There’s no denying the album that defined Cheap Trick as a
commercially viable act was
Cheap Trick At Budokan; in 1978, Robin Zander and crew went
from being hometown favorites to overnight superstars, a title
they’ve worked hard at trying to keep. Even today, 21 years after
Budokan came out, the band – Zander, guitarist/resident wildman
Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson and drummer Bun E. Carlos –
still know how to write a killer pop hook, even if today’s music
consumer doesn’t know how to recognize it.
Their latest release, and second official live album (now that
At Budokan and
Budokan II have been rolled into one package),
Music For Hangovers, captures the band on more familiar
soil, playing the Metro in Chicago. In front of a hometown crowd,
Cheap Trick knows they’re with friends, and they take a good chunk
of their past and roll it into a very entertaining release. And to
think, I could have been at the taping, but for a previous
commitment. Nuts.
The shows that this album were culled from featured Cheap Trick
playing their first four albums in their entirety. Had this release
featured only the work of the first three discs and
At Budokan, it might have been as enjoyable, but there would
always be the feel that something was missing. Fortunately, Zander
and company stretch their setlist to include more.
The inclusion of cuts like “I Can’t Take It” is a great
decision, though I’ll always be more partial to the polished studio
version of this track – not because Todd Rundgren produced it, but
because it just sounds cleaner. The two selections from
Dream Police – “Gonna Raise Hell” and the title track – are
wonderful additions, highlighting an album that has been ignored
over the years. (True story: When my father was a purchasing
manager for a lift truck company, he knew Petersson’s father, who
was nice enough to get for me a copy of
Dream Police – which I wore out – and a signed Japanese
program from that tour. If only I had taken better care of that
program.)
Most of the hits you’d expect are on
Music For Hangovers. “Surrender” is always a great track
live (though I wonder what the main difference is between the track
on the disc and the “unreleased” version that Amazon.com is
offering as a download; I kinda like the downloadable track better,
though there’s no crowd noise). Likewise, “I Want You To Want Me”
is now a song that has to be included in the set – though I miss
the screams during the verses that you can hear on At Budokan.
One hit which you won’t find on this disc is “The Flame”, though
I can understand why Cheap Trick would want to distance themselves
from this one. (It’s still a great song, though.) And there are a
few surprise inclusions, such as “If You Want My Love” (featuring
D’arcy from Smashing Pumpkins), which is a track I’ve just never
warmed up to. (Another Pumpkins member, Billy Corgan, sits in on
“Mandocello”.)
For the most part,
Music For Hangovers is a killer disc that showcases a band
that is going to exit the picture kicking and screaming. Nielsen
still is a powerful force on the guitar, and time has only helped
to improve Zander’s vocals. Petersson and Carlos provide a solid
one-two punch as the rhythm section; Petersson still knows he can
wring more sound out of his 8- and 12-string basses than many
guitar players can.
If you’re a long-time Trick fan, hearing songs like “Taxman, Mr.
Thief” and “So Good To See You” will undoubtedly bring back
memories of when the albums first came out. If you pick this one up
as one of the first Cheap Trick albums you’ve ever purchased, it’s
a great introduction to a band who were never in the spotlight for
as long as they deserved to be.
Music For Hangovers does what all good live albums should
do: it puts both the band and the music in familiar, comfortable
light. Hearing this will make you think you’re standing at the edge
of the stage at the Metro, watching Cheap Trick tear into another
one of your favorites. Maybe – just
maybe – they have an album that could even top
At Budokan.
