The Tokyo Tapes
Encyclopedia
The Tokyo Tapes is a live Steve Hackett
album featuring a progressive rock
supergroup
lineup of John Wetton from King Crimson
, UK
and Asia
; Chester Thompson from Weather Report
, Frank Zappa
and Genesis
live; Ian McDonald, also from King Crimson
, and Foreigner
; and rounded out by keyboards man Julian Colbeck
(worked with Yes
spin-off Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
). The album was compiled from two concerts at Koseinenkin Hall in Tokyo
, Japan
on December 16 & 17, 1996. The album also contains two Steve Hackett studio tracks.
In 2001, a live DVD also called The Tokyo Tapes and culled from the same two performances was released. It contained all 17 live tracks plus 18 minutes of bonus rehearsal footage and band biographies.
Both the CD and the DVD were promoted with the tagline
:
"What would it sound like if occasional members of GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, ASIA, YES, ZAPPA & WEATHER REPORT all got together to form a unique team just for one night?"
Disc 2
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
album featuring a progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
lineup of John Wetton from King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, UK
UK (band)
U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup active from 1977 until 1980.The band was composed of Singer/Bassist John Wetton, formerly of King Crimson, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep, Keyboardist/Electric Violinist Eddie Jobson, formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's...
and Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
; Chester Thompson from Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
live; Ian McDonald, also from King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, and Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
; and rounded out by keyboards man Julian Colbeck
Julian Colbeck
The current CEO of Keyfax NewMedia, Julian Colbeck is a former professional keyboard player of over 25 years, author of several music-related books and guides, the creator of Twiddly.Bits MIDI loops, the concept designer for the PhatBoy MIDI controller, and producer of several music technology DVDs...
(worked with Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
spin-off Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was a project of four progressive rock musicians, vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe . They had played together in Yes in the early 1970s...
). The album was compiled from two concerts at Koseinenkin Hall in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on December 16 & 17, 1996. The album also contains two Steve Hackett studio tracks.
In 2001, a live DVD also called The Tokyo Tapes and culled from the same two performances was released. It contained all 17 live tracks plus 18 minutes of bonus rehearsal footage and band biographies.
Both the CD and the DVD were promoted with the tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
:
"What would it sound like if occasional members of GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, ASIA, YES, ZAPPA & WEATHER REPORT all got together to form a unique team just for one night?"
Track listing
Disc 1- "Watcher of the SkiesWatcher of the SkiesWatcher of the Skies is the first track on Genesis' 1972 album Foxtrot. The title is borrowed from John Keats' 1817 poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer":Then felt I like some watcher of the skiesWhen a new planet swims into his ken;...
" (Banks, Rutherford, Hackett, Gabriel, Collins) – 8:59 - "Riding the Colossus" (Hackett) – 3:32
- "Firth of FifthFirth of Fifth"Firth of Fifth" is a progressive rock song by progressive rock band Genesis, from their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound. The title is a pun on the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland, commonly known as the Firth of Forth....
" (Banks, Collins, Hackett, Rutherford, Gabriel) – 9:32 - "Battlelines" (Wetton, Marlette, Mitchell) – 6:43
- "Camino Royale" (Hackett, Magnus) – 9:06
- "The Court of the Crimson KingThe Court of the Crimson King"The Court of the Crimson King" is the fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King. It was also released as a single. It reached #80 on the US charts, and is the band's only charting single in the United...
" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 7:39 - "Horizons" (Hackett) – 1:53
- "Walking Away From Rainbows" (Hackett) – 3:47
- "Heat of the MomentHeat of the MomentUK 7" single-Chart performance:-Popular culture:* "Heat of the Moment" was repopularized in 2005 when it was featured in the motion pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Matador....
" (Wetton, Downes) – 4:06
Disc 2
- "...In That Quiet Earth'" (Hackett, Rutherford, Banks, Collins) – 4:02
- "Vampyre With a Healthy Appetite" (Hackett) – 7:23
- "I Talk to the WindI Talk to the Wind"I Talk to the Wind" is the second track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King....
" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 5:37 - "Shadow of the HierophantHierophantA hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the...
" (Hackett, Rutherford) – 7:14 - "Los EndosLos Endos"Los Endos" is an instrumental piece by English progressive rock band Genesis from their 1976 album A Trick of the Tail. It is one of the band's few forays into the world of jazz fusion and reflects drummer Phil Collins's involvement in the instrumental band Brand X...
" (Banks, Collins, Rutherford, Hackett) – 6:54 - "Black Light" (Hackett) – 2:30
- "The Steppes" (Hackett) – 6:48
- "I Know What I LikeI Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"I Know What I Like " was the first charting single by the rock band Genesis. The single was first released in the UK in August 1973, but did not become a hit until April 1974, when it reached number 21 in the UK Singles Chart....
" (Hackett, Banks, Rutherford, Collins, Gabriel) – 5:51 - "Firewall" (Hackett) (Studio track) – 4:41
- "The Dealer" (Hackett) (Studio track) – 4:23
Credits (live tracks)
- Steve HackettSteve HackettStephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
/vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - John WettonJohn WettonJohn Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
: bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
/guitar/vocals - Chester ThompsonChester ThompsonChester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Ian McDonaldIan McDonald (musician)Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
: fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
/saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
/guitar/keyboards/vocals - Julian ColbeckJulian ColbeckThe current CEO of Keyfax NewMedia, Julian Colbeck is a former professional keyboard player of over 25 years, author of several music-related books and guides, the creator of Twiddly.Bits MIDI loops, the concept designer for the PhatBoy MIDI controller, and producer of several music technology DVDs...
: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/vocals
Credits (studio tracks)
- Steve HackettSteve HackettStephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Aron Friedman: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/programming