About a year ago I was just getting into Cheap Trick and I was downloading a bunch of their songs. One of these songs was "The Doctor." I thought it was odd, but it grew on me. As I became a bigger and bigger fan of Cheap Trick, I started collecting all of their music. I was on vacation in Arizona and randomly came across this CD in a used book and music store. I listened to it that night and I thought it was very weird. However, it has continued to grow on me and I now recognize it as an undiscovered gem. No, it's not typical Cheap Trick, but it's still great. Check this one out along with other underrated albums like Crazy Nights by KISS and Done With Mirrors by Aerosmith.
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.
It was in 1986 that Cheap Trick released their ninth studio album titled The Doctor. Before this release, the band had released Standing On The Edge in 1985. It was a very successful power pop album which spawned the hit Tonight It's You. The mixer Tony Platt was called in, and as a result Standing On The Edge's production featured keyboards and electronic drums more prominently than the band and producer Jack Douglas had intended. Tony Platt ended up producing The Doctor. The group were undoubtedly pleased with the success and so were hurried by possibly the band's label Epic Records or even themselves to make a follow up album. The result was The Doctor.
The Doctor is regarded today as the band's worst offering for numerous reasons. The album was flooded with the use of synthesizers and production wasn't particularly strong. It would be hard to speak positively of an album that is hated by fans as well as the band who made it but for whatever reason, this remains one of my favourite of Cheap Trick's albums. One could compare the band's 1978 effort Heaven Tonight with The Doctor and they would no doubt be amazed at what how the group`s sound had changed. Since the early 80s, Cheap Trick were pressured by Epic Records to create commercial music that suited the label more than the band. Cheap Trick were pushed into the studio with many different producers from Roy Thomas Baker to Todd Rundgren - just to find commercial success. This album is a product of the 80s and resembles everything that the era had. Technically, this album could have been released by any pop group from the time as it isn't exactly what one would expect from Cheap Trick. Despite the synthesizers, the electronic feel and the production which could have been much stronger, this album remains a good slice of 80s power pop.
The album opens with It's Up To You which begins with a whirl of dominant synthesizer, electronic percussion and some guitar licks. This mix works rather well and creates a memorable melody. Robin Zander's vocals are on great form here and mix nicely with the instruments. The lyrics are inspirational with the message "It's up to you to get things started." The chorus is a not only infectious but uplifting at the same time. A strong opener bursting with vibrancy. "Some lazy people got haze on the brains, no motivation, vacations, holidays. You say you wanna change the world upside down, you'll never do it with your feet not on the ground..."
Following on is Rearview Mirror Romance which begins with some great strong licks of guitar and some thunderous percussion. The verse flows in nicely with some decent lyrics of romance through the rearview mirror. The chorus smashes in with an infectious melody and blasts of synthesizer. Zander's vocals are strong throughout. After the solo comes an interesting production effect of what sounds like the track jamming on a vinyl player which is an interesting idea. "Romance in a rearview mirror, I didn't know her but it didn't matter. Romance in a rearview mirror, just by chance I still can't believe that it's true love reflected sight, it's a rearview romance tonight..."
The album's title track The Doctor is one of the more guitar dominant tracks on the album and is the only song credited to guitarist Rick Nielsen alone whilst the majority of tracks were written by Nielsen and Zander. The introduction is very much a showcase for Nielsen's guitar work whilst the lyrics for this track hint towards a `love doctor'. The verses flow nicely whilst the pre-chorus builds a nice amount of energy. The chorus is very memorable with some great blasts of synthesizer. A fun track that the band no doubt enjoyed recording. "I make house calls in the middle of the night, ooh, to get you right. Come a little closer, is it pleasure, is it pain? Ooh, I've got the cure..."
Next is Are You Lonely Tonight? which is as poppy as The Doctor gets with an immediate introduction of a sweet synthesizer melody. Zander's vocals work nicely throughout which proves that this rock singer was easily capable of extending his voice to further genres. The chorus flows along nicely with more added synthesizer. A harmless and sweet sounding song which adds a nice level of variety to the album. "Sometimes I can tell early in the day, sometimes I can sense in an uncanny way. When things aren't going right, it looks like just another lonely night..."
Name of The Game follows with more blasts of synthesizer in the introduction until the vocals begin. The verses flow nicely enough whilst the chorus is infectious and fun. The lyrics work well in the song, keeping the verses interesting. Admittingly, this track does show weak spots within the production but works well enough as it is to be satisfying. "Someone conceived me, no one believes me, a fluke in the night of obscurity. Played by millions, simulcast by a few, a city no lights, such a great view. It's all very strange, it's the name of the game..."
The next track titled Kiss Me Red was written by the successful Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly partnership. These are the writers who wrote songs such as Madonna's Like a Virgin and Cyndi Lauper's True Colours. Originally, the song was performed in 1984 by the actors of the short lived American TV show Dreams, telling the story of a rock 'n' roll band trying to become successful. The song appeared on the soundtrack vinyl of this show. As expected, this track is a strong example of 80s pop. The production is strong on this particular track. The introduction features a nice guitar riff which blends well with the backing synthesizer. Zander's vocals are tremendous here with a plenty of emotion. The chorus follows from the verses smoothly and is followed by a infectious chant. There is a guitar solo in this track which works nicely with the blasts of synthesizer and the song ends on a high note. An orchestrated version of this song was later released by Electric Light Orchestra Part II in 1990. "I could paint your picture in the sky tonight. Your lipstick on the moon it shines so bright. Baby it's full and white, honey it's full tonight so oh-oh, kiss me red..."
Next is the strong ballad titled Take Me To The Top which has a memorable and sweet melody which Zander's vocals work perfectly to mix with. The verses are strong and solid but the chorus really shines here. A mix of acoustic guitar, sensitive vocals and background synthesizer makes this chorus particularly memorable. As many Cheap Trick fans know, Nielsen was the primary songwriter for the band's material from 1977 to 1983. Whilst the 1985 album Standing On The Edge featured songwriter Mark Radice, The Doctor was the first album to feature mostly of Nielsen and Zander songs. This particular track proved that the pair made a good songwriting team. "You take me to the top, you're everything I've got. You catch me if I'm falling, oh all the way..."
Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere) features the heaviest guitar on the album. The track starts with a strong guitar riff which leads into a strong set of vocals from Zander. The chorus is very infectious with the use of synthesizer, guitar and backing vocals. The production again could be stronger as the guitar does sound rather rough compared to the rest of the song's elements. Another example is the rather abrupt ending which was clearly supposed to smoothly lead into the next track. Regardless, this track is another highlight. "She's so hot I burn my tongue, when I kiss her lips she turns me on. Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere. If I had my choice of women, I'd pick the ones that'd go anywhere..."
The next track is titled Man-U-Lip-U-Lator which in all fairness is probably the weakest track on the album due to the lack of a catchy melody. Despite this though, the track does have some qualities that are not found in any other Cheap Trick song. The track opens with female backing vocalists which then sweeps in with a dominant and rather funky bassline. The vocals work nicely enough with a hint of synthesizer and guitar weaving throughout. The chorus is memorable enough but not quite on level with the other material on the album. Certainly the lyrics have an interesting message. This track was written by Nielsen, Zander and Platt. "Man-u-lip-u-lator trying to operate on you, sticky situation I'd love to fall into. You're a man-u-lip-u-lator with a low, low attitude ooh-ooh, like to love ya later cause I'm an operator too..."
The album closes with the wonderful It's Only Love which is a more guitar based track. The introduction features a build up of keyboard which soon bursts into one of Nielsen's most simple but very effective riffs. A personal favourite. The verses mainly rely on the vocals which are performed perfectly throughout by Zander. Other than the vocals, the verse features some nice lead guitar that weaves through the vocals perfectly, some distant sounding bass and strong drumming. The chorus is very infectious and uplifting with the use of some acoustic guitar. This acoustic guitar features more in the second verse. The song flows along perfectly and ends the album well. "Lonely days and lonely nights, seeming so much longer with the phone lines. Torn between decisions wrong or right, ooh I wish I knew the stars tonight cause you could look around and see the moving pictures of my mind's eye..."
In conclusion, The Doctor remains one of my favourite albums simply because the band proved capable of writing infectious songs of their own which only demonstrated their versatility. Each song is strong and well written whilst the instruments and vocals are done professionally. However, I can see the view of those who dislike the album. The production is bearable with some strong moments but sometimes indeed the production almost sounds like a mixture of instruments and vocals which drown one another. The recent remaster has helped create a tidier sound though. Jon Brant's bass features very little in this album as well whilst the guitar could have certainly played a bigger role. Synthesizers are not at all a bad thing for any album however The Doctor does drown out other instruments. This isn't because there is too much synthesizer but simply the production makes the guitar sound less important. Tony Platt is probably most to blame here for his lack of skill in giving this album more soul. Instead his work here could be described as rather uninspired and therefore formulaic. This may not be the definitive Cheap Trick album but for the time it was a strong effort.
As you may probably guess, The Doctor was a commercial failure. The album only peaked at #115 in America where the previous album Standing On The Edge peaked at #35. The leading single in America was It's Only Love which sadly didn't chart. Kiss Me Red was the European single which gathered hardly any attention. The promotional video for It's Only Love is worth watching and ranks amongst the band's best. The video made history as the first music video to prominently use American Sign Language. This was the last album to feature bassist Jon Brant as well due to the return of the original bassist Tom Petersson who had left the band in 1980 to work with other projects. Petersson would return for the following album Lap of Luxury which was released in 1988.
Interestingly enough, Take Me To The Top is the only song from The Doctor that has been played live since the band's tour to promote the album. This song was played live once in 1999 to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary where at least one track from each album was performed. This concert was released on CD and DVD titled Silver. Overall, The Doctor is an example of the record company pushing too far although the band still managed to give the album something special and memorable. Simply said though, this is an album which critics and fans dislike whilst the band try to forget it all together.
Regardless of all the hate, I very much recommend this album for anybody who loves 80s pop. This was the band's more misdirected album but remains one of the band's most commercial efforts. The band hadn't lost any of their creativity here, it was simply the production letting the album go to waste. Despite the album's weakness, The Doctor remains a strong 80s power pop album.
The cover and mystique of the album drew me in. By the end of listening to this out of print gem, I realized I had stumbled upon the greatness of powerpop excess. Yes, this album does sound like it was made in the 80s, and it is heavily syntheized based, but the roots of this album are what makes it such an invigorating and intoxicating listen. The best songs on this album are the synthesized ballads "Take me to the Top", "Its Only Love" and rockers "The Doctor", "It's Up To You", and "Rearview Mirror Romance." This is out of print, and what a shame that fact is. Please pick it up if you can find it. An Americana gem at its best!
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