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Music > Reviews > Cheap Trick By Christel Loar"Nothing less, nothing else, it just fits, never quits..."One afternoon, in the early summer of 1978, I was six years old and sitting in my cousin’s Camaro. He had painted it a glossy purple with metallic flake, and I thought it was so cool. That it sat on blocks in Grandma’s driveway most of the time didn’t diminish its draw for me at all. You see, it had a tape player, and on this particular day, it was introducing me to Cheap Trick’s In Color. There were men on motorcycles on the cassette cover, which I also thought was cool, and there was a thrum of pure excitement in my ears, which I thought was even cooler. Though I knew quite a lot about rock and roll and had a fairly wide variety of favorite music for one so young, I had not yet experienced true pop perfection beyond the Beatles. Cheap Trick was a revelation! The enthusiasm and energy were unmistakable. Even to untrained ears, the songwriting and performance skills were unparalleled. After playing the whole album over again, I began frantically rifling through the glove box for more and was rewarded with Heaven Tonight. I still sometimes believe there is no greater pop song than “Surrender.” All summer long, I’d ask to hear those tapes so I could again feel the rush that went along with those songs. A couple of years later, I purchased my own prized copy of Dream Police specifically so I could experience it whenever I wanted. The years went on and the excitement waned, as apparently was to be expected, other than the brief flutter in 1988 when I first heard the band’s cover of “Don’t Be Cruel” on the radio, I feared no one would ever again taste that first sweet power-pop treat I found in my cousin’s car. I lamented the loss of those euphoric feelings and resigned myself to the notion that nothing in adulthood or the current musical climate could match the eager elation and giddy glee of listening to “I Want You to Want Me”. I was wrong. 2006’s Rockford foreshadowed a return to form, but I’m exceedingly happy to say that with The Latest, Cheap Trick has finally fully recaptured that rush. The opening track, “Sleep Forever”, should be the first clue that the fountain of youth has been found. Robin Zander’s voice sounds gloriously sweet and strong, as the song lulls the listener in preparation for the surprise of sheer power about to be unleashed. As they slam into a superb glam-pop cover of Slade’s “When the Lights Are Out”, one that also pointedly recalls “Elo Kiddies” from 1977’s Cheap Trick, it’s obvious that Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos have been sipping from some restorative spring as well. “Miss Tomorrow” follows, with a bit of a George Harrison vibe from Nielsen. It features one of those classic choruses, the kind of hook you can hang an entire album from. Not that they’d need to hang the whole album on this one song; there’s more, and it just keeps getting better. The album’s lead single is “Sick Man of Europe”. The title is in a long tradition of self-referential nods, which are fun for fans to find. The song itself is a brief, but powerful punk-infused pounder built around Petersson’s bass line. “These Days” is a beautifully grand ballad, and an unexpected highlight among the early tracks. “Miracle”, though not as unexpected, with its evocations of John Lennon, is another standout among the higher-energy numbers. “Everyday You Make Me Crazy” makes the most of its less than a minute and a half length by using every second to make you smile and sing along. “California Girl” is, as its title might imply, a perfect summer song with a bit of vintage rockabilly, and more self-referential trivia, in its roots. “Everybody Knows” and “Alive” are great examples of the definitive Cheap Trick sound. “Everybody Knows” is a Zander-penned tune arranged with lush layers, brimming with Beatle-esque harmonies, completed with haunting, lost-at-sea imagery. “Alive” is instantly recognizable as a Cheap Trick song, thanks mainly to the propulsive cymbals of Carlos and Nielsen’s tight, bright bursts of guitar. “Times of Our Lives” brings out yet another hook-laden sing-along gem. “Closer, the Ballad of Burt and Linda” revisits the band’s lovely layered harmony vocals once more before the album’s actual closer. “Smile” is a little saccharine as a closing ballad, but it has a gorgeously soaring melody that more than saves it from becoming too cloying. If I had to voice one complaint about Cheap Trick’s The Latest, it might be that pairing two slower ballads at the end of the album risks draining some of the potency gathered earlier by the rockers. But that’s hardly even worth mentioning when the album has so much momentum to spare. If I had to voice a second complaint… well, I couldn’t. I haven’t got one. The Latest is just about as perfect as pop music can get. What a rush!
— 30 July 2009
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Comments
we’re all familiar with the phrase “damning with faint praise”, right? well, the reviewer here has done just the opposite and has done the record a disservice by gushing over a decidedly mediocre record.
do NOT go out and buy this record expecting any return to form, instead purchase it only if you are a fan who needs to own everything, and need to own 2-3 kind of above average songs by an old favorite.
the over production is borderline embarrassing and nothing on this entire record could be considered remotely “rocking”.
too bad, as there are snatches of good ideas here and there, just not enough. not nearly enough.
then again (and, yes, i know this is a slam), anybody who enjoyed for 2 seconds Cheap Trick’s cover of Don’t Be Cruel may enjoy this weak record more than i did.
3 out of 10.
Comment by dave from milwaukee — July 30, 2009 @ 7:44 am
To each his or her own Dave, but I stand by my assertion that this is a brilliant piece of power pop. It should be noted that my momentary, and later much dulled, excitement at the cover of “Don’t Be Cruel” stems from a lifelong love of everything Elvis, coupled with the aforementioned sweet-tooth for Cheap Trick in general, and topped off with the fact I was 16 when it was released. Now, I can look back and laugh because I know without a doubt that every track on The Latest is infinitely superior that cover. 3 out of 10, really? Using the Popmatters rating scale? Hmmm…
Comment by Christel Loar — July 31, 2009 @ 1:30 am
Dave- a 3?? Pretty harsh and I have to disagree with you.And “nothing is even remotely rocking?” Seriously? Sick Man of Europe doesn’t rock? See for yourself when the band plays it on Conan O’Brien on 9/1. And Everyday You Make Me Crazy also rocks well, as does Alive. And the Slade cover, When the Lights Go Out, as well, though they did an even better job rocking it live when I saw them perform it in July.
True, they have some ballads on here and I am not as enamored of Everybody Knows and Sleep Forever as Christel seems to be but Closer is amazing! I played that a half-dozen times and my only complaint was it was too short (at about 3 minutes or so).
Give Cheap Trick credit for not making everything sound the same- and for broadening their horizons in the studio with some nice orchestration.
And Robin Zander’s voice is a wonder, sounding finer here and showing better range than most supposedly great rock singers half his age.
I think an 8 is about right.
Comment by Ed from Connecticut from Connecticut — August 2, 2009 @ 12:17 am
As long as Bun E. continues to drum like the ‘king of the thunder drums’, Robin Zander’s voice is still able to both peel paint off the wall and sing a like Lennon & McCartney, Tom Petersson is still sounding like Townshend & Entwistle at the same time, and lastly Rick Nielsen is beating the shit out of the guitar…these boys are still a Rock’N'Roll force to be reckoned with. THANK GOD for Cheap Trick!
The Latest finds Trick waggling their ‘experimental’ finger again..(think All Shook Up) and really thickening up their sound and songwriting repertoire. Overall this album finds a band that is STILL not on ‘cruise control’ mode. They still have something to prove and then some!! 9/10.
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Comment by TrickyTolles — August 7, 2009 @ 12:29 pm
Take THIS comment as the first comment and read nothing else but THIS:
This is a GREAT record—a great NOT overproduced record.
Cheap Trick continues to defy logic and rock this MELODIC album impressively. This is the best Cheap Trick album since Busted BEACAUSE it’s produced well. For fans who understand production and sonic qualities (unlike the first actual blog note), you’ll note that not since “Busted” (1990) has the production quality been here. Finally, it’s come back around. Not since the 80s have we heard Robin recorded the way his voice should be. Not since “I’ll drive, you steer” have we heard harmonies and tones that we expect from the great Tricksters on wax. This is a true Cheap Trick album—far better than Rockford (which was decent), Special One (which honestly sucked), Cheap Trick (1997…it was so so), WUWAM (didn’t get attention it deserved because of a stupid album cover and warner brothers dropped em anyway), and Busted (this is more melodic and vocals are insanely awesome). It’s better than all those.
Robin Zander is mid 50s and he sounds like he’s 25 again. He has total and complete control of his voice and it’s un-friggin-real. The guy is awesome, and he sounds ALIVE on this record.
This is the Cheap Trick record I’d been waiting for…. for over 15 years. Of course they’ll get no radio play, but for people that listen to it, you’ll soon realize that it’s catchy as HELL. You’ll keep playing it over and over again.
Rick is on fire again. He knows how to put melodies on wax. Robin has a phd in singing and I’m just happy as hell that these guys are rocking and making music.
All of this is a sidenote to the fact that they tour probably 70+ dates a year STILL. They rock. I’d rather see them headline instead of Def Leppard.. and that REALLY IS saying a lot. That’s because it’s Cheap Trick.
And any intelligent music fan gets it
Comment by Brad West from Gainesville, Florida — August 10, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
This is an absolutely fabulous album! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but why would you bother with such a rude comment Dave? Obviously you don’t GET Cheap Trick…. any CT fan knows the frustration when others don’t GET them. Their songs are an experience from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. You obvioulsly don’t, and never will understand.
My favourite song on it so far is Alive. As you said Christel, it’s instantly recognisable.. just screams Cheap Trick.
Keep the great stuff coming guys!!!
Comment by Sarah from Vic, Aus — September 25, 2009 @ 2:38 am