I found this live album to be exciting and the recording quality from this concert performance was top notch and doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a vacuum. The vocals, the music and audience cheers sound wonderful and it made me enjoy this album a lot!
Click here to purchase Howard Jones – Live in Japan on Amazon
ARTIST: Howard Jones
ALBUM: Live in Japan
DURATION: 15 Songs (1 Hour, 19 Minutes)
RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2022
1 Intro – Tao Te Ching
2 Hunt the Self
3 Pearl in the Shell
4 Bounce Right Back
5 Hide and Seek
6 Always Asking Questions
7 Dreams of a Better Place
8 Like to Get to Know You Well
9 Equality
10 Natural
11 Hey Jude
12 Conditioning
13 What Is Love?
14 Don’t Always Look at the Rain
15 New Song
Back in 1984, the British musician/singer Howard Jones would perform to an exciting crowd at the NHK Hall in Tokyo.
While Howard Jones would make his debut with the track “New Song” at no. 3 and “What is Love?” at no. 2 on the UK Charts, he wouldn’t become well-known in the US until 1985, with his hit “Things Can Only Get Better” and in 1986 with “No One is to Blame”.
But in the UK, Jones would have a string of more hits such as “Hide and Seek”, “Pearl in the Shell” and “Like to Get to Know You Well”, songs that came from his debut album “Human’s Lib”.
A wonderful electronic musician known for his electro pop musical work and showing how he’s a master at the keyboards and synth and many wonder, why Japan?
Well, many international bands gained popularity in Japan, from JAPAN to Cheap Trick, being the second largest music industry in the world, the Japanese music audience have been avid supporters of international artists (whether or not they are popular in their own country, it did not matter) and were more accepting to cool, unusual and different styles.
But with Japanese electronic bands such as Yellow Magic Orchestra having a big following, Howard Jones gained popularity for his respect for the Japanese culture and music fans respect for his electronic pop music. In fact, many Japanese consider his debut album a masterpiece of British electro pop of the ’80s.
In fact, Japanese were also inspired by his story about how he worked hard in a factory and running sales of vegetables and fruits with his wife. Jones would tell his factory co-workers that he would one day become a musician but his co-workers chuckled at the time.
But one day, a drunk driver hit their van, nearly killing Jones and is wife, but the accident caused injuries to his wife. While the person responsible paid for her treatment and damages, Jones wife gave him money for music equipment and Howard made a promise that he would make it in music.
Jones would listen to bands like JAPAN and also the synthesizer riffs inspired by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.. But Jones big break when he was given a chance to submit “New Song” to the BBC Radio 1 jukebox audition show Round Table and Gary Numan even gave his thumbs up saying Jones’ work was good.
But Howard Jones’ big break came when “New Song” was played on the popular UK music show, “Top of the Pops” and the song climbed to no. 3 on the UK Charts and the music video for “New Song” was him working in a factory and leaving in a Rolls-Royce. While the video is not a true portrayal of real life, Jones did say that his co-workers told him they were proud of him and did what he exactly said he would do.
And these stories of hardworking people and showcasing their talent has won Japanese music fans.
As far as Howard Jones “Live in Japan” goes, do note that there is a version that comes with both a CD + DVD and booklet. The DVD having more additional songs, but the CD and digital version comes with 15 tracks (All 15 tracks can be listened on YouTube).
But what I love about this concert is how energetic it is. How excited the audience is in their support and cheers for Jones, especially when he tries to speak in Japanese. While the majority of the songs are from his debut album “Human’s Lib”, the album also comes with Jones’ performance of The Beatles “Hey Jude” and also comes with live performances of B-side “Tao Te Ching”, “Bounce Right Back” and also songs from his 12-inch mixes album “The 12″ album” with songs such as “Always Asking Questions” and “Like to Get to Know You Well”.
Overall, I found this live album to be exciting and the recording quality from this concert performance was top notch and doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a vacuum. The vocals, the music and audience cheers sound wonderful and it made me enjoy this album a lot!
While Howard Jones fans will want to opt for the physical release for all the cool stuff it comes with, for those who are quite fine with digital releases will enjoy Howard Jones “Live in Japan”.
Click here to purchase Howard Jones – Live in Japan on Amazon
