In January, Cheap Trick descended on New York City for a series of shows promoting The Latest, their 2009 studio album. Four Go Metric contributors were on hand and have gathered for a special roundtable discussion about the legendary power poppers.
Mike: So, Cheap Trick, 2010, worth braving the cold, gentlemen?
Steve: I’d say yes, well, because it was free and only six blocks from my office. It was kind of hard turning that down. I mean, I can be lazy, but not THAT lazy.
Brett: Based on the inclusion of some rarely played material from ’79-’80 (“Way of the World,” “Baby Loves to Rock,” “Just Got Back”) fleshed out by two former members of Jellyfish, I’d say yes. Demerits for the venue (Fillmore at Irving Plaza — $12 beers and $4 coat check on top of the exorbitant service charges) and the seemingly endless shout-outs to Little Steven.
Brian: This was the first time I may ever have seen them, at least the first time in 25 years, but my memory has been dulled by rock and/or roll. Rick Nielsen is always worth a laff even at 64 and they did play a decent set list, ending with my all time favorite “He’s a Whore” instead of the “The Flame,” which was sort of a victory for the rock crowd. However, $50 for a band that played circa one hour and fifteen minutes? I just saw Leonard Cohen do two THREE hour sets at the age of 74, so perhaps the music/price ratio could have been a lot better.
Mike: I’ll always love Cheap Trick. The rest of the world is knocking themselves out to write a shout-along anthem like “Come On, Come On.” These guys toss it into their opening block of songs. I’ll never understand Cheap Trick, though. Before they came on stage they played this odd audio montage. Here’s how I read it: “Hey, did you hear that clip from The Simpsons? The one that mentioned Cheap Trick? We’re them! Really! We’re culturally relevant.” At best it was needless self promotion. At worst a bit desperate.
Brett: Also among the clips were a remake of the Transformers theme and the theme from That 70’s Show. Surprisingly, they showed enough restraint to exclude their new Audi commercial, a McDonald’s breakfast ad, and the Colbert Report theme. While their set included six tunes from their new record, the one that started out as a Pepsi jingle was not one of them.
Mike: It reminds me of a scene in one of the Ramones documentaries. Marky demonstrates what else he can do on the drums, beyond, so to speak, what he does on the Ramones songs.
Brian: I think they do a fairly good job at somehow juggling their rock star dreams with being an underground band. Now when I say that, I mean that they are some how “cool” to be into for a rock band. I always used to argue that it was the combination of early seventies rock with huge servings of the Beatles, but maybe it was just that they were one of the most quintessentially goofy looking bands of the last forty years. And I think that unlike KISS, they seem to actually give a damn about a good pop hook, even thirty-five years in, as opposed to “rocking,” (whatever that means).
Brett: The sly Beatles references in their early work are what drew me to them initially — the way they would lift a Fab Four riff or lyric with a wink and twist it into something unique. “If You Want My Love” took that premise a step further. It sounded like a song the Beatles might have actually written. Since then, the Beatle nods have been outright mimicry, or in some cases (“Miracle” from The Latest) note-for-note lifts from ELO aping the Beatles.
Steve: I think you all make good points. I’ve seen Cheap Trick nine times over the past 14 years, and the only time I can say they truly stunk was when the played an acoustic show at Town Hall (I think it was ’01). I went with Ira Robbins, who has known them for ages and did the liner notes for their box set. And we both came to the conclusion that playing stripped down seemed to rob them of their essence as a band. These guys wrote “Baby Loves to Rock” — they might as well substituted their own name.
Mike: And Robin Zander still has the pipes. Most bands have to deal with their frontman fading over time. Maybe that’s part of what makes them tick: Cheap Trick has the frontman role split between two people, the goof (Nielsen) and the pretty boy (Zander). Too bad the dude’s plastic surgery makes him look like Stevie Nicks. Or one of the Nelson guys.
Brian: Well, they always marketed themselves, as “two hot front guys and the the surprisingly talented nerds in the rest of the band” so it’s good to see that some things have never changed. I think that the main point to remember about Cheap Trick is that they are as much pop as rock, in a good way and their best songs still stand up after all these years. Not to belabor the KISS comparison, but you really only need a greatest hits from KISS, where as with Cheap Trick, I would say you NEED the first four albums, as well as the greatest hits. Also the fact that their set list was completely different from the last gig they played to this one, makes me even more impressed.
Brett: There are very few bands from that era still regularly releasing new material with all original members. While the songwriting on the newer records doesn’t stand up to the first four, every album since 1997’s Cheap Trick has been solid with occasional flashes of the old magic.
Mike: We all seem a bit serious, analytic about Cheap Trick. Are they one of those bands you think about a lot more than you talk about?
Steve: I can’t say that I do. I have thought more about them the past five years because my ability to sing “Surrender” got me into my band. But I just like them because they write hooky songs, which is pretty much all I’ve been looking for since I was five years old I guess.
Brett: Thanks for bringing us back down to earth, Mike. Perhaps this is getting a bit too cerebral, because as Steve rightly points out, it’s about the hooks and in a live setting Cheap Trick still delivers those in spades.
Brian: I listen to Cheap Trick to forget, not remember. They always bring me back a little piece of the late seventies, early eighties, so I don’t “think” about them that often, but then again I don’t “think” about most bands unless I am in a mood to hear a particular record, or a song gets stuck in my head. But pop music is for fun, not contemplation, and that’s where Cheap Trick fits in for me.
Final verdict, there are few bands out there doing what Cheap Trick do, and using Aerosmith as an example, look at how bad they could have become, but didn’t.
Mike: Thanks, guys, for the roundtable. Good times.
— Mike Faloon, Brian Cogan, Steve Reynolds, and Brett Essler
See also:
Metromix: Cheap Trick | Irving Plaza (Photo Gallery)
Go Metric 19: Cheap Trick: Because No One is Getting Any Younger
Video: Cheap Trick - “He’s A Whore” - Night Gallery 1977
Video: “Way Of The World” - Cheap Trick - 1979 Promo
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