Cheap Trick: Classic Or Dud

so, yes, classic. as i've said many a time, if i liked the who outside of a small handful of songs, they'd be more like cheap trick. that is to say a vocalist who has more than one gear, a guitarist who knows more than one key, and a drummer who played with baseball bats (no dis towards mr. moon, one of rock's finest). and, of course, they'd be influenced by glam and punk, so in a way, cheap trick are to the who what guns n' roses are to led zeppelin.

search: the first four records and the authorized greatest hits, which has many of their best tunes of the 80s, a decade unkind to many a great 70s act.

:P

OR WOULD IT??????????? (cue extreme zoom and sinister organ)

1) horny adolescence as subject matter

2) Kiss records mentioned in "Surrender," Kiss itself a Rivers Cuomo obsession

3) loud, poppy rock, man

Obviously this is hardly scientific. And as mentioned, one succeeds and the other eats.

What is their best, rockiest track?

I realized that I was seeing double. Then I realized that I must be very drunk.

If so, FAPpage on this email?

....yet you listen to Good Charlotte all the same.

Cheap Trick POX

He's A Whore
She's Tight
Hot Love
Clock Strikes Ten
Surrender
Southern Girls
Dream Police
Ooh La La
Tonight It's You
Taxman, Mr. Thief

1. "Stop This Game" (it's first note is the last note on Sgt.Pepper's, mo'fuckers!)
2. "Dream Police"
3. "Reach Out" (from the Heavy Metal: the Motion Picture soundtrack)
4. "Elo, Kiddies"
5. "Surrender"
6. "If You Want My Love"
7. "I want You to Want Me"
8. "Surrender"
9. "He's a Whore"
10. "Hello There"

Man, I love The Move, but Cheap Trick's version of "California Man" just slays theirs. And it's never too late to arrive at Cheap Trick: the older I get, the more I believe the purty songs with evil subtexts (which would be, like, virtually the entire early Trick catalogue) are about as great as rock and roll ever got.

How about this theory ... maybe the most important member of the band was the bassist?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQDc9loiFuk

I saw them at Shellac's ATP in 2002, held at Camber Sands. From what I remember they played for an audience of around 200 people on the second stage, and yet they were still giving it absolutely everything, with Rick Nielsen still duck-walking across the stage and throwing plectrums into the crowd. Really great, and a privilege to see them in such an intimate setting.

their bromance with albini is very adorable

there's that okay-ish Big Black cover of He's a Whore isn't there

yeah, they kind of a mutual admiration society

they did this too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bsT3EWlsJM

oh nice, will check, thanks. There's the Illinois connection too I suppose

Also Bun E. and Rick (at least) are two of the nicest dudes (which makes it extra weird that they are feuding).

From what I've read, it's actually Tom and Robin who've got the problem w/Bun. Rick was happy to see him at the H.o.F. ceremony.

Huh. I jut figured since Rick's son was playing drums that Rick had something to do with it.

Classic.

Shellac's ATP in 2002, held at Camber Sands. From what I remember they played for an audience of around 200 people on the second stage, and yet they were still giving it absolutely everything

The first weekend they were upstairs but it thinned out massively about halfway through for (I think) The Fall downstairs (or, rather, a queue to get into The Fall downstairs) and they closed the set to about 200, still acting like they were at Wembley.

"Taxman, Mr. Thief" is so cool. also one of the rare sequel songs. imo it is a sequel to the original "Taxman". it pays tribute to the New Wave angular guitar stuff the Beatles were playing w on Revolver (their most futuristic/New Wave record). but its its own song w its only harmonies melodies and as always they are great and backed with cool angular guitar stuff. if you pay attention to the guitar parts, this is basically a Strokes track in 1977.

and there is a sequel to "Hot Love" also in a way (and the "Get It On"-referencing intro to "Oh Candy"). its rare to find a band that wears their influences on their sleeve like this while still sounding super unique and one of a kind. Cheap Trick rules so much.

vocals, guitars, drums, they all know what they are doing. the vocals are so perfect for this kind of music. i guess the closest other bands i can think to them would maybe be Roxy Music or T-Rex. they all do that 50s teenage emo pop-via-70s glam, punk & New Wave.

Oh Candy. That is my favorite.

Worth noting that in the late '70s, the Beatles were not terribly cool. Then you get this young band out of Rockford, of all places, that somehow manages to synthesize not just Beatles but hard blues rock and glam and power-pop, the sort of mix that could equally influence punks and new wave dorks as well as, eventually, '80s hair metal bands. Listening to "In Color" today, I think Zander may be key. He's such an awesome singer.

xxxp thanks Aldo, I remember that now! I think I went and watched the end of the Fall's set after Cheap Trick had finished playing

Y'all heard that unreleased track they did with Lennon? Omg it's fucking siqqqqqqq https://youtu.be/gRxTXHfeg8s

my "adjacent to inside" scoop, based on what i can glean, is that yeah Tom and Robin are not cool w/Bun. Rick seems like he's okay with him. Rick's son is cool w/Bun himself. I think Bun is okay w/Rick and his kid playing drums is probably for him a more respectful move than some random dude taking over.

I watch this dude's channel all the time, and this particular episode is great -- Douglas has a lot of fun stories about this recording, including the fact that it isn't the Budokan show at all, but a different venue in Osaka. They had to resort to all sorts of chicanery to get a decent drum track, too, because the drums were only miced up with two overheads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qchBSQZ5QAM

That was nice, thanks for posting.

New Cheap Trick song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2volrJQ0p2U

Sounds like Cheap Trick to me!

I have been upset with the band for their treatment of Bun E, but I think I just need to get over it.
The new album comes out 4/9.

Just went to Wikipedia to read up, had no idea Bun E. and the rest of the band have been estranged for the last decade. Bummer.

"Tonight It's You" is classic.

The debut is all killer / no filler. In Color, Heaven Tonight, At Budokan, and — in a pinch — Dream Police are similarly fulfilling.

It’s true that, if you lived in the Chicago area in the late ‘70s, Trick was much more visible than in other parts of the US. “So Good To See You” got regular airplay on WLS, and when At Budokan came out (I remember TV ads for it; I don’t remember TV ads for any other record, ever), it was very much a “local boys make good” situation. So we heard “I Want You To Want Me” hourly, and usually semi-hourly.

Their career seemed front-loaded: Neilsen apparently had a stockpile of material, but didn’t really add to it, so by All Shook Up they were essentially bereft of solid material.

In a word, yes.

https://realgonemusic.com/products/cheap-trick-live-at-the-whisky-1977-limited-4-cd-set

Automatic purchase. From the moment I first heard "Please Mrs. Henry" on the boxed set I wished they'd released the whole show(s).

You're not alone there!

Their career seemed front-loaded: Neilsen apparently had a stockpile of material, but didn’t really add to it, so by All Shook Up they were essentially bereft of solid material.

I agree with this. I think for a while the most common CD compilation from them focused on their later recordings which actually discouraged me from looking into them further - eventually I gave them another chance and I was surprised how much was overlooked from those first three studio LP's. Kind of crazy that when they finally broke through commercially, it was downhill from there musically speaking (though Dream Police isn't bad).

Speaking of The Move references (which some of you were 18 years ago), "So Good to See You" squeezes in a bit of "Message from the Country"

Since I’m obviously the person with best taste around here, I am happy to be the first one to mention “Come
On, Come On” as one of the best songs on “In Colour” and a top 10 song for them. Power pop perfection.

I think "Downed" is their most overlooked song; nice to see four mentions in the thread.

Busted out my Trick vinyl and realized: was "Oh Claire" on Heaven Tonight the first unlisted bonus track?

Although I guess that honer actually goes to "Her Majesty".

Just checked my copy, and there is a short song after the five listed ones on side 2.

Yeah, that's "Oh Claire". It finally got listed on the CDs.

It's just that I grew with the received wisdom that "Train In Vain" was the first unlisted album "Easter Egg" (not counting Beatle weirdness).

Okay, I see what you mean...I wonder if some early punk groups tacked on hidden tracks. But I don't know.

How 'bout the tunes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2oHY4RapDY

(Poor quality.)

Damone has no idea what's about to hit him in that scene.

speaking of cheap trick in 80s movies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh_155r8f0

Two from Over the Edge ('79):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ejxfhWiJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCpUq1Tmd0o

I’m only halfway through the Whisky box, but I think I can state with some certainty that this is The Best Cheap Trick Album, and by a significant margin. No goofy studio arrangements or flumpfily-recorded drums to get in the way, far more intense and agitated (and much better recorded) than At Budokan…absolutely everything that was great about Cheap Trick is happening at all times. It’s a total thrill ride.

This isn't the Live in 1977 set from a couple of years ago?

Nope, 4CD box just released by Real Gone:

https://realgonemusic.com/products/cheap-trick-live-at-the-whisky-1977-limited-4-cd-set

Sold out. Is it legally streaming or downloadable?

Neither nor. (Got my copy, it is all that.)

so it is partially on streaming, available on "Out To Get You! Live 1977" - a double album released a couple years ago that is a compilation of songs culled from all the sets available on the new box set (which contains all the complete sets), so you can definitely experience it and i just listened and it smokes for sure

Tbh Robin sounds a little ragged sometimes, but the set rips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BrzW84Iggw

Only just now listening to the Live at the Whiskey box set and goddamn this rips!