When I was in High School I thought of Cheap Trick as a novelty band. It was while in High School they had a video on MTV of them playing a song by Elvis Presley. It was a cover of the song "Don't Be Cruel." I was kinda fond of the original, but this version would have made Elvis either come out of hiding, like most people think he is still alive or roll over in his grave to the people who know that he is dead. I really did not pay attention to the song and every time I heard it I had to block my ears. It was not what I thought all those screaming fans at Live at Budokan were cheering for them like they were like The Beatles.
A few years after hearing that song I happened to do a job shadow with a local Rock and Roll DJ. He was one of the most popular afternoon DJ's in my area where I grew up. It was one day where we would play two tunes by each artists that we played and I was in charge of the two for the afternoon of his show. I thought it was quite an honor to be his second DJ for each of the second tunes. He would pick the first song and I would pick the second. I can still remember when we picked the two songs for Led Zeppelin where he picked "Dazed and Confused" and I picked "No Quarter" from The Song Remains the Same Soundtrack. It gave us time to chat all things music and how being a radio DJ worked.
We got on all kinds of subjects about music and it was later in the hour of picking it was time for Cheap Trick. He picked "I Want You To Want Me." and he mentioned that he too did not want to hear the Elvis Presley cover. We both had a great laugh at their expense. I asked if I could hear "Big Eyes." He looked at me and mentioned how he loved that song and was surprised that when the album came out that this was not a single. I mentioned to him that I loved the drum beat and it was some of my best air drumming work. I had a copy of
In Color but it was in bad shape, so hearing the pops, skips and scratches it lost its luster. I could barely hear Tom Peterson's twelve string bass.
It was at that moment when the DJ told me that I had pretty cool taste in music. I felt awesome that someone liked my tastes. My parents surely would have laughed and disagreed. The bonding over Cheap Trick did it for me. It was many other artists and groups that we loved talking about, but this was the one. He mentioned to me that if I want to explore more Cheap Trick that I should explore more of In Color with a better copy and their first four albums are priceless.
In Color has riff power and it also has balls. It is an amazing album. All the songs are as they say, "All killer and no filler. It only produced two singles, but I think the album as a whole is worth it. It was also around that time I found out about more of these type of bands and the term Power Pop was introduced to me. It's one of my favorite eras of Rock and Roll. Its music that that flexes the muscles of the Rock and Roll genre and makes the music abrasive and less polished. Cheap Trick I'm sure would agree. In 1997 they asked Steve Albini for a little help to make those edges sharper and more defined in the groups image. If you find a copy by the way, send me a link or a message where you got it from. I can't seem to find my copy. It's in one of these many music hard drives that I own. That being said, I would check it out. The live shows they put on make me feel like I'm flashing back to the mid to late seventies, but hearing In Color, proves they had a lot more energy to make great studio music too. Cheap Trick makes great music and this totally proves it. Enjoy!
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