Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Bob Dylan
At Budokan
1978 · CBS S2BP 220211 · Stereo · New Zealand (label states "Made in New Zealand by a registered user of the trade marks") · 2xLP, gatefold · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | CBS |
|---|
| Catalogue number | S2BP 220211 |
|---|
| Year | 1978 |
|---|
| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
|---|
| Country | New Zealand (label states "Made in New Zealand by a registered user of the trade marks") |
|---|
| Format | 2xLP, gatefold |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
|---|
| Genre | Rock/Folk Rock - Live |
|---|
| Producer | Don DeVito |
|---|
| Musicians | Bob Dylan (rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals), Billy Cross (lead guitar), Ian Wallace (drums), Alan Pasqua (keyboards), Rob Stoner (bass, vocals), Steven Soles (acoustic rhythm guitar, vocals), David Mansfield (pedal steel, violin, mandolin, dobro), Steve Douglas (saxophone, flute, recorder), Bobbye Hall (percussion), Helena Springs (vocals), Jo Ann Harris (vocals), Debi Dye (vocals) |
|---|
Matrix / Runout
Side A: S2BP 220211-A*
Side B: S2BP 220211-B*
Side C: S2BP 220211 [Anvil symbol]
Side D: S2BP 220211 A
Condition
- Cover
- NM-
- Vinyl
- VG
Variant chronology
1978 - CBS New Zealand pressing, orange-to-yellow gradient label, square "eye" logo, gatefold with lyric inner sleeves <- this copy
1978-79 - other territory CBS/Columbia pressings and the Japanese CBS/Sony promo/LP issues - no price band established
c.2010 - Legacy Recordings reissue, 2LP
This Pressing
1978 CBS New Zealand stereo pressing - gradient CBS label with single boxed eye logo, gatefold jacket with lyric inner sleeves, catalogue S2BP 220211.
The Album
Recorded across two nights at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in early 1978 to close out the Japanese leg of a world tour, this live double album caught Bob Dylan reinventing his own songbook with a large touring ensemble featuring horns, backing vocalists, violin and pedal steel, reshaping folk and protest-era staples into lush, almost cabaret-styled big-band arrangements. The tour and album arrived at a pivotal, transitional moment in Dylan's career, bridging the mid-1970s Rolling Thunder period and the gospel-inflected records that would follow at the turn of the decade, and it gave fans their first widely available live overview spanning the full arc of his catalog to that point. Initially issued only outside the US as a contractual stopgap, it became an unlikely commercial phenomenon in Japan and other territories before belated North American release met a far more divided critical reaction, with many reviewers bristling at the radical rearrangements of beloved songs. Over time the record has been reassessed by listeners and critics as a bold, idiosyncratic document of Dylan actively deconstructing and reinterpreting his own legacy rather than simply replaying greatest hits, and it remains a touchstone for debate over his most adventurous live reworkings.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Mr Tambourine Man
2. Shelter From The Storm
3. Love Minus Zero / No Limit
4. Ballad Of A Thin Man
5. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Side 2
1. Maggie's Farm
2. One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. I Shall Be Released
5. Is Your Love In Vain?
6. Going, Going, Gone
Side 3
1. Blowin' In The Wind
2. Just Like A Woman
3. Oh, Sister
4. Simple Twist Of Fate
5. All Along The Watchtower
6. I Want You
Side 4
1. All I Really Want To Do
2. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
3. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
4. Forever Young
5. The Times They Are A-Changin'
The Label
This copy carries the orange-to-yellow gradient CBS label with the single square "eye" trademark at twelve o'clock, standard CBS legal rim text, and "MADE IN NEW ZEALAND BY A REGISTERED USER OF THE TRADE MARKS" printed along the lower rim; no deep groove is visible on any of the four labels. This gradient design with the boxed "eye" logo was CBS's standard international stock label through the late 1970s across several Pacific/Commonwealth pressing territories, so the design itself does not distinguish an early from a late New Zealand pressing within the title's run. The catalogue number S2BP 220211 and the (P)1978 CBS/Sony Inc. line tie this directly to the original New Zealand release of the title rather than to any later reissue, which appeared under different Columbia/Legacy numbers and label art.
Fidelity
This is a late-1970s analog CBS pressing cut from the original live mixes, mastered for a mass-market international release rather than as an audiophile product, and the New Zealand plant's cutting and pressing quality is considered solid but unremarkable among collectors. The dense horn-and-vocal arrangements and live concert origin give the recording an inherently busy, sometimes congested soundstage that collectors generally agree is a function of the source mix rather than this particular pressing. Later CD and digital remasters, and a more recent expanded vinyl reissue of the complete Budokan shows, are regarded as sonic improvements and more complete documents, but among the contemporaneous original-era vinyl pressings this New Zealand copy sits on par with other Commonwealth CBS pressings of the same year.
Notes
This is the 1978 New Zealand CBS stereo issue of the title, catalogue S2BP 220211, in its gatefold jacket with lyric-printed inner sleeves. The labels show the standard CBS gradient design with a single boxed "eye" logo and the New Zealand manufacturing line in the rim text, with no deep groove present on any side. The Side A and B runouts match the catalogue number string exactly as expected for this release, while the Side C and D runouts carry additional stamper/plant markings beyond what was typed, which is typical of this era's multi-territory pressing and does not change the identification of this as the standard New Zealand first issue of the title.
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