10 Best Live Rock Albums
2. At Budokan - Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick were one of the greatest bands of the 70's whose sound was impossible to deny. Their brand of hard rock mixed with tuneful melodies defined what would later be known as power pop. However, the band still couldn't get arrested in their home country, with their album sales drying up incredibly fast.
On the other side of the world, the band had a colossal following in Japan, where they were asked to play the prestigious Budokan Arena. Left to their own devices live, the band beefed up some of their best songs into great pop anthems like "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender." The energy brought forth from the audience interaction was so massive that the band's label took a chance and released it as a live album in the US market, which sold in droves.
The real X-factor of the album comes from the new arrangements, with "I Want You To Want Me's" piano-driven studio version being replaced by Rick Nielsen's ripping guitar fills. As the band plays through all of their material, the audience truly becomes the fifth instrument as they are brought to near hysteria with every tune. While the band may have had dwindling sales at the start, At Budokan was the record that gave Cheap Trick the title of "the American Beatles."