Cheap Trick CD Review

[TageRyche]

Cheap Trick

Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello

Big Machine Records - 2016

http://www.cheaptrick.com

With the band now an official member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we can now focus strictly on their music again without the sideshow distraction of if or when they'd get in to the Hall.

With their Big Machines Record release of the new album, Cheap Trick once again finds their way to blending their various talents into a cohesive whole that focuses on the sometimes manic but always ingeniously electric guitar playing of Rick Nielsen and the seemingly ageless vocal performance from Robin Zander.

The band opens the disc up with two fast paced catchy rockers that set the tone for the entire album. There's barely a slow down as Cheap Trick finds their speedy groove quickly and stays there most of the way through the track listing.

There's an undeniably catchy vibe to the first single "No Direction Home" and the album's opening song, "Heart on the Line" finds the band immersed in a ballsy in your face relentless musical course. The song was co-written with Greg Giuffria and Julian Raymond. In fact, Raymond co-wrote every song on the disc except the cover song as well as co-producing with Cheap Trick. It seems like he was an unofficial 5th member of the band.

Speaking of the cover song, this time around Cheap Trick picked "The In Crowd" to give their own special take. Unfortunately, while I've liked a number of their cover songs in the past, this one was one of the more painfully dragged out affairs I can remember listening to in a while. Usually, when I don't like a song I say it left me cold. But there's no sugarcoating this one, it's just bad. I wasn't particularly enamored with "Roll Me" or "All Strung Out" but those two cuts were just laying flat on my ears I suppose.

Nielsen's guitar work on "Do You Believe Me?" is exceptionally frantic. The vocals help seal the deal on tracks like "Blood Red Lips" and "Long Time No See Ya".

My favorite song on Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello has to be "Sing My Blues Away". Everything about this song blends together perfectly and the storytelling aspect of the lyrics really sold this song for me.

I had a friend, another Cheap Trick fanatic, tell me that he thought the album's sound was similar in part to the band's Standing on the Edge disc. There are some similarities, which is never a bad thing in my book consider SOTE is my favorite CT album, but given the presence of a few songs that never did quite hit the highest bench mark of quality in my mind, the album isn't perfect.

Still, this is one of the band's better releases in recent years and 40 plus years into their career, the energy and vibrancy is still there and make each successive release, regardless of any flaws, a musical experience well worth engaging yourself in.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

[AR]

Agree with your review. It's a good disc.

[RedWingFan]

My brother said it's pretty good too. I haven't checked it out yet though.

[TageRyche]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[yulog]

Didn't read the review but I liked the disc as well