Cheap Trick

     Since I just did a post on Power Pop this seems like a good time to talk about Cheap Trick. I was a child of the live album era. There was Frampton Comes Alive which I'm pretty sure everyone in the world owned. There was KISS Alive II with the classic live version of Detroit Rock City. There was J Geils Band's Blow Your Face Out with Peter Wolf's amazing rant about love that breaks into "Musta Got Lost". There was also Genesis' live version of "Turn It On Again" and Pat Travers Band's crowd participation gem "(Boom Boom) Out Go the Lights. I could go on forever. However, the greatest album of this era was unquestionably Cheap Trick's Live at Budokan.
     With the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, Cheap Trick's debut album was genius. But the reality is until Budokan virtually nobody knew who Cheap Trick were. I was one of the millions of people who heard the live version of "I Want You To Want Me" and ran out to buy Live at Budokan. Have you ever heard the album version from Cheap Trick In Color? It's horrendously schmaltzy and it's astounding that they even played it in concert. But the live version is fantastic. They had a combination of Beatlesque songwriting, power pop hooks, great onstage personalities and looks. There were the two rock star looking guys(Robin Zander and Tom Petersson), the funny guy with the hat that throws guitar picks(Rick Nielsen) and the dude that looked like a middle-aged accountant playing drums(Bun E. Carlos). They were touring in support of the album Heaven Tonight which is one of my favorite albums. They followed that up with Dream Police. That run of releases by itself should have them in the Rock Hall.
     The 80's found them changing bass players, hiring stylists, recording "The Flame" and changing bass players back. In the 90's they got back to basics and are still touring (without Bun E. Carlos) to this day. I reccomend to my kids that they listen to Cheap Trick's debut album, Budokan, Heaven Tonight, Dream Police and don't get rid of the vinyl EP Found All The Parts.
     Finally, just a couple notes about Sound Mind. I have plenty of topics lined up for future posts, but I am willing to take topic requests if they pertain to my collection. The email address for my blog is soundmindblog@gmail.com. Also, I'm going to add a bit to the blog called "What's Playing in My Car". I have a 45 minute commute each way to work, so that's when I do most of my CD listening. Right now I have the three new GbV albums, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits and Centro-matic's The Static and the Strings. Peace.