Back in the mid 1970’s, a quartet formed in Rockford, Illinois,
\nspurning on one of the great power pop groups of all time. Cheap
\nTrick has often seen the downside of success more often than not
\nover the past 10 years. It wasn’t uncommon to see them playing as
\nwarm-ups for lots of outdoor “revival” shows with bands like
\nFoghat. But a recent resurgence of interest in their music by such
\nhipsters as the Smashing Pumpkins on a tribute album of Trick songs
\nhas helped keep the band alive. Never say dead with Cheap
\nTrick.<\/p>\n
It all began with the self-titled 1977 release
\nCheap Trick<\/i>. Self-consciously a parody, the band had its
\nquintessential pretty boys (bassist Tom Petersson and
\nvocalist\/guitarist Robin Zander) and two goofy neighbor-like guys
\nin lead guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos. There is
\nsomebody for everybody to love in this band whether it be the
\nwild-eyed, hyperkinetic guitar playing of Nielsen, Zander’s sultry
\nlooks and vocals, or the ever chain-smoking Carlos banging away at
\nthe drums.<\/p>\n
Starting out side one with a blast and a not so thinly disguised
\nlove of all ’60s bands, Cheap Trick openly pays homage to all their
\nheroes from the Beatles to the Who to the Kinks. They tweak teenage
\nangst and lust with their spirited songwriting and solid
\nmusicianship, all the while having a blast and hoping to hit it big
\n(and
\n
\nboy<\/i>
\n<\/b> did they in 1979 with
\nLive at Budokan<\/i>). Plagiarism and blatant homage aside, this
\nalbum rocks.<\/p>\n
Who can resist “He’s A Whore” with Zander sneering that he’d do
\nanything for money even if “she’s got a face that could stop a
\nclock”? The joyous rebelliousness and all out fun this band has
\nmakes everything beside the point. “Ballad Of Teenage Violence” may
\nmake a tongue in cheek point somewhere, but it’s the whine of
\nNielsen’s guitars that seems to be the real point, not some
\noverblown philosophy. Remember when it was okay not to be
\npolitically correct and want to have fun? Jeez, but for the good
\nold days!<\/p>\n
Two other great pop gems include “Elo Kiddies” and “Taxman, Mr.
\nThief” (can you spell Beatles???). These songs combine the great
\nrhythm section of Petersson’s booming bass and Carlos’s thunderous
\ndrumming as Zander’s vocals weave around the jar and whirl of
\nNielsen’s Strat. Petersson has always been one of my favorite bass
\nplayers, later having custom Hamer 8- and 12-string basses serve as
\nthe non-relenting punch throughout Cheap Trick’s later hits. Here,
\nthe point on a mere 4-string is to keep things pounding from the
\nalbum’s opener “Hot Love” to “Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your
\nPeace.”<\/p>\n
The pretty ballad “Mandocello” is a beautiful song showcasing
\nthe best of Zander’s vocal range from falsetto to sweeter tenor
\ntones and some of Nielsen’s finer fingering. Its melancholy and
\nsadness are probably the one serious musical\/ emotional moment on
\nthis fine debut from the Tricksters. “Oh Candy” which rounds out
\nside two affords another showcase for Zander’s vocals while he
\nlaments the spiral of a woman’s heroin addiction.<\/p>\n
All in all,
\nCheap Trick<\/i> shows why the band’s longevity has remained and
\ntheir influence is still strong throughout the pop and alternative
\nscene today. It may not be highbrow or the most original, but it
\nsure rocks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5736],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-35615","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-cheap-trick","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35615"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}