MR.BIG / THE BUDOKAN WE COULD BACK 25th Anniversary Tour 2014 (2CDR)

This release captures the entirety of the band's eighth-ever show at the Nippon Budokan—a spectacular 140-minute performance—held during their Japan-wide tour supporting *The Stories We Could Tell*, their highly anticipated new album released after a hiatus of about three and a half years. As is widely known, drummer Pat Torpey was unable to participate fully due to his battle with Parkinson's disease; for this tour, Matt Starr stepped in as a support drummer. Although the setlist from the preceding European tour had sparked mixed reactions, the band performed a nearly identical set in Japan. They confidently showcased six songs from the new album, embodying the morale of a band that is very much alive and evolving. It is a performance that only a group of consummate professionals like MR.BIG could deliver—a true collision of the artistic souls and attitudes of the four members. This recording features a perfect "full matrix" blend of a noise-free, uncompressed IEM source (identical to what Eric Martin heard on stage) and a clear, well-balanced 24-bit audience recording. The superb matrix processing applied throughout the show recreates the venue's electric atmosphere with a rich, three-dimensional sound and depth that standard audience recordings simply cannot capture. In a highlight that fans will cherish, Pat Torpey—who created the new album by programming drum parts since he could not play live—actually performed drums on three songs and even provided vocals for "Living After Midnight" and "The Light of Day." Let us eagerly await Pat's full comeback! As a bonus, this release includes a direct recording—sourced from the same in-ear monitor (IEM) feed—spanning 22 minutes and featuring seven tracks from the day's soundcheck session. This includes a take of "Never Say Never" (from the second album) that was ultimately omitted from the actual performance because the key was too high for Eric to sing.