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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far better than _Central Park_, essential for Sheryl fans, August 16, 2003
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as advertised, October 20, 2003
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.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hope this has a universal release, July 30, 2003
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.
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by Sheryl Crow 
