A very well documented, videotaped effort from Third Eye Productions that has circulated widely. But now!....it has been given proper enhancement and kit-glove treatment by the good people at Genuine Masters!
This is an excellent performance by Mssrs. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and this video was included in Tarantura's "Made In Occupied Japan". It is a VERY steady and wonderful audience-shot video, by the same person(s) who have provided many excellent vids of Japanese concerts such as the Rolling Stones Licks show at Budokan, etc. Supplement this particular Page & Plant show with an immaculate stereo soundboard...meticulously synched to the video and you have something very special. That IS "Budokan Tea Party".
What GM brings to the table is their ability to master choice audio to a video source. Their signature approach has been with the novel DVD-Audio/Picture montage product but they stretch once in awhile to lend their expertise in upgrading familiar videos in circulation like "Ladies & Gentlemen...The Rolling Stones" in Widescreen format... and since an incredibly beautiful and clean soundboard tape for this Budokan show was available, the whole production just fell into place. Both sources are complete and that makes it much easier to synch them up.
The tape starts off with some backstage and travel footage of the entourage in Japan, fans outside and inside the venue, roadies, etc...to the tune of "I think I'm Turning Japanese" and it's all good fun to set up the awesome openers of "Thank You" & "Custard Pie". The setlist is outstanding and it is the last night of the 1995-1996 Tour for the band so this sets up to be an emotional evening anyway. The real treat for fans is the inclusion of "Tea For One" in the set and it's a beautiful interpretation of this gem from Zeppelin's Presence LP.
This was an unbeliveably cool project for Genuine Masters to put together and all Led Zeppelin fanatics will appreciate the marrying of these sources to provide us another gem for ourselves to add to our collections. Excellent Video, stellar audio, nice package...with tracklisting! = must have.
Here's some other helpful information on this production and GM release from our friends at Underground Uprising:
http://www.undergroundweb.org.uk/video_dvd.htm#tokyo13feb
