Music review: Cheap Trick – 鈥榃e鈥檙e All Alright!鈥�
My fascination with music began at the age of 6 when I first heard 鈥淢eet the Beatles!鈥� after discovering my older brother鈥檚 record collection.
The Beatles may have got it all started for me, but there was one band that truly inspired me to want to become a rock star. And that band was Cheap Trick. After picking up a copy of 鈥淗eaven Tonight鈥� back in 1978, it didn鈥檛 take me long to decide that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Obviously, my dream of performing night after night to thousands of screaming fans didn鈥檛 materialize. Although, once I did get to play at my high school talent show with a few of my closest friends. On that magical evening, we were rock gods for five glorious minutes.
For my favorite band鈥檚 latest album, this isn鈥檛 going to be my typical music review. I鈥檓 not going to use up valuable space analyzing each track of Cheap Trick鈥檚 new material. As a fan who has seen the band play too many performances to count in a variety of cities across the country, you can take me at my word when I declare that 鈥淲e鈥檙e All Alright!鈥� rivals the quality and intensity of any of the band鈥檚 previous releases, including 鈥淚n Color鈥� and 鈥淒ream Police.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 in the middle of something/And it sure feels good,鈥� declares Robin Zander on the rousing 鈥淟ong Time Coming.鈥� With 鈥淲e鈥檙e All Alright!,鈥� the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are definitely in the middle of something special and it鈥檚 way better than good.
At times, the boys rock harder than ever on tracks like 鈥淵ou Got It Going On,鈥� 鈥淩adio Lover鈥� and 鈥淏rand New Name on an Old Tattoo.鈥� Then the band shifts gears to deliver the familiar traces of Fab Four influence with 鈥淭he Rest of My Life,鈥� 鈥淏lackberry Way鈥� and 鈥淚f You Still Want My Love,鈥� while 鈥淣owhere鈥� is a gritty number that鈥檚 reminiscent of the Ramones.
What more do you need to know? I highly recommend picking up the deluxe edition for the extra tracks.
I鈥檒l be attending my second Cheap Trick concert of this year when the band rolls into town with fellow rockers Foreigner on August 12. It鈥檚 been 40 years since both bands released debut albums. It鈥檚 also been 39 years since Zander inspired me to start a band. Where does the time go? At some point during the concert, it won鈥檛 be surprising if I鈥檓 seen gazing out into the distance wondering what could have been as I listen to the sweet sounds of 鈥淪urrender鈥� one more wonderful time.
Everyone is all alright indeed.