At Budokan: The Complete Concert (1998)


 

 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 Weidersehen

 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

 

When Cheap Trick first recorded their fabled 1978 performance at Tokyo’s Budokan, few could have predicted the extent to which it would redefine their legacy. The resulting album, originally a Japan-only release, became a phenomenon—catapulting the band from cult favorites to global stars. The ecstatic screams of Japanese teens, the perfectly imperfect mix, and the band’s raw charisma converged into what became one of rock’s most beloved live records.

Decades later, Epic Records sought to cash in on the concert’s legacy with Budokan II, a curious follow-up that compiled the missing performances from the original show—along with three tracks recorded a year later at the same venue. It was, however, a release marred by friction: the band hadn’t authorized it and were, by most accounts, less than thrilled by its emergence.

Enter At Budokan: The Complete Concert—the definitive, polished document of those two Tokyo nights. Unlike Budokan II, this double-disc affair restores the concert to its original running order, sans major overdubs, and with a clear intention to preserve the moment rather than reconstruct it. It’s a release created not for commerce but for celebration: a 20th anniversary tribute that leans into authenticity over embellishment.

While Budokan II had its merits as an archival piece—few fans would complain about hearing more Cheap Trick from their imperial phase—it never quite had the sheen of legitimacy. This release, by contrast, is lovingly assembled, complete with media files for the early-2000s PC generation, and presented with a care the previous edition lacked.

Still, for completists, a minor grievance lingers: those three stray tracks from the later Budokan show have been omitted. Their absence is noted, if not damning. For most listeners, the trade-off—fidelity to the original performance over hybrid curation—will feel entirely worthwhile.

The music, of course, remains transcendent. Cheap Trick were never tighter, never more electric, never more perfectly pitched between power-pop tunefulness and rock ‘n’ roll bravado. At Budokan: The Complete Concert doesn’t rewrite history. It simply offers the full picture—one that, even after all these years, still crackles with the thrill of a band on the brink of immortality.

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