Written By Braddon S. Williams
Cheap Trick: Live At Budokan
Hordes of screaming Japanese girls and boys led the Cheap Trick revolution, letting the rest of the world know that the Illinois based rock band was a global sensation.
The live Cheap Trick At Budokan (1978) brought the power of Cheap Trick’s explosive stage act to the vinyl format. At times the screaming crowd nearly eclipsed the full throttle sound of the band.
The single I Want You To Want Me was everywhere that summer, and pretty much every song on the album was full of infectious energy, singalong choruses, lean guitar riffs, massive drumsticks, and much, much more.
I saw Cheap Trick for the first time the following year and I can testify that they put on one killer live show. Years later, the cd version was released as Cheap Trick At Budokan: The Complete Concert, and it included a handful of great songs that didn’t fit in the original format. I highly recommend the expanded version, because there isn’t a weak song in the whole show.
Vinyl Lair 