Old flames

Cheap Trick return better than ever

by John O'Neill

Twenty years ago the state of popular music could be described as anything but exciting. Corporate arena-rock ruled the land and airwaves as "serious musicians" like the Eagles invited the stoners of the world to check in at the Hotel California, FleetwoodMac stunned everyone with Rumours, based on who was (or wasn't) sleeping with whom in the band, Rush continued their transformation from pompous prog rockers to full-bore eggheads, and Led Zeppelin had been reduced to Robert Plant grabbing himself and squealing about gnomes, trolls, and sword-fighting mysticism. The three-minute pop song was essentially on a respirator. Big bands from big companies with big money continued to pump out stuffy, self-indulgent, and ultimately non-threatening music as commercial success tied into unprecedented levels of stardom and financial gain. Rock continued to drag its tired, bloated ass further into the pool of mediocrity, and the unquestioning masses flicked their Bics accordingly.

Although it's punk rock and the subsequent new-wave movement that generally take credit for changing the sorry state of popular music (the Ramones fired the first shot over the industry's bow in 1976 with the seminal Ramones ), Cheap Trick landed the first commercial blow with the 1977 release of Cheap Trick. Exploding out of Illinois after four years on the club circuit, Cheap Trick distilled their affection for the Beatles and the Move with a healthy dollop of their own pop sensibilities and married it to the prevailing hard rock of the day. The result was an exceptional album full of spunk, guitar raunch, and great song writing. Along with the Dictators' Go Girl Crazy, Cheap Trick serves as a bittersweet reminder of the direction heavy metal could have taken rather than the slow spiral into laughable irrelevance.

Over the next two years the band released In Color and Heaven Tonight, two brilliant power-pop classics that were headed for cult status when programmers latched on to Live at Budokan, the American breakthrough that shot the band into the stratosphere of popularity. Although bands like Boston, Foreigner, and Jefferson Starship sold far more albums in the long run, Cheap Trick went on to influence an entire generation of rockers with their attitude (rock could be fun and antiestablishment and sell albums) as well as their sound. Bands as diverse as the Replacements, Big Black, Soul Asylum, Red Kross, and even Smashing Pumpkins have all taken something from them.

In 1997, while most of their contemporaries crisscross the country playing oldies revivals, Cheap Trick have released their most cohesive collection of songs since 1979. Appropriately titled Cheap Trick (Red Ant), the recording showcases a band who have come full circle after nearly 25 years of career ebb and flow, litigation, and label changes. Although the line-up remains the same (bassist Tom Petersson left for a bit in the mid-'80s), they are obviously rejuvenated by a fresh start on a new label. Although former labels Epic and Warner Bros. insisted on outside "hit" writers (eroding the group's self-confidence and credibility -- remember "The Flame"?), Cheap Trick finds the band writing or co-authoring all of the songs. The result is a solid and raucous mix of creativity that confirms there's plenty of life left in these old warhorses. Robin Zander possesses the most underrated set of pipes in the business; Rick Nielsen continues to squeeze out sparks as rock's guitar anti-god; and the rhythm section of Petersson and Bun E. Carlos (who still looks like a seventh-grade science teacher) keeps a rock-solid low end. It's a refreshing and spirited album, but not really surprising when you consider that each of the group's releases contained at least a couple of gems. It was just a matter of the right ingredients coming together.

So, after nearly being destroyed by the record industry, Cheap Trick opted to begin again with a small label and go out on a club tour. And funny thing happened along the way. Crowds began to show up, sellouts became routine, and the press started to sniff around the tour bus. Tower Records reports that the album is selling, reviews have been positive, and to complete the "It's 1979 All Over Again" cycle, they're back on the charts in Japan. In a story that amounts to nothing more than hard-nosed determination, one of the world's greatest cult acts hung in after being left for dead by big business only to be brought back to prominence by the one thing that really matters in the end: the fan.

Cheap Trick open for Mötley Crüe at the Worcester Centrum on October 25. Tickets are $25. Call (617) 931-2000.