Budokan II is exactly what it says it is -- the sequel to
Cheap Trick's career-making
At Budokan. Picking up where its predecessor left off (the tracks even begin at number 11), the record contains all of the band's classics -- "ELO Kiddies," "Southern Girls," "California Man," "Downed," "How Are You?," "On Top of the World," "Oh Caroline," "Auf Wiedersehen," "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece" -- that didn't make the first record. While the performances aren't quite as tight as
At Budokan -- possibly because they weren't doctored as heavily in the studio -- the record is nevertheless a muscular, energetic set of definitive power pop and will please not only die-hard fans of
Cheap Trick, but casual fans attracted by
At Budokan.
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Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi