Next Position Please

Performer: Cheap Trick
Engineer: Todd Rundgren; Paul Klingberg
Distributor: (Independently by Label)

Notes: Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals); Rick Nielsen (guitar, keyboards); John Brant (bass); Bun E. Carlos (drums, cymbals). Producers: Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, Ian Taylor. Recorded at Utopia Sound Studio, Woodstock, New York. This was Cheap Trick's third album in a row made with a high profile producer identified with a specific sound--here it's Todd Rundgren, previously it was George Martin, and before that Roy Thomas Baker. And yet, the band sounds resolutely consistent. This is vintage Cheap Trick and stylistically identical with classics like HEAVEN TONIGHT. Granted, there are a few new wrinkles, notably Rick Neilsen's guitar work on the opening "I Can't Take It," which appears to have absorbed the influence of the Police's Andy Summers. Elsewhere, however, it's melodic pop-rock business as usual, with "Y.O.Y.O.Y." (perhaps the band's most breathtakingly ironic ballad), and the melodically exquisite "Heaven's Falling" being particular standouts.

Cheap Trick's first few albums are often cited as an influence on both '80s pop-metal and the pop-punk phenomenon of the '90s. Robin Zander's rock-star looks and powerful voice played perfectly off guitar hero Rick Neilsen's oddball image and onstage antics, and the band frequently subverted standard rock song structures with odd, ironic lyrics. In their late-'70s heyday, Cheap Trick's fusion of power-pop and hard rock won them credibility with rockers, new wave fans, and pure popsters. Their 1978 release AT BUDOKAN still stands as one of rock's finest concert albums.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5