Cheap Trick return to the top 40 with their first album in 7 years, “Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello!”. The last time they were in the ranks of the top 40 was 26 years ago with 1990’s “Busted.” The following few decades were to be slow ones for the band. They were told in the early 90’s that the alternative music movement would help them as almost every band from Seattle cited them as a primary influence. The reality was to be that the alternative movement didn’t even provide adequate drinking water for the hard working act. While the following 4 studio albums and several live albums would rate well with critics and fans, the sales didn’t bolster much. Eventually the band began to implode and by 2009 drummer Bun E. Carlos was out the door with a lawsuit. The band were reduced to corporate gigs which paid for their independently released work. However, it was to be one of those gigs that became their saving grace. They recently got signed to Big Machine records which is the home of Taylor Swift and other top 40 acts. Their first album on the label “Bang, Zoom, Crazy..Hello” captures a band that has no signs of slowing down. It’s their strongest since 1994’s “Woke Up With A Monster” which should have been their huge comeback. It has all the elements of a Cheap Trick album that make them one of the greatest bands of all time. All killer and no filler albums are their way and this is no exception. In fact, it’s the epitome of the phrase. While so many bands are trying to hold the energy they once had, Cheap Trick have a firm grim of theirs. The new single, ‘When I Wake Up Tomorrow’ shows a band that is reflecting the world around them while still being able to rock. We haven’t heard Cheap Trick be this moody in a while so it’s very refreshing. However, it’s a complete album that doesn’t have any stand out tracks; because they’re all stand out tracks. Take a listen at the one, two, three punch of the first three tracks.
As you can see, they’re back and not going anywhere. Finally getting their due, they’ve been inducted into the Rock N Roll hall of fame. More on that in a later post.
