Review: Davy Jones Live In Japan

The early 1980’s were an unique period for the Monkees prior to the 1986 20^th anniversary reunion tour. The individual members were reemerging into the cultural consciousness, Micky Dolenz as a successful television director in England, Peter Tork coming back to the concert stage and Michael Nesmith emerging as an important figure in the early days of Music Video.

Davy Jones, after a rough patch in the late 1970’s, found his star shining again in a most unexpected place, Japan.

Monkeemania was blooming again thanks to a Kodak commercial which used the song ‘Daydream Believer’ as part of the ad, and Arista Records reissued the original Monkees albums in Japan, putting the group back on the Japanese charts as well as providing desirable imports for overseas fans. Davy Jones was the first Monkee to taste the fruits of this newfound popularity with a series of sold out concerts between 1981 and 1982 that brought back the heady days of hysterical fans screaming out his name between songs. Jones also released a few solo singles of new songs that not only charted in Japan but became highly sought imports among Monkees collectors. (An interesting footnote in the sets’ liner notes is that The Who’s Pete Townshend supervised the sessions for Davy Jones solo singles at his Eel Pie Studios). A couple of the concerts were recorded for the Japanese market, two released as LP’s, with one of the shows also issued in high quality laser disc video. What the Japanese fans, Jones (and later Micky and Peter when they followed Davy with their solo tours) experienced was a foretaste of the excitement that would occur with the 20^th anniversary Monkees reunion tour just a few years later.

 

Those exciting moments in Japan can be experienced again through the brand new 7a Records release ‘Davy Jones Live In Japan’. The three disc set includes the two concert albums ‘Live In Japan’ and ‘Hello Davy’ released on cd for the first time, plus an all regions DVD of the ‘Hello Davy’ live laser disc video. Spread over the two CD’s are 22 bonus tracks of thirteen live alternate mixes on disc one and the nine singles Davy released in Japan and in England on disc two.

https://www.facebook.com/7aRecords/videos/291435718297906/

The sounds of Monkeemania is extremely evident on these recordings, the screams of the Japanese fans adding an extra level of excitement to the shows. The sound quality is excellent with Davy in great voice and Ricky & Revolver, the Japanese band that backed him at these shows, showing great musicianship, faithfully reproducing the Monkees hits.

Hearing the shows is one thing, actually seeing one of them is a whole different visual experience. For years I had a bootleg video tape which I later digitized of the ‘Hello Davy’ laser disc in adequate quality. The DVD of this show is a major revelation. The picture quality and the sound is fantastic, nearly flawless for a video over three decades old. Davy, with his hair cut short in early 80’s style, looks like he’s having the time of his life, leaping and bouncing around the stage as the streamers tossing Japanese fans scream in hysterical delight. The video alone is worth the price of admission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x7fZWGd1iY

The packaging for the set is beautifully done with a great Henry Diltz photo of Davy on the cover with an Obi sash design as seen on Japanese releases. The booklet has great photos of Davy during his appearances in Japan, with informative liner notes by 7a Records producer Iain Lee, Davy’s musical director Doug Trevor and Monkees historian Mark Kleiner. What really adds to the notes are the recollections of some of the Japanese fans who were fortunate enough to go to these concerts. Iain wisely allowed fans Misoro Hare, Akiko Ikada and Kyoko Hosokawa to tell their stories in their own words, giving the stories the unique perspective of those who attended the shows. The inside back cover of the booklet features photos of the Japanese releases of the two Live Davy Jones albums, the ‘Hello Davy’ laser disc and two of the Japanese singles.

7a Records have really done a fantastic job on this release. For those interested in vinyl, there’ll be a three record set in red, white and blue colored vinyl of the two live albums, a separate record of all the bonus tracks, and a larger version of the booklet. The vinyl set will be minus the dvd, but for a special incentive, a full reproduction of one of the concert programs sold at Davy’s concerts in Japan will be included with the vinyl version.

 

 

7a Records has put out great releases before, but this set is really outstanding, two years in the making with the quality evident from cover to cover, Iain Lee and Glenn Gretlund deserve great credit for giving this special collection the care it deserves.

This is a perfect time capsule souvenir of an exciting period in Davy Jones’ career and an essential addition to any Davy Jones/Monkees collection.

Tanoshii! – Enjoy!

Pre-Order Link for Davy Jones Live In Japan CD/DVD Set: https://www.deepdiscount.com/live-in-japan-includes-dvd-ntsc-reg-0/5060209950181

Pre-Order Link for Davy Jones Live In Japan Three Record Vinyl Set: https://www.deepdiscount.com/live-in-japan-red-white-and-blue-vinyl/5060209950242

• – CD 1 –
• 1 Last Train to Clarksville
• 2 I’m a Believer
• 3 Cuddly Toy
• 4 How Do You Know
• 5 (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
• 6 Star Collector
• 7 I Wanna Be Free
• 8 A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You
• 9 Valleri
• 10 It’s Now
• 11 Daydream Believer
• 12 (Theme from) the Monkees
• 13 (Theme from) the Monkees (Alt. Mix)
• 14 Daydream Believer (Alt. Mix)
• 15 A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You (Alt. Mix)
• 16 I Wanna Be Free (Alt. Mix)
• 17 Star Collector (Alt. Mix)
• 18 How Do You Know (Alt. Mix)
• 19 I’m a Believer (Alt. Mix)
• 20 Cuddly Toy (Alt. Mix)
• 21 Last Train to Clarksville (Alt. Mix)
• 22 Valleri (Alt. Mix)
• 23 (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone (Alt. Mix)
• 24 It’s Now (Alt. Mix)
• 25 (Theme from) the Monkees (Outro)
• – CD 2 –
• 1 Dance, Gypsy
• 2 Last Train to Clarksville
• 3 I’m a Believer
• 4 Star Collector
• 5 I Wanna Be Free
• 6 Rainy Jane
• 7 You’re a Lady
• 8 Can She Do It (Like She Dances)
• 9 Cuddly Toy
• 10 (I’ll) Love You Forever
• 11 Daydream Believer
• 12 Baby, You’ll Soon Be Sixteen
• 13 It’s Now
• 14 Baby, Holdout
• 15 It’s Now (Single Ver.)
• 16 How Do You Know (Single Ver.)
• 17 Dance, Gypsy (Single Ver.)
• 18 Can She Do It (Like She Dances) (Single Ver.)
• 19 Baby, You’ll Soon Be Sixteen (Single Ver.)
• 20 Baby, Holdoul (Single Ver.)
• 21 (Hey Ra Ra Ra) Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse
• 22 You Don’t Have to Be a Country Boy to Sing a Country Song
• 24 Rainbows (All CD Bonus Tracks on third disc, vinyl version)
• – DVD –
• 1 Intro
• 2 Dance, Gypsy
• 3 Last Train to Clarksville
• 4 I’m a Believer
• 5 Star Collector
• 6 I Wanna Be Free
• 7 Rainy Jane
• 8 You’re a Lady
• 9 Cuddly Toy
• 10 (I’ll) Love You Forever
• 11 Daydream Believer
• 12 Baby, You’ll Soon Be Sixteen
• 13 It’s Now
• 14 Baby, Holdout

Fred Velez, 2019

Fred Velez is the author of the book ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fans Perspective. 

Amazon Link for Fred Velez Monkees Book: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Bit-Me-You-Perspective/dp/1496112288/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1561677120&ref_=tmm_pap_title_0&sr=8-1