Long Season '96~7 - 96.12.26 Akasaka Blitz

General information
Release Type	Live album
Release Date	June 29, 2016
Recorded	December 26, 1996 @Akasaka Blitz
Genre	Dream Pop
Length	112:39
Label	Universal
Producer(s)	ZAK

Long Season '96~7 - 96.12.26 Akasaka Blitz, also simply known as "96.12.26", is a live album by Japanese dub/rock band Fishmans. It was released on June 29, 2016, almost 20 years after its initial recording on December 26, 1996 @Akasaka Blitz.

December 26, 1996 was partially broadcast on NHK TV in the 90s. The only parts of the concert originally broadcasted by the station were Oh Slime, Go Go Round This World! and Long Season.

In reference to Long Season '96~7 - 96.12.26 Akasaka Blitz on Fishmans' website, the following is written:

Untranslated Japanese
大作『LONG SEASON』リリース後に行われたツアー最終日のライヴ音源。絶頂期にあったフィッシュマンズのステージを余すことなく記録した作品。40分越えの『LONG SEASON』は圧巻で、会場にいたイノマーは「神様が降りてきて、皆を幸せなところへ連れていってくれた」と表現している。佐藤伸治が当時インタビューで語っていた「ふつうに生きてる時間の流れとは違う、頭の中の時間の流れ」が刻み込まれた作品。

English Auto-translated Using DeepL Translate, Edited for Comprehension

This is a live recording of the last day of the tour after the release of the epic "Long Season". The 40-minute-long song is a masterpiece, and one of the audience members described it as "God coming down and taking us all to a happy place." The work is imprinted with "the flow of time in my head, which is different from the flow of time in ordinary life," as Shinji Sato said in an interview at the time.

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "Oh Slime" (6:39)
2. "Go Go Round This World!" (8:27)
3. "なんてったの" (5:39)
4. "土曜日の夜" (4:59)
5. "バックビートにのっかって" (8:15)
6. "エヴリデイ・エヴリナイト" (3:42)
7. "Sunny Blue" (6:43)
8. "Smilin' Days, Summer Holiday" (5:04)
9. "すばらしくてNice Choice" (6:43)
10. "夜の想い" (7:05)

Disc 2

1. "ナイトクルージング" (9:19)
2. "Long Season" (40:04)

Artwork/Packaging

Full front cover, stitched together from 2 scans.

Complete inner booklet, stitched from 2 scans.

Back.

Inlay.

Disc 1.

Disc 2.

Lyric sheet is entirely blank with words, except for this graphic.

Obi strip front.

Obi strip back.

Personnel

Band members

• Shinji Satoh (vocal, guitars, writer)
• Yuzuru Kashiwabara (bass, chorus)
• Kin-Ichi Motegi (drums, sampler, chorus, supervisor (2016))

Other musicians

• Honzi (violin, keyboards, chorus)
• Michio "Darts" Sekiguchi (guitars, chorus)
• Asa-Chang (percussion)
• MariMari (chorus)
• Masaki Morimoto (whistle)
• Girls (chorus)

Other personnel

• ZAK (sound engineer, recording engineer, mixing (2016), mastering (2016))
• Masato Ono (stage director)
• Kazuroh Isokawa (monitor engineer)
• Kazuhiro Hirayama (lighting designer)
• Mitsuteru Takasugi (instrument technician)
• Toshi "HERO" Betty (instrument technician)
• Masato Kihara (concert promoter)
• Toshiya Sano (recording director, director (2016), artwork coordinator (2016))
• Akiko Ueta (artist management)
• Yoshiyuki Okuda (executive producer)
• Koreyuki Tanaka (digital archive engineer (2016))
• Kenjiro Ishida (digital archive engineer (2016))
• Eiichi Mikami (A&R (2016))
• Yuko Yamane (A&R desk (2016))
• Masanori Okamura (sales promoter (2016))
• Mooog Yamamoto (creative direction for inner photo)
• Ayako Mogi (photography for inner photo)
• Junko Ishiwata (styling for inner photo)
• Yutaka Kimura (art director (2016), designer (2016))
• Takao 'B' Shimizu (artwork coordinator (2016))

Special Thanks

• Kensuke Kawamura
• Hiroshi Shimizu
• Katsuo Funatsu
• Hirotoshi Nonaka
• Fumihiko Oizumi

Issues

• 2016 - UPCY-7147/8 (CD, Polydor, Japan) - Part of reissue series Fishmans 25 - Silver Anniversary! 2016.