This is an "authorized" greatest hits collection in the sense that the band picked the selections themselves. It's preferable to the 1991 Greatest Hits comp for its slightly greater length (16 songs) and better choice of material; the single version of "Southern Girls" makes it on this time around, for instance. Still, like that other album with "Greatest Hits" in the title, it misses a number of rockers that fans might rate among their best work. The only previously unreleased item is a live 1988 per   [ read more ]

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No rock record collection should exist without Cheap Trick's first three albums. But if you really want a budget (actually not that cheap) sampler, I Want You to Want Me should suffice. Of course the explosive miracle "Surrender"makes an appearance, and "Dream Police" packs almost as brilliant a punch. The tinkly studio original of the title track is a surprise, since the raw and heavy Live at Budokan version put the band on the map. "You Say Jump" was written by -- and then written-off   [ read more ]

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At Budokan was the pivotal album for Cheap Trick, the one that made them stars. The louder, harder-rocking versions of such Rick Nielsen classics as "I Want You to Want Me" and "Come On, Come On" connected with a wide audience in a way the studio recordings didn't, and the record consequently became a smash. Given its enduring popularity, it wasn't surprising that Epic and Cheap Trick celebrated its 20th anniversary by releasing The Complete Concert, a double-disc set that contains a   [ read more ]

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Like many budget-priced collections, Sony Music Special Products' Don't Be Cruel takes a scattershot approach to compilation, randomly throwing a selection of hits, cult favorites, and album tracks together. Since Cheap Trick had an abundance of great album cuts, at least on their first few records, the odds were good that Don't Be Cruel would be a successful -- and it is. Sure, the title track with its high-gloss surfaces sticks out like a sore thumb, but everything else here is vintage {$Cheap   [ read more ]

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Despite the fact that much of Cheap Trick's best material didn't come near the charts -- many of their greatest songs, including "He's a Whore," "Oh, Candy," "Downed," "Southern Girls," and "Auf Wiedersehen" were never singles -- the Greatest Hits compilation remains a good sampler since it contains such classics as "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender," "Dream Police," "Ain't That a Shame," "Voices," "If You Want My Love," and "She's Tight," along with pleasant latt   [ read more ]

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Since both fans and critics agree on what Cheap Trick's core canon is, from the first three albums to the highlights that follow, it seems like it would be a fairly easy job to assemble a good overview of the band. History has proven that theory wrong several times. 1991's Greatest Hits largely ignored the first three albums, the 1996 box set Sex, America, Cheap Trick was a rarities-filled extravaganza pitched at the converted, and while 2000's Authorized Greatest Hits was a notable improvement    [ read more ]

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Sounding more assured with Standing On the Edge, Cheap Trick shows once again that they always had a way with a great pop tune. "Tonight It's You" is pure pop and was a glimpse of what the band would sound like in the very near future. It's flawed, but okay. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide

CD $25.63

The career choices of Rockford, IL's most famous quartet are always perversely peculiar: After a strong return to straight power pop for Standing on the Edge, Cheap Trick promoted Standing's engineer Tony Platt (AC/DC, Patto) to producer and inauspiciously squeezed out the Doctor. Overbearing keyboards trample through decent ideas ("Take Me to the Top," sole single "It's Only Love") and careen into bizarre throwaways ("Man-U-Lip-U-Lator," the Kiss-referencing "Doctor"), r   [ read more ]

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Cheap Trick's comeback album is by no means a return to the creativity and vitality of their glory days. But even though Lap of Luxury is largely formulaic, the band's strongest collection of material in some time fills that late-'80s pop-metal formula quite well. Combining grandly romantic power ballads ("Ghost Town") with catchy hard rockers ("Never Had a Lot to Lose"), Lap of Luxury consistently delivers strong hooks and well-crafted songs, proving that Cheap Trick were still capa   [ read more ]

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Cheap Trick's eponymous debut is an explosive fusion of Beatlesque melodic hooks, Who-styled power, and a twisted sense of humor partially borrowed from the Move. But that only begins to scratch the surface of what makes Cheap Trick a dynamic record. Guitarist Rick Nielsen has a powerful sense of dynamics and arrangements, which gives the music an extra kick, but he also can write exceptionally melodic and subversive songs. Nothing on Cheap Trick is quite what it seems. While the songs    [ read more ]

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This EP consists of four cuts that hadn't found their way onto Cheap Trick's releases as of yet. Of note is their version of the Beatles' "Day Tripper." A nostalgic bit of history. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide

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While their records were entertaining and full of skillful pop, it wasn't until At Budokan that Cheap Trick's vision truly gelled. Many of these songs, like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Big Eyes," were pleasant in their original form, but seemed more like sketches compared to the roaring versions on this album. With their ear-shatteringly loud guitars and sweet melodies, Cheap Trick unwittingly paved the way for much of the hard rock of the next decade, as well as a surprising amount of   [ read more ]

CD $26.58