The Greatest Hits [Expanded] [Remaster]

Performer: Cheap Trick
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Cheap Trick includes: Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen (guitar), Tom Petersson, Bun E. Carlos. Producers include: Cheap Trick, Richie Zito, Roy Thomas Baker, Tom Werman, Todd Rundgren. Reissue producer: Bruce Dickinson. Engineers include: Gary Ladinsky, Phil Kaffel, Todd Rundgren. Recorded between 1978 and 1990. All tracks havve been digitally remastered. Audio Mixers: Gary Ladinsky; Mike Shipley; Todd Rundgren; Tony Platt; Cheap Trick. Recording information: 1978-1993. Photographer: Caroline Greyshock. Unknown Contributor Roles: Rick Nielsen; Robin Zander; Tom Petersson; Bun E. Carlos. This is sort of a "greatest hits" package since Cheap Trick has scads more great songs that could easily have made the cut. But if you have to narrow it down to 13 tracks, there's nary a dud in the bunch here (even the much maligned power ballad "The Flame" works in this context). The bottom line is that Cheap Trick's blend of Anglo-influences (Beatles, Move, Who) and American attitude made them one of the most inventive rock bands ever, and in Robin Zander they possessed perhaps the genre's most criminally underrated singer--essentially he's Robert Plant with subtlety and minus the macho posturing. Overlooked gem: a cover of "Magical Mystery Tour" which appends the psychedelic coda the song always deserved (complete with a brief sample from "I Am the Walrus"). The greatest failing of Greatest Hits is the fact that much of Cheap Trick's best material didn't come near the charts. "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender," and "Dream Police" either climbed the charts or scraped them, as did the fine singles "Ain't That a Shame," "Voices," "If You Want My Love," and "She's Tight," but many of their stone-cold classics -- including "He's a Whore," "Oh, Candy," "Downed," "Southern Girls," "Auf Wiedersehen" -- weren't successes. What were successes were pleasant arena rockers and power ballads like "Tonight It's You," "The Flame," and "Don't Be Cruel," and that's what forms the basis of Greatest Hits, along with an extraneous new rendition of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour." Casual fans who only want the hits will be satiated by this collection, but the album misses the point of Cheap Trick, and thereby doesn't work as either an introduction or retrospective. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Despite the fact that much of Cheap Trick's best material didn't come near the charts -- many of their greatest songs, including "He's a Whore," "Oh, Candy," "Downed," "Southern Girls," and "Auf Wiedersehen" were never singles -- the Greatest Hits compilation remains a good sampler since it contains such classics as "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender," "Dream Police," "Ain't That a Shame," "Voices," "If You Want My Love," and "She's Tight," along with pleasant latter-day arena rockers and power ballads like "Tonight It's You," "The Flame," and "Don't Be Cruel." Even if it misses many great songs, the compilation will satisfy casual fans who only want the hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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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