At Budokan
Cheap Trick
1979
Album Summary
Cheap Trick at Budokan is a live album released by Cheap Trick in 1978 and their best-selling recording. 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". In 2020, 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". 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.
WikipediaI really hate this fucking album. Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph I hate this album. Might I enumerate those ways in which thine sweet serenade doth fuckin piss me off? Listen close. First off, the singer has no soul. Like this nigga sounds like he isn't allowed to reveal that he's trapped in this band as a cosmic punishment for some heinous crime. Garbarge. that's one. Second off, this shit is literally - and I mean actually literally - not even partially artistic. Every song is boring. Every song is 100% predictable. Every song sounds like it was fabricated for the collective wet-dream of of the characters in that 70's show. wtf? This is fucking crazy. Bland as fuck, its like feeding my ears straight white rice cooked in distilled water. There's literally nothing here. And if you wanna get into the weeds, we can talk about specifics - incessant 4/4 shit-drumming; solos that sound 100% lackluster due to an unbelievable lack of tension, plus guitar solos that actually mimic real sounds in the world that are boring (the clock solo at the end is the ultimate example of this); The horribly awkward talking in the middle of most of the music: the 'i need some love' part was so bad it actually made a permanent change on my mood; How about that bass player? Talk about bullshit! He'snot doing anything. Take his ass out and replace him with a machine why don't you? And they shouted out that shitty drummer one too many times. That's two things. Now lets talk about the album as a whole. First off its live. Why? its worse this way. They are not exciting. They are not fun. They are not inspiring live. Their lyrics are harder to hear, which for me is a plus, but can’t be a plus for the crowd of 'women' - aka dads in drag or daughters who went to this concert to honor their dads or women who were looking for a hookup and 500 bucks and cocaine backstage. I genuinely can't believe that any of the women I heard in this crowd were there of their own free will, even if they think they were. I won't believe it, it'd be an insult to women. Classic Rock Dad, sure he's there. But wtf? In fact I'd like to see a phenomenological investigation of the aesthetic judgement of these women. The music was the equivalent of a 15 year old highschool mini-himbo (has-slept-with-4-young-women-and-thinks-hes-on-top-of-the-fucking-world-because-he-buys-ditch-weed-and-cries-to-cheap-trick-in-his-basement-while-his-single-mom-is-taking-out-the-trash-alone-...-again). That means it was also a work in neu-virility - you know? The whole 'Oh baby I need you so much and all my vulberable emotions are actually just expressed through my need to have a slam piece near me who doesn't hate my music' type shit. For women, its insidious self hate. For men, its right on the god damn mark. Either way, its lame af. That's three. Lyrically its about as mature as 5glo 10 years ago and sounds just as young on the ears. How can anyone justify basically talking about nothing interesting? Isn't tgis part of the rock corpus that old white guys point to to say music now is dying? How did these lyrics pre-empt the awkward, wan, inconsequentiality of modern lyricism, except without the very obvious cultural impetus for such a switch. Only song I had heard before was Surrender and they even made my hate that in this listen. Its actually almost artistic how trite the lyrics are. Sadly, they are clearly artless. 1/5, but really more like .9/10, the requiste score for 'music' in the broad sense. Harumph
The point of a live album is to take everything that makes the studio album great and amp it up with the energy of a live show. Unfortunately, Cheap Trick is just a sloppy mess live, apparently. The hits are still good but everything is just... loose. And the recording isn't even hight quality. It's just not worth it, really.
Day 36 of Albums You Must Hear.. At Budokan (Live) is the album that put Cheap Trick on the international map, having gained early popularity in Japan, the Rockford, Illionois band that had been playing and recording since 1973 made this live album in 1978. When copies of this record that was meant to be exclusive to the Japanese market made their way to the US, Epic Records was forced to release an American version in 1979, and would go on to be Cheap Trick’s most successful album. I Want You to Want Me is probably the most recognizable song to the average listener and is dripping with sex and desire. Surrender has been one of my favorites from Cheap Trick ever since it was featured in a film I saw once about the Son of Sam serial killer of the 70’s. Ain’t That a Shame, a cover of the great Fats Domino song from 1956 is my officially my favorite song. The closing track, Clock Strikes Ten, is a great song that anyone can rock out to! Hearing the fans go ape shit on every song made listening to this record even more exciting! Cheap Trick rode a wave that was departing the Disco era, when most bands were transitioning to Soft Rock. These guys turned up the heat and brought some heaviness back to Rock music. This was a great listen and an album you must hear before you die. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!!
De manière générale, j'aime bien les albums live. Pourtant, celui-ci manque cruellement de transitions entre les chansons, ce qui a tendance à me déplaire. Les Cheap Trick devraient en la matière prendre exemple sur le Nimmerland-Tour de RIN. Voici comment les concerts en question étaient structurés : - La première partie était assurée par le chanteur James Arthur, qui devait le plus souvent abréger sa prestation en raison du mécontentement de la salle. - RIN arrivait ensuite en tyrolienne en chantant justement des chants tyroliens avant d'enchaîner huit fois le morceau Dizzee Rascal type beat. - À mi-concert, l'incident des "deux merdes" donnait lieu à de longues minutes de négociations entre le rappeur et la frange costumée du public. - Juste avant le dernier morceau, RIN dévoilait sa carte maîtresse en invitant la voix française de Shark à le rejoindre sur scène devant des fans qui n'en croyaient pas leurs yeux. - RIN regagnait enfin sa loge où l'attendait Bausa et sa terrible influence.
Listening through this, I was confused at first. Then I hit "I Want You to Want Me" and realized oh, this is home to probably one of the most famous live rock songs I know. I'm still not a fan of live albums in general, but I understand including this one now. That doesn't mean I like it, though. I wouldn't return to it aside from the two hits. Favorite tracks: I Want You to Want Me, Surrender. Album cover: Honestly not that bad. It's just a band/stage photo but they look like they're having fun and the colors are pretty nice. 2.5/5
Rather uninspring lyrics and boring. I just don't want to spend time listening to this. No magic in terms of crowd interaction. Nothing that made me want to stop and focus. Why is this on here?
There was a certain consumerism magic about Japan in the mid to late 70s. All the trinkets sold in dollar stores said "made in Japan" rather than "made in China'', the energy crisis had people turning away from the North American gas guzzlers and buying Honda Civics, and the most sought after Beatles bootleg was called "Five Nights in a Judo arena" which was also recorded at Budokan. Cheap Trick's live album was perfectly timed to benefit from the thirst for all things from Japan. Too bad the album sucks.
I saw Cheap Trick live at Download Festival many years ago. I remember the singer was dressed as a sailor, and the guitarist had a guitar with 4 necks. They were excellent live. I have already heard a couple of songs from this album, so am excited to hear the rest! Songs I already knew: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender Favourite after listening: I Want You To Want Me, Surrender This was genuine excellence. Live albums don’t tend to be as good as studio albums but this was perfection throughout, and with a good set of headphones you can imagine being there with them. Every single song gave me goosebumps at one time or another. Everything was very tight, no voice cracks, no duff notes. And most importantly, each song was catchy and very enjoyable. I would recommend absolutely everybody listens to this album.
Alright. Mix could have been a bit cleaner, but at least it sounds like a live album.
Easy enough listening but nothing stand out which would bring me back to it.
2.5/10 Boring. You're always simultaneously hoping for a good song to come and for the album to end. "Surrender" is the best one. 1- 2- 3- 4- 5-- 6=- 7=- 8+ 9= 10=
Classic. High quality. Great crowd. Goodnight was awesome. Need your love was killer. "That" version of i want you to want me.
es como escuchar a los bicles con distor No muchas bandas tienen ese power cuando tocan en vivo y este es un disco que sin duda voy a volver a escuchar seguido Need your love, i want you to want me, surrender, goodnight y clock strikes ten
I’ve never given cheap trick the time of day. This album is legitimately great.
This is probably the best, ballsiest sounding live record around. Big Eyes has huge energy on a weird guitar part that takes over the room like a big animal. turns out the audio is from Osaka and not at the Budokan, the recording there was a failure. FABULOUS ALBUM
Just some amazing live 70s rock. Easily relistenable. I actually didn’t know that much about Cheap Trick besides their singles and I really like everything on this album.
Cheap Trick wouldn't be at the top of my list of favourite bands, to be honest I hadn't heard much of their work. But they really won me over with this album. This is a great live album. The band's performance & the crowd's energy really gets you going when listening to it. One of the biggest surprises I've had so far listening to all these albums.
Just so great. I think in most cases a live recording in which the listener can hear the screaming fans during the actual songs might get old really fast, but I would argue that in the case of "At Budokan," the fans are what make this such a fun, energy-filled live album. They make "I Want You to Want Me" better, that's for sure. This version of "Surrender" is so much better than the studio version that they might as well be different songs. This is the high water mark for Cheap Trick.
Awesome, great vibe, and I even recognized a few tracks! I want you to want me is legendary
Amazing live album from an awesome band. No wonder they took off after this.
One of the all-time great live albums. The set is perfect, and there's a reason this is the prime version of I Want You To Want Me!
This could be the definition of the right thing at the right time, from 1978, the era of this kind of rock, this album, even if you don't know this band, will give you the feeling of that era. I don't like much albums recorded from concerts, however this one it's just the right choice.
Yes!! My very first album as a kid. I remember my father walking with me to K-mart ( yes, K-mart!) to buy. Hello There is a great way to start a show. Every song is fantastic. Big Eyes reminds me of my 6th grade girlfriend, Mary G. Great album, great memories. My son was in a stroller, only a couple years old and he got to experience these guys at the Plainwell island city festival on July 24th, 1999. They played 5 songs of this album. Put my niece, Kaylee, on my shoulders and Rick Nielsen handed her a guitar pick. She was only 5 or 6 at the time! Should be noted, there were only a couple hundred folks in the crowd, so easy to get right up and see the band. Just a wonderful album. My first 5!!
This is a classic vinyl record. This has a live debut of surrender and is very classic rock. Enjoyed it a lot!
I have always had a soft spot for Cheap Trick, one of my first concerts. An awesome live album to make you feel right in the arm-waving crowd with great pop rock anthems. The 8 min Need Your Love take has great riffs and the live I Want You to Want me can't get any more sing-along-able.
Always tough starting with a live album, but liked this one. "I want you to want me" and "Surrender" are probably the two biggest hits on this one!
не люблю альбомы з концертов, качество записи чуть хуже.. но даже так - 4 стабильно
Me llama la atención que hayan agregado un álbum que no es "de estudio" a esta lista. Fue un cambio de estilo bienvenido después de la última racha. Confieso que no ubicaba al grupo; sólo reconocí la canción de "I want you to want me", pero como que es la más diferente del álbum. ¿A qué se deberá que este grupo no tiene tanto renombre como Kiss, AC/DC o Metallica? Me gustó la canción "Need Your Love" y ya la agregué a mi lista.
Hard rock writ large, replete with screaming female fans reminiscent of Beatlemania. One of the better live rock albums I've heard.
Honestamente sólo había escuchado Sur render (gran rola) y no tenía ni idea de quienes eran. El disco me parece bueno, con 3 o 4 rolas (me gustó Big Eyes en el juego de voces) que ya agregué y cuando haya tiempo entrarle más. Iba a darle 3 por ser disco en vivo, pero merece la pena volver a dárselo.
Awesome quality for a live album that old, plus Cheap Trick is a great band
Pues sí divertido, gran energía, momentos chidos, pero no gracias, no me quedan ganas de escucharlo de nuevo, salvo por Need Your Love que me suenan muy familiares los riffs y tiene un gran final. Mood: Chido para drogarse en un festival.
Never heard of Cheap Trick before and have no idea what they sound like on a studio record, but this live album has great energy and seems to really capture the performance. A very engaging and enjoyable listen despite not knowing any of the songs. I do like the catchy rock songs, but am not really motivated to seek out the studio versions. I usually find live albums fall a bit flat, but I couldn't fault this recording or performance at all.
very good album but not a big fan of the last song or the fact that it is all live. very good though
Was a little surprised to see a live album, especially as there doesn't seem to be anything particularly unique about the performance, but I get it was an important release for the band and I did really enjoy it. Great energy and good songs! Sound like a fun live band. 8/10
Hieman haastava arvioitava sinänsä, että Cheap Trick ei ole nimenä minulle millään tavalla tuttu, eikä biisitkään kuulostaneet ennestään tutuilta. Näiden live-esityksiä pitäisi sitten arvioida. Mielestäni levy kuitenkin oli hyvä, soitto kuulosti energiseltä ja yleisön laulamista ja huuteluakin oli vähän saatu mukaan nauhoitukseen. Biiseistä jäi mieleen Need Your Love, Surrender ja Clock Strikes Ten.
Really enjoyed this. Sounds of so many bands I like and more proof that Oasis were rip off merchants.
It’s some classic pop-rock and it’s damn good. They are also all good musicians especially the lead guitarist as showcased on Ain’t That a Shame. The solos are good and the band is really tight. It’s not deep or anything but it’s full of exciting upbeat bangers and that’s sometimes just what you need. Favorite songs: Come On, Come On; Big Eyes, Need Your Love, Ain’t That a Shame, I Want You to Want Me, Surrender Decent 8/10
Good things: Loved that they had a "Hello" opener song and a closer "Goodbye" song. Good crowd interaction having people clap on "I Want You To Want Me", which is a really good song. Rocking out to Big Ben is a sick encore. Good rock n roll sound like Peter Frampton but a bit less sappy and a little more edgy. Still quite radio-friendly music to be honest, but it all sounds balanced. Bad things: "Lookout" and "Need Your Love" are quite forgettable songs (ignoring the savage guitar solos). Very close to giving it a 5.
De sfeer heeft wel iets, maar geen fan van livealbums. Surrender is echt wel een topnummer. Ook de andere nummers brengen direct sfeer.
Another classic. It was nice to do a deep dive into some of the lesser known tracks on here. I realized I tend to only listen to 3 or 4 tracks when I put this on. I will have to let it ride out now
Generous for a live album of Glammy prog but need your love is intriguing
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.
I want you to want me Surrender Cooles Album, wusste nicht, dass die beiden Songs von Cheap Trick sind
Yes!! After two days of dark albums, I really needed the generator to send me something joyful. What can I say, hello there, welcome to the best live album ever! At Budokan captures Cheap Trick in a way that eludes their studio albums. Top notch '70s rock with sweet hooky melodies, rough edges and all. It's an album that fully rocks, still with all the brightness and warmth of the best power pop. "I Want You to Want Me" is the obvious star here, but all of the songs are a blast to listen to. Fave songs: Come On, Come On; I Want You to Want Me; Ain't That a Shame.
On opening, this sounds like a by-the-numbers hard rock album with nothing to offer. But by the end, you really get caught up in the infectious enthusiasm, the reaction of the crowd and the sheer unabashed joy the band spark as they do what they do best - we are here to rock. No pretence, no artifice, no hidden meaning - just enjoy.
Good ol' fashioned straight forward American Rock n' Roll. I've always been a off handed fan of Cheap Trick. Liked their radio hits. Never owned an album. Also, never been a fan of live recordings. The amazing thing about this is I only know two songs on this album but I could listen to it. A lot. I'm not blown away by the songs so much as the performance. They know how to put on a concert. They know how to drive it. It's all straight forward and fairly elementary but they do it on an expert level. Would love to see them live. As they say, they use every cheap trick in the book, but it works. It just works.
"Hello There" and "Goodnight" are kind of genius intro/outro songs -"Come On, Come On" gets into a nice fast groove -"Ain't That A Shame" has some great guitar stuff in it. I quite like the very fast paced call-and-response section -The drummer is great throughout the album -I've definitely heard "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender" before like on the radio or something -Very solid live album
I’ve never been a huge fan of live albums, with some exceptions, but this was a perfectly fine one. My favorite song of cheap tricks was on here and there were a couple other good ones. Fav songs: ain’t that a shame, I want you to want me, surrender
I don't really need a ton of this kind of music in my life but I have to give this extra points for being such an iconic live album. I think it's rare to really capture that exceptional live show magic, particularly for a big arena show.
This was not bad at all… didn’t know what to expect, but there were some decent tunes. May explore further.
Hard rock live album. I usually stick to studio albums but Cheap Trick have great energy live and the crowd is rocking. Some classic tracks in this album that I've heard of before. I enjoyed the second half more. Favorite tracks: Big Eyes, Ain't That A Shame, I Want You To Want Me, Surrender
I am a believer that music is meant to be heard live, but live albums rarely capture the experience. This album really takes off during Need Your Love and maintains that energy. 4/5
Have you ever bothered listening to the original studio version of "I Want You To Want Me"? It's completely different than the one on this album, which thankfully for all of our sakes became the gold standard. But that original version shot all the way to number one in Japan (it didn't even chart in America) and was the reason for this album's existence. But again, it's awful, capturing none of the magic that's evident on the live version that became a classic rock staple. The live version is such an improvement on the studio version that it was released as a single in America and immediately became Cheap Trick's biggest hit, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. That shit seemingly happened all the time in the '70's (see: Kiss with "Rock & Roll All Nite", Peter Frampton and a number of his songs). Apparently the studio just stifled too many bands back then. Or maybe the old saying is true: Recording in the studio is masturbation, and playing live is having sex. Of course now "I Want You To Want Me" has become so ubiquitous to the point where I never want to hear it again. But "Surrender", on the other hand, is a jam I can't get enough of. The live version here is similar to the studio version that was released around the same time. "Surrender" is a piece of power pop perfection no matter how you slice it (although I prefer the studio version over the live one, but maybe that's because the Budokan crowd didn't sound very excited at the thought of Robin Zander's parents making out with Kiss records on the turntable). I can't help but be disappointed that Tim Burton didn't use "Big Eyes" as the theme song for his movie of the same name. A montage of Christoph Waltz selling paintings of people with big eyes to the sounds of Cheap Trick sounds like a missed opportunity if there ever was one.
It's great fun. That's all the summary you need. Getting into a little more depth, here we have a live album showcasing a band about to break through (in America; Japan caught onto the Cheap Trick gambit early on), and here we have a band relishing a moment of glory they'd assumed was fleeting. Also, the best of these songs are essentially indestructible, so we have a warm, melodic, upbeat band enjoying playing warm, melodic, upbeat rock. The middle sags slightly, presumably the time when you went to the bar or for a piss, but otherwise this album is pretty irresistible.
This was a fun live album, particularly a great run of tunes from the 9 minute jam then ain't it a shame, want you to want me, and what sounded like their first time playing Surrender as they announced it was going to be on their new album. That was a great rendition of that tune, and the concert as a whole had great energy to it. I had a big classic rock phase and still enjoy it, but Cheap Trick wasn't a band I ever paid much attention to, but this makes it evident they were a fantastic live band.
Pure power pop. Only a handful of songs are that memorable or engaging. The screaming crowd is half the story ... almost like an instrument ... Robin Z seems to address it slowly and loudly, like a bad, monolingual tourist. So tight and energetic, but oh so bubble-gummy.
Surprised they put a live album on here, but after listening I know why. These guys are very good live, and I loved the whole set.
The best and most iconic recording of “I Want You to Want Me” ever. I could do without the screaming fan girls but Cheap Trick live is a treasure.
A band that can sound better live than on the albums is a rare treat. Cheap Trick is one of those bands. Great songs but it was even better hearing them live.