Disco de Cheap Trick: “Rockford [Digipak]”

Living in Australia occasionally means waiting for the `less commercial' new releases. I guess Cheap Trick falls (unfairly) into this category now, so I had to order my copy of Rockford from this site in May - then wait. It was hell reading everyone's reviews and feeling more than a little jealous about what I was missing out on. At the same time I was worried that I was letting other peoples opinions build up my expectations. Can't be helped though with 9/10 people giving it 5/5 - my excitement levels couldn't have been higher. Now I have it and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed.

Was it co-incidence that Cheap Trick (97), which came as the bands self imposed rebirth, matched the raw rock intensity of their original self titled debut effort from 77? Was it co-incidence that their next effort (6 years after the rebirth), Special One matched the poppier sound of their original debut follow up, In Color? Surely it's not co-incidence that the new album, Rockford, like their third album, Heaven Tonight, is the perfect gel of both previous styles? That would be too freaky.

Co-incidence that like Heaven Tonight, Rockford rocks, is gentle, is pop, is full of hooks and fun and basically is everything a Cheap Trick album should be?

Lyrically it's nothing special, but since Heaven Tonight when have they been? And who cares? Not everyone needs to be Bob Dylan. Cheap Trick are good at writing catchy, instantly likeable songs and here, they perform to that strength with as much gusto and power as they did in 77/78.

Whenever an artist releases a new CD, they usually claim it to be their best release to date - for the long term guys, their best in `years'. Tom Petersson claimed this before Rockford's release and of course was met with some skepticism. We all hoped he was being honest and not just trying to sell albums, but by golly, he was telling the truth!!!

Many reviewers have claimed that this album is CT's best since the 70's and it may well be. On first listens it certainly sounds that way but whether it will age well or not, who can tell? Give it some years, THEN, it can be reasonably compared to previous efforts. The signs are good though and it's certainly set a new standard to base any future (hopefully many) releases on.

1. The opener, Welcome To The World is a short, straight to the point rocker. Perhaps their best opener since My Gang from Woke Up With A Monster.

2. Perfect Stranger is a great first up single, something Special One lacked. Let's hope it's a hit, though we all know it won't be.

3. If It Takes A Lifetime has good harmonies and is a nice catchy tune. Like most tracks here, the chorus is brilliant.

4. Come On Come On Come On is a straight up power rocker where Robin shrieks for his little baby to get on the floor and get down, down, down with him. The screaming `harmonies' are growing on me - slowly.....

5. O Claire I loved from second listen. It took the first listen to get used to Robin's vocal, then the melody hit me and I love it. My only gripe is that it probably has one chorus too many. It's a simple song and should be shorter. Very John Lennon / ELO - as stated by many before me.

6. This Time You Got It has a nice catchy pop sound to follow O Claire, but enough rock for it to fit in nicely with the rest of the album. The second `Yeah' is awesome. Catchy and fun. An early favorite.

7. Give It Away rocks. The guitar sounds like it's straight from the 70's - the way it should. Status Quo would be proud.

8. One More has a different sound. The chorus is very Def Leppard in a way. Lots of flavors to this song.

9. Every Night And Every Day returns CT back to the power-pop sound. Are they saying s*$t or ship in the background?

10. Dream The Night Away is also power-pop. Good track, nice chorus.

11. All Those Years is a highlight for me. I heard a `bootlegged' version of this several months before Rockford's release, supposedly from 1977 demos. That version sounds very similar to this version, if not a little better.

12. Decaf is a nice closer - much better than their last closer - Hummer. Borrows the whoa-o-o from I Can't Understand It - from Busted.

Once it all finishes all you'll want to do it start it all again and again. No filler. No bad tracks.

Is it better than In Color? Nothing they do ever will be nor should they try - having said that, they've apparently re-recorded and `rocked up' In Color recently to perhaps be released. Is it better than Cheap Trick (77) and Heaven Tonight? Possibly not and who would compare it to any album from that period anyway?

It's instantly likeable, where Cheap Trick (97) and Special One perhaps weren't, and I love those albums. Can't say yet whether I like it more than Woke Up With A Monster which is my second favorite CT album.

As mentioned, time will tell where it sits in their album rankings. At this early stage, it beats any of their 80's efforts. Even (it appears) the wonderful Next Position Please - having said that, NPP still sounds great after 23 years - will Rockford?

Hopefully this album will bring CT back onto the radio and into the charts where they deserve to be.

I don't agree with many that Robin's voice sounds as strong as ever. It's certainly more diverse here but the power aspect of his voice seems less natural than on previous efforts. That said, he's still the best around and sounds amazing, as do all the elements here. Tom's bass sounds wonderful, Rick's licks and Bun E's beat all work as well together as ever. The harmonies are spot on. Even the keyboards work.

Rockford rocks!! It has flavors from all CT's eras. 70's, 80's, 90's - they're all here. I can't wipe the smile off my face. Thanks CT.

Now, if only they'd tour Australia again, perhaps I could see them live!!!

If it were ever possible for a rock band to supersede nearly 30 years of infectious melodies and rock anthems with one single album release, Cheap Trick would be the masterful culprits. Their June 2006 release, Rockford combines some of their most contagious riffs and vocal hooks with a matured complexity that comes from nearly three decades of writing and touring the world together. The ultimate result is 12 thoughtfully crafted pop rock gems that could very well blow this year's leading young rock band right off the radio and stage.

"Welcome to the World" kicks off Cheap Trick's latest release with a powerful message; talented and well-versed bands do indeed exist outside of the plasticized whine-pop groups that blanket today's rock radio airwaves. With this album and especially the opening song, Cheap Trick beckons you into their world:

Doors are opened to ya / That's all we can do yeah / Before then I knew ya / Rules are changing ooh yeah.

"O Claire" sweetens the album midway through a series of hard-hitting and melodic anthems while "One More" weaves a bit of playful soul into the mix. Co-written and co-produced by Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes), "Perfect Stranger" is a bit less hooky than the other tracks, but still proves worthy enough to release as the album's first single.

The CD packaging itself screams loudly with color and is adorned with cartoon caricatures of each member. Perhaps with the amount of respect and adoration this band has collected over the years, an artsy or thoughtful album art approach would be unnecessary at this point. It seems that Cheap Trick want to let everyone know the most important thing about playing rock music is to have fun and to not take yourself too seriously. Also, the CD booklet is supplied with just album and song credits; printed song lyrics seem to be a dispensable commodity alongside such hooky and memorable tunes; they are easy to sing along with even after the first few listens.

Rockford serves to remind the skeptical music fan that it is possible to produce an extremely rocking yet melodic record in this day and age without the angst and gripe that plague today's younger rock bands. Cheap Trick's precision and energy are not capsulated within the tweaking abilities of studio production, but in their perfected songwriting abilities and matured inventiveness. After nearly three decades of releasing albums and performing, Rockford announces to the music world that Robin Zander remains one of the most unique and commanding voices in rock-n-roll while Rick Nielsen, Bun E. Carlos and Tom Petersson continue to enchant and impress fans new and old.

With the release in 1997 of their 2nd album with the title "Cheap Trick" it seemed the boys had found themselves completely. Not only is that 1997 album one of Cheap Trick's best, it's one of the best rock n roll albums by anyone in many, many years. Then after years of waiting finally came "Special One" - and it wasn't. Right up there with "The Doctor" as the wonkiest of Trick albums . . . there were a couple of strong tracks like "Pop Drone" and "Sorry Boy" but overall, pretty disappointing after waiting so long.

So "Rockford" is a very pleasant surprise to me. While there is still a little too much of the overly pop-py sound that screwed up much of "Special One" and not nearly enough of the raw edge that made 1997's "Cheap Trick" such a great record - this is certainly getting back to where things should be.

I've played it about 4 times in my office today and some of the melodies are starting to stick, so far "Decaf" seems to be the only MAJOR let down - something a little too reminiscent of "Hummer" on the last album.

But I think this album is going to grow on me. It has certainly brought a smile to my face several times today. And BTW, the Man of a Thousand voices sounds amazing and has thrown out a few new tricks (a James Brown, a better Lennon-esque voice than ever before on Oh Claire, a little Jeff Lynne) - The playing is solid by all.

Would still love another hard edged album from the boys, but this is a nice collection from a band that never strays too far from their roots. And thank goodness for that.

So why can't we give 6 stars? If any album deserves it, this one does. I'm not a great fan of contemporary music, but the other morning I turned on a radio show and suddenly a song came on. My immediate response was, "Finally there's a band out there that I could enjoy." The song ended and I discovered that the song, "Perfect Stranger," was from ROCKFORD. I shoulda known. As a Cheap Trick fan in Madison, Milwaukee, and points south in the 70's I was headed back to the future.

How good is ROCKFORD? It's so good that the praise that it's receiving radically understates the case. This is more than a great Cheap Trick record; it's a virtual tour of all that was exceptional in the music of the 70's. Nearly every song includes a reference to the music of that period. It would be fun to play it in bits and pieces and have people guess as to what they're actually hearing. The Beatles, ELO, you name it, it's here. There are touches of Supertramp, the Moody Blues, and a number of bands with which Cheap Trick is seldom associated.

Every track is strong. At least 5 of the tracks are truly exceptional and 1 or 2 could be considered instant classics. Most important of all, each is different. It is sad to see some of my old time idols making records in which nearly every track sounds the same. I know, I know, there are differences, but contrast TWO AGAINST NATURE with GAUCHO or AJA. With ROCKFORD we're looking at a major release and one that never, no never, disappoints.

It's so great to hear new Cheap Trick. This CD sounds so tight, so loud, so good, that it reminds me of the early Cheap Trick.

Listen, every track is great! If you like pop/hard rock buy this CD. If you're even a little bit of a Cheap Trick fan, buy this CD. It's been the only CD that's been in my player since I picked up this CD last week. I dig ever song. I find myself singing out loud to the songs, just like I was sixteen again. LOL!!

Look, this CD is under 15 bucks.Just whip out your credit card, buy it, and as soon as it arrives in the mail put it in your CD player. You'll have a helluva time!!