Digital Library

Release

Quick Links: Artist

The Complete Budokan 1978

Bob Dylan
The Complete Budokan 1978

[Album]
17 November 2023
Classic Rock

Wikipedia Discogs

Library Status Complete FLAC 16bit/44.1khz Digital

TheBigBlack Review
(20 July 2024)

Rating - 3 Stars

Bob Dylan's music is often described as 'an acquired taste', but the 1978 Budokan shows are notorious for even tipping many fans of the bard over the edge. Booked for two shows in Japan (28 February / 1 March 1978), Dylan was politely instructed by the Japanese promoter to ensure he played a greatest hits package, with no obscurities. Ever the contrarian, Dylan agreed - but the show that was played was different from anything he had done before (or ever again for that matter). The two performances are often compared to the Vegas years of Elvis, full of dense big-band instrumentation of popular songs, complete with backing singers and new arrangements in different tempos and keys. After a lengthy instrumental entrance overture (that feels like it is designed for a big stage entrance) both shows are opened by obscure blues standards ('Repossession Blues' and 'Love Her With feeling' respectively), before launching into a big band version of 'Mr. Tambourine Man', complete with flute aplenty. 'Shelter From The Storm' gets a reggae make-over, and 'Maggie's Farm' is complete with a horn section, and sounds almost like a different song. Some tracks actually sound great with the new arrangements, and old classics like 'To Ramona' have new life breathed into them at these shows. More recent songs like 'Is Your Love In Vain?' are closest to the original arrangements, and are performed well. That ever present flute battles with the electric guitar and violin on 'All Along The Watchtower', and actually takes the song to places it has never been before. Toward the end of the shows we even get a Vegas-style band introduction moment, just reminding the audience of what they are seeing here. The shows were initially released in truncated form as a double album back in 1978 in Japan only (before being globally released the following year due to popular demand). This new album, with a modern mix, is both shows in entirety. The setlists are largely the same, with only a song or two different between them, so digesting both 2+ hour concerts in one sitting is unnecessary. Either way, the new version is still as divisive as the original. You either love these shows or you hate them, and no amount of remixing or repackaging is going to change any minds.
Tracks:  
(1/4) 1.
Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:33)
(1/4) 2.
Bob Dylan - Repossession Blues [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (02:49)
(1/4) 3.
Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:27)
(1/4) 4.
Bob Dylan - I Threw It All Away [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:25)
(1/4) 5.
Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:44)
(1/4) 6.
Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero / No Limit [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:16)
(1/4) 7.
Bob Dylan - Girl From The North Country [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:03)
(1/4) 8.
Bob Dylan - Ballad Of A Thin Man [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:45)
(1/4) 9.
Bob Dylan - Maggie's Farm [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:05)
(1/4) 10.
Bob Dylan - To Ramona [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:40)
(1/4) 11.
Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (06:34)
(1/4) 12.
Bob Dylan - I Shall Be Released [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:29)
(1/4) 13.
Bob Dylan - Is Your Love In Vain? [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:01)
(1/4) 14.
Bob Dylan - Going, Going, Gone [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:04)
(2/4) 15.
Bob Dylan - One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:32)
(2/4) 16.
Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:32)
(2/4) 17.
Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:02)
(2/4) 18.
Bob Dylan - Oh, Sister [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:40)
(2/4) 19.
Bob Dylan - Simple Twist Of Fate [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:16)
(2/4) 20.
Bob Dylan - You're A Big Girl Now [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:33)
(2/4) 21.
Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:13)
(2/4) 22.
Bob Dylan - I Want You [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (02:32)
(2/4) 23.
Bob Dylan - All I Really Want To Do [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (03:57)
(2/4) 24.
Bob Dylan - Tomorrow Is A Long Time [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:24)
(2/4) 25.
Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:08)
(2/4) 26.
Bob Dylan - Band Introductions [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (02:41)
(2/4) 27.
Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (06:34)
(2/4) 28.
Bob Dylan - Forever Young [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (07:18)
(2/4) 29.
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' [Live, 28 February 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:02)
(3/4) 30.
Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:05)
(3/4) 31.
Bob Dylan - Love Her With A Feeling [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (02:53)
(3/4) 32.
Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:04)
(3/4) 33.
Bob Dylan - I Threw It All Away [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:17)
(3/4) 34.
Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero / No Limit [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:05)
(3/4) 35.
Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:52)
(3/4) 36.
Bob Dylan - Girl From The North Country [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:18)
(3/4) 37.
Bob Dylan - Ballad Of A Thin Man [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:49)
(3/4) 38.
Bob Dylan - Maggie's Farm [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:31)
(3/4) 39.
Bob Dylan - One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below) [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (03:29)
(3/4) 40.
Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (06:51)
(3/4) 41.
Bob Dylan - I Shall Be Released [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:23)
(3/4) 42.
Bob Dylan - Is Your Love In Vain? [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:15)
(3/4) 43.
Bob Dylan - Going, Going, Gone [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:04)
(4/4) 44.
Bob Dylan - One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:44)
(4/4) 45.
Bob Dylan - Blowin' In The Wind [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:36)
(4/4) 46.
Bob Dylan - Just Like A Woman [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:07)
(4/4) 47.
Bob Dylan - Oh, Sister [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:57)
(4/4) 48.
Bob Dylan - I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:23)
(4/4) 49.
Bob Dylan - You're A Big Girl Now [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:59)
(4/4) 50.
Bob Dylan - All Along The Watchtower [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (03:27)
(4/4) 51.
Bob Dylan - I Want You [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (02:43)
(4/4) 52.
Bob Dylan - All I Really Want To Do [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (03:50)
(4/4) 53.
Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (04:10)
(4/4) 54.
Bob Dylan - The Man In Me [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (03:52)
(4/4) 55.
Bob Dylan - Band Introductions [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (01:56)
(4/4) 56.
Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (06:39)
(4/4) 57.
Bob Dylan - Forever Young [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (07:50)
(4/4) 58.
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' [Live, 1 March 1978, at the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan / 2023 Mix] (05:12)

Back To Top

Last Data Update: