'Cheap Trick Live At Budokan - 30th Anniversary Edition'

Bonus tracks ... again

Typically the idea of remastered releases often means one or two previously unreleased bonus tracks, right? Well, Cheap Trick, it seems, (or some bright A&R spark back in 1998 – the album’s 20th anniversary) came up with an additional nine bonus tracks. So just what does the 30th anniversary edition conjure up in addition? It now adds the DVD of the concert, but not all 19 tracks, just 15. Perhaps in another five or 10 years they’ll conjure up the remaining four for release!

The DVD is the basically the concert that was broadcast just once, in Japan, when the original album was released. This is the only bonus for die hard Trick fans. Although a press release touts the fact that the CD is the full audio soundtrack of the DVD, all 19 tracks were released, remastered for the 1998 20th Anniversary.

The DVD does show a fresh, youngish Cheap Trick totally energized for the gig. It really does capture these guys revved up and ready to rock. Looking back now, they were kind of ahead of their time, as they weren’t following in the footsteps of the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Toto, REO or Styx (who they are often compared to.) They really come across as a kind of indie rock act, but with very radio-friendly pop songs. They put on a basic, not too flashy show back then and, to be honest, it’s pretty much the same today. All power to these guys for sticking with it!

The bonus features on the DVD include a snippet from the band’s return visit to Budokan in April 2008 - the band performing “Voices” and “If You Want My Love.” It’s too bad there’s not more from the show, but there are interviews from that trip which cover the band’s perspective on events in 1978 and in 2008.

The DVD runs only 85 minutes. You’d think that today they could’ve added a little more to that, wouldn’t you? Those who bought the 20th Anniversary edition will know all the tracks included on the CDs, but for those that only had the original, the nine “new” tracks should be appreciated. Let’s face it, a 10 track live album by anyone you like is far too short, so it was good for fans that these additional tracks have since seen the light of day.

The tracks that were added to the original release are “ELO Kiddies,” “Speak Now (Or Forever Hold Your Peace),” “Downed,” “Can’t Hold On,” “Oh Caroline,” “Auf Wiedersehen,” “High Roller,” “Southern Girls” and the band’s cover of The Move’s “California Man.”

If you didn’t know about the ’98 release, then this for sure is a must have set for even part time Trick fans. If you bought the live CDs in ’98, but you’re not their greatest fan, then $30 just to get the DVD is probably a lot to pay. You have to wonder if the DVD isn’t going to come out in its entirety (assuming that all the tracks played at the show were captured on film.) Then it would be worth waiting for as a separate release, although when and if that will happen is another story. Heck, it’s taken 30 years to get the DVD out!

For me, this is a good package, as I never had the reissue from ’98, but with the economy the way it is right now, chances are it wasn’t the greatest marketing ploy, with only a previously unavailable DVD being the only real pearl in the shell.