''Live in Japan'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

recorded in 1997 in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Originally the band planned to play an electric set as part of their Japanese tour, but the venue in Yokohama was too small (only holding fifty people) and there wasn't any room for an electric setup. The band played acoustic, and afterwards

Jack Casady John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " So ...

suggested to

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist J ...

that the recording was good enough for a new live album.

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues b ...

and Kaukonen listened to the tape and decided that Casady was right, and a new album was released. The album was Hot Tuna's last release on Relix Records. In 2004 Eagle Records remastered the album and re-released it with previously unreleased performances of "Parchman Farm", "Follow the Drinking Gourd", " Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning" and "Folsom Prison." Three of the tracks from the initial release were dropped from the remaster: "Hesitation Blues", "Candy Man" and "Keep on Truckin'".

1997 Relix Records track listing

#"Hesitation Blues" (

Rev. Gary Davis Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy, ...

) – 5:33 #"Walkin' Blues" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

) – 5:01 #"True Religion" (Traditional, arranged by

) – 5:43 #"Been So Long" (Kaukonen) – 3:51 #"Uncle Sam Blues" (Traditional, arranged by Kaukonen) – 5:42 #"Vampire Woman" (

Spark Plug Smith Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: Places * Spark Point, a rocky point in the South Shetland Islands People * Spark (surname) * ...

) – 2:54 #"Candy Man" (Davis) – 7:57 #"Let Us Get Together Right Down Here" (Davis) – 2:59 #"Third Week in the Chelsea" (Kaukonen) – 5:05 #"99 Year Blues" (

Julius Daniels Julius Daniels (November 20, 1901 – October 18, 1947) was an American Piedmont blues musician. His song "99 Year Blues" appeared on the box set '' Anthology of American Folk Music'' and has been covered by Jim Kweskin, Chris Smither, Johnny W ...

) – 7:02 #"Ice Age" (Kaukonen) – 6:38 #"San Francisco Bay Blues" (

Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with ...

) – 4:24 #"Mann's Fate" (Kaukonen) – 6:08 #"Keep On Truckin'" (Traditional, arranged by B. Carleton) – 4:29

2004 Eagle Records track listing

#"Walkin' Blues" (

) – 5:16 #"Parchman Farm" (

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

) – 5:36 #"True Religion" (Traditional, arranged by

) – 5:19 #"Been So Long" (Kaukonen) – 3:52 #"Uncle Sam Blues" (Traditional, arranged by Kaukonen) – 5:11 #"Vampire Woman" (

) – 2:58 #"Follow the Drinking Gourd" (Traditional, arranged by Kaukonen) – 5:05 #"Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning" (

) – 4:19 #"Let Us Get Together Right Down Here" (Davis) – 2:59 #"Third Week in the Chelsea" (Kaukonen) – 5:05 #"99 Year Blues" (

) – 6:23 #"Ice Age" (Kaukonen) – 6:38 #"San Francisco Bay Blues" (

) – 4:25 #"Folsom Prison Blues" (

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

) – 4:03 #"Mann's Fate" (Kaukonen) – 6:08

Personnel

– lead guitar, vocals *

– bass *

– rhythm guitar *

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

– keyboards * Harvey Sorgen – drums, percussion

Production

*Rick Sanchez – live mix & recordist *Jon Smith – editor, engineer *

– producer *

– executive producer, liner notes *Post Production done at Jorma's Hillside Farms Studio at the Fur Peace Ranch,

Darwin, Ohio Darwin is a small unincorporated community in central Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio, in the United States. It is located along U.S. Route 33 between Athens and Pomeroy, at its intersection with State Route 681. Education Public edu ...

*Ian R. Brand at Disc Makers – design *GABRA Management– management *Steve Martin, The Agency Group – booking agent

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Live In Japan (Hot Tuna Album) Hot Tuna live albums 1990 live albums Relix Records live albums Eagle Records live albums