LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-FEB 26, 2020…ON THIS DATE 41 YEARS AGO CHEAP TRICK BECAME SUPERSTARS IN AMERICA WITH THE RELEASE OF ‘CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN.’ I SAY SUPERSTARS IN AMERICA BECAUSE THE GROUP WAS ALREADY HUGE IN JAPAN WHEN THEY CAPITALIZED ON THEIR POPULARITY BY RECORDING THIS RECORD IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE OF 12,000 RABID FANS THAT AT TIMES WERE SCREAMING SO LOUD IT ALMOST DROWNED OUT THE BAND. STRANGELY ENOUGH, THIS RECORD WAS ALMOST NEVER RELEASED IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT IMPORT COPIES OF THE ALBUM STARTED FLOODING THE USA AND THE RECORD COMPANY WAS FORCED TO ISSUE THEIR OWN COPY. THE ALBUM REACHED NUMBER 4 ON THE TOP 100 ALBUM CHARTS AND PRODUCED 2 TOP FORTY SINGLES ‘I WANT YOU TO WANT ME’ AND ‘AIN’T THAT A SHAME.’ ROLLING STONE HAS RANKED THIS RECORD AT NUMBER 430 ON THEIR LIST OF “THE 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME.”
HERE’S THE OFFICIAL CHEAP TRICK VIDEO OF ‘AIN’T THAT A SHAME’ FROM THE BUDOKAN