Cheap Trick at Budokan

Template:Short description {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Heaven Tonight1978Dream Police1979liveCheap Trick at BudokanCheapTrick Live atBudokan.jpgCheap TrickOctober 8, 1978April 28 & 30, 1978Nippon Budokan, Tokyo*Hard rock

• power pop42:27EpicCheap Trickx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Cheap Trick at Budokan (or simply At Budokan) is the first live album by American rock band Cheap Trick, and their best-selling recording. Recorded at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, the album was first released in Japan on October 8, 1978, and later released in the United States in February 1979, through Epic Records. 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 genre.

It was ranked number 426 in the 2003 edition of Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".<ref>"426: Cheap Trick, 'At Budokan'". Rolling Stone. Published November 1, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2013.</ref> In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> 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, and capitalized on this popularity by recording Cheap Trick at Budokan at the Nippon 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.<ref>Kozak, Roman. "Now Cheap Trick Eyes Europe" Billboard August 25, 1979: 68</ref> 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. Template:Citation needed

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 different from the vinyl release.Template:Citation needed

Reception

In the U.S., the album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200<ref name="Billboard" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cheap Trick at Budokan was certified triple Platinum in 1986 by the RIAA.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In Canada, it went to number one, hitting the top of the RPM 100 Albums chart on August 11 of the same year.<ref name="Canada">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By November 1979, it had achieved quintuple platinum status (500,000 units) in that country.<ref>Music Canada, Gold Platinum Database: Cheap Trick</ref>

The album received mostly positive contemporary reviews. In the UK, Sandy Robertson from Sounds, 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nick Kent in NME 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the US, Billboard, 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."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Impact and legacy

In its official press release upon the album's entry into the National Recording Registry, the Library of Congress 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."<ref name=":0" /> 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."<ref name=Allmusic/> In Pitchfork, 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, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Ted Leo, the Raconteurs—basically any band that's ever tried to weld a Beatlesque melody to a power chord—all roads lead back to Budokan."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Further invoking comparison to the Beatles, Nwaka Onwusa, director of curatorial affairs at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, spoke with 1A on the parallels between Beatlemania 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Track listing

All songs by Rick Nielsen, except where noted. Template:Track listing Template:Track listing

Personnel

Cheap Trick

• Robin Zander – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rick Nielsen – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Tom Petersson – bass, backing vocals
• Bun E. Carlos – drums

Technical

• Cheap Trick – producers
• Tomoo Suzuki – recording engineer
• Jay Messina – Mixing engineer
• Jack Douglas - mixing supervision
• Gary Ladinsky, Mike Beiriger – master mix
• Ken Adamany - production supervision
• Kirk Dyer - road manager
• Ken Harris - director of security
• Matthew Perrin - production manager and lighting designer
• John Muzzarelli - stage manager
• Dave Wilmer - guitars (Nielsen)
• Buddy Miller - guitars and basses (Zander, Petersson)
• Hal Sherburne - staging
• David Lewis - sound technician
• Lois Marino - publicist
• Noriko Kobayashi - interpreter
• Jeff Messenger - logistics (office)
• Tokyo Sound - sound reinforcement
• Koh Hasebe, Kenji Miura - photography
• Masaru Kawahara - design

Sequel and re-issues

{{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Voices (Int'l Marketing Grp)1992Woke Up with a Monster1994liveBudokan IICheap Trick Budokan II.jpgCheap TrickFebruary 1994Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, 1978 and 1979Rock, hard rock, power pop54:14Epic / Sony MusicCheap Trickx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}} Template:Album ratings

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.<ref>Cheap Trick Live at Budokan 30th Anniversary Edition CD/DVD. Cheap Trick Online Store. Retrieved April 30, 2010.</ref>

Budokan II track listing

1. "ELO Kiddies" (Nielsen) – 5:41
2. "High Roller" (Nielsen, Petersson, Robin Zander) – 5:58
3. "Southern Girls" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 5:35
4. "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" (Terry Reid) – 4:34
5. "California Man" (Roy Wood) – 5:45
6. "Downed" (Nielsen) – 6:51
7. "Stiff Competition" (Nielsen) – 4:02 (from 1979 tour)
8. "How Are You?" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 4:14 (from 1979 tour)
9. "On Top of the World" (Nielsen) – 4:02 (from 1979 tour)
10. "Can't Hold On" (Nielsen) – 5:55
11. "Oh Caroline" (Nielsen) – 2:59
12. "Auf Wiedersehen" (Nielsen, Petersson) – 3:41

At Budokan: The Complete Concert track listing

Disc one

1. "Hello There"
2. "Come On, Come On"
3. "ELO Kiddies"
4. "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace"
5. "Big Eyes"
6. "Lookout"
7. "Downed"
8. "Can't Hold On"
9. "Oh Caroline"
10. "Surrender"
11. "Auf Wiedersehen"

Disc two

1. "Need Your Love"
2. "High Roller"
3. "Southern Girls"
4. "I Want You to Want Me"
5. "California Man"
6. "Goodnight"
7. "Ain't That a Shame"
8. "Clock Strikes Ten"

30th Anniversary Edition track listing

DVD

1. "Hello There"
2. "ELO Kiddies"
3. "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace"
4. "Look Out"
5. "Downed"
6. "Can't Hold On"
7. "Oh Caroline"
8. "Surrender"
9. "Auf Wiedersehen"
10. "Southern Girls"
11. "I Want You to Want Me"
12. "California Man"
13. "Goodnight"
14. "Ain't That a Shame"
15. "Clock Strikes Ten"

Bonus tracks

1. "Come On, Come On" (1978 performance)
2. "Voices" (2008 performance)"
3. "If You Want My Love" (2008 performance)
4. "Looking Back" – 2008 interviews

CD

1. "Hello There"
2. "Come On, Come On"
3. "ELO Kiddies"
4. "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace"
5. "Big Eyes"
6. "Look Out"
7. "Downed"
8. "Can't Hold On"
9. "Oh Caroline"
10. "Surrender"
11. "Auf Wiedersehen"
12. "Need Your Love"
13. "High Roller"
14. "Southern Girls"
15. "I Want You to Want Me"
16. "California Man"
17. "Goodnight"
18. "Ain't That a Shame"
19. "Clock Strikes Ten"

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (1978–1979)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">Template:Cite book</ref>	12

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	5
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	36
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	13

2017 reissue

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	106

External links

• Cheap Trick at Budokan (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)