Any Love Here for Bob Dylan Live At Budokan?

from WIKIPEDIA:



Bob Dylan at Budokan is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1979 (1978 in Japan) by Columbia Records. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mostly of the artist's "greatest hits". The performances in the album are radically altered from the originals, using the same musicians that backed Street-Legal, but relying on a much larger band and stronger use of brass and backup singers. In some respects the arrangements are more conventional than the original arrangements and the album was criticized for being so. At the same time that it was criticized for being too polished, it was criticized for being too sloppy. For a few critics, such as Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone, the differences between the older and newer arrangements had become less important.

Recording and Releases

The audio recording is from two different shows on February 28 and March 1, 1978. Columbia Records released this double LP on August 21, 1978; the original issue was limited to the Japanese market. Later that year, it was released in Australia. On April 23, 1979, spurred by extensive importing and at least one counterfeit European edition, Columbia released the album to worldwide markets. The shows were the fourth and fifth in an eight-show appearance at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Reception

Bob Dylan at Budokan received some of the worst reviews of Dylan's career. Critically savaged, it was derided as "slick" and "sterile." Rolling Stone compared the new arrangements to Las Vegas lounge music[citation needed]
In a sarcastic review published in his "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau gave the album a C+ rating, writing "I believe this double LP was made available so our hero could boast of being outclassed by Cheap Trick, who had the self-control to release but a single disc from this location. Although it's amazing how many of the twenty-two songs—twelve also available on one of the other two live albums Dylan has released since 1974—hold up under slipshod treatment. And not only that, lyrics and poster are included." Critic Jimmy Guterman named it one of the worst albums ever released in the history of rock.

However, the album received stronger reviews in Europe, and critic Janet Maslin (then a music critic for Rolling Stone magazine) defended the album in her review. "However much they may offend purists, these latest live versions of his old songs have the effect of liberating Bob Dylan from the originals. And the originals - however lasting, however beautiful - constitute a terrible burden...this time the old songs have been recast sweetly, without that self-defeating aggression, in what sounds suspiciously like a spirit of fun...Many of the more recent ones, like 'Oh, Sister,' 'One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)', both from the album Desire and 'Shelter from the Storm,' from Blood on the Tracks are vastly improved, as if, when they were first recorded, they hadn't been fully thought through. "Is Your Love in Vain?", by no means the prettiest song on Dylan's much-underrated Street Legal, is prettier still...It is the only song that it would not have been released when the performances took place. Dylan is heard saying, "Try guess which one this is!" before starting to sing the song. The method here is hit-or-miss, and the results are correspondingly spotty...The low point of the set is 'The Times They Are A-Changin"...The fire and brimstone are behind Dylan, [but] this hardly means the fight has gone out of him: Bob Dylan at Budokan is a very contentious effort—and, for the most part, a victorious one." Ironically, fire and brimstone were to again become very much a part of Dylan's music, with the release of his gospel rock album Slow Train Coming later in 1979.

Bob Dylan at Budokan reached #13 in the US and went platinum, while simultaneously peaking at #4 in the UK. The album was collected by a talking tree in the PSN game Deathspank in 2010
Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bob Dylan, except where noted.

Disc One
No. Title Length
1. "Mr. Tambourine Man" 4:54
2. "Shelter from the Storm" 4:30
3. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" 3:52
4. "Ballad of a Thin Man" 4:47
5. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" 4:55
6. "Maggie's Farm" 5:06
7. "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" 3:19
8. "Like a Rolling Stone" 6:31
9. "I Shall Be Released" 4:12
10. "Is Your Love in Vain?" 4:02
11. "Going, Going, Gone" 4:22

Disc Two
No. Title Length
1. "Blowin' in the Wind" 4:25
2. "Just Like a Woman" 5:03
3. "Oh, Sister" (Bob Dylan, Jacques Levy) 4:44
4. "Simple Twist of Fate" 4:15
5. "All Along the Watchtower" 3:20
6. "I Want You" 2:34
7. "All I Really Want to Do" 3:37
8. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" 4:00
9. "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" 6:04
10. "Forever Young" 5:38
11. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" 5:31

Musical Personnel

Bob Dylan - Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
Billy Cross - Lead Guitar
Ian Wallace - drums
Alan Pasqua - Keyboards
Rob Stoner - Bass Guitar, Background Vocals
Steven Soles - Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Background Vocals
David Mansfield - Pedal Steel, Violin, Mandolin, Dobro, Guitar
Steve Douglas - Saxophone, Flute, Recorder
Bobbye Hall - Percussion
Helena Springs - Background Vocals
Jo Ann Harris - Background Vocals
Debi Dye - Background Vocals
Ed Rash - Tambourine

 

I've always loved BUDOKAN.

I even bought the (then-) Japanese-only LP set back in December, 1978.

 

I ask because accordng to Wikipedia, this set received some of the "wors reviews of his career."

I happen to really like it.

Any reasons why others thought of it so poorly?

Anybody here like it as much as me?

 

In 1979 I asked my Dad if I could get "The Basement Tapes" for my birthday. He must've walked into the record shop, seen the dispay for the new "At Budokan" album, & reckoned I'd like that instead.

I didn't.

 

I think the critical consensus is correct here.

Bad arrangements, awful back-ground singers and a disinterested star.

Pretty far down my playlist.

 

"Disinterested star"?

Those new arrangements are what left listeners cold ... but those new arrangements took a lot of work to accomplish.

 

Perhaps Dylan jumped in unbridled glee when he rehearsed those new arrangements. But when he performed them, he sounded like he was on auto-pilot. Emotionally disengaged.

YMMV. Kudos to anyone who finds pleasure in this. I'm just not one of them.

 

Count me as one who enjoys this set.

 

Dylan, much like Godzilla, attempted to destroy Tokyo with this album.

 

Hit the nail on the head. The only Dylan album I dont own.

 

wow, listening to it, it never occurs to me that he is "phoning it in" and it is just another example of fresh reworkings of classic tracks.

 

I think that it was an interesting and brave decision to alter the songs that people know so well, even if they were not better than the originals. I can see why he did it, it must get boring having to sing the same songs again and again, so I suppose he was trying to find a new and interesting way of performing them. It reminds me of Bowie's decision to retire his hits in the 90's and replace them with deep cuts and new songs. By the time of the Reality tour the songs were refreshed and he had proven that he did not need to sing the hits. So I suppose that Dylan was just trying to refresh his catalogue for himself as well as for the fans.

 

A good live album. Picked up the Japanese Vinyl a few weeks ago, very nice.

 

Never play it & rightfully so.

Saw this tour at a very small Broom County Arena in Binghamton N.Y. I was very disapointed with his Las Vegas style clothes & the bubblegum music arrangements of the older songs.

The 1976 or 1986 tours make this one seem comical.

 

wow, that's just rough.

for the record, I do love the stylings of Street Legal, mayeb that's part the appeal for me.

 

My favourite Bob Dylan live album. Love that Street Legal sound!

 

Out of all his albums — Hell, outta all his live albums — LIVE AT BUDOKAN is not the one I'd figure everybody'd hate so much.

 

It was for decades the only live Dylan album where you could hear everyone on stage. Hard Rain, Flood. Real Live, imo have a certain obscured sound, each in some way flawed audio.

Budokan sounds and feels like a real live recording, crystal clear with no over-dubs. Such a good sound here, but Japanese engineers, what else would one expect.

It was supposed to be a little treat for those that did like the tour.... rather than a big double "Bob Comes Alive" chart topper.

There was a UK/Dutch CBS issue very early on (directly after Japan issue) that Wiki does not mention. Sound and pressing on that issue was every bit as good as the (more expensive) Japanese set.

I wish every artist that ever played Japan had done one of these "tour program" Souvenir sets for the fans. I'm grateful for the ones I have.

Great cover shot btw!

 

Yeah, but it did not work out.

Why not? This is one of Dylan's weakest efforts. I also don't like the Charlotte bootleg from 1978, which is supposed to be better than Budokan. The whole 1978 tour is forgetable.

And I like Street Legal.

Better music? Just a thought!

 

Love Street Legal, can't stand Budokan. Probably my least favorite Dylan album of all. At least Knocked Out Loaded is funny, if not intentionally! Can't even laugh at Budokan.

 

It's not as bad as some of the critics suggested. The new arrangements are hit or miss for me, but it's a fun listen from time to time. My main complaint is the songs to better as the tour progressed; "Shelter from the Storm" sounds had a much more spirited arrangement in the Fall of 1978 that blows away the Budokan version.

 

I have been listening to some of it and I really like it. It is different but I enjoy it when he changes songs . I think some of the songs are pretty. I like " I want you sang like this with the music" . I think you just have to be open minded to like this album. I am always open to good lyrics and find it interesting when changed like this by him. Saying that I don't always like it when someone covers someones song and changes it... But when Bob Dylan does it it works for me

 

Always loved it. The beginning of The Times They Are a Changin in which Bob deconstructs the meaning of 'timing' is unforgettable.

 

Cant talk about them, but there are better concerts of this tour. The selections on the released album were not the best representation of the tour.