It is December 22nd and my facebook feed has been filled all day with friends wishing Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen a happy 65th birthday. Let’s use this auspicious occasion to pay tribute to the band that was melodic, aggressive, sarcastic, witty, and, at their best, played with an unrivaled kinetic energy.
Here are their 25 best songs:
25. California Man. The Rockford boys have always been a smart cover band, hitting the Top Ten with an Elvis cover (“Don’t Be Cruel”), making the Top 40 with the Fats turns Japanese “Ain’t That a Shame,” as well as performing the entire Sgt. Pepper’s album live. The band has released several Roy Wood covers including “Brontosaurus,” “Down on the Bay,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonight,” and this crisp entry from Heaven Tonight which has been a band staple since it was first released. “Going to a party…”.
24. Elo Kiddies. The first Cheap Trick album had one side listed as “Side A” and the other listed as “Side 1,” so depending on your preference, either this or “Hot Love” is the band’s first album track. Nielsen plays Gary Glitter influenced power chords, Carlos abuses his kit, while Zander sends out a dire warning to juvenile delinquents.
23. The Ballad of T.V. Violence. Another selection from the first album, this living-in-the-mind-of-a-serial-killer tune was titled “The Ballad of Richard Speck” until the attorneys at Epic records got involved. Speck murdered eight South Chicago nurses in 1966 and was televised in prison later in life snorting mountains of cocaine while sporting chemically enhanced breasts. He was never elected to political office.
22. Stop This Game. Fab Four producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick replicated the droning piano note that ends “A Day in the Life” and replicated it for this Who-ish rocker. The live version released on the 2001 Silver album is highly recommended as well. (Your tireless author was at the live Silver gig in Rockford. His screams of “Don’t Fire Bun E.!” were edited out. In the era before GPS, he got hopelessly lost after the show.)
21. On Top of the World. While not a straight edge unit, Cheap Trick always made drugs sound more evil than fun. Heaven Tonight’s title track is a more dramatic take on the same issue, but I prefer the ELO inspired ending on this fast paced rocker.
20. I Can’t Take It. Zander’s only Trick song with a sole writing credit was the second single from Next Position Please after Epic released their unlistenable cover of The Motors’ “Dancing the Night Away.” The lyric “still the smell of you was on my face” probably did not help the song’s commercial viability.
19. Eight Miles Low. Operating sixteen miles below the Byrds, this strange tune from their 1997 album titled Cheap Trick seems to be about the consequences of sexual addiction. If they release another album, they should title it Cheap Trick, just to confuse listeners as much as Peter Gabriel did.
18. Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace. “Speak Now” was written by English rocker Terry Reid and had been covered by the Los Angeles based band Christoper Milk. The smart arrangement gives every band member a chance to shine.
17. Next Position Please. The title track from their 1983 album. What is the perceived payoff to endless toil and corporate upward mobility? Seeing the…um…mammary glands of every girl.
16. Sick Man of Europe. You are probably aware that Sick Man of Europe is how Tsar Nicholas I described the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1800s and that name was also used for an early ‘70s, pre-Zander version of Cheap Trick. This particular “Sick Man” is an audio pipe bomb from the 2009 album The Latest. According to Chicago rock critic Greg Kot, “Tom Petersson’s bass solo is absolutely sick, in the best sense of the word.” No hospitalization needed for that solo.
15. Lookout. Recorded for their first album, but not released, “Lookout” was later included on the Budokan album. A power pop rocket with utterly nonsensical lyrics (“Cancel Colorado in the march, by request”?). Probably saw the band about 30 times before I heard them perform this one live. It was worth the wait.
14. Way of the World. The Wikipedia entry on this song notes, “Author Mike Hayes praises the ‘gorgeous’ melody, the ‘tight’ vocal harmonies and ‘fine phased guitar work,’ noting that the foundation of the song is its ‘driving rock attack.’” You can purchase a new copy of the book Mike wrote with Ken Sharp, Reputation Is a Fragile Thing: The Story of Cheap Trick, for a mere $838.59. Shipping is an additional $3.99.
13. Hello There. The band’s intro number for years, Rick wrote this as a way to get a soundcheck when one was otherwise not available for an opening act. Start with the buzzsaw lead, let the drummer test the kit, bring in Tom’s bass, then the vocals start. The unreleased 1997 Steve Albini version of In Color has more juice than the original.
12. Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School. Hand claps, sweet background vocals, pedophilia. Hard to imagine why that debut album didn’t knock Fleetwood Mac off the charts.
11. Cold Turkey. Nielsen and Carlos did some session work for Lennon’s Double Fantasy sessions but were utterly hated by Yoko. This phenomenal cover is from the 1995 album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon, which includes efforts from Super 8, Sponge, and Toad The Wet Sprocket. A competent rhythm section really stands out on that album.
10. Auf Wiedersehen. Suicide becomes comical on this punk-ish, killer tune. In live performances, Rick pantomimes stabbing his heart and hanging from a noose.
9. Dream Police. The release of the 1979 album Dream Police was significantly delayed after At Budokan, originally a Japanese import, became a major hit. The paranoia imbued title track went to #26 in America, but hit Top Ten in New Zealand and Canada. If you are in the first five rows at a Cheap Trick gig, be ready for the shower of guitar pics to fly after Rick’s spoken word interlude.
8. Oh, Candy. What sounds like a sweet pop song is really an attempt to understand why a friend committed suicide. The friend was named Marshall Mintz. Initials M&M. Oh…candy.
7. Standing on the Edge. This 1985 title track documents a sexual encounter with an alien. Not sure if this is autobiographical.
6. If You Want My Love. The band’s best self-penned Beatles tribute. Wooo!
5. Downed. After the commercial failure of their Jack Douglas produced debut album, Tom Werman neutered both the sound and subject matter for In Color. This tune, which may or may not be about a teen pregnancy, is the only interesting lyric on the album. But the tunes sure hold up.
4. Gonna Raise Hell. The version that ranks #4 on this ALL TIME DEFINITIVE LIST!!! comes from the 1999 live album Music for Hangovers. I’ve seen performances of “GRH” that people thought literally shook the entire venue. The concert version is almost a religious experience for hardcore CT fans. It has to be better than washing the feet of the poor.
3. I Want You to Want Me. The hit that broke the band in the States, the band had been playing the song since ’75 and the tepid In Color single version had gone nowhere. Removed from the setlist, the band performed it in Japan only due to the popularity of the In Color album in that market. The rest, as they say, is rock ‘n’ roll history.
2. He’s A Whore. Take a simple guitar riff a la “You Really Got Me,” amp and speed up that riff, give Robin Zander a lyric about his whoredom and explosive fun abounds.
1. Surrender. I’m sure you didn’t think “Up the Creek” would be in this slot. That narrator’s parents roll joints and make out on the couch, while the kid worries about venereal disease. Grow up, my friends, but don’t grow old in spirit. A wonderful and wondrous anthem.
Goodnight now, ladies and gentlemen. Goodnight now, ladies and gents.
It’s the end of the show.
Now, it’s time to go.
