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

Bob Dylan At Budokan

1978-79 · Columbia PC2 36067 (AL 36068 / BL 36068 / AL 36069 / BL 36069) · Stereo · US (rim text reads "Printed in U.S.A.") · 2xLP, gatefold · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Columbia
Catalogue number	PC2 36067 (AL 36068 / BL 36068 / AL 36069 / BL 36069)
Year	1978-79
Mono / Stereo	Stereo
Country	US (rim text reads "Printed in U.S.A.")
Format	2xLP, gatefold
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:  AL-36068-2D 1T 0 B
Side B:  BL-36068-2C 1T
Side C:  AL-36069-2C 1T □
Side D:  BL-36069-2C 1T □ 5

Condition

Cover: VG+
Vinyl: EX+

Variant chronology

1978-79 - US Columbia red label, gatefold with poster and two lyric liners, Santa Maria pressing  <- this copy
1979 - US Columbia white-label promo, same catalogue numbers
1978 - Japan CBS/Sony gatefold with obi and poster
1979 - UK CBS pressing
1979 - Costa Rica CBS pressing with inserts

This Pressing

US stereo pressing (1978-79) - flat Columbia red labels, gatefold with poster and two lyric liners; stamper letter on the runout differs in format from the documented examples for this catalogue number, so its exact place in the stamper sequence is not established.

The Album

Recorded over two nights at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in late February and early March 1978, this double live set captured Bob Dylan midway through a massive world tour that reintroduced him with a large touring band and radically rearranged versions of his classic catalogue. Horns, backing vocalists, a pedal-steel and violin player and a full rhythm section recast songs like "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Blowin' In The Wind" into lush, almost cabaret-styled big-band arrangements, a stark departure from the stripped-down folk and rock readings fans knew from the studio originals. The tour and the record arrived at a pivotal, transitional moment in Dylan's career, bridging the rock epics of the mid-1970s and the gospel-inflected albums that would follow at the turn of the decade. Critical reaction at the time was sharply divided, with many longtime listeners and critics dismissing the reinvented arrangements as overproduced or even self-parodic, while others heard a bold willingness to reinterpret his own songbook rather than simply replay it. Over time the record has been reassessed by collectors as a fascinating, idiosyncratic document of Dylan refusing nostalgia, and it remains a touchstone for debates about reinvention versus faithfulness in live performance of a songwriter's own canon.

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

The side labels show the standard red Columbia design used through the late 1970s: yellow "COLUMBIA" rim text repeated around the perimeter with the small circular/box logo, black title and track copy set in the same sans-serif face on all four sides, and "Printed in U.S.A." at the foot of the label. No deep groove is present on any of the four sides, making this a flat label. This places the pressing as a US copy from the catalogue's original 1978-79 production run, carrying the same catalogue numbers (PC2 36067 / C 36068 / C 36069) as the first US two-record configuration. The stamper letter cut into the runout differs in format from other pressings of this catalogue number, and its place in the stamper sequence is not indicated on the label; it stands as an example of the original US stereo edition rather than a specific earlier or later pressing within it.

Fidelity

This is a conventional late-1970s Columbia pop/rock pressing rather than an audiophile cut, mastered from the 1978 live tape without a specialist remastering credit on the jacket or labels. Collectors on the forums generally find the original arrangements more interesting than the surface sound, and the pressing quality of ordinary US copies is considered serviceable but unremarkable next to Columbia's better in-house cuts of the era. There is no audiophile reissue series (Analogue Productions, Mobile Fidelity, Speakers Corner) of this title to rank against, so this pressing sits within the ordinary range of first-wave US copies, distinguished mainly by its earlier stamper generation rather than by any difference in mastering chain.

Notes

1978-79 Columbia PC2 36067 stereo - an original-era US pressing. The red Columbia labels, gatefold jacket with poster and two lyric liners, and the catalogue numbers printed on the labels (C 36068/C 36069) match the first US configuration of this title. The Side A runout stamper letter cut into this copy's vinyl is earlier in sequence than the stamper letters recorded for the catalogue number elsewhere, pointing to an early run within the original pressing rather than a later repress; Sides B-D carry similarly early stamper letters, consistent with that reading.

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