From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, American West Coast artists such as the Eagles were extremely popular in Japan. In 1977, Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther participated in the second day of the nostalgic "Rolling Coconut Revue" and brought the West Coast breeze to Japan, and in 1979, Linda Ronstadt When he arrived in Japan, there was great excitement. Nowadays, all of them are nostalgic events for coming to Japan. A luxurious event to visit Japan was held in 1981, which seems to have continued this trend. That is “THE CALIFORNIA LIVE”. It's an event that doesn't get talked about much these days, but JD, Linda, and even James Taylor performed here, making it an extremely luxurious event where Californian artists could literally be seen together in Japan. An event. One performance was held in the Kanto region and one in the Kansai region, and the venue that gave a sense of the times was Yokohama Stadium and Koshien. Nowadays, Yokohama Arena and Osaka Dome would be the venue choices, but 1981 was a time when live concerts began to be actively held in stadiums in Japan. This time, we will release the sound source of the Yokohama performance held on September 11th of the two "THE CALIFORNIA LIVE". With the advent of arenas that are not affected by the weather, the stadium is no longer used for Western music concerts in Yokohama, but I still feel nostalgic for the days when it was actively used as a live venue. Nowadays, I can't help but realize that the live performance that brought together top West Coast artists was held at this venue, and that it was an extremely valuable event. The curtain opened with Ronin, another nostalgic California craftsman band. The band was formed around Wadi Wachtel and Dan Dugmore, who had been backing up Linda, and it was nostalgic that the band's name was taken from the samurai samurai ``ronin,'' which attracted attention in Japan. All of the songs are unique rock numbers with Stones-style riffs and West Coast-style melodies, so it's no surprise that Wachtel later joined Keith Richards' band. He is also the lead vocalist and MC throughout the album, but since he is a skilled guitarist who is not used to being a frontman, it is interesting to hear him always scream as an MC. In addition, he also joined the artist's backing after this, so he was virtually left out. Following Ronin's undercard performance, JD Souther appeared as the first star. Just like his musical style, 70% of the songs played here have a relaxed and mellow tone. At that time, "Honesty" and "Yesterday" were more popular than straight rock in Showa Japan. What's more, he's the kind of person who listens to his performances, so it's really nice to hear his mellow tunes echoing through the stadium in the evening. In addition, great artists such as Danny Kouchmar, Lee Sklar, and Russ Kunkel appeared from the JD stage. It was a luxurious event that brought together not only the performing artists but also the backing musicians from the West Coast. If we were to divide this event into a first half and a second half, Linda would be the beginning of the second half. At Koshien, the order of her and JD's appearances was switched, but I think it would have been better to have Yokohama Stadium's lineup with the first half being songwriters for craftsmen and experts, and the second half being stars. Moreover, Linda was at the height of her popularity at that time. Her album ``MAD LOVE'' was a big hit in the previous year (her best-selling album in Japan), and the setlist included Elvis Costello's ``Party Girl'' from the same album. At that time, Costello was not yet well known to general music fans, so Linda's cover of the song was a great achievement in making him well known. In addition, the Hollies' version of "I Can't Let Go" is also a number from "MAD LOVE", but here the nostalgic Rosemary Butler sings with Linda. One year before she sang the theme to "The Dirty Hero." And when it comes to "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" at the end of the live performance, Linda is able to incorporate "Yokohama" into the song and is reliable. James Taylor serves as the bird. In his case, this was the year when his first commercial peak came to an end with the release and hit of "DAD LOVES HIS WORK." Therefore, although he had passed his peak, he was also just before moving on to activities at his own pace. Perhaps because of that, only one song, "Her Town Too", was played from the latest album "DAD LOVES~" which had just been released. Of course, like the album version, it is a duet with JD. It may have been because it was an event stage event, but the result was a ``best of'' set of Taylor's classic songs rather than a new album promotion. Rather, his staging as a king as one of the leading artists of the 70's was overwhelming. By the way, this event was held under the direction of Peter Usher, but all of the performing artists have had a relationship with Usher through past recordings, such as producing and participating in the chorus, so it was an "Usher" connection event, so to speak. It is said that It was also an event that showed that Peter & Gordon, or the British Usher of ``A World Without Love,'' had a tremendous influence in the West Coast rock world in the 70s. At the end, as if it were an event, all the performers played Chuck Berry's "Rock & Roll Music" starting from Taylor's lead. The lead vocals are taken in the order of Taylor, Wachtel, JD, and Linda, which makes it a fun finale scene. This nostalgic event was captured by the familiar taper who has recorded various Japanese performances with exceptional quality. Until now, he has continued to provide audience recordings of high-level Japanese performances, but this time's sound source has an amazing sound quality that will definitely rank among the top (maybe even the top). There is no longer any need for expressions such as "on sound image" or "clearness", it is a tremendous recording state that makes it feel as if the band is right in front of you. If this sound source had been released in real time, it would definitely have been misunderstood as a sound board, this is an exceptional quality. The hot Californian night of September 37 years ago is revived with the best sound quality. If you play it loud, you'll be sure to travel back in time to 1981 Yokohama Stadium! Awesome! Live at Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan 11th September 1981 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1(30:40) RONIN 1. America The Beautiful 2. Here Come The Runner 3. Hey Nadine 4. Band Introductions 5. Love's Coming Into My Life Again 6. Up On The Cross 7. Feels Right Disc 2 (47:32) J.D. SOUTHER 1. Intro 2. Simple Man, Simple Dream 3. Banging My Head Against The Moon 4. Mexico 5. Silver Blue 6. Prisoner In Disguise 7. Band Introductions 8. You're Only Lonely 9. If You Don't Want My Love 10. Home By Dawn 11. Trouble In Paradise 12. 'Til The Bars Burn Down 13. James Dean Disc 3 (56 :23) LINDA RONSTADT 1. Intro 2. Mad Love 3. It's So Easy 4. Party Girl 5. Willin' 6. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You) 7. I Can't Let Go 8. Blue Bayou 9. Faithless Love (with J.D. Souther) 10. Hurt So Bad 11. Poor Poor Pitiful Me 12. You're No Good 13. How Do I Make You 14. Back in the U.S.A. 15. Desperado Disc 4 (64:09) JAMES TAYLOR 1. Intro 2. Sweet Baby James 3. Wandering 4. Riding on a Railroad 5. It's Gonna Work Out Fine 6. How Sweet It Is 7. Fire and Rain 8. You've Got a Friend 9. Her Town Too 10. Your Smiling Face 11. Mexico 12. Country Road 13. Up on the Roof 14. Steamroller 15. Rock & Roll Music (with All) RONIN Waddy Wachtel - Vocals, Guitar Dan Dugmore - Guitar Rick Marotta - Drums Stanley Sheldon - BassJ. D. SOUTHER LINDA RONSTADT JAMES TAYLOR Waddy Wachtel - Guitar Danny Kortchmar - Guitar Billy Payne - Keyboards Kenny Edwards - Bass Bob Glaub - Bass Leland Sklar - Bass Russell Kunkel - Drums Rosemary Butler - Vocals David Lasley - Vocals Arnold McCuller - Vocals
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