VIDEO'S OF THE WEEK: CHEAP TRICK

[Niels (Mod)]

VOTW - CHEAP TRICK

I simply have to make a Cheap Trick-VOTW, even though, I know many of you know these songs and video's inside out, but there's a new album on the horizan (even though, it's not really Cheap Trick for me without Bun E. Carlos, but the two new singles are pretty good).Cheap Trick is far too important to me personal, not having this special. I came to know about the band, when I saw a picture/poster and an article in a swedish magazine called POSTER in July 1979. POSTER had some awesome KISS-posters in the 70's, but in 1979, I was ready to look for new bands, and I already had albums by Nazareth, Van Halen and Jethro Tull. But Cheap Trick should be my "second to only KISS"-favorite band within a few months.

AIN'T THAT A SHAME

Like most people, the first CT-album I bought was "At Budokan". Simply because it was the only album they had at the record-store. It did iritate me, that it was a single- and not a double-livealbum, and the screaming from the little japanese girls also iritated me. But the music was great, and just weeks later, I bought "In Color" at a bigger record-store, and it blew my mind, why they hadn't included the best songs from that album, on "At Budokan". A couple of months later, I was happily surprised by the release of the new album "Dream Police", and was a bigtime fan by now.

JUST GOT BACK

In early 1980, I got their debut-album, and I was surprised of the raw sound, but quickly it became one of my absolute favorite albums of alltime. Later in 1980, I got "Heaven Tonight", and thought the band could do no wrong. Then I heard Iron Maiden and Judas Priest on the radio, and suddently my music-world changed. But when I got "All Shook Up" (and the EP "Found All The Parts") in November 1980, I still loved this kind of music also, at least side 1. Side 2 was the first sign of weakness for me.

REACH OUT

I don't think, I was listening that much to Cheap Trick in 1981, but in early summer 1982, "One On One" took me by surprise, one day at a record-store, and at that time, it was a great album. Just a step in the right direction for the band, and it was definitely one of the best albums of 1982 for me. I think it was around this time, or maybe 1981, that the soundtrack to the (lousy) comicmovie HEAVY METAL was released. I never bought it, but I heard the two CT-tracks on the album and wasn't impressed at all. When NPP was released in early fall of 1983, I was dissapointed, because that album (IMO) was a step backwards instead of forwards, and I was now starting to drift away as a fan of the band, now they were only one of many bands, that I followed, and not one of the bands, releasing the best albums anymore.

STANDING ON THE EDGE

There are 4 tracks on SOTE, that were yet again "a step in the right direction", especially the title-track, which is one of my absolute alltime favorite CT-songs. The production was much better than on NPP, but sadly not all the songs were very good. But those not very good songs were the sound of Cheap Trick in the coming future, except for two tracks on Lap Of Luxury (Ghosttown and especially All We Need Is A Dream), that were very good CT-songs. I still bought the albums in the 90's, but the magic was totally gone (for me), and when they even cancelled two shows in Denmark, I had tickets for (in 1997 and 1998), I stopped buying the albums. But no one can take away from me, how big a band they were to me especially around 1979, and that their first 3 albums are among the best albums ever released.

JOHN LENNON (WITH RICK NIELSEN & BUN E. CARLOS)

The last video is, as far as I know, an outtake from the session, that led to Lennons last album. Lennon had heard CT, and liked them, so when Jack Douglas (the producer of the first CT-album at that time) was producing "Double Fantasy" for Lennon, it was arranged that Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos should jam/play with Lennon, but the track never found it's way to the album (I've read somewhere, that it was Yoko Ono, that didn't like Nielsen and Carlos, but who knows). Later, the track was released on a Lennon-boxset, and a video was made. Strictly from my memory, so if anyone would like to read the exact right (?) story, fell free to look it up on wikipedea.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Ain't That A Shame - This sounds exactly like the At Budokan version except for the fact that it cut's out early and Nielsen's guitar parts.  Strange.  Anyway, this has always been a favorite of mine.  I had the album but only listened to side two for the most part, and I think that side open's with this song.  Don't hold me to that, I'm gettin' old and my memory isn't what it used to be.  

Just Got Back - One of my absolute favorite things about CT is that they have no problem recording a sub-two minute song. This band is just total coolness.  Honestly, I've never considered Nielsen a particularly good guitarist, but he's just so dang goofy/weird that I totally dig him.  

Reach Out - I've certainly heard this, but I'm not very familiar with it.  It sounds terrific here though. Nothing wrong with that guitar solo.

SOTE - Agree totally Niels, I love this song.  The quality here is pretty bad, but it's outside so it's not surprising.  But the band sounds right on it.  Why do dudes get up on other dude's shoulders.  Who is Connie.  Just a couple of questions that come to mind.  I had totally forgotten about CT when this album came out.  The video for Tonight It's You floored me. Saw it in a hotel room in St. Simon's Island, Georgia.  Love the whole album.

I'm Losing You - That bass is bad-ass!  This really sounds like Cheap Trick all the way through, even the vocals.  Just like some of CT's song's sound like they could easily be Beatles tracks.  This is a really cool video.  And I love Rick's beard or goatee, whatever you wanna call it.  

I wish Bun E. was still in the band too, but he's not, so that's that.  But I'm totally looking forward to the new album.  Only a few weeks of waiting left now.  This was a good post.  Maybe, after the next catalog I do, I'll cover this one.  You've got me wanting to spin the catalog...

[Scott]

The first CT album I bought was Heaven Tonight and beyond the song Surrender, I struggled getting into it.

AINT THAT A SHAME ...  Well...  its a cover tune, so its ok.  I didn't like that the video seemed cobbled together and not in sync with the tune, but who cares!  At the end of the day its a fun tune.

JUST GOT BACK ...  Why isn't this track on my copy of the debut album?  Its an OK track, short and sweet really with not much else than the melody and beat.

REACH OUT ...  I don't own this one either.  My collection of CT consisted of HT and DP for years and years, I also owned Lap of Luxury but it gets forgotten easily.  Anyway, DP gets all the attention, until I joined this site and I added the Debut, In Color and Standing On The Edge to the mix.  One on One is a good addition?  I don't know, this song is OK but it sounds like it is not the best that album has to offer...

STANDING ON THE EDGE ... Quality is way off and the video is clearly taken from a fan in the crowd as its very jumpy.  I like this album and I like this song...

LENNON ... Cool Cool Cool!!