“ALL RIGHT TOKYOOOO…  ARE YOU READYYY?  WILL YOU WELCOME, EPIC RECORDING ARTIST, CHEAP TRICK!!!”

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dudes and dudettes…  Cheap Trick at Budokan is my all time favorite live album bar none; a release of which I have multiple copies on vinyl and on CD as well and is still an album I listen to frequently even today.  Sure, everyone knows “I Want You To Want Me”; that classic radio staple culled from this LP in front of a large contingent of “cryin’ cryin’ cryin'” Japanese fans (if you don’t you must have been living in a cave for the past 40 years as it’s EVERYWHERE) and likely knows my all time favorite song “Surrender”, but Budokan has a ridiculous amount of great songs across both sides.  Not a dull moment can be found across both sides (we’ll talk Budokan II and the Complete Concert shortly) as Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos are in top form.

Before I go into some details on the album, let’s talk Cheap Trick in general.  CT is one of THE most underrated bands on the planet and often get a lot of slack from music fans that are only familiar with their softer material like “The Flame” or “Ghost Town” or “Voices” (all great songs, IMO).  But Trick is a multifaceted band that can rock with the best of them, not only on Budokan but on a lot of their material-  the self titled album from 1977 is full of fantastic sinister hard rock, Beatle-esque melodies, and raw punkiness; plus In Color, Heaven Tonight and Dream Police rock just as mighty but have their poppier moments too.  Budokan and subsequent reissues feature many songs pulled from these four releases, many of which are still performed live to this day.  If you dis the Trick because of the hits you’re missing out big time.

With that classic intro to side one Cheap Trick launches into “Hello There”, a blast of a straight forward rock tune that gets us primed and ready for CT action in two and a half minutes.  Guitars are LOUD, bass is heavy, drums solid, and lead vocal is prominent and commanding as the boys bash right through to Bun E. Carlos’ brief solo spot.  From the get go, the Trick grabs ahold and doesn’t let go for the next 40 minutes or so.  Next up is “Come On, Come On”, a bit of raucous power pop from the boys with classic “yeah yeah, yeah yeah” background vocals over a great hook and classic Zander vocal.  After that comes “Lookout” and “Big Eyes”, the former a top notch, building rocker with an awesome riff from guitarist Nielsen and the latter is a swinging and slightly menacing stomp featuring Zander in classic “man of 1000 voices mode” as he easily shifts between the fierce roar of the verse until hitting a sweeter spot during the chorus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWj8nBdwuFw

So, four quick blasts of solid rock lead to the epic of the album:  “Need Your Love” is a slow, brooding builder kicked off by Carlos as Nielsen and Petersson form a riffy wall of sound that builds until Zander comes in with a soft croon until a rumbly, Beatle-y bit of heaviness (think “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” to get that vibe) breaks in for a few minutes before Zander comes crooning again.  Halfway into the song comes a curveball that makes Cheap Trick such a great band:  Carlos and Petersson form the backbone of this song, allowing Nielsen plenty of room to build a dramatic solo as he alternates between pentatonic scale blues riffs and heavier slamming chords.  Zander joins in with some rhythm guitar that intensifies the heaviness of this section until the song comes to a crashing finale as he exhorts “Need… Your… Looove” near the end.

Side two…  I’ll admit, I’ve memorized side two and wore that side of the album out as it had my favorite songs and rocked just as much (if not more) than the classic side one.  “Ain’t That A Shame” is a cover of the Fats Domino hit, this time with an introductory Bun E. solo piece (one I’ve air drummed to a gazillion times) before the intensity increases a notch as the rest of the band rumbles in and Nielsen offers up a solo of his own before segueing into the song itself.  “Shame” is nothing but a bit of 50s fun; swagger and bombast throughout and with some great Nielsen guitar work.  “I Want You To Want Me” is next, and…  well…  what can you say?  This song was THE hit from the album and deservedly so, from the classic drum intro from Carlos to the bouncy guitar motif from Nielsen to the awesome vocal performance from Zander to the unsung Japanese heroes in the audience singing along mightily.  I never tire of hearing this song as the performance is downright infectious and the reaction from the audience is highly entertaining.  Fun with a capital F.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get more livelier, “Surrender” kicks down the door and barges out in anthemic fashion.  I remember being at my friend Gary’s house before I had my own copy of the album and him telling me, “if you thought I Want You To Want Me was good, just wait until you hear Surrender”.  Truer words were never spoken.  Going on forty years now, “Surrender” is everything a great song should be: majestic and slamming riff, irresistible hook, awesomely cool lyric, superb band performances all around, outstanding vocal, and a song that is flat out difficult NOT to sing along with especially come chorus time with that fab lyric “Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright, they just seem a little weird”.  I was fortunate to sing in a cover band with some great dudes and we’d pull off a rousing rendition of “Surrender” each night, often with me in complete bliss trying to sing through the Jokeresque grin plastered on my face!  Sheer delight…

But no, we’re NOT done!  We must end the night similar to how we started as “Goodnight Now” closes the show in fine rock fashion, just as heavy as “Hello There” but a nod to the fans to say “Goodnight” before encore time.  And what an encore it is-  “Clock Strikes Ten” is another kicker, Rick Nielsen hitting some harmonics on his guitar to mimic a tolling clock before hitting the main riff as the band falls in step behind him as they charge through four and a half minutes of solid rock as the Japanese crowd screams throughout.  At the tail end, Bun E. Carlos has a brief and awesomely rumbling drum solo before the song reaches a crescendo and comes to a crashing end.

Budokan has been rereleased a few times and if you like the songs on the regular album I urge you to track down a copy of At Budokan: The Complete Concert which adds nine more rockers PLUS you get a DVD copy of one of the nights of the Budokan shows that was shown on Japanese television.  Or, you could also track down the Budokan II CD which showcases the nine additional cuts plus showcases three additional songs from their return Budokan shows in 1979.  Smoking takes on “Downed”, “Oh Caroline”, “Auf Wiedersehn”, and “High Roller” offer up the same intensity levels and sonic goodness found on the original LP that it’s hard to imagine why they were left off in the first place.

As the intro tape to their current live shows states, Cheap Trick is “the best fucking rock band you’ll ever see”.  I’d add to that to state that At Budokan is the best fucking live album you’ll ever hear.  Not to be underestimated!