The new set will be available on November 17th

Columbia Records and Legacy Recording will release Bob Dylan’s The Complete Budokan 1978 on Friday, November 17th.

A deluxe box set celebrating Dylan’s 1978 world concert tour and the 45th anniversary of the artist’s first concert appearances in Japan, The Complete Budokan 1978 presents two full shows originally recorded on 24-channel multitrack analog tapes at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Hall on February 28 and March 1, 1978 and offers fans 36 previously unreleased Dylan performances. The Complete Budokan 1978 will be available in 4 CD, 8 LP (Japan only) and digital configurations. Also available is Bob Dylan – Another Budokan 1978, a 2 LP highlight edition featuring 16 specially selected unreleased tracks from the box set. A preview of the album, a previously unreleased performance of “The Man In Me” from the set is available now.

The Bob Dylan World Tour 1978 marked the artist’s first international concert dates since 1966 and his first live shows since the Rolling Thunder Revue blasted through North America in 1975-76. A major international musical event, the year-long tour found Bob Dylan performing 114 shows in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe, to a combined audience of two million fans.

The tour launched in February 1978 with eleven historic performances: Dylan’ first-ever concerts in Japan which included eight shows at the revered Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. Two of the Budokan shows–February 28 and March 1, 1978–were recorded on 24-channel multi-track analog tape with 22 performances excerpted from those shows appearing on Bob Dylan At Budokan, a 2 LP set first issued on Columbia Records as a Japan-only release in November 1978, followed by a global release in April 1979 in response to widespread demand. The Complete Budokan 1978 marks the first time any of Dylan’s complete performances from his 1978 world tour have been officially available.

For his 1978 performances, Dylan (rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals) led an ensemble featuring Billy Cross on lead guitar, Ian Wallace on drums, Alan Pasqua on keyboards, Rob Stoner on bass and vocals, Steven Soles on acoustic rhythm guitar and vocals, David Mansfield on pedal steel, violin, mandolin, guitar and dobro, Steve Douglas on saxophone, flute and recorder, Bobbye Hall on percussion, Helena Springs on vocals, Jo Ann Harris on vocals, and Debi Dye on vocals. The original Bob Dylan At Budokan album was produced by Don DeVito, who also helmed Dylan’s Street-Legal, recorded and released during the 1978 world tour, featuring the same musicians.

According to Tetsuya Shiroki, co-producer of The Complete Budokan 1978, the newly restored, remixed and remastered recordings “…capture(s) two days of this history-making tour. Nothing has been removed or altered in any way.”

Many individuals involved in the original Bob Dylan at Budokan album reunited for the new release. Under the supervision of Heckel Sugano, the CBS Sony product manager for Bob Dylan in Japan at the time, the engineer responsible for the 1978 recording has worked on the new 2023 remix using the original 24-channel multi-tapes, while the album cover showcases artwork by the same photographers as the original.

Presented in a luxurious deluxe box, The Complete Budokan 1978 includes newly remixed complete live recordings from the two Budokan concert dates featuring 36 previously unreleased tracks; facsimile memorabilia such as concert tickets, pamphlets, posters, and flyers; 60-page full-color photo book of previously unpublished photos of Dylan on-stage and behind-the-scenes at the airport, press conferences and more; exclusive liner notes. The 2 LP Another Budokan 1978 features 16 previously unreleased tracks from the Budokan box. In her liner essay for The Complete Budokan 1978, music critic Edna Gundersen notes that the original Bob Dylan At Budokan album “has undergone a sober reappraisal over the decades as consumers and critics grew to admire its adventurous arrangements and provocative performances.” She heralds the new restored and remastered release, writing that “Captured at Budokan, Dylan is in good spirits and fully engaged. He sings with brio and urgency, his voice clear and melodic and his phrasing impeccable as ever….The band crackles with careening energy…. (Dylan) saw the stage as a proving ground that brought his tunes to life.”

CD 1: Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan – February 28, 1978

1. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall [Previously Unreleased]
2. Repossession Blues [Previously Unreleased]
3. Mr. Tambourine Man [Previously Unreleased]
4. I Threw It All Away [Previously Unreleased]
5. Shelter From The Storm
6. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
7. Girl From The North Country [Previously Unreleased]
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man [Previously Unreleased]
9. Maggie’s Farm [Previously Unreleased]
10. To Ramona [Previously Unreleased]
11. Like A Rolling Stone [Previously Unreleased]
12. I Shall Be Released [Previously Unreleased]
13. Is Your Love In Vain? [Previously Unreleased]
14. Going, Going, Gone [Previously Unreleased]

CD 2: Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan – February 28, 1978

1. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) [Previously Unreleased]
2. Blowin’ In The Wind [Previously Unreleased]
3. Just Like A Woman [Previously Unreleased]
4. Oh, Sister [Previously Unreleased]
5. Simple Twist Of Fate
6. You’re A Big Girl Now [Previously Unreleased]
7. All Along The Watchtower [Previously Unreleased]
8. I Want You [Previously Unreleased]
9. All I Really Want To Do [Previously Unreleased]
10. Tomorrow Is A Long Time [Previously Unreleased]
11. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
12. Band introductions [Previously Unreleased]
13. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
14. Forever Young
15. The Times They Are A-Changin’

CD 3: Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan – March 1, 1978

1. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall [Previously Unreleased]
2. Love Her With A Feeling [Previously Unreleased]
3. Mr. Tambourine Man
4. I Threw It All Away [Previously Unreleased]
5. Love Minus Zero/No Limit [Previously Unreleased]
6. Shelter From The Storm [Previously Unreleased]
7. Girl From The North Country [Previously Unreleased]
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man
9. Maggie’s Farm
10. One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)
11. Like A Rolling Stone
12. I Shall Be Released
13. Is Your Love In Vain?
14. Going, Going, Gone

CD 4: Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan – March 1, 1978

1. One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) [Previously Unreleased]
2. Blowin’ In The Wind
3. Just Like A Woman
4. Oh, Sister
5. I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) [Previously Unreleased]
6. You’re A Big Girl Now [Previously Unreleased]
7. All Along The Watchtower
8. I Want You
9. All I Really Want To Do
10. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
11. The Man In Me [Previously Unreleased]
12. Band introductions [Previously Unreleased]
13. It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) [Previously Unreleased]
14. Forever Young [Previously Unreleased]
15. The Times They Are A-Changin’ [Previously Unreleased]