Live-Loud-Alive Loudness in Tokyo Audio CD – CD, March 24, 2009

Nihongo wa wakarimasen? If you THINK you don't understand Japanese culture, just listen to this & you'll be convinced that perhaps the gulf between us is not quite so great as we had thought.I had the pleasure of seeing these guys quite a few times in San Francisco back in the 80s and they were absolutely amazing. In fact, my friends and I were so blown away by them the first night, that we went back to see them just days later at another night club--and everytime they returned to California after that.Still, when I listen to these guys, I think to myself "how the hell did they know to do THAT there in THAT way? THAT particular vocal touch THERE? THAT particular chord right THEN?" These guys were amazing live and this album does their live shows justice. After all these years, they still sound great, and in many ways--and quite ironically--they are THE epitome of American-style 80s hardrock.

This is truly a great live set which has the band performing material from their earlier albums. I own the original Columbia release which sounds extremely low and muddy, plus the original intro to the show had been edited. Thankfully in this reissue we have the complete show, and what a hell of a difference. The sound is crystal clear with high fidelity. All the instruments are well defined and clearly heard. The original sounded like it was recorded on a cheap boom box. I know the pricing is very high but if you love this band like I do and want to experience this legendary show in all it's greatness, I highly recommend this particular version, it's awesome and shows Loudness at their best.

Best live album ever!

Most Americans I've spoken to can only recall Loudness' "Thunder In The East," but Loudness' discography is extensive and quite impressive. A friend had "Live-Loud-Alive" on LP, but I was fortunate to have come across the CD from Japan. The energy from the crowd is amazing! I'm psyching myself with this CD because Loudness will be performing in my neck of the woods in May! Can't wait!

Right up there with Strangers in the Night! The band completely kicks ass! The production is superb. Very underrated group that really deserves more credit. This album highlights their Japan only releases so the songs flow more naturally. Can't recommend it enough. LOUDNESS!!!

a must if your a loudness fan!great sound quality and if i would put it up there with other live albums such as ufo-strangers in the night,and deep purple perfect strangers live cd.great stuff!

Love this album (cd) it's super hard to come by, and I couldn't be happier that I found it on Amazon and it wasn't an insane amount of money.

Luckily for me, I lived in Germany back in the 80's and had access to all the early Loudness records that were released by Roadrunner in that country. This is a decent place to start if you want to find out what the big hubbub was all about with Loudness.The LP is a gatefold, so you can do cleaning on it, if you know what I mean. The photos are great. Loudness had the whole "wall of Marshall stacks" stage setup going on. The live versions are very comparable to the studio versions. There's even the title track from Akira Takasaki's solo album on here, "Tusk of Jaguar.""Roadracer" is great, it's kind of a galloping, poppy rocking song in the vein of "Barracuda" by Heart. One of the funniest/coolest things about this album is the between-song banter from Minoru Nihaara, the singer. He'll ask questions in Japanese (of course, it's in Tokyo!) and then throw out a few English phrases in broken/rough English, ("Are you ready?") and then roll out a Japanese phrase and then you hear him say the name of the song ("Animanalushi shigon sowan...I Was the...Suuuunnn!"). Speaking of "I Was The Sun" - it's a pretty killer tune as well. Kinda slow and grungy with a just out of control guitar solo. Think of Frampton's "I'll give you money" with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. doing his solo from "Thumb" in the middle - brilliant.Anyway, Loudness isn't for everybody, but I always do like digging this LP out of my collection and rocking out.