Cheap Trick latest is one of the greatest! ^ Cheap Trick returns with a great album after the good Rockford! I also loved Special One! another forgotten gem! I don't know why it took so long to get this. Sorry! I own everything else! This album sounds more like early songs with some great slower songs but no the stuff the record company made them put out in the 90's! I think it's the best since Woke up with a Monster which many don't mention! Sick man of Europe is awesome! When the Lights out! great Slade cover! Miss Tomorrow & Smile should be hits! California Girl & Alive! really make this a great album & should be album of the year! Not a bad song! This for all people who like good original songs by one of the best rock and roll bands of all time!
Just like 1978!! ^ The boys from Rockford are back is full force! Or did they ever really go away? This album flat out rocks!
Mixed Bag ^ Trick is at its best here when it rocks - the tracks that rate for me (4 stars or better) are When the Lights are Out, Sick Man, California Girl and Alive. The rest of it? ehhh, a number of John Lennon-esque power ballads that really don't do it for me. Incidentally, 1994's Woke Up With a Monster had a classic song kind of in this vein called Tell Me Everything, but none of less rocking songs here match up to that.
As far as best CT disc ever?? Not even close; if you like this, as good as this is in places, just give Cheap Trick (77) a spin and that will put things in perspective pretty quickly. As far as comparing TL to other later era discs, after a few listens I rate this about as good as Special One, but not as good as Woke Up With a Monster, CT 97, or Rockford. Nonetheless, I admire the guys for continuing to do what they and will always be a fan.
Old Pros, doing what they do best! ^ Most likely if you're reading this review, you are a fan of the band, or at least are somewhat familiar with what they do. I don't think there are a lot of kids being turned on to Cheap Trick's music, unless they are frequent watchers of "That 70s Show".
So, if you're here, and have the majority of Cheap Trick's classic C.D.s and are just curious about what they're up to lately...Buy This C.D.! What they are up to is all good! This band has never been about reinventing the wheel, so you're not going to get something out of left field. I would put "The Latest" right up there with "Dream Police" and "In Color", as one of their best studio albums in 35 years. It's all here, Catchy, well written pop rock tunes, with Robin Zander's quirky, sometimes beautiful vocals, with a tight rhythm section and some cool guitar licks. I too was somewhat leary about picking this up, but the C.D. kept me interested throughout. There are some upbeat rockers, some slower ballads, and everything in between, with that classic Cheap Trick stamp. It hasn't left my C.D. player in a week!
I never did pick up their previous album "Rockford", even though I've heard great things about that too. I'll now have to buy that one too, because it sounds like the band is in fine form!
This album is crazy good ^ I've been listening to CT's albums in chronological order in preparation for seeing them Jan 26, and The Latest really kicks the butt of the earliest. Not every song is great--I just don't like "California Girls"--but the rest have an amazing vibe that hits the full CT range: Beatles ("Closer") to heavy metal ("Sick Man"). "When the Lights Are Out," "Alive" and "Miracle" are best, but the rest are close seconds. My only quibble really doesn't matter much in the mp3 world: Why open the album with the very slow, elegaic "Sleep Forever," the type of song that ends an album? Maybe because "Smile" fills the same role, but I'd have shuffled "Smile" into the middle somewhere and put "Sleep" at the end. "Light" would have made for a great opener.
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