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04 August 2005 |
Cheap Trick Silver - (Cheap Trick Unlimited) When Cheap Trick released Live At Budokan back in 1979, they not only presented the world with one of the best live albums in rock history, but they also set up a benchmark against which every live thing they did thereafter would be judged against. So here comes Silver which marks the 25th anniversary (has it really been that long?) of this Rockford, IL band. And while it's not "Budokan," it nonetheless makes for a handy-dandy retrospective of Cheap Trick's career. Recorded in the band's hometown, a good-sized group of loyal and vocal fans can be heard cheering after every song and spoken remark from the stage. But these reactions pales in comparison to the screaming of Japanese girls heard on their late '70s breakthrough album. This document of a Cheap Trick performance includes many of the songs from that familiar set, as it opens with "Ain't That A Shame" and "I Want You To Want Me" back to back. But at 29 songs long, there's a lot more sides of Cheap Trick's musical personality revealed on this latest in-person offering. For example, Zander, Petersson, Carlos and Nielsen owe an obvious dept to The Beatles for their melodic pop/rock sound, so it made sense to include John Lennon's "I'm Losin' You" and the Lennon/McCartney composition "Say Tripper" on this disc. Other selections could have easily been left off, though, such as the meandering ballad "The Flame," which gave them a mellow hit, but doesn't play to their potently powerful musical strengths. More appropriate is the knockout version of "Dream Police," which rocks hard, while at the same time its melody sticks snugly to the brain like Crazy Glue. Friends Billy Corgan and Slash joined Cheap Trick for this anniversary party, but their presence doesn't leave much of a lasting impression since -- much like band's logo -- this album has the name Cheap Trick stamped all over it.
Released on the band's own Cheap Trick Unlimited, Inc., this album was intended for diehard fans only. But newcomers to the music of these kings of power pop will also gain a much better understanding of just why this beloved band has lasted so long, just by listening to these two power pop packed discs.
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