of the band as well as the hardness. Klaus’s singing song, a song that combines melancholy and strength, is groaned as “This is SCORPIONS!”. The lively performances of “Rock You Like A Hurricane” and “Can’t Live Without You”, and the hardness of “Another Piece Of Meat” and “Dynamite” are the royal roads of SCORPIONS in the 1980s. The intensity of the performance that the band plays together seems to be the appearance of the members running around the stage narrowly. At the beginning of “The Zoo,” which will be featured in the encore, Rudolph would like to thank Japanese fans (following that high-tension scream). Furthermore, the band will run through with non-stop momentum until “No One Like You” and the last “Can’t Get Enough”!

In this work, the charm unique to SCORPIONS is packed for about 95 minutes of the live! It is exactly one of the press CD quality, which is a perfect match with the decisive board “UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT” of the Budokan performance, which had a wonderful big scale feeling.

SCORPIONSは「LOVE AT FIRST STING」リリース後、北米そしてヨーロッパと積極的なライヴ活動を継続し、’85年1月前半にはブラジル・サンパウロで開催された”ロック・イン・リオ”にも出演するなど、いよいよ世界的なバンドとして活躍し始めます。
その「LOVE AT FIRST STING」ツアーにおいて、彼らは何と2度にわたるジャパンツアーを実現しています。そのうち一回は”スーパー・ロック ’84″出演。この時は約1時間のセットでありながら、メインのWHITESNAKEやM.S.G.に負けない、熱烈でエネルギッシュなパフォーマンスを見せてくれました。
それに対し、翌’85年1月末から2月始めに行われた2度目の来日公演は、バンド初となる武道館公演を含むビッグなもの。もちろん演奏時間もフルセットで、ワールドクラスになったSCORPIONSらしく、大きなスケールのプロフェッショナル然としたステージを披露しました。本作ではその’85年ジャパンツアーから、2月2日の名古屋市公会堂におけるライヴを、最上級のオーディエンス・サウンドで堪能できます！

本’85年ツアーでは、2月7日の東京・日本武道館公演を収録した「UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT」が今や大定番。音像・演奏共にスケールの大きさを感じさせるサウンドは、まさに世界的バンドとしてのSCORPIONSといった印象です。かたや本作「NAGOYA 1985」は、そちらと全く遜色ないクリアネスと明度を持つ音質でありながら、会場の密接なムードや演奏のダイレクト感はそれ以上とも思える絶品の録音！　オーディエンスの興奮を素晴らしい臨場感で捉えながらも、まるでサウンドボードのようなリアルさと間近さで収められた演奏の素晴らしさは、オープニングの「Coming Home」から聴き手を圧倒するはず。鮮やかに浮かび上がるクラウス・マイネのヴォーカル、ルドルフ・シェンカーとマティアス・ヤプスのギターはもちろん、ラウドに鳴り響くハーマン・ラレベルのドラムも迫力満点！　これらバンドのアンサンブルが、絶妙のバランスと生々しさで克明に再現されます。
ルドルフが聴き手を切り裂くように鋭いカッティングを刻み込む「Blackout」、曲名どおり突き進むような「Bad Boys Running Wild」、そして個性的なグルーヴで聴き手を虜にする「Loving You Sunday Morning」や「Make It Real」など、ライヴは前半から名場面の連続。聴き手は一瞬たりとも演奏から耳を離せないでしょう。
クラウスのメロディアスなヴォーカルが会場をひとつにする「Big City Nights」のコーラス部分はもう圧巻。続く「Coast To Coast」でも、ルドルフとマティアスのギターも歌うようにメロディを紡いでおり、バンド全体のメロディセンスの高さを今更ながらに再認識させられます。
ディスク2の冒頭「Holiday」そして「Still Loving You」は、ハードさと共にバンドの大きな魅力であるバラードの素晴らしさを満喫させます。クラウスの切々とした歌いまわし、憂いと力強さを併せ持った曲想は、「これぞSCORPIONS！」と唸らされます。　続く「Rock You Like A Hurricane」・「Can’t Live Without You」の溌剌とした演奏、「Another Piece Of Meat」・「Dynamite」のハードさは、’80年代SCORPIONSの王道といえる演奏。バンド一体で繰り出す演奏の激しさは、ステージ狭しと駆け回るメンバーの姿が目に浮かぶよう。アンコールで取り上げられる「The Zoo」の冒頭では、ルドルフが（あのハイテンションな叫びに続き）日本のファンへ謝意を述べます。さらに「No One Like You」、ラストの「Can’t Get Enough」まで、バンドはノンストップの勢いで駆け抜けていきます！

本作ではライヴの約95分間にわたり、SCORPIONSならではの魅力がぎゅう詰め！　ビッグなスケール感が素晴らしかった武道館公演の決定盤「UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT」と双璧を成す、まさにプレスCDクオリティの一本です。

Disc 1(35:27)
1. Undercover Of The Night
2. Opening S.E.
3. Coming Home
4. Blackout
5. Bad Boys Running Wild
6. Loving You Sunday Morning
7. Make It Real
8. Big City Nights
9. Coast To Coast

Disc 2(60:42)
1. Holiday
2. Still Loving You
3. Rock You Like A Hurricane
4. Can’t Live Without You
5. Drums Solo
6. Another Piece Of Meat
7. Dynamite
8. The Zoo
9. No One Like You
10. Can’t Get Enough

Klaus Meine – Vocals
Rudolf Schenker – Rhythm Guitars
Matthias Jabs – Lead Guitars
Francis Buchholz – Bass
Herman Rarebell – Drums

Shades 1477