209: AT BUDOKAN: THE COMPLETE CONCERT | CHEAP TRICK
Very important that I specify that this entry is the Complete Concert. The originally released version had half the amount of tracks. And one of the omitted cuts is my favorite Cheap Trick song “Southern Girls”. You could also count the 30the Anniversary version as well.
This is, without a doubt, in the top 5 1970s live recordings. It BLOWS one of the highest selling live albums Frampton Comes Alive (snorefest) out of the water. The energy with the almost Beatlemania-like Japanese audience is very special and an integral component to what makes Budokan a live masterpiece.
When artists songs live versions are better than the studio versions you know that you are listening to a pinnacle live performance.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic: While their records were entertaining and full of skillful pop, it wasn't until At Budokan that Cheap Trick's vision truly gelled. Many of these songs, like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Big Eyes," were pleasant in their original form, but seemed more like sketches compared to the roaring versions on this album. With their ear-shatteringly loud guitars and sweet melodies, Cheap Trick unwittingly paved the way for much of the hard rock of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of alternative rock of the 1990s, and it was At Budokan that captured the band in all of its power.
Wiki: Cheap Trick at Budokan is a live album released by Cheap Trick in 1978 and their best-selling recording. It was ranked number 426 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In its official press release, the Library stated that, along with its success in the Japanese market, Cheap Trick at Budokan "proved to be the making of the band in their home country, as well as a loud and welcomed alternative to disco and soft rock and a decisive comeback for rock and roll.". Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine has also stated that with this album, "Cheap Trick unwittingly paved the way for much of the hard rock of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of alternative rock of the 1990s."
Cheap Trick found early success in Japan, and capitalized on this popularity by recording Cheap Trick at Budokan in Tokyo on April 28 and 30, 1978, with an audience of 12,000 screaming Japanese fans nearly drowning out the band at times. The album was intended for release only in Japan but with strong airplay of the promotional album From Tokyo to You, an estimated 30,000 import copies were sold in the United States and the album was released domestically in February 1979. The album also introduced two previously unreleased original songs, "Lookout" and "Need Your Love".
An unusual aspect of the album release in the UK was the use of coloured vinyl, then primarily restricted to singles and EP's, and soon replaced as a marketing gimmick by so-called "picture discs". A prominently displayed sticker on the sleeve of "Live at Budokan" announced that it had been released on "kamikaze yellow vinyl", and, unlike most coloured discs, which were usually as opaque as the conventional black vinyl records, the disc in the album is translucent.
When Cheap Trick at Budokan was first released on compact disc in the U.S., the first pressing contained a slightly different, possibly unpolished mix of the concert. Notably the guitar trade-offs of "Ain't That A Shame" were obviously different from the vinyl release.
In the U.S., the album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200[7] and became the group's best selling album with over three million copies sold. It also ranked number 13 on Billboard's Top Pop Albums of 1979 year-end chart. The single "I Want You to Want Me" reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, a cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" also charted, reaching number 35. Cheap Trick at Budokan was certified triple Platinum in 1986 by the RIAA. Read more
In Canada, it went to number one, hitting the top of the RPM 100 Albums chart on August 11 of the same year. By November 1979, it had achieved quintuple platinum status (500,000 units) in that country.
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Read more