Cheap Trick – at Budokan, the Complete Concert

The original Live at Budokan album propelled these cats to the top with a hit album and single (the much-improved live version of “I Want You To Want Me”) and cemented their career as the premier hard rock/pop band pretty much of all time!

Their Japanese tour came shortly after the release of In Color and just before Heaven Tonight and caught the band at the height of their power. I had the honor of seeing them about this time (maybe even a little earlier) and can attest that they were one of the best live acts in the 70’s – right after the J. Geils Band and Kiss.

Lead guitarist Rick Nielson was a non-stop entertainer, running, jumping and flailing about the stage, literally throwing his guitars around almost as often and he threw guitar picks to the audience. Robin Zander has a masterful voice – one of the best in the biz, without a doubt – drummer Bun E. Carlos is fantastic and his accountant look played off bassist Tom Peterson’s pretty-boy face and unique 8 string playing.

While most of this concert has been released on various compilations and CDs, it is nice to get the entire concert all in one place. The set included some of the best from their first two albums (concentrating on In Color, since that was the most recent release) as well as a couple from the up-coming Heaven Tonight and even some previously unreleased originals and covers.

There is essentially nothing wrong with this 2-CD set – absolutely everyone should own this, regardless if you already have the original record!