Number 62

Back when I was in high school, there were certain bands you could always count on to populate the cut out bins all year round. There was Tom Petty, Air Supply and my favorite of the cut out bin rack at number 62...

Cheap Trick - At Budokan (1977)

I collected many Cheap Trick records at a low price because they were all 3.99 or 4.99 at the time. Dream Police, One on One, Next Position Please, Standing On The Edge, The Doctor...I owned a lot of Cheap Trick. And Cheap Trick could always be counted on for having one good song per album. It wasn't a very high ratio of good songs, but the good song would be REALLY GOOD!

Such was the paradox of Cheap Trick, a puzzle that continues to this day. Their first three albums are considered classic albums though they all fizzled commercially. They recorded a live album intended solely for their Japanese fans and it became their defining American album. The followup album should have been a blockbuster but only went gold. They recorded an album with Beatles producer George Martin and managed to make a mediocre record. The only time things went as planned occurred with their "sell out" in 1988 translating into the #1 hit "The Flame". Despite their "sell out", they became revered alternative rock pioneers in the 1990's but could not use the buzz to their commercial advantage. Now that everyone has written off this band for dead, they turn around and record the excellent Rockford CD.

But in 1977, much of this had yet to happen. The first three albums were ignored in the US but inspired a Beatlemania response in Japan. Cheap Trick went to Japan and recorded At Budokan intending it for release in that country only. It became an in demand import to America which led to a domestic release and a smash album.

Why did At Budokan catch on? Because the record showed off Cheap Trick in the best light possible. The best songs from their first three albums are cherry picked onto one record. The Beatlesque melodies anchored by garage rock riffs gave the music both grit and grace. "Come On Come On" is a great example of White Album era Beatles colliding with Kinkish guitarwork. An unintentional bonus was the fact that it was a live recording. On vinyl, Cheap Trick utilized latter day Beatles production tricks like strings, piano and heavy reverb on the vocals. Live, Cheap Trick sounded raw and frantic like the early Meet The Beatles records.

The live setting and frenzied fans gave a huge boost to the solo heavy cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" and the rousing set closer "Clock Strikes Ten". Their two classic hits are the highlights, the first being the signature song "I Want You To Want Me". The half pleading vocal and steady beat combined with the wordplay heavy lyrics made for a memorable tune. The second classic hit is "Surrender", probably better known as the "Mommy's all right, Daddy's all right, they're just a little weird" song. The odd subject matter and almost punkish musical approach has made this song an anthem rock standard.

I played this record many times in my teenage years and still find it to be an engaging and energetic record. Although I bought the 2 cd complete concert, my favorite format of At Budokan is still the single record track listing. The consiseness of the track sequencing gave the record a thematic punch missing from the whole show. Cheap Trick has proven time and again they can never go back to 1977, but fortunately '77 has been recorded for everyone else for all time.