Budokan! (30th Anniversary) [Live]

If punk taught us that anyone can do it, then Cheap Trick showed that anyone could make it. Their 1979 commercial breakthrough, At Budokan, is not just one of rock's greatest live albums, but also one of its most triumphant underdog tales, an exemplar of pre-internet viral phenomena: Originally planned as a cheaply produced, limited-edition Japanese-only release, the record eventually-- through steady import sales, airplay from discerning stateside DJs, and increasing request-line activity-- transformed these bar-circuit workhorses into multi-platinum superstars. They really don't make 'em like this anymore.

Of all the 1970s arena-rock acts, Cheap Trick were arguably most in tune with punk's premium on three-chord simplicity, raw-powered riffage, subversive lyrics, and plainclothes appearance. Sure, vocalist Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson were pretty boys, but unassumingly so; the real center of attention was Rick Nielsen, whose geek-chic attire and hammy onstage antics made him a class clown in an era of golden-god guitar heroes. Meanwhile, Bun E. Carlos looked less like a rock'n'roll drummer than a veteran cop pulling desk duty. Though Cheap Trick's most visible recent moves-- re-recording Big Star's "In the Street" for "That '70s Show", performing the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in its entirety at a 2007 Hollywood Bowl concert-- may paint them as a nostalgia act, they continue to produce quality albums (see: 2006's steady-as-she-goes Rockford), and their influence on contemporary indie/alt-rock is as pronounced as ever: For the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Ted Leo, the Raconteurs-- basically any band that's ever tried to weld a Beatlesque melody to a power chord-- all roads lead back to Budokan.

However, this 3xCD/DVD, 30th-anniversary box set makes for an overlong and somewhat unnecessary return trip. For casual/curious fans who just want their "Surrender" and "I Want You to Want Me", the original, compact 10-track version of At Budokan (reissued on 180-gram vinyl last month) remains the most convenient access point. For those who want the band's pop hits counterbalanced by more aggressive album cuts like "ELO Kiddies" and "Auf Wiedersehen", there's At Budokan: The Complete Concert, a 1998 2xCD remastered reissue that compiles the best performances from the Trick's two Budokan performances on April 28 and 30, 1978. And now we have Budokan!-- a repackaging of the reissue that contains the Complete Concert set, a third disc featuring an unedited performance of the complete April 28 show, plus a DVD document.

Budokan! earns its newly acquired exclamation point with the DVD portion-- the second of the band's two Budokan performances was filmed for Japanese television and allegedly broadcast just once, making this footage a prized acquisition for long-time fans. Though contextual/crowd shots are non-existent-- thereby denying us the opportunity to experience the full magnitude of the band's Beatlemania-like reception-- it's still a treat to see those iconic album photos come to life, and witness a band being promoted to arena-rock big leagues right before your eyes, with no bullshit or pretense. (The closest thing to a pyro effect here is the stream of smoke emanating from Carlos' cigarettes.) Curiously, the video of "Come On, Come On" is excised from the main set and relegated to a bonus feature, perhaps because the footage was originally overlaid with an interview segment; it's appended by two clips from Cheap Trick's April 2008 return to Budokan (the Dream Police-era power ballad "Voices", and One on One's "If You Want My Love") that show them more aged and less limber, but with their harmonic fortitude intact. A retrospective interview featuring the band and its Japanese handlers provides additional backstory-- sobering reminiscences of fan-induced rioting and hotel-room segregation that contrast with the celebratory spirit of the recordings.

As a stand-alone item, the DVD would make for a great stocking stuffer, and a practical way to commemorate an anniversary that was already well-commemorated 10 years ago. But to package it exclusively in a $50 box-set-- one that will ward off younger Cheap Trick newcomers while essentially saddling the die-hards with another copy of The Complete Concert-- seems a bit churlish. For non-audiophiles, the unedited April 28, 1978 audio disc provides only the most minor points of contrast-- a flubbed guitar-solo break during "Come On, Come On", a version of "Surrender" minus the familiar synth over-dubs. Otherwise, the set list (even the stage banter) is identical to The Complete Concert, which, as per its design, already features the band's best Budokan performances. Perhaps the lure of a handsomely bound liner-note 40-page booklet (complete with an uncharacteristically humble shout-out from Gene Simmons) and souvenir poster will allow some fans to forgive this box set's redundancies — though judging by the complaints currently spreading online about the set's disc-scratching, slip-case packaging, they may have other issues. In any event, for a band whose greatest attribute was their economy, Budokan! feels excessive-- a repackaging trick that's not so cheap.