Demixing project provides a fresh take on Monkees' 1968 Japanese bootleg concert tape (UPDATED X2)

3/24/2020

On October 1, 1968, The Monkees were greeted rapturously as they arrived in Japan to perform a series of live concerts in that country for the very first time. One of these historic shows was filmed (most likely during the two day, three-concert stay at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on October 3 and 4, 1968) and later broadcast on Japanese television. The audio recording and video footage, however, has never been officially released. The audio (straight from the video) has long existed as a bootleg (complete with Japanese voice introductions before each song), but much to the chagrin of Monkees fans, the video footage is presumed lost or destroyed.

Monkees archivist Andrew Sandoval has confirmed that multiple attempts have been made to find the missing video footage. "It was definitely broadcast and there has been communication with TBS [Tokyo Broadcasting System] in Japan to retrieve anything they had," he wrote on Facebook in 2017. "We asked many times and have been told they have nothing. Unless they made a film print of the video, it is unlikely it survived."

The Monkees live in Tokyo, Japan at Budokan Hall

I first acquired a cassette tape of this particular concert in the late 1980s that ultimately relayed a sprightly and resolute performance by The Monkees, exhibiting just how far these four individuals with disparate musical backgrounds had come to achieving a "group" sound in a relatively short amount of time.

For years, Monkees fans have clamored for some sort of official release of this concert, even if it was just the audio portion as it seems the video footage has seemingly been lost to time. In the latest twist of this long-sought after piece of Monkees history, Live Almanac contributor Justin Rakowski has commenced a project to restore the original Japanese concert bootleg. In an effort to present the cleanest audio possible while also removing the invasive voice introductions before every song, Justin has "demixed" the audio. For those that aren’t familiar with "demixing," Justin relayed some details to the Live Almanac. "It’s essentially the process of using specific programs that can run a algorithm on a mono track and separate out individual signals like vocals, guitars, bass, and drums," Justin said. "The inherent problem with the Japan concert is not only the mono mix but the narrator that talks over the beginning of each song."

The Monkees in Japan, October 1968

Justin talked more about the challenges of his project. "Obviously the parts where the announcer talks is the hardest area to fix. It's easier when the announcer is not talking over The Monkees' performances. Even when there is commentary over the instrumental beginning of each song, I can remove the announcer, but the music underneath sounds like someone is playing with the volume knob so the music cuts in and out, leaving some bars with no recoverable information. So what I’ve done is flown in other parts of the song in to fix those areas."

And now, here are the initial results of Justin's experiment! While we're all doing our best to hunker down during this international health crisis, take a listen to Justin's work and keep your fingers crossed that the video of this concert finally emerges!

UPDATE 4/16/2020: Justin has completed this project and has uploaded the entire 1968 Japanese concert. Thanks again, Justin! (Individual clips still appear below.)

The Monkees Live in Japan 1968 - Complete Show (Stereo Demix)

"Last Train to Clarksville" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"I Wanna Be Free" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"Johnny B. Goode" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"D.W. Washburn" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"It's Nice To Be With You" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"I'm a Believer" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

"Salesman" (Live in Japan 1968 - Stereo Demix)

For "Salesman," Justin has offered up something special:

"Enjoy this 'what if' video using my newly demixed track of 'Salesman' synced up with edits of the 8mm Australia tour footage posted by Iain Lee's RareMonkees YouTube page."

Read more: The Monkees Live in Australia & Japan in 1968

7 Comments

Nicholas

3/24/2020 21:25:14

Haven't listened to this tape in a very long time. Hearing these tracks, while not perfect, was great because it didn't have the voiceovers. Awesome work Justin!

Richard J. Silverberg

3/25/2020 13:39:24

Very good job of removing the narration -compliments to Justin

Dave

3/26/2020 07:22:17

These are awesome!

MagneticNorthpaw

3/26/2020 14:09:08

In the absence of the actual master recordings and video footage, it seems this may be as good as we can get this footage to sound. Kudos to Justin for thinking out of the box and making the recordings sound "new" again. I'm sure Andrew Sandoval would be pleased to hear these them in this state.

The Monkees were always rough & ready as a live band but they clearly had improved in the time between the summer 1967 tour and fall 1968 - which is nothing short of astounding considering how little they rehearsed and played together in the intervening time. These versions are all the more appealing because Nez had switched to a 6-string SG which allows more of the individual notes to be heard as opposed to the rhythm "white wash" of his 12-string on the Live 1967 recordings which were really "strum-heavy." For a player who was not versed in lead guitar at the time, he plays some nice little lead bends and pulls throughout these songs - particularly on "Clarksville," "D.W. Washburn," and "Daydream Believer."

MonkeesBandFan

3/28/2020 13:25:52

Good comments, MagneticNorthpaw

The thing that always amazes me is how much tighter they sound in this compared to summer 67. How did they get that way without the time for daily band practice? My guess is that Micky's timing became more solid and that made the whole group better.

They are really missing a lead guitar so its too bad that Peter couldn't be off the bass all the time so he could do all leads (keys and guitar). Peter's bass "solo" on Clarksville is just not the same as the guitar solo on the record (which Peter later played in various reunion tours). A little more practice and Davy could probably handle most of the bass lines on the Monkees songs (or replaced them with simpler riffs). That would have filled out the sound if they operated as a full-time foursome on instruments with Peter as the lead

Shaun

4/11/2020 22:37:56

So the obvious question is... Live 1968. Could that CD/LP/Download be a Rhino release in the next year or so?

And while we’re at it, how about reissuing Live 1967 (With all the “solo” tracks) too?

Reine Boström

5/14/2020 10:15:12

Thanks for a great job editing the Monkees' concert from Budokan! Will have a lot of pleasure listening to the recording.
I find the "stereo mixing" of the mono recording somewhat complicated. It is not natural to feel the drums to the right in the "stereo mix". Attempts have been made previously to retrospectively mix mono recordings to "stereo sound", for example the Beatles' famous "Decca Tapes" where they played for record contracts. The result is usually less successful, would have preferred only a polishing of the sound in mono.
Anyway, the recording of the Monkees' concert in Budokan sounds better than before, an added plus for the silent breaks between the songs and the Japanese TV presenters being edited away.
Just missing the introduction to the "Monkees Theme", hope that Rhino will bring it when they finally tackle the recording of the Monkees' concert.