Disco de Cheap Trick: “Silver”

I've seen Cheap Trick three times, once in 1979, again in 1986, and a couple of years ago. Each time I was treated to a great show, with awesome performances. Fans of the band will enjoy this double CD alot. It features A song from each of their albums to date. Highlights include great versions of old nuggets like OH,CANDY, STOP THIS GAME, SURRENDER and DREAM POLICE. Acoustic treatments of I Cant Take It & Tonight's It's You work well too. Buy this and realize this band is taken for granted, but they still rock out with a bevy of good songs in their collection.

The lastest "CHEAP TRICK", titled 'Silver', Was from a concert, in there hometown of Rockford, Il., last Summer of 2000. The first time I saw the boys was in a bar, in Aurora Il.,in 1975. My friends and I first noticed Rick with his bowling shirt, shoes, and ballbag. Then the music started. We all took a liking to them from the get go, noticing, at the time, that we liked the music a lot, but hadn't ever heard any of the songs before, until they started playing "Ain't that a Shame".

On this new release, that, and many more of the songs, that the guys have preformed through the years, are here, as well as guest preformers on many of the other tracks. This well rehearsed concert certainly showed everyone, who had seen it, that it was a night to remember. 20 plus songs, done with the intial care that they had in mind, When they were writing them. A rare preformance of 'The Flame', in which Rick even seemed to enjoy playing for once, fully backed with beautiful strings, put a joyus conclusion, to a power pop set of timeless ballads that included a touching duet with Robin and his Daughter. Thats not to say that there wasn't any 'Rockin', that night! These boys have always stayed as close to there, first records vision, of playing music with kick ass backbone. No going through the motions, as many before them and after have done. They have always givin you and I our moneys worth, as you will find this most recent offering, will do also. You can catch this concert, on Direct TV; Ch. 103, Weekends for the month of FEB.

Need to bump up the 3 star rating on this one. I have had this CD in my car player for over a year and listen to it every day. I think it is the best CD I ever heard. Not sure why the few mediocre reviews??

How to describe this? First, I must say that I watched this show. It was a long journey from the Canary Islands to Rockford, but well worth. Simply, one of those things you can never forget for the rest of you life. If you were there, I don't need to say anymore. If you don't.... try to imagine, the best rock band of all time, a beautiful place, 15,000 fans from all over the world, a splendid night and music, music and more music. When I listen "Silver", all this memories come to my mind again. The complete concert is here for your pleasure: Raw power ("Woke Up With A Monster", "You're All Talk", "Just Got Back", "Day Tripper"), amazing acoustic ("I Can't Take It", "Take Me To The Top", "It All Comes Back To You", "Tonight It's You"), classic Trick songs better than ever ("Dream Police", "She's Tight", "Voices", "Ain't That A Shame"), surprises ("Time Will Let You Know", "World's Greatest Lover" by Rick, "I'm Losin' You"). Who needs more? Not me.... oh, not exactly, I can hardly wait for the DVD release of "Silver". Once again, thank you Cheap Trick for a night to remember and for all those years giving this wonderful collection of songs.

I love so called "Power Pop" because it can still be fairly hard rock, albeit with unusually strong melodies and hooks. That said, I think it's a very hard niche in which to make vital and meaningful music. Run-Of-The-Mill power pop can sound trite and childish with more marginal attempts sounding downright laughable. Even when a band does something classic, think Big Star, fans can still be indifferent. Apparently it helps to be on some unreal plain, such as the Beatles, where you get the rare combination of accolades and huge sales. Yet even The Beatles imploded under the weight of their baggage...Robbing us of potentially many more years of great music.

So what's this got to do with Cheap Trick, and more specifically "Silver"? Well, in my humble opinion, quite a bit. Perhaps, more than any other band since The Fab Four Cheap Trick embodies the very thing that has since defined the term "Beatlesque". But unlike The Beatles, these guys truly love each other. Making music for Cheap Trick is joy filled and collabrative not competitive.

First off, they have a tremendous sense of humor that has defined them and sustained their ability to remain together. Next, they have tremendous chops with each member being amoung the best at their chosen instrument. Finally, their collective love of the British Invasion and the basic rock combo (guitar driven with little or no keys) insures that while Cheap Tricks music can have gloss it won't be without grit.

Silver nicely ties all of this up. It re-introduced me to Cheap Trick several years ago. Less than a handful of live concerts deserve higher ratings. In a nutshell. it's a walk through Cheap Tricks extensive catalog. You get the sweet riffs and layers of true "pop meisters" at work. Pick this cd up if you want to see what Cheap Trick is about, I just keep going back to it because it's some of the finest "ear candy" ever!