Disco de Cheap Trick: “Doctor”

As far as Cheap Trick cd's go this one is no where near the best, but I would say it is no where near the worst as well. Underneath all the bad sounding 80's synths, is the heart of a pretty solid cd. The songs themselves are not bad. I know it sounds like a broken record (no pun intended), but I can think of no other band that suffered from lousy studio production more than Cheap Trick. If you were to take away the overbearing 80'e synths, and other stupid 80's sounds, and just strip the cd down to its essentials, what you would have hear is a pretty cool power pop record. It's Only Love I would say is one of the best song's from their 80's era (and it is the only song on here that escaped the synths and other useless sound effects and what-not). Name of the Game, has the same drum sound as their version of Terry Reid's Speak Now, from their first album. It is a song about how repetitive love is over time. The people are different, but it is all the same, and it never really changes.

Having seen live concert video's from this era, you see how well these songs sound if it was just the band playing and no gimmicky production. I heard a live version of It's Only Love, and when they hit the chrous close your eyes and you hear Nirvana. It is what it is. It is proof that if the band had the proper people on their label in place they never would have sank into the nether regions of the 80's.

Cheap Trick went back in the studio a few years ago with record producer Steve Albini, and re-recorded thier 2nd album In Color. I think they should leave In Color alone, and Redo this album, only with Tom Petersson's 12 string bass giving it that much needed low end. Some people might scoff, go ahead scoff. I suggest if you can play guitar, learn these songs, play these songs, and then you tell me they are bad songs. I would agree bad production, yep it sure is, but there is nothing on here as insipid as Wild Wild Women or Rock All Night. Nothing against Jon Brant, good bass player, nice guy, but he brought nothing to the band musically. I would really like to hear how this would have sounded with Petersson playing his 12 string monster on this. What this album really lacks is a low end. I think all post Tom Petersson cd's lacked that low end sound that he brought to the table. That and he could write songs as well, which made his contribution to the band more vital then just being a mere "hired hand." Re-record this straight-up raw live in the studio and I promise you the musically illiterate will sit down and shut up. Oh, and their worst CD...Busted.

I Like this CD! Catchy tunes with driving rhythms make this disc a must for every Cheap Trick fan! It's too bad they mad it an import. It should be available to all hard-rock fans at anytime!

I REALLY LIKED THIS ALBUM, AND IT WAS A SHAME THAT IT DID NOT TURN OUT THAT WAY FOR THE BAND. THE COLLBORATION WITH NIELSEN AND ZANDER REALLY CAME THROUGH. "TAKE ME TO THE TOP" IS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION ALONE. I LOVED THE VIDEO, AND RICKS DOCTOR GUITAR. I WOULD SAY THAT LISTENING TO THIS HELPED ME GET THROUGH SOME CHANGING TIMES, AND IT WAS THE FIRST CT ALBUM THAT I BEGAN TO REALLY READ INTO THE LYRICS. I READ THAT BUN E. WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THIS ALBUM, AND THAT THE STUFF WAS NOT STRONG LIVE. AND HE IS RIGHT, BECAUSE THAT IS THE DOCTORS' APPEAL. IT WAS A DIFFERENT ALBUM FOR TRICK TO MAKE. THEY WENT INTO IT WITH GREAT IDEAS, AND IT BECAME THE DOCTOR. JUST WANT EVERY ONE TO KNOW THAT THIS ALBUM GOOD, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS TRICKS OTHER RELEASES. MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME TO LISTEN THROUGH IT, BUT AS I SAID, ROBIN IS IN TOP FORM. TAKE A CHANCE AND GO SEE THE DOCTOR!!!

this is not the Cheap Trick that myself and others know and love. this is a good example of the Record Label putting a gun to your head and telling you how to make your album so it "Fits In With The Times". the keyboards and computer programming just ruin what good songs could have been made if the band were allowed to make the album their way. AVOID THIS ALBUM AT ANY COST!

Reading some of the reviews of this album, you'd think it was totally unlistenable. Is it Cheap Trick's best work? No, not by a long shot. But it's not completely terrible either. The first three tracks are fairly catchy and memorable rockers (especially "Rearview Mirror Romance"). "Take Me to the Top" is one of the better songs from the mid-80s batch of "attempted hit power ballads" that the band released. The rest of the album ranges from decent to forgettable.

I was surprised to see some reviews picking "Kiss Me Red" as one of the better songs on the disc. That's the only one that was written by outside songwriters, and it shows. Totally generic, bland, forgettable song. That track kind of confused me for a while because the band ELO Part 2 (aka ELO without their only talented member) also did a version that was released not long after Cheap Trick's version. Apparently it was also the theme song to a short lived TV show (although it's not clear if it was Cheap Trick's version, ELO Part 2's version or yet another version) - what does everyone see in that song?