The 500 - #426 - Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick at Budakon

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 426

Album Title: Cheap Trick at Budakon
Artist: Cheap Trick
Genre: Hard Rock, Power Pop
Recorded: April 29 and 30, 1978 at the Budakon Arena in Tokyo, Japan
Released: October, 1978 (Japan) February, 1979 (U.S.)
My age at release: 13
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very 
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Need Your Love

There is a famous Canadian short story by Roch Carrier called The Hockey Sweater. It centres on a young boy in Quebec during the winter of 1946 who is obsessed with hockey -- specifically the Montreal Canadiens and their superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard. It is such an important part of Canadian identity that the opening sentence was on our five dollar bill for years.

"The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places—the school, the church and the skating rink—but our real life was on the skating rink."

I've read it aloud to many of my students (in my faux Quebecois accent) and, when I do, I reflect on my own childhood. Hockey was an obsession during my elementary school days in a rural Ontario farming town. We played at the local rink and on Lake Erie, back in a time when the Great Lakes froze during the winter months. But, road hockey was a year-round diversion. We even brought our retired ice-hockey sticks for recess at school, cutting them to exactly 50 inches to fit inside our lockers. 

In every group of adolescents there is always "the spoiled kid" -- in our group that was Donny. Donny had the best of everything, the latest hockey skates, a real leather jacket and, in the spring of 1979, a portable, cassette boom-box.

Panasonic Portable Cassette Player
(I think this was the model Donny owned)

I was jealous. We all were. It was bigger, louder and cooler than the smaller version I had received for Christmas. Donny was also allowed to bring it outside and it blasted on the sidelines of Clovelly Drive where we battled daily for road-hockey supremacy. 

Cheap Trick at Budakon album cover

The cassette that got the most play that spring and summer was Cheap Trick at Budakon. This coincided with massive airplay on Canadian and Detroit radio for the singles I Want You To Want Me, Ain't That A Shame and Surrender.  

Live at Budakon was everything a thirteen-year old brain imagined a rock and roll life to be -- high-energy drums, incredible guitar solos, soaring vocals, pitch-perfect harmonies and all those screaming Japanese girls.

Forty-one years later, It was a blast from the past to listen to this record again. It transported me back to a simpler time when, like the protagonist in Carrier's Canadian tale, my life was three places: home, school and anywhere a puck could be hit with a stick.

The 500 - #443 - Cheap Trick - In Color

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan (amended). 

• One record per week(ish) and at least two complete listens.
• A blog post for each, highlighting the important details and, when possible, a background story that relates to the record.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation of diverse forms of music.
• Listen to Josh and his guest on The 500 podcast to gather additional information and insights.

Album # 443

Album Title: In Color
Artist: Cheap Trick
Released: September, 1977
My age at release: 12
How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Downed (Suggested by friend and music aficiondo Claudio)


If asked to name my favourite bands when I was about 15, I would have said, without hesitation...

1. Rush
2. Van Halen
3. Cheap Trick

The album that made me a fan of Cheap Trick was their 1979 live release, At Budokan. It appears at #426 on this list and will be the focus of a future blog post. 

I never owned the album In Color even though I contemplated purchasing it many times. I was always fascinated by the jacket. On the front, in colour, were the band's "eye-candy", Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, straddling motorcycles and looking 70s, long-hair, uber-cool . 

However, I was more intrigued by the back cover - a black and white picture, printed upside-down that featured guitarist (and principal songwriter) Rick Neilsen, with drummer Bun E. Carlos, looking decidedly uncool...on children's bicycles. 

There was something liberating about the dichotomy of these two pictures and the band members in them. Sure, I wanted to grow my hair out and look like a rock-star. But, at a time in my life when I was an awkward, self-conscious bundle of hormones and acne, there was comfort in knowing that it was okay to embrace my inner-nerd.

Things I learned...

• The song Southern Girls is about girls from the southern part of Canada. The band, who are from Rockford, Illinois, toured Canada extensively in the mid-70s. The original lyric, "Southern Canadian Girls" just didn't work - so it was truncated.
• In Color was re-recorded in 1997. The band's intention was to "record the album on their own terms" unencumbered by the demands of the record company. Dubbed "The Steve Albini Sessions" (after the producer who worked with them on the re-recording), it has never been officially released. However, a rough mix of some of the tracks can be found here. After listening to it a few times, I'll admit that I like it much more. It's raw and rocking - more dirty punk than polished pop-rock.