Cover image is a straight copy (front and back) of the official Stone Cold / Rock Fever 45/33
Japan: 1983
XL 1517 A: The Land of Hope And Glory / Over the Rainbow / Spotlight Kid / Miss Mistreated XL 1517 B: I Surrender / Can’t Happen Here / Tearin’ Out My Heart XL 1518 A: Lazy / Woman from Tokyo / All Night Long / Stone Cold / Power XL 1518 B: Blues / Difficult to Cure part 1 / David Rosenthal / Difficult to Cure part 2 XL 1519 A: Blackmore & Rondinelli / Bob Rondinelli part 1 / Bob Rondinelli part 2 / Long Live Rock’n Roll part 1 XL 1519 B: Hey Joe / Long Live Rock’n Roll pt 2 / Maybe Next Time / Smoke on the Water / Over the Rainbow
Source: (IF the back cover can be trusted this time) Madison Square Garden, NY, 19 June 1982 on the Straight Between The Eyes US Tour
**
There is another later, also Japanese single LP bootleg with the same title on Phonedoll Records containing seven tracks recorded in Harriesburg, PA on 21 June 1981:
My guess is that it’s called Chantilly Lace on the spine, as we’ve seen before (with UD) where that was the only place the title was mentioned.
Japan: 1983
XL 1514 A: Under My Thumb [03:26]* / Going to a Go-Go [03:19]** /You Can’t Always Get What You Want [01:45] ** / When The Whip Comes Down [04:55] / Let’s Spend the Night Together [04:24] XL 1514 B: Shattered [04:42] / Neighbours [04:24] / Black Limousine [04:09] XL 1515 A: Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) [08:39] / Twenty Flight Rock [02:04] / Going to a Go-Go [03:37] / Chantilly Lace [04:02] XL 1515 B: Time Is on My Side [03:28] / Beast of Burden [07:01] / Let It Bleed [06:08] XL 1516 A: You Can’t Always Get What You Want [09:20] / Band intro [00:12] / She’s So Cold [03:25] / Hang Fire [03:15] XL 1516 B: Miss You [07:21] / Honky Tonk Women [03:11] / Brown Sugar [03:17] / Start Me Up [03:59]
Sources: Disc 1, track 1 (*): Wembley Stadium, 25 June 1982; disc 1, tracks 2 and 3 (**): Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, VA, 18 December 1981. All the rest: Berlin Waldbühne, 8 June 1982, incomplete very good stereo audience recording.
Naming your band “Asia” or “Japan” was certainly not a hindrance to becoming big in Japan in the early 1980’s. Asia perfected the craft of commercializing prog-rock. However, these days, the band has not only been largely forgotten by the masses (except in Japan where they still tour, as recently as 2014) but this is the kind of bootleg you almost cannot give away.
Japan: Second half of 1982/early 1983
XL 1511 A: Time Again / On Step Closer / Without You XL 1511 B: Steve Howe / Midnight Sun (Unreleased) XL 1512 A: Only Time Will Tell / The Smile (Unreleased) XL 1512 B: Cutting It Fine / Wildest Dreams XL 1513 A: Here Comes The Feeling / Carl Palmer / Karn Evil No. 9 XL 1513 B: Sole Survivor / Heat Of The Moment
Source is stated as Philadelphia Spectrum on 22 June 1982 during the tour for their first self-titled album – “the world’s biggest selling album of 1982”, as it says on John Wetton’s website.
or “RAINBÖW” as they are called here – who says bootleggers don’t have a sense of humor?
Japan: Second half of 1982, XL’s first triple set. Rainbow performed in Japan in August of 1981 and the artwork was ‘borrowed’ from the official tour book.
1508 A:Land Of Hope And Glory > Over The Rainbow / Spotlight Kid / Love’s No Friend / I Surrender 1508 B: Man On The Silver Mountain / Catch The Rainbow / 16th Century Greensleeves 1509 A: Can’t Happen Here / Don Airey (keyboard solo) / Lost In Hollywood / R. Blackmore 1509 B: Difficult To Cure / Bob Rondinelli (drum solo) / Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll 1510 A: Maybe Next Time / All Night Long / Woman From Tokyo (Excerpt) / Since You’ve Been Gone / Let Me Stay (Unreleased) 1510 B: All Night Long / Smoke On The Water / Maybe Next Time / Since You’ve Been Gone (Short version) / Since You’ve Been Away (Unreleased)
However, a popsike auction text calls the given sources into question:
“Sleeve lists Tracks from Paris and Lille but is incorrect.
FIRST Hammersmith Show!
London, 26.07.1981, Hammersmith Odeon and Japan 1981.”
As the audience recording from that night is a match and the one from Paris is not, I will go with London as well:
Rainbow (CD) Title: Difficult To Reappear Dates: July 26, 1981 Venue: Hammersmith Odeon, London, England.
Source: Ex Audience Recording
01: Over The Rainbow 02: Spotlight Kid 03: Love’s No Friend 04: I Surrender 05: Man On The Silver Mountain 06: Catch The Rainbow 07: Can’t Happen Here 08: Keyboards Solo 09: Lost In Hollywood ~ Difficult To Cure 10: Drum Solo 11: Long Live Rock’n Roll 12: Maybe Next Time 13: All Night Long 14: Woman From Tokyo Riff ~ Rule Britannia ~ Since You Been Gone ~ Fire ~ Over The Rainbow
Interesting quote here (plus samples): “Original cassette series of Kinney recording…” as this was the name of the Tokyo record store where UD and XL titles were sold – and then the second confirmation: “Its Kinney recording that was recorded live, the 3-Disc LP “A PARIS 1981 (XL 1508/1510)” the legendary ones […] (title is Paris, it is really Hammersmith).”
Now we just need to find the correct source for side six. Makes me wonder if the cover up happened to hide the real Japanese (if this was really recorded at a concert in Japan) source for the last side.
**
For comparison purposes:
RAINBOW Patinoire Boulogne (near Paris), France June 11th, 1981
Sources : complete show from combination of 2nd gen VG- audience and master VG+ AM radio recordings.
All tracks AM broadcast except (*) : AUD tape.
Part 1 (51:13) 101.Land Of Hope And Glory > Over The Rainbow (*) 102.Spotlight Kid (*) 103.Love’s No Friend 104.I Surrender 105.Man On The Silver Mountain (*) 106.Catch The Rainbow / 16th Century Greensleeves 107.Can’t Happen Here
Part 2 (40:02) 201.Keyboard Solo (*) 202.Lost In Hollywood (*) 203.Ritchie’s Solo (*) 204.Difficult To Cure (*) 205.Drum Solo (*) 206.Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll 207.All Night Long
Source: ? The back cover states “Long Beach Arena” and June of ’82 (a YT video tries to correct this to July) but none of the Diary Of A Madman Tour legs played in Long Beach, according to wikipedia.
XL 1506 A: Diary Of A Madman / Over the Mountain / Mr. Crowley / Crazy Train / Revelation (Mother Earth) XL 1506 B: Steal Away (the Night) / Suicide Solution / Brad Gillis (solo) / Tommy Aldridge (solo) XL 1507 A: Don Airey (solo) / Goodbye to Romance / I Don’t Know / No Bone Movies (listed as ‘No More Movies’) XL 1507 B: Believer / Flying High Again / Iron man / Children of the Grave / Paranoid
**
Second Issue, Japan 1983:
The back cover with the by now familiar ‘second issue’ number, lower right.
Source: Sides 1-4 feature an outstanding audience recording from the Hammersmith Odeon on 23 April 1982 during their Blackout Tour. Sides 5 + 6 play the soundboard recording – or FM broadcast – from their appearance at the 1979 Reading Festival (1979-08-25), where they were a last minute addition to replace headliners Thin Lizzy.
If I am not mistaken, this was the second Scorpions bootleg following GLC’s LIVE IN LONDON (D-544). They were probably smart in satisfying demand for a live album early on in their career with Tokyo Tapes and as a result were late to the (bootleg) party.
One criticism of this XL release is that it duplicates four titles unnecessarily (if they had access to a complete Reading recording). Another vinyl bootleg, LONDON 1982 on Queen Records (SCORQ6), exists but is supposed to be from the next night on 24 April. It is slightly ironic that all the early bootlegged performances by this German band feature recordings made in the UK.
XL 1503 A: Blackout / Don’t Make No Promises / Loving You Sunday Morning XL 1503 B: Make It Real / We’ll Burn The Sky (listed as ‘Want You Back Again’) / Instrumental (? – this is most likely ‘Coast To Coast’) XL 1504 A: Lovedrive / Always Somewhere / Holiday XL 1504 B: Can’t Live Without You / She’s A Woman (= He’s A Woman – She’s A Man) / Another Piece Of Meat / DynamiteXL 1505 A: Backstage Queen / We’ll Burn The Sky (listed again as ‘Want You Back Again’) XL 1505 B: Loving You Sunday Morning / Lovedrive / Always Somewhere
HOTWACKS quality rating: “Exs”
Circulating sources for comparison:
Scorpions – Reading Festival, England, 25-08-1979 Source: FM Broadcast
1. Pictured Life 2. Backstage Queen 3. We’ll Burn the Sky 4. Loving You Sunday Morning 5. Lovedrive 6. Always Somewhere 7. He’s a Woman – She’s a Man 8. Another Piece of Meat 9. Top of the Bill 10. Drum Solo 11. Robot Man 12. Steamrock Fever
**
Hammersmith Odeon, London, England. April 23rd 1982 Sound Quality: A+ Time: 72:46 Notes: Analog master.
1. Blackout (4:56) 2. Don’t Make No Promises (Your Body Can’t Keep) (3:30) 3. Loving You Sunday Morning (5:04) 4. Make It Real (3:50) 5. We’ll Burn The Sky (7:19) 6. Coast To Coast (4:17) 7. Lovedrive (4:44) 8. Always Somewhere (4:13) 9. Holiday (6:19) 10. Can’t Live Without You (4:07) 11. He’s A Woman – She’s A Man (3:22) 12. Another Piece Of Meat (3:27) 13. Dynamite (5:47) 14. The Zoo (6:03)
****
The other titles mentioned in this post:
and
A poorly chosen image for this release as Mathias Jabs (shown here center) replaced Uli Roth in August of 1978 and it was Roth who can be heard on this album. As it turns out, it is questionable if this concert took place in London at all and Bolton, Lancashire seems to be the correct city (another suggestion ‘Lancastershire’ simply does not exist).
The release date is usually given as 1981, as this is the date stated on the GLC labels. In this case that might even be correct. This title was reissued with Raring Records labels.
From a live torrents site:
Scorpions Bolton Institute, London, UK April 30,1977
Source: audience Quality: Vg++
Part One Time:40:07
01-All Night Long 02-Pictured Life 03-Backstage Queen 04-They Need A Million 05-Polar Nights 06-In Trance 07-Fly To The Rainbow
Part Two Time:40:08
01-Let The Good Times Roll / Rock n Roll Queen 02-Catch Your Train 03-Top Of The Bill (Incl. Drum Solo) 04-Hound Dog / Long Tall Sally 05-Jam 06-Dark Lady 07-Robot Man
Comments: This is a cassette I received in trade from a collector in the U.K. This show had made it to a boot vinyl LP called LIVE IN LONDON (which I own a copy of),and me thinking I’d never find a bona-fide tape source that made the vinyl, actually did. The quality sounds low-gen and recorded with decent equipment, very close to the stage. The quirk the recording has is that the speed pitch varies and wavers depending on different parts of the performance. Generally, this dub runs somewhat on the fast side but is quite listenable.
