Playlist: The Very Best of Cheap Trick [PA]

Performer: Cheap Trick
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Cheap Trick: Rick Nielsen (guitar). Playlist: The Very Best of Cheap Trick collects 14 tracks defined on the back jacket as "the life-changing songs, the out of print tracks, the hits, the fan favorites everyone loves, and the songs that make the artists who they are." With so many adequate Cheap Trick collections available (2000's Authorized Greatest Hits, 2004's Essential Cheap Trick, 2005's Very Best of Cheap Trick) it's hard to get that excited over another 14 tracks of the same, but there's no denying the sheer, infectious rock & roll joy that emanates from songs like "Surrender," "Southern Girls," "I Want You to Want Me," "Way of the World," and "Dream Police." That said, a more fitting name for the collection would be "Bereft of "Mandocello," a fact that ultimately renders this Playlist incomplete. ~ James Christopher Monger

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.

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