SPRIT OF ’79 PART 3
CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN
RELEASED: FEBRUARY 1979 (U.S), OCTOBER 8, 1978 (JAPAN)
STANDOUT TRACK: “I WANT YOU TO WANT ME”
Recorded live (and originally released) in 1978, was intended for release only in Japan. However, import sales were so strong that it got a formal Stateside release in early ’79 — and actually became the band’s best-selling album. It spawned two monster hits, “I Want You to Want Me” and a cover of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.” seemed to strike a chord with the public in much the same as did for Peter Frampton in ’76, expanding their audience and becoming their defining album for many fans. Highlights abound, but “Surrender” and “Come On, Come On” are as strong as the hits. Several decades ago, Rick Nielsen told why he thought the album was so successful: “Our first three records weren’t getting a ton of airplay in the States, but in Japan we had three Number 1 hit singles. We were gigging constantly. When came out, people thought, ‘Oh, I saw them open for Kiss, I saw them with Queen, or I saw them with AC/DC. I remember that song in concert.’ The tunes just sounded different than the studio versions — more mistakes and more [of
