While their records were entertaining and full of skillful
pop
, it wasn't until
At Budokan
that
Cheap Trick
's vision truly gelled. Many of these songs, like
"I Want You to Want Me"
and
"Big Eyes,"
were pleasant in their original form, but seemed more like sketches compared to the roaring versions on this album. With their ear-shatteringly loud guitars and sweet melodies,
unwittingly paved the way for much of the
hard rock
of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of
alternative rock
of the 1990s, and it was
that captured the band in all of its power. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine