Customer Reviews

Live at Budokan

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There really is no comparison between the fairly muddy recording of the backing band in Central Park and the crisp, defined sound captured on _Live at Budokan_, by tour engineer Bruce Knight and a recording staff provided at a local Tokyo studio. The main beneficiaries are Tim Smith's amplified-acoustic rhythm parts and Jim Bogios' drums, and in particular the drums receive excellent definition where they had sounded as dull thuds and crashes previously. The balance between Sheryl's vocals, the backing vocals of the guitarists and the drummer and the instruments as a whole is superb, as good as any studio recording I have heard.

More subjectively, this captures a well-rehearsed, energetic band at peak performance and in command of a broad rock vocabulary. "A Change Would Do You Good" sounds progressively better since its studio release, the best performance on _Live in Central Park_ and the hands-down rocker of the show at Budokan. As an inside joke for fans of hers who share her Sixties favorites, the song begins as a faithful if transposed nod to the Who's "I Can See for Miles" - perfect, now that I've heard it - and ends with one verse and chorus of "I Can't Explain." The band nails it, especially Bogios' simon-pure reproduction of Keith Moon's work and Sheryl's perfect, snarling evocation of Roger Daltrey. The slower songs in her catalog hit just as hard as the rockers, and this marks the first time "Home," probably her most sadly beautiful song, appears in a live recording available on CD (you'd have to buy her 1999 DVD before now).

However, I hope this is the second and last time "Strong Enough" appears on one of her live albums. I skip that track almost as quickly as "Closer to the Heart" on any Rush live album - it's on every last damn one of them, and it wore out its welcome on the studio release.

In short, _Live at Budokan_ is her best live album of the two released, and has her best performances bar none of the Lilith Fair stuff, the DVD, or other collaborations I have heard. While it doesn't capture all of her strongest songs in one album, no one CD could, and it comes closer than any album produced yet to summarizing her appeal as a live performer. It would also be an excellent buy for someone who wants a best-of compilation, until her label releases one.

Save yourself the time of reading through all these reviews and buy the CD! I rolled the dice, paid for what seemed like the same collection of songs with the 2 new classics ("Soak Up the Sun" and "Steve McQueen") along with my least favorite tracks from "C'mon C'mon". This CD rocks even better than "Live From Central Park". Sound quality is exceptional. Kind of embarrasing that the Tokyo crowd was absolutely dead. Sheryl was dead on. Every song is extended with cutting riffs and one of the highlights is her inclusion of the Who's "Can't Explain" (I won't tell you where). A little disappointing that "Safe and Sound", "You're an Original" and "Leaving Las Vegas" didn't make it, but hey, this one's still worth every penny.

If you're a Sheryl fan, this one should not be missing from your collection.

If only to show that Sheryl Crow is an excellent live artist, probably one of the few true-blue female rock stars around today. It proves that she doesn't need a half a dozen rock stars to accompany her as she did in "Live at Central Park"; that album was all over the place, with so many duets that it did not allow us to see what Sheryl herself can do live. Her songs have an immediacy, energy and power on stage that are sometimes missing on her studio albums. The studio version of a song like "Everyday is a Winding Road" has such a slick production that its wit and groove are middle of the road. But live it's scorching hot! This album is like a live "best of" compilation which includes most of her singles. (I wish she had done "I Can't Cry Anymore" and "Leaving Las Vegas.") Sheryl focuses on her musicianship as a live performer - no gimmicks, here. Her band is first rate. Her reading of the ballad "Home" is passionate and melancholy. Two problems though: One is the language barrier. This was recorded in Japan and though Sheryl tries to make "contact" with the audience by speaking some Japanese words, and there is some response, there is often silence on the other side. The audience dutifully applauds after every song, but when Sheryl asks in "All I Wanna Do" "Is there a party going on?" the answer is deafening silence which sounds a little embarrassing. This happens several times on the album.Then there's the set list which sounds manic depressive-- as I was listening, the concert went into a downer with "A Difficult Kind" and then, a sudden burst of energy with "A Change," then down again with "Home" then even downer with "Weather Channel" whose subject matter is so depressing that it's almost impossible to bounce back into into "All I Wanna Do" (which goes right after it.) I was still recovering from the "lab coats" in "Weather Channel" when she throws "All I Wanna Do" -- it's a bit too manipulative. It's not the songs, it's the order in which they are played.Every teenybopping would-be rock star out there take note: listen to this album then eat your heart out.

What a great recording! Sheryl is always great, but this is an outstanding live recording that really shows her more recent style. The opening is a full tilt version of "Steve McQueen" and the versions of "Home" and "Strong Enough" are the best that I've heard! Like others I only wish that some other of her favorites were included. Don't let the price drive you away! It is well worth it!

A really excellent live recording! The performances are outstanding, but the thing that floored me was the sound quality. This one will rock the house, thats for sure! Pristine and powerful with bass like you were right there. Awesome!

Sheryl Crow's 2002 tour preserved on cd. Great song selection includes her cover of "I Can't Explain". Her encore of the Led Zeppelin song "Rock and Roll" is not here although it was originally listed in Amazon's song list for this cd. It is too bad because Sheryl does the song well. The performances here are excellent and quite different from her studio versions. "Home" is a standout.

If I could give more stars I would. This album starts out with Steve Mcqueen live, but more importantly is Sheryls' interaction with the crowd in Toyko. After the first few songs she talks a little in Japenese, and finally says I can think of any more Japanese words to say and then gets into her own. She has some classic hits in this album but they are live which makes it worth every penny. This is a definite for Sheryl Crow fans and people who appreciate live music.

Excellent CD! If you've seen Sheryl live on the latest tour then you will really appreciate re-living that experience listening to this album. But, if you haven't seen Sheryl on tour (do yourself a favor, go and have some fun), you'll still appreciate the chance to hear Sheryl and band bust out some of her greatest hits with lots of spontaneous rifs. The album is worth getting just for 'Change', but you'll enjoy lots more songs in high quality sound.

This is better than Live in Central Park or Sheryl Crow in Concert. I think Crow is so much better live than studio recordings. Excellent CD, essential for her big fans.

Sheryl's live CD rocks! I saw her on her last tour and was blown away. From the opening with "Steve McQueen" to the surprise tribute to the late, great John Entwhistle with "I Can't Explain" to the rockin' "There's Goes the Neighborhood", it's one non-stop rock blow out. Plus the sound quality is incredible. Buy this one and crank it up!!!!