The Latest Cheap Trick

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Good review! Makes me want it.

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNews\Music\20090623\US-Music-Review-Cheap-Trick.xml&cat=entertainment&subcat=music&pageid=1

[gweimer]

I picked up their last 2 releases.  Good and strong, but nothing like the early ones.  On Special One, they literally lifted the entire section of "Wurm" from "Starship Trooper" and put lyrics across it.  Rockford was closer to the early days in sound.

I assume you've discovered Bun E. Carlos latest side project, Tinted Windows.

[godofthunder]

As much as I love CT the actually mention Slade's When the Lights are Out !

[uwe]

Not much of a Cheap Trick fan, but Rockford was good. Will probably buy this one just to find out how they mangled the Slade track. Zander's voice has always left me cold and I always found Nielsen's desire to solo in minor scales over major chords questionable (it's ok to do it sometimes, but not all the time). Should have taken a few lessons from Dickey Betts.

Before the wrath of Cheap Trick fans here hits me (George!), I'll crawl back under my stone!

[gearHed289]

Start crawling.......... 

[Highlander]

I only saw them once... not with Petersen in the band... definitely Nov 5th, circa 1980... Brian May came on for the encore... a good show, but marred by an extremely sad memory... I have some good shots of this gig, somewhere... 

Alex Harvey was dragged out onto the stage, paralytic, and they gave him one of Neilsens guitars, without adjusting the strap, so he somehow tried to wrap the strap around his neck to make it playable... I think they played "Shaking all over"... I was tragically comic, but truly a sad moment for me... he was gone just over a year later... the memory of his band supporting the Who in '76 is still sharp in my mind (with Little Feat 3rd on the bill) - a lot of people gone from us played that day...

[gweimer]

I saw them dozens of times in the club years.  They had enough material for 4 albums even then.  They were brutal on you in 3 club sets.  The songs that were their biggest hits then are all but forgotten now - "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" and "Ballad of Richard Speck" (which was retitled for the album).

I think there used to be a YouTube of that appearance with Alex Harvey.  When they did their "secret" club tour as The Randymen, the encore was "Highway To Hell", and I managed to find a boot of it.  It's actually pretty true to the original.

[Highlander]

You lucky man, Gary... I know the show I saw was recorded (BBC broadcast, but not that bit, tapes still around somewhere) but don't remember vid cams...

[godofthunder]

 I saw 'em in '78 , great show !  Always loved the concept and the songs.

[gearHed289]

The first two CT albums came out the year I started playing bass. They were unlike anything I'd ever seen or heard. I was a total KISS geek at the time, and they had a lot of those same pop meets metal qualities. Petersson's bass tone was, again, unlike anything I'd ever heard. I hadn't discovered Entwistle yet, and it would be years later before I realized what a huge influence the Who had on CT. I still remember the first time I heard Surrender on the radio. Went and got the 8 track and blasted that in the under-dash 8 track player in my cousin's car all summer. 

The thing that set them apart from other power pop bands was Nielson's sinister lyrical edge. He snuck a lot of social commentary into some cute pop ditties. None of the local bands that followed did anything for me - Off Broadway, the Kind, Enuff Z'Nuff...... 

I'm going to buy this new record.

[nofi]

i don't think that slade can compare to cheap trick in the two areas that matter most, songwriting and overall musicianship. slade wins the goofy cloths category.

[leftybass]

Became a fan when Heaven Tonight came out, saw them on that tour, saw them once w/o Tom, that sucked, have probably seen them close to 10 times including a 3-night run in Austin where they played the first 3 albums completely, one each night, it was awesome. Spent most of the late 80s/ and the 90s playing 12-string bass exclusively, because of these guys, still have one Hamer from those days.

[gweimer]

Off Broadway, the Kind, Enuff Z'Nuff...... 

Well, if you remember those bands, then you must have heard of The Boyzz, The Hounds, Buster, Europe, Trillion, Cincinnati Bombers...

Those were my Chicago club years.  The "Hot Love" video that came with the DVD in Special One was shot at The Night Gallery.

[gearHed289]

Well, if you remember those bands, then you must have heard of The Boyzz, The Hounds, Buster, Europe, Trillion, Cincinnati Bombers...

Those were my Chicago club years.  The "Hot Love" video that came with the DVD in Special One was shot at The Night Gallery.

I remember the Boyzz and Hounds. Trillion too - weren't they kind of prog???

[leftybass]

I remember the Boyzz and Hounds. Trillion too - weren't they kind of prog???

I had one of their albums, they were kind of awful.