You can’t name many bands with a 40-year touring and recording history that don’t look and sound like a joke. Cheap Trick is the exception. The group’s 17th album sounds as fresh and over the top as anything it’s ever done. These guys still rock like hellions, and there isn’t a moment on this record where they’re not burning rubber.
“Do You Believe Me?” has an unforgettable chorus that echoes “I Want You To Want Me” without being too obvious about it, and includes some impressive guitar shredding by the MC5’s Wayne Kramer. Robin Zander’s Iggy Pop impression on “When I Wake Up Tomorrow” is a hoot, and “All Strung Out” finds their Beatles jones in full effect. The one cover, “The In Crowd,” will destroy your memory of the original. It’s dark and dangerous, implying this crowd might be part of a gang you don’t really want to know.
—j. poet
