GiGinJapan Artwork of Japanese CDs (mostly) TOTO / Osaka 2019 / 2CD / Zion-138
Live at Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan 21st February 2019
Play sample :
The performance of TOTO’s 40th anniversary tour, which closed in the acclaim. This week, its super-super recording is released simultaneously with 2 titles in the permanently stored Press 2CD. This work is super-superior audience recording of “February 21, 2019: Osaka Castle Hall” which becomes the best masterpiece in West Japan.
This week’s Great East Japan work “BUDOKAN 2019 (Zion-137)” will also appear, so let’s confirm the show position here as well.
・ February 14: Hiroshima Culture Academy HBG Hall
・ February 16: Kanazawa Opera
・ February 18: Fukuoka City Hall
・ February 20: Nippon Budokan “BUDOKAN 2019”
・ February 21: Osaka Castle Hall [this work]
・ February 23: Iwate Public Hall
・ February 25: Nagoya International Congress Center Century Hall
・ February 27: Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
Recently, mid-sized venues such as Grand Cube and Festival Hall have been followed by TOTO’s Osaka performances, but this time (in spite of one performance) the imposing Osaka Castle. Since 1986, it has been a major venue performance for the first time in 33 years.
This work that recorded the show is a high quality sound until strange. This show has already been reported in “LIVE IN OSAKA 2019 (Uxbridge 976)”, but this work is a completely different recording. The simultaneous release “BUDOKAN 2019” is also a miracle level sound, but I can not assert it as No. 1 lightly, but here too thick core, a sense of tightness with a sense of distance, unusually detailed detail, fine dust is also blurred Not stable … everything is perfect. After all I will not find it even if I look for a fault with my full strength. It is a transcendent recording which doubts the ear saying “It is a sound board” or “This is not a sound board !?”
As a matter of fact, the sound quality is very similar to “BUDOKAN 2019”. It is our shop familiar “West Japan strongest taper” Mr. who made this work a thing, and the equipment and the venue are different. It is guessed that this means that both of them have correctly recorded the output sound of the on-site PA without leaking it to the maximum. It seems to be similar to the end when a recorder with a completely different method pursues high sound quality. It may be the proof that both works have reached the “extreme” dimension. Still, if you dare to look for differences, this one is more like a soundboard. “BUDOKAN 2019” had a luster to the sound of a small venue sound, but this work is that the core is bare like a direct-connected sound board. I know that it is not a line because the hand clapping that spreads in Osaka Castle is fresh, but it feels far further than a boned, thick playing sound or singing voice. It is … that recording will be realized with the sound so far in that wide Osaka Castle Hall.
And, the show drawn with such an extreme sound is wonderful. In this visit to Japan in all sets are common set, while selecting a delicious song from the history of 40 years, always fresh. After all, “Devil’s Tower” from the opening. It is a new song of “ALL IN” which is not included in the official live work “40 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN”, but it was written around 1981, and the song which also listened to the performance of Jeff & Mike Pocaro in the official record . That’s why it’s so full of character, and then it’s 40 years of time, with the flow leading to the debut song “Hold the Line”. It symbolizes the weight of the 40th anniversary.
And then, there are many revival songs such as “English Eyes”, “Jake to the Bone”, “I Will Remember”, the movie soundtrack “Dune (Desert Theme)” for the first time in 30 years, and “Make Believe” for the first time in 12 years. . In addition to the roots of the Beatles cover “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and the new song “Alone”, along with a variety of careers run through at once. The acoustic set arranged in the middle is also 4 songs while being special song. “Human Nature” which competed with Michael Jackson, “No Love” released for the first time in Japan, and “Girl Goodbye” after a long time also jumped out. The famous song “I’ll Be Over You” and the large-slas “Home of the Brave” are not played abroad, and I could not hear them in the official live work “40 TOURS AROUND THE SUN” (so far) only in Japan Special song. Speaking of their anniversary tour, they also came to Japan on the 35th anniversary of 2014, but compared to that time, they only suffered 6 songs (Incidentally, the last visit to Japan “OSAKA 2016 (Zion-074), “AMAGASAKI 2016 (Zion-073)”, and the last “OSAKA 2014” is also a press title recorded by Mr. Strongest.
It is a live album of a terrific sound that will not be surpassed even if a direct coupled sound board appears. “BUDOKAN 2019” and this work, it is a super masterpiece with no overriding value that makes the difference between the audience and the sound board both meaningless. The quality has not been worthwhile until it is decided …. Two of the best products from Japan that can be proud of the world. It is the simultaneous release decision with the permanent storage press CD.
絶賛のうちに幕を閉じたTOTOの40周年ツアーの来日公演。今週は、その超極上録音が永久保存プレス２CDで２タイトル同時リリース。本作は西日本の最高傑作となる「2019年２月21日：大阪城ホール」の超極上オーディエンス録音です。
今週は東日本の最高作『BUDOKAN 2019（Zion-137）』も登場しますので、ここでもショウのポジションを確かめておきましょう。
・２月14日：広島文化学園HBGホール
・２月16日：金沢歌劇座
・２月18日：福岡市民会館
・２月20日：日本武道館 『BUDOKAN 2019』
・２月21日：大阪城ホール【本作】
・２月23日：岩手県民会館
・２月25日：名古屋国際会議場センチュリーホール
・２月27日：仙台サンプラザホール
このところTOTOの大阪公演というと、グランキューブやフェスティバルホール等の中規模会場が続いていたわけですが、今回は（１公演とは言え）堂々の大阪城。1986年以来、実に33年ぶりの大会場公演となりました。
そのショウを記録した本作は、異様なまでのハイクオリティ・サウンド。このショウは『LIVE IN OSAKA 2019（Uxbridge 976）』でレポート済みですが、本作は完全に別の録音。同時リリースの『BUDOKAN 2019』も奇跡レベルのサウンドだっただけに軽々にNo.1と断言できませんが、こちらも極太な芯、距離感ゼロの密着感、異様なほどに詳細なディテール、微塵もブレない安定感……すべてが完璧。やはり全力で欠点を探しても見当たらない。「まるでサウンドボード」と言うか、「これがサウンドボードじゃない!?」と耳を疑う超絶録音なのです。
実のところ、そのサウンド・クオリティは『BUDOKAN 2019』にも酷似している。本作をモノにしたのは当店お馴染み“西日本最強テーパー”氏であり、機材も会場も違うハズなのですが……。推測ですが、これは両作とも現場ＰＡの出力音を最大漏らさず、正確に記録しているという事なのでしょう。まったく手法の違う録音家が高音質を追究していった末に似てしまう。両作が“極み”の次元に達している証拠なのかも知れません。それでもあえて違いを探すなら、本作の方がより一層サウンドボードっぽい。『BUDOKAN 2019』はわずかな会場音響が鳴りに艶を与えていましたが、本作はそれこそ卓直結サウンドボードのように芯が丸出し。大阪城に広がる手拍子が生々しいのでラインではない事も分かるものの、それさえも骨太・肉厚な演奏音や歌声よりも遙かに遠く感じる。あの広い大阪城ホールでここまでのサウンドで録音が実現するとは……。
そして、そんな極めつけのサウンドで描かれるショウこそが素晴らしい。今回の来日では全公演とも共通セットで、40年の歴史から美味しい曲を選びつつ、いつになくフレッシュ。何しろ、オープニングからして「Devil’s Tower」。公式ライヴ作『40 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN』にも収録されていない『ALL IN』の新曲ですが、書かれたのは1981年頃であり、公式盤ではジェフ＆マイク・ポーカロ兄弟の演奏も聴けた曲。それだけに実にらしさに溢れ、その後にデビュー曲「Hold the Line」へと繋がる流れで、一気に40年の時間をワープする。40周年の重みを象徴するのです。
そして、その後も「English Eyes」「Jake to the Bone」や「I Will Remember」、30年ぶりとなる映画サントラ曲「Dune (Desert Theme)」、12年ぶりの「Make Believe」といった復活曲が盛りだくさん。さらにルーツを明かすようなビートルズのカバー「While My Guitar Gently Weeps」、新曲「Alone」も交え、多彩なキャリアを一気に駆け抜けるのです。中盤に配されたアコースティック・セットも４曲ながら特濃。マイケル・ジャクソンと競演した「Human Nature」、本邦初公開の「No Love」、やはり久々な「Girl Goodbye」も飛び出す。ここでの名曲「I’ll Be Over You」や大ラス「Home of the Brave」は海外では演奏されず、公式ライヴ作『40 TOURS AROUND THE SUN』でも聴けなかった（今のところ）日本だけの特別曲。彼らのアニヴァーサリー・ツアーと言えば、2014年の35周年でも来日を果たしましたが、そのときと比べても被っているのは６曲だけなのです（ちなみに、前回来日の『OSAKA 2016（Zion-074）』『AMAGASAKI 2016（Zion-073）』、前々回の『OSAKA 2014』も最強氏の録音によるプレス・タイトル。ぜひ、同一録音家コレクションで名曲群を並べてお楽しみください）。
もし卓直結サウンドボードが登場したとしても超えられないであろう凄まじいサウンドのライヴアルバムです。『BUDOKAN 2019』と本作、どちらもオーディエンスか／サウンドボードかの違いも無意味にする掛け値なしの超傑作です。ここまでクオリティは甲乙が付けられない……と言うより、決めたところで意味がない。世界に誇れる日本産の２大銘品。永久保存プレスCDでの同時リリース決定です。
Disc 1 (77:10)
1. Intro. 2. Devil’s Tower 3. Hold the Line 4. Lovers in the Night 5. Alone 6. I Will Remember
7. English Eyes 8. Jake to the Bone 9. Rosanna 10. Georgy Porgy 11. Human Nature
12. I’ll Be Over You 13. No Love 14. Stop Loving You 15. Piano Solo 16. Girl Goodbye
Disc 2 (50:52)
1. Band Introductions 2. Lion 3. Dune (Desert Theme) 4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5. Make Believe 6. Africa 7. Home of the Brave
Steve Lukather – guitars, vocals Steve Porcaro – keyboards, vocals Joseph Williams – vocals
Shannon Forrest – drums Lenny Castro – percussion
Warren Ham – saxophone, backing vocals Shem von Schroeck – bass, backing vocals
Dominique “Xavier” Taplin – keyboards, backing vocals
ZION-138
