Cheap Trick at Budokan
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''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' is the first
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
, and their best-selling recording. It was first released in Japan on October 8, 1978, and later released in the United States on February 1979, through
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
. After several years of constant touring but only middling exposure for the band, ''At Budokan'' steadily grew off radio play and word-of-mouth to become a high-selling success, kickstarting the band's popularity and becoming acclaimed as one of the greatest live rock albums of all time and a classic of the
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...
genre. It was ranked number 426 in the 2003 edition of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's list of "
the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
". In 2019, the album was selected by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
for preservation in the United States
National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". An album featuring leftover tracks from the band's 1978 Budokan set, plus additional material from their 1979 tour of Japan, was released in 1994 as ''Budokan II'', and a two-disc reconstruction of the complete original Budokan performances, titled ''At Budokan: The Complete Concert'', was released to commemorate its twentieth anniversary in 1998.


Overview

Cheap Trick found early success in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and capitalized on this popularity by recording ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' at the
Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...
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". As stated by producer Jack Douglas, the audio from ''Live at Budokan'' is actually not from the Budokan, but from Osaka, which was a smaller show. The recording of the Budokan show was deemed unsuitable for release. 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 The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
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 different from the vinyl release.


Reception

In the U.S., the album peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' 200 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 "I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is originally from their second album '' In Color'', released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United S ...
" reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The second single, a cover of Fats Domino's "
Ain't That a Shame "Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino's recording of the song, originally stated as "Ain't It a Shame", released by Imperial Records in 1955, was a hit, eventually selling a million copies. It reached n ...
" also charted, reaching number 35. ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' was certified triple Platinum in 1986 by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. In Canada, it went to number one, hitting the top of the ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' 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 received mostly positive contemporary reviews. In the UK, Sandy Robertson from ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'', while critical of Jack Douglas' production, concluded that "Cheap Trick are melodic enough to please pop-obscurity fans, heavy enough to net the Aerosmith mob, wacky enough to be eye-catching and good enough to take on the world. Possibly the best hard rock band in the USA." Nick Kent in ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' was more muted in his praise, writing that "Though it doesn't match up to '' In Colour'' as the best Cheap Trick initiation, ''Budokan'' is no disgrace. A live album of the old school – like '' The Kinks Live At Kelvin Hall'' or '' Got Live If You Want It'' – it's nothing essential or ground-breaking; just a fair approximation of the band in a live context." In the US, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', marking the album as a Top Album Pick, wrote that "With the fans behind them, the members of Cheap Trick put out its best, playing good hard and steady rock. Unlike so many current live LPs, the audience is always there, giving it more of a sense of space. The slight echo doesn't hurt the music."


Impact and legacy

In its official press release upon the album's entry into the
National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
, the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
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 AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
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." In
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
, Stuart Berman wrote on the album's success and influence, respectively, that "''At Budokan'', is not just one of rock's greatest live albums, but also one of its most triumphant underdog tales, an exemplar of pre-internet viral phenomena," and that "for the
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
,
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
,
Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...
,
Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...
,
the Raconteurs The Raconteurs (, also known as The Saboteurs in Australia) is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jack White (vocals, guitar), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), and ...
—basically any band that's ever tried to weld a
Beatlesque "Beatlesque" () or "Beatles-esque" describes a musical resemblance to the English rock band the Beatles. The term is loosely defined and has been applied inconsistently to a wide variety of disparate artists. Definitions To better explain what ...
melody to a power chord—all roads lead back to ''Budokan''." Further invoking comparison to the
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
, Nwaka Onwusa, director of curatorial affairs at the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...
, spoke with 1A on the parallels between
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
in the United States and Cheap Trick's reception in Japan: The album was included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''.


Track listing

All songs by
Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...
, except where noted.


Personnel


Cheap Trick

*
Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
*
Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...
lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
*
Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known for being the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands, including t ...
bass, backing vocals *
Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson, better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 ...
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...


Technical

* Cheap Trick –
producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
* Tomoo Suzuki – recording
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
* Jay Messina –
Mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
* Jack Douglas - mixing supervision * Gary Ladinsky, Mike Beiriger – master mix * Ken Adamany - production supervision * Kirk Dyer -
road manager In the music industry, a road manager is a person who works with small to mid-size tours (in terms of personnel involved, based on the size of the production). Job responsibilities include (but are not limited to): *advancing show dates *making t ...
* Ken Harris - director of
security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
* Matthew Perrin -
production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...
and
lighting designer In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping ...
* John Muzzarelli -
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
* Dave Wilmer - guitars (Nielsen) *Buddy Miller - guitars and basses (Zander, Petersson) * Hal Sherburne -
staging Staging may refer to: Computing * Staging (cloud computing), a process used to assemble, test, and review a new solution before it is moved into production and the existing solution is decommissioned * Staging (data), intermediately storing data b ...
* David Lewis -
sound technician In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
* Lois Marino -
publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
* Noriko Kobayashi - interpreter * Jeff Messenger -
logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
(office) * Tokyo Sound -
sound reinforcement A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sound ...
* Koh Hasebe, Kenji Miura -
photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
* Masaru Kawahara -
design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...


Sequel and re-issues

''Budokan II'' was released in February 1994 as a sequel of the first album, consisting of the remaining tracks from the concert not included on the original album and the tracks " Stiff Competition", "On Top of the World", and "How Are You?", recorded in 1979 during their follow-up tour. An expanded version of the original album was released in 1998 as ''At Budokan: The Complete Concert'', remastered and fully restored to include all the concert tracks left off the original album. This version of the album was performed in full at the Metro in Chicago on April 30, 1998, to coincide with the Complete Concert CD release. A 30th Anniversary Edition, ''Budokan!'' was released on November 11, 2008, as a four-disc set. In addition to the two-disc "Complete Concert", it includes a DVD and CD version of the concert from April 28, 1978. The filmed concert had originally been shown on Japanese TV, and was not previously commercially available. The original vinyl album is also to be reissued in conjunction with the 30th anniversary.Cheap Trick Live at Budokan 30th Anniversary Edition CD/DVD
Cheap Trick Online Store. Retrieved April 30, 2010.


''Budokan II'' track listing

# " ELO Kiddies" (Nielsen) – 5:41 # "
High Roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers ...
" (Nielsen, Petersson, Robin Zander) – 5:58 # "
Southern Girls "Southern Girls" is a song written by Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson that was first released by Cheap Trick on their 1977 album '' In Color'', produced by Tom Werman. It was also released as a single. It has been covered by a number of artists, ...
" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 5:35 # "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" (
Terry Reid Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949) is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high-profile musicians, as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman. Biography Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, L ...
) – 4:34 # " California Man" (
Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a ...
) – 5:45 # "Downed" (Nielsen) – 6:51 # " Stiff Competition" (Nielsen) – 4:02 (from 1979 tour) # "How Are You?" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 4:14 (from 1979 tour) # "On Top of the World" (Nielsen) – 4:02 (from 1979 tour) # "Can't Hold On" (Nielsen) – 5:55 # "Oh Caroline" (Nielsen) – 2:59 # " Auf Wiedersehen" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 3:41


''At Budokan: The Complete Concert'' track listing


Disc one

# "Hello There" # "Come On, Come On" # "ELO Kiddies" # "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" # "Big Eyes" # "Lookout" # "Downed" # "Can't Hold On" # "Oh Caroline" # "Surrender" # "Auf Wiedersehen"


Disc two

# "Need Your Love" # "High Roller" # "Southern Girls" # "I Want You to Want Me" # "California Man" # "Goodnight" # "Ain't That a Shame" # "Clock Strikes Ten"


30th Anniversary Edition track listing


DVD

# "Hello There" # "ELO Kiddies" # "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" # "Look Out" # "Downed" # "Can't Hold On" # "Oh Caroline" # "Surrender" # "Auf Wiedersehen" # "Southern Girls" # "I Want You to Want Me" # "California Man" # "Goodnight" # "Ain't That a Shame" # "Clock Strikes Ten"


Bonus tracks

# "Come On, Come On" (1978 performance) # " Voices" (2008 performance)" # "If You Want My Love" (2008 performance) # "Looking Back" – 2008 interviews


CD

# "Hello There" # "Come On, Come On" # "ELO Kiddies" # "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" # "Big Eyes" # "Look Out" # "Downed" # "Can't Hold On" # "Oh Caroline" # "Surrender" # "Auf Wiedersehen" # "Need Your Love" # "High Roller" # "Southern Girls" # "I Want You to Want Me" # "California Man" # "Goodnight" # "Ain't That a Shame" # "Clock Strikes Ten"


Chart performance


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


2017 reissue


Certifications


References


External links


''Cheap Trick at Budokan''
(
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(streamed copy where licensed) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheap Trick At Budokan Cheap Trick live albums United States National Recording Registry recordings Live video albums 2008 video albums 1978 live albums Epic Records video albums Epic Records live albums Albums recorded at the Nippon Budokan United States National Recording Registry albums