Friday Song: Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick were a strange musical bird, a hybrid of hard rock smattered with a pop sheen. The band’s sly humor stemmed from Rick Nielsen, the Pee Wee Herman of rock guitarists, and his amazing eclectic collection, including his famed five neck. Singer Robin Zander had a great 70′s voice while Tom Peterson wailed on bass backed by the Dan Ackroyd-esque power drummer Bun E. Carlos. They didn’t have thematic staying power, but their music typified the hard rock partying vibe of the era, and they set turntables on fire around the world with their huge 1978 hit LP, “Cheap Trick At Budokon,” a sonic backdrop to a thousand bars. This classic, “I Want You To Want Me,” always sends a nostalgic thrill whenever Nielsen’s guitar kicks in along with weekend.
January 28, 2011 at 4:52 am
I was never up on Cheap Trick, but I always thought Rick Nielsen patterned his look after Huntz Hall.
January 29, 2011 at 11:53 am
Yes, definitely Hunt Hall reinvented as a guitar nerd.
January 28, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Flickhead is right, but you have to listen deeper to appreciate them. Took me a while but there is much more to their sound than meets the eye- and ears.
And, while we are doing corrections, Rick Nielsen is famous for his 5-neck guitar. (Triple necks are too easy!)
January 29, 2011 at 11:55 am
Yes, and few recall that their LP “All Shook Upl” was produced by George Martin and that Nielsen and Carlos played on John Lennon’s “Double Fantasy”!
And yes, a five-neck, natch. Corrected.
January 30, 2011 at 5:37 am
“This is the first song on our new album…”
My wife really digs this album and says that anything from Dream Police on is rubbish but their ’70s output is magic and “Surrender” is one of the greatest rock anthems of all time. It is also my fave Cheap Trick song.
January 30, 2011 at 5:53 am
J.D.- your wife isn’t correct but I understand why she said that. Check out Cheap Trick’s “Scent of a Woman” and tell me it shouldn’t have been a big hit. An undiscovered gem of a rocker.
January 30, 2011 at 11:01 am
“Dream Police” is great. I almost put that song up instead, as I especially like the early video style of it. “Surrender” is an iconic rawk anthem fer sue.