Dream Police [Bonus Tracks]

Performer: Cheap Trick
Artist: Jai Winding
Engineer: Gary Ladinsky; Mike Beiriger; Gary Ladinsky
Producer: Tom Werman
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals, guitar); Rick Nielsen (guitar, mandocello, background vocals); Tom Petersson (electric, 8- & 12-string basses, background vocals); Bun E. Carlos (drums). Additional personnel: Jai Winding (piano, organ). Recorded at Record Plant, Los Angeles, California. Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (guitar); Tom Petersson (bass guitar); Rick Nielsen, Bun E. Carlos. Personnel: Rick Nielsen (vocals, guitar, mandocello); Tom Petersson (vocals, 8-string bass, 12-string bass); Robin Zander (vocals); Bun E. Carlos (drums). Liner Note Author: Ken Sharp. Recording information: Daytona Beach, FL (1978-1988); Los Angeles Forum (1978-1988); Record Plant, Hollywood, CA (1978-1988). Authors: Bun E. Carlos; Rick Nielsen. Photographers: Lynn Goldsmith; Reid Miles. Although Cheap Trick's fourth studio album, DREAM POLICE, was ready for release at the beginning of 1979, it was delayed for nearly a year due to the surprise success of their hit single "I Want You To Want Me" and album AT BUDOKAN. When it did finally come out in September, it became the band's biggest studio album, peaking at #6 on the charts and going platinum. There are more than a few Trick classics included on DREAM POLICE. The fiercely rocking title track (one of the band's most renowned compositions), "Way of the World," and two epics--the nearly ten-minute-long "Gonna Raise Hell" and a seven-and-a-half- minute rendition of "Need Your Love" (originally released as a live version on AT BUDOKAN) are all standouts. You'll also find a forgotten ballad, "Voices," which almost cracked the top 30. At Budokan unexpectedly made Cheap Trick stars, largely because "I Want You to Want Me" had a tougher sound than its original studio incarnation. Perversely -- and most things Cheap Trick have done are somehow perverse -- the band decided not to continue with the direct, stripped-down sound of At Budokan, which would have been a return to their debut. Instead, the group went for their biggest, most elaborate production to date, taking the synthesized flourishes of Heaven Tonight to extremes. While it kept the group in the charts, it lessened the impact of the music. Underneath the gloss, there are a number of songs that rank among Cheap Trick's finest, particularly the paranoid title track, the epic rocker "Gonna Raise Hell," the tough "I Know What I Want," the simple pop of "Voices," and the closer, "Need Your Love." Still, Dream Police feels like a letdown in comparison to its predecessors, even though it would later feel like one of the group's last high-water marks. [An expanded edition of Dream Police was released in 2006 with four bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Q (p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "A band with a toehold not only in the excesses of early-'70s guitar rock but also the pop sensibilities of new wave and disco, they pulled off this gymnastic feat with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks." Uncut (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] pummeling assault of stadium riffs and bonkers lyrics....If only all rock was this smart." Mojo (Publisher) (p.124) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "DREAM POLICE is hard rock at its smartest: witty, punchy, inventive, heavily Beatles-influenced and full of killer hooks."

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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