drakula63 wrote:You can also hear John Rostill speaking on the LP 'The Shadows Live In Japan' recorded at the Sankei Hall in Oct. 1969.
I have the European edition of this album, from Belgium I think, but the Japanese version is better, with a gatefold sleeve featuring some black and white group and individual shots. Worth a packet, I should imagine!!!
Coincidentally, I was listening to this album on my way to work this morning. The performance has been rated by Hank, Brian, John and Alan (Hawkshaw) as lacklustre and below par, but I think it has lots of great moments. Bruce's rhythm guitar substituted with Alan's piano and organ is quite a difference, but I still like most tracks: "Shazam", "Dance On", "Exodus", "A Little Bitty Tear", "Putting On The Style", "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue", "Don't Make My Baby Blue", "The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt" and "Somewhere". "Foot Tapper" and "F.B.I." are a little bit less well performed and I don't think Brian's drum solo on "Little 'B'" was as tight as the other released live versions, let alone the studio version.
We used to have the 1972 Dutch edition of this album and still have the original 1969 Japanese edition, with its great gatefold sleeve featuring black and white and colour pictures, a lyric sheet of "A Little Bitty Tear" and "Don't Make My Baby Blue" and the record itself is in transparent red vinyl. If The Shadows didn't want this performance released, then why didn't they or EMI/Odeon Japan release the live set from mid 1967? I bet that performance was of a higher quality, performance wise.