Disco de Cheap Trick: “All Shook Up”

OK. Enough about trying to compare this album to other Cheap Trick efforts. Don't bother spewing mish-mash about Rick Nielson's sonic guitar playing or Bun E. Carlos' drumming.

The point here is that the album is a collection of marvelous pastiches/homages of other rock and pop performers. "World's Greatest Lover," for instance, is arguably the finest, most-straitforward tribute to John Lennon I can think of. And "I Love You Honey But Hate Your Friends" cannot be mistaken for anything other than a pointed burlesque of Rod Stewart.

The wackiest send-up is "Who Da King," which drags Fleetwood Mac and the USC Trojan band through the mud.

I invite you to listen to the album again (or for the first time, for that matter), with this question in mind: who's getting Cheap Tricked now? You might just end up laughing your butt off.

I did.

At this junture of Cheap Trick's career it would have been a safe bet to stick to formula, you know play it safe. The suits at Epic must have been hoping that Cheap Trick take that route. Nope, Cheap Trick came up with an album that has taken most critics and fans twenty years to get. When All Shook Up came out in 1980 nothing sounded like it. With just about everybody and their mom trying to mimick the soft rock sound of the Eagles and their ilk, Cheap Trick went for the throat. All Shook Up is chock full of diversity, with each track sounding different from the other. There is no preaching or finger pointing going on here just some playful fun lyrics with some dark brooding thrown in to make it all balanced. On top of that pile of humanity, there is some good punk rock energy surging on songs like on "Just Got Back," and "Love comes A tumblin' Down." Then there is "Baby Loves to Rock," with the everything but the kitchen sink style production (Think the Beatles Good Morning, Good Morning). "Stop This Game," is power, with a great swooping bass line, that reminds me of the tone in the Beatles Song "Rain"(Maybe because George Martin produced All Shook Up). The Mambo Bridge on "I Hate Your Friends," is priceless. But, the real tour deforce is "High Priest Of Rhythmic Rhythmic Noise." Its weird, its fun, it is so far removed from formula it makes Pluto seem close. The band took a lot of heat for not playing it safe, and confusing all the boring hippies at Rolling Stone. Since most critics could not understand "All Shook Up," they ridiculed it, calling it a comedy album. It took critics, suits at Epic and music fans in general till 1991 to catch up to Cheap Trick's vision via Nirvana. So check All Shook up out and for that matter their first 8 albums, and their studio album from 1997, if you dare. If all you know about them is the Flame or I Want You to Want Me, you are missing out.

Cheap Trick released this hard to follow album on the heals of their successful "Dream Police". I own plenty of Cheap Tricks material, but I keep coming back to "All Shook Up". It rocks with true intensity on every cut.I believe the reason I like this album over other Cheap Trick releases is the production value. Producer George Martin (of Beatles fame) gets credit for incorporating sonic blasts of pure 80's pop throughout. Stop This Game is a great song with Robin Zander singing his heart out on every note. Believe me this is a great sing-a-long album.Drummer Bun E. Carlos has never sounded better on cuts like Who D' King and Just Got Back.If you grew up on a steady diet of the Cars, Styx, Kansas and all the other 80's AOR music, don't overlook this hidden Cheap Trick treasure! If you like great production values and Robin Zander singing like he's never sung before ... buy this release.

I love this album! Esential C.T. IMHO...I saw them on this tour in 1980 at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium...This one brings back great memories. Catchy hook laden songs, and top notch production. You can't go wrong on this one.

Boy! The Cheap Trick boys sure went for something different on this album. 'All Shook Up' is quite underrated and contains some of Rick Neilson's quirkiest tunes. Hooky, jagged little pills these songs are, with more punk influence then perhaps some of Cheap Trick's pop fans might have liked, which unfortunately must have hurt them for radio airplay. Cheap Trick must be one of the few big rock bands that didn't sell out commercially, they sold UP artistically! Ahead of it's time, for sure.