Live in Tokyo (Public Image Limited album)

Live in Tokyo
Live album by Public Image Ltd
Released	August 1983 (Japan) 26 September 1983 (UK) 14 July 1986 (USA) [1]
Recorded	1–2 July 1983
Venue	Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Nakano, Nakano, Tokyo
Genre	Post-punk
Length	45:50
Label	Columbia
Producer	Public Image Ltd
Public Image Ltd chronology
The Flowers of Romance (1981) Live in Tokyo (1983) This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get (1984)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	C [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	1/10 [5]

Live in Tokyo is a 1983 live album released by Public Image Ltd as a 2-EP 45 RPM set. It was issued by Columbia Records in Japan and later reissued by Virgin Records in the UK and reached #28 on the British charts. A single-LP 33 RPM edition was later issued by Elektra Records in the US.

A 35-minute live videocassette from the same series of concerts was also issued by Columbia Records in Japan under the title Live '83.

Live in Tokyo was the world's first digitally recorded live album according to Martin Atkins and the band recorded the concerts specifically to use the new Japanese digital technology ^[6]

Reception

Geoff Orens of AllMusic felt that many of the songs were worse than their studio versions, calling it "resoundingly faceless and bland ", but found that "Religion" was the only one that added "something to the original version, with a new organ introduction and an astonishingly biting performance from Lydon. Ironically enough, because the group recorded with such sophisticated equipment, the sound is phenomenal, capturing a mediocre band in crisp, rich tones." ^[7]

Track listing

Side One

1. "Annalisa" – 5:17
2. "Religion II" – 5:49

Side Two

1. "Low-Life" – 2:47
2. "Solitaire" – 3:59
3. "Flowers of Romance" – 4:46

Side Three

1. "This Is Not a Love Song" – 6:27
2. "Swan Lake" – 5:06

Side Four

1. "Bad Life" – 4:44
2. "Banging the Door" – 4:55
3. "Under the House" – 1:56

Personnel

Public Image Limited

• John Lydon - vocals
• Joseph Guida - guitar
• Louis Bernardi - bass
• Tommy Zvoncheck - keyboards
• Martin Atkins - drums

Technical

• Kenji Miura - cover photograph

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8]	92
UK Albums (OCC) [9]	28

References

1. Cocatalog.loc.gov United States Copyright Office website
2. Allmusic review
3. Robert Christgau. "Robert Christgau: CG: Public Image Ltd" . Retrieved 9 September 2013.
4. Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Public Image Ltd.". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  662–63. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
5. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 315.
6. Heylin, Clinton (1989). Public Image Rise/Fall. Omnibus Press. p. 72. ISBN   0-7119-1684-5
7. Live in Tokyo - Public Image Ltd. | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 9 April 2025
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 242. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2025.