“IT CAME AS QUITE A SHOCK...”

Heckel Sugano, CBS/SONY product manager for Bob Dylan in Japan at the time, and producer of the 1978 At Budokan LP and the new Complete Budokan, recalls how it came about

UNCUT: When did you get the idea to record a Bob Dylan live album in Tokyo? Sugano: When I heard from the promoter that Dylan’s Japan dates were set in the fall of 1977, I immediately told my boss at CBS/SONY of my interest in making a live album. He started negotiating, and by the beginning of 1978, we obtained approval from Columbia in the US and the Japanese promoter, pending Bob’s visit to Japan for the final decision.

How were you struck by the band Dylan had when he came to Japan? It came as quite a shock. Because the band, complete with a female chorus, performed new arrangements of wellknown songs that were not immediately recognisable. In Japan, Dylan was revered as a ‘folk god’ and his image with an acoustic guitar was deeply ingrained.

He never reached for an acoustic guitar during the Japan tour. Not once.

How did you go about compiling the original At

Budokan? Deciding on the songs and their order posed a challenge. I aimed to capture the essence of the live performance faithfully. While conventional LP records usually accommodated a maximum 20 minutes per side, I persuaded the engineer to push to nearly 30 minutes. The song sequence differed from the actual concerts to fit each side’s recording length. I aimed to craft a compelling album, where Bob’s vocals penetrated through. To our regret, there were songs we couldn’t include, leading to the creation of The Complete Budokan now.

A few months later, you met Dylan when he was playing Los Angeles, to show him the test pressing for his approval. How do you recall that? I handed the material to Dylan’s secretary the day of the first LA concert, June 1. On June 7, the day of the final LA concert, his secretary called me to come backstage for Bob’s response. Anxiously, I waited at a large table in the open air. Eventually, Bob arrived, sat across from me, and almost simultaneously said, “Good album. When’s it coming out?” My heart leaped with joy.

What does the new Complete

Budokan tell us about those shows? Bob’s 1978 world tour stirred controversy in various ways. The large band with a chorus, musicians donning beautiful stage costumes, and bold arrangements, led some to label Dylan a showbiz artist. However, having witnessed Bob perform in over 300 concerts across different eras, including the recent Rough And Rowdy Ways tour, I firmly believe he always follows his path and does what he truly wants. In his illustrious 60-year career, his 1978 tour is a pivotal moment. The Complete Budokan remains the only album that fully encapsulates that period.