Live at the Budokan [Live, Original recording reissued]

Chic | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued
• Label: Sumthing Else
• ASIN: B00000I8LB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,641 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #34 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Disco

Track Listings

1. Bernard Introduction

2. Band Introduction

3. Le Freak

4. Dance Dance Dance (Intro)

5. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)

6. I Want Your Love

7. He's the Greatest Dancer

8. We Are Family

9. Do That Dance

10. Good Times/Rapper's Delight

11. Stone Free

12. Chic Cheer

13. Bernard #2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Play Your Funky Bass, Boy!, June 15, 2000

By 

David W. Coleman "Sportside Books" (Buckeye, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live at the Budokan (Audio CD)

I remember reading about Bernard Edwards passing away in a copy of Jet Magazine. I was stunned and just about in shock. I still can't believe it. I was 17 years old when the first Chic album hit the stores, and for the next 8 years I danced my butt off to Chic's soulful sounds, first in Tijuana and young adult night clubs, later in regular discos. Chic was unfairly categorized as a "disco" act. I am a longtime fan of soul and R&B music, and I never thought of Chic as anything but one of the funkiest soul bands. That they had so much success in discos doesn't detract from that. The group's foundation was unbeatable. Drummer Tony Thompson was like a metronome, with his big, steady beat. That's also his live drumming on the Power Station CD. At a time when drum machines were so in vogue, Tony showed you the true power of a master drummer can beat any machine. Nile Rodgers is a living legend, not only for his work with Chic, but as a producer and a prolific session guitarist, able to play all styles, from straight rock to funky rhythm to jazz. He puts out samples that are snatched up by computer musicians. As for Bernard, well, he's the most influential and imitated of all bassists. His funky grooves shaped a whole era. He was good enough that his bass playing could be placed right up front in the mix. Because he was doing things no one else could. Who can forget Kathy Sledge urging him, "Play your funky bass, Boy!" on the immortal "We Are Family"? And I'll never forget turning my copy of "C'est Chic" over and listening to "I Want Your Love" for the first time. I almost forgot about "Le Freak," which was #1 pop and R&B at the time. That was the funkiest break ever! Where were YOU the first time you heard "He's The Greatest Dancer"? Didn't you want to head to your nearest disco right then and there? These songs and other Chic classics are performed on this album. I literally grew from young man to man while grooving to Bernard Edwards' sound. I can't believe he's gone. I really miss him. Bernard, you were The Best! Play your funky bass, Boy. In Heaven. Forever.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best "live" albums that I've ever heard!, September 26, 2004

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live at the Budokan (Audio CD)

"Chic: Live at the Budokan" captures the verve and wizardry of the 1997 concert in Japan. Chic was more than just a "disco band"; it was an assemblage of gifted musicians, headed by Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards. The interpretations of the band's greatest hits take those songs to another level, permitting longer and jazzier extensions of these familiar chart-toppers.

Rodgers and Edwards knew the pulse of the times and produced numerous hits for themselves, as well as others. Label mates Sister Sledge, who were produced by Rodgers and Edwards, appear on "The Greatest Dancer" and the disco anthem "We Are Family". Also, Steve Winwood adds his distinctive vocals to this monumental concert.

The sound quality is excellent, allowing the listener to feel as if he/she is actually there.

Fans of the band or not will enjoy this live release that is definitely kicking!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Like a Diamond in the Rough !, November 12, 2002

By 

Armando M. Mesa (Chandler, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live at the Budokan (Audio CD)

First, let's get the list of shortcomings out of the way from this performance. I was hoping for more of their hits and less interludes or tracks with interviews. Secondly, one of the reasons I purchased this performance was to hear the soulful vocals of ex-Prince protogee singer Jill Jones (hailed by music critics as the best female singer to come out of the Paisley one's camp);She is faint and lost in the backup somewhere. One embarrassing moment occurs when Jill Jones is introduced in track 14 of Chic Cheer and she ad libs/sings something that is a far cry of what she is really capable of doing ! Female lead vocalist Sylver Logan Sharp is right on the money but her vocals are too deep to be reminiscent of anything original singers Norma Jean and Alfa Anderson offered with the original lineup. Jean and Anderson would co-harmonize smoothly; it was not a contest to see who could outperform who!Therefore, Sharp overpowers Jone's silky and soulful vocals !Vocals by Sister Sledge seem to falter a little bit in contrast to their awesome vocal work back in the late 70's. Finally, if you are going to record a concert album with all tracks, then include all the tracks. There is another cd version of this Live At Budokan performance that includes Simon LeBon of Duran Duran fame who performs Notorious with Chic. The catch is that you have to fork over some bucks no matter who sells it because it is a Japanese only import...so, then a Chic fan has to ask him/herself if it's worth the money for this one added extra bonus track;who knows...

Now the good stuff ! It's truly a magnificent historical performance unpolished by post studio electronic trickery or contrived production ; What you hear is what you get. The music is more rock-funk than outdated disco. Some of the songs are fitted with a firmer, tighter, more solid up to date edge with great guitar licks by Slash and blue eyed soulful vocals by Steve Winwood. The late Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers proved in 96' that Chic never lost their touch. After all, this multi-talented duo produced some of the most incredible, memorable and skillfully crafted dance, r&b, funk music that will never fade or die. This is where the young and curious can get their 101 basic fundamentals in discovering where the basis of hip hop and other dance music came from. Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards were musical survivors long after the death or "mutation" of disco. All this is evident in the writing and producing they did in the 80's for mega stars David Bowie, Madonna, Duran,Duran,...and the list goes on. One of the best albums they produced for any artist or artists were labelmates Sister Sledge's 1979 We Are Family album;that is another review for another time, though. Despite, the cons I listed in the beginning of this review it is the more solid and positive aspects of this recording that allows me to grant this recording 4 stars !!