Memorable Mondays: Cheap Trick

 Imagine starting a band in the US, just to have Japan be the country that made you relevant until a live album. Here begins the story of a band that actually began in the very late 60s, but did not get their first album out until 1977. 

Fuse was formed in 1967 by Tom Petersson and Rick Nielson. Bun E. Carlos joined on drums not long after, and they moved to Philadelphia in 1971. They stopped calling themselves Fuse and instead opted fo Sick Man of Europe. In 1973, they adopted their real name. Cheap Trick, inspired by their attendance of a Slade concert, where Petersson suggested the band used "every cheap trick in the book" as their act. Randy Hogan was their original lead singer, but he left shortly after their formation. He was replaced with Robin Zander. 

In 1975, the band recorded a demo and was playing in venues like bowling alleys and warehouses. They finally were signed to Epic Records in early 1976. Their first album, Cheap Trick, released in 1977. It has more of a hard rock style than later releases, trying to compete with the trends of the time. The songs on the album also deal with darker subject matter than their later work. The critics gave acclaim to their debut, comparing them to the Beatles and the Who. However, the album did not sell well upon original release.

The same year they released second album In Color. It is now considered a staple of the power pop genre, but at the time this too did not sell well. While failing originally in the US, the single I Want You to Want Me had great success in Japan. Despite the lackluster charting in the US, in 2012, it was considered one of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums. 

With their overseas success, they toured Japan in April of 1978. It created a craze reminiscent of Beatlemania. They did two concerts in Nippon Budokan, which became the takes for live album Cheap Trick at Budokan. It was intended to be exclusive to Japan at the time.

Heaven Tonight released 1978, and Surrender became their first single to chart in the top 200 in the US. It is critically considered to be Cheap Trick's best album, combining the prowess of In Color with the deepness of their debut release. The surge of fans for the band in the US saw a drastic uptick in demand for the Cheap Trick in Budokan. Epic Records decided to release it in the US in 1979. The energy surrounding this release was so great, they postponed the release of their fourth album to several months later. 

Dream Police, their fourth release, became a hit riding the success of the live album release in the US. It experimented with more complex songs and orchestration. It also dabbled into heavy metal. This led to them headlining arenas. In 1980, Petersson decided to leave the band to record a solo album with his wife under the band name Another Language. Pete Comita replaced him and Jon Brant became his stead replacement. 

Their next release, All Shook Up, received more mixed feedback. It had many homages to the Beatles, some for AC/DC, others for the Yardbirds and the Stranglers. The album was produced by George Martin, their first deviation from Tom Werman since their debut album. Many of the songsdid not perform well because they were quirky and less radio friendly. It was dubbed "Led Zeppelin gone psycho". 

In 1981, CBS sued Cheap Trick and their manager for 10 million dollars, alleging they were attempting to coerce a contract renegiotation by refusing to record new music. It was settled out of court in 1982, and work commenced on their next album. One on One was also their first album to include new bassist Jon Brant. The album was more trend leaning, trying to rebound back from their last release not doing as well. It has middling critic reviews, and is a little harder to find since it has gone in and out of print. 

1983 brought Next Position Please. It was produced by Todd Rungren. It returns to their more pop sound from their album In Color. The band considers it one of their best albums. This album went out of print beyond a reissue where it and One on One were put together on a single cd. Some critics enjoyed it, while others felt Rundgren put too much of his own influence on it. 

Standing on the Edge, released in 1985, had an array of issues. They originally planned to return to their signature rock sound of their debut album. Jack Douglas was working with them, but got into issues with Yoko Ono. Tony Platt, a mixer, was brought in to replace him so the album ended up with more keyboards and electronic drums than wanted. Rick Nielson's name is even spelled wrong on the US CD release. Many critics felt the album had potential but was bogged down by the contemporary production techniques. The album performed poorly. This album is seen as more of a collector's item due to being out of print for most years.

After getting a small resurgence with Mighty Wings, the end cut for Top Gun, they released their next album The Doctor. The single failed to chart, but It's Only Love became the first music video in history to use captioning for hearing-impaired persons. The album is rather disliked, and Platt got heavy criticism for how busy the production was. The band said the album is bad, but also they were not getting along well during the release. It is rather...universally disliked. Possibly their worst release from critical standpoints and the band's perspective. Their drummer, Bun E. Carlos, called it simply a bad 80's album. This was their last album to include Jon Brant on bass. 

Their next release would have Petersson back on bass, as he rejoined the group in 1987. Due to their decline, Epic Records insisted the band work with professional songwriters on the album. The band did not enjoy that process, but said it was a good lesson for them all. These efforts led to their album Lap of Luxury, becoming their second most successful album commercially. The Flame became a number 1 hit in the US, their only song to do so. While critics found it a return to a better styling, they also suggested the outside songwriters were a hindrance to the record and the strongest material was their own work still. 

the 90s led to further issues for the band. Busted was released, and the band was given more creative control again. While receiving mostly positive reviews for how radio friendly the songs were, others felt they had given into the machine and the band was a hollow of what they once were. The album did not sell well, which led to Epic Records dropping the band a year later. 

They signed with Warner Bros. Records and released Woke Up With a Monster in 1994. While it did not sell well and they were also dropped from Warner, the band considered this a breath of fresh air and the first part of the second half of their career. Critics felt there was still a hollowness to the release, of them trying to be mainstream and make it still. 

Their next release, Cheap Trick, was released through small indie label Red Ant Records. Critics acclaimed this release as a return to form and it finally showed they had something in them beyond radio cheap tricks. Sadly, Red Ant's parent company Alliance Entertainment Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early in the release cycle. This left the band labelless, again. 

Cheap Trick took a while to rebuild. During this time, they released another live album titled Music for Hangovers, and performed the theme song for That 70's Show. In 2003, they released their first album in 6 years, Special One. They released this independently on their own label. It received very mixed reviews, as many felt it never quite delivered the quality needed. 2006 brought another independent release, Rockford. It received critical endearment, some even calling it their best work since Dream Police. In 2007, Illinois made April 1st Cheap Trick day. 

Bun E. Carlos left the band in 2010. Nielson's son, Daxx, who filled in for Bun E. while he recovered from back surgery, became the band's new touring drummer. Carlos ended up filing a lawsuit against the band in 2013. He said even though they claimed he departed from the band, he was not being allowed to participate in band related activities, including recording. The other three members countersued, seeking legal affirmation of his removal. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2013, and the legal dispute was eventually settled. Carlos left the band and the remaining three continued as a trio. 

2016 brought their first release since Rockford. Bang, Zoom, Crazy... Hello was the first album released without Carlos. Daxx Nielson took over on drums. It was released through Big Machine Records. It became their highest charting US album since Lap of Luxury. It took a sharp fall off of them though. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this same year. The following year they released We're All Alright! which got favorable reviews. In 2017, they released a Christmas album as well. 

They are still touring, although 2021 brought further difficulties. Petersson had to have open heart surgery. Zander's son, Robin Taylor Zander, filled in for him on tour. In 2021 they also released what is their latest release, In Another World. The release was delayed from 2020 and instead released in 2021 due to the Covid Pandemic. 

A band with a varied and struggled musical history, you may want to give them legacy act a shot. Power pop may not be what it is without their experimentation. Have to give credit where it is due!