• Masayoshi Takanaka Rainbow Goblins Story Live at Budokan 1981 3LP clear lime yellow, red and blue vinyl, UPJY-9567/9
  • Full set of Masayoshi Takanaka Rainbow Goblins Story Live at Budokan 1981 3LP clear lime yellow, red and blue vinyl, UPJY-9567/9
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STOKYO

Masayoshi Takanaka – Rainbow Goblins Story Live at Budokan 1981 3LP Color Vinyl (Japan Import, UPJY-9567/9)

Masayoshi Takanaka – Rainbow Goblins Story Live at Budokan 1981 3LP Color Vinyl (Japan Import, UPJY-9567/9)

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Masayoshi Takanaka's legendary 1981 Rainbow Goblins concert at Nippon Budokan, released as a full audio album for the first time. On the day The Rainbow Goblins came out, and again the next night, Takanaka played it live in full under a giant rainbow neon arch, then followed with a set of his hits. Forty-five years later, the complete show arrives on three clear color LPs, mastered and cut at Abbey Road. Japanese pressing, new.

  • First-ever full audio release of the show. Recorded at Nippon Budokan, March 10–11, 1981, and released for the album's 45th anniversary.
  • 3LP on clear lime yellow, clear red and clear blue vinyl. The three primary colors of light, a nod to the rainbow Yamaha SG Takanaka played that night. Side D is etched.
  • Mastered and cut by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios, London.
  • Photo-packed booklet. Includes liner notes by music writer Masayoshi Kondo and Yoshinobu Maruyama, Takanaka's manager at Kitty Artists at the time.

About the concert

By 1981, Masayoshi Takanaka was already one of Japan's most popular guitarists. The Rainbow Goblins (虹伝説), his concept album inspired by Italian painter Ul de Rico's picture book about seven goblins who steal the colors of the rainbow, came out on March 10, and that same night he staged it at the Budokan. The first half recreated the album in full. A huge rainbow neon arch lit up in time with the music, a state-of-the-art laser show played across a mountain of gear, and the seven-piece band wore costumes in their goblins' colors. Takanaka himself performed in a yellow jumpsuit with rainbow-dyed hair, playing a rainbow-metallic Yamaha SG. The second half switched to his hits, from "Blue Lagoon" to "Kurofune." Long known only from video, the show has become a touchstone for the worldwide audience that has found Takanaka through the city pop and fusion revival.

Tracklist

Side A

  1. Prologue
  2. Once Upon a Song
  3. Seven Goblins
  4. The Sunset Valley

Side B

  1. The Moon Rose
  2. Soon
  3. Thunderstorm

Side C

  1. Rising Arch
  2. Plumed Bird
  3. You Can Never Come to This Place

Side D

Etched side, no music

Side E

  1. Blue Lagoon
  2. Rainy Day Blue

Side F

  1. Early Bird
  2. Ready to Fly
  3. Kurofune (黒船)

Musicians

Masayoshi Takanaka (guitar), Masahiro Miyazaki (drums), Akihiro Tanaka (bass), Izumi Kobayashi (keyboards), Kiyosumi Ishikawa (keyboards), Makoto Kimura (percussion), Koji Satsuma (sax) and Yuki Sugawara (percussion).

Release details

Artist Masayoshi Takanaka (高中正義)
Title Rainbow Goblins Story Live at Budokan 1981 ~Niji Densetsu~ Special Edition (虹伝説)
Label Universal Music Japan
Catalog No. UPJY-9567/9
Barcode 4988031870235
Format 3 × 12" LP (clear lime yellow, clear red, clear blue), etched side D
Includes Photo booklet with liner notes
Mastering Alex Wharton, Abbey Road Studios
Recorded Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, March 10–11, 1981
Country Japan (import)
Released September 30, 2026
Genre Jazz-Fusion, City Pop, Live
Condition New

The studio version of "EARLY BIRD": T-WAVE (180g clear orange vinyl).

Why buy from STOKYO

STOKYO is run by DJs and vinyl heads, and we've been importing Japanese records and analog gear since 2004. This 3LP comes straight from Japan and ships from Los Angeles.

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