Music of the Moment: George Harrison - Live in Japan
Amazon Prime brought me a present yesterday: a double live album recorded when Harrison fronted Eric Clapton’s band in Japan. I don’t know how long it had been since George had played a live gig, but he’d been relatively absent from touring for most of the ’80s.
As live albums go, it’s not a thrilling work but it is perfectly pleasant and the type of thing Harrison fans will likely enjoy. I’m enjoying it. It’s only real downside is the Clapton effect: slickness. Clapton’s sound in the ’80s had gotten very slick on stage and on record. This being his band, the music is performed and captured with that same slickness. It’s a bit of a disappointment in that regard. In fairness to Clapton, Jeff Lynne’s production of the Cloud 9 record — the album this mini-tour followed — was also very slick. That one-two punch mars this live album just a bit.
Aside from the slick production, the performance is good and Harrison sings and plays well throughout the show. Live in Japan was remastered and released as a SACD Hybrid disc and I can’t wait to hear that Super Audio layer.
Filed under: Tags: Eric Clapton, George Harrison
