Some people smile when they see Cheap Trick "The Latest" at the top of my 2009 faves. I think some people just don't take them seriously. There is probably good reason since so many classic rock bands are relegated to the nostalgia tours and repackaging their greatest hits.
I've always loved Cheap Trick when I heard them on the radio, well except for some of the late 80's stuff they put out. Great rock songs from a band that doesn't take themselves too seriously. But my love of Cheap Trick was limited to hearing them on the radio, until their last CD "Rockford" came out. I read a few reviews that praised it and said it was among the best that year. That was all it took for me to check it out. Sure enough, Cheap Trick had produced a gem and I was hooked.
It took me several months to pick up "The Latest." I wanted to but I kept putting it off. Finally I saw it on a few end of the year best of lists for the Metro Times and that put me over the edge. After one listen I knew why these critics ranked it as their favorite of the year. It has great rock songs filled with hooks that bring you back to them hours later. They also avoid any calculated attempts at radio airplay. You get the sense that they set out to please themselves, and in the end they created a CD that holds its own with their best albums.
So far my favorites are "Miss Tomorrow", "These Days", and "Sick Man of Europe."
Interesting note, this is their first CD that they self released. I guess that saves them any arguments with the record company about what songs to include. I was also interested to see that in addition to a vinyl version they also released it on 8 Track Tape. Too funny. They even have a You Tube commercial on their website for one of their shows. It says "The Latest" is the number 1 selling 8 Track of 2009. Imagine that!
I have a dream that sometime they will play a show at the Salem High School Auditorium as a benefit for the high school radio station I manage. I know, it won't likely happen. But WSDP could use the money, and I'm sure they would come away with quite a few new fans. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Cheap Trick Tops My Best of for 2009
I'm a little behind on getting my best of 2009 together. I wrote a list of CD's that I picked up throughout 2009 and mulled it over for a few weeks. I thought Switchfoot would be my top choice and then I picked up both Cheap Trick and Rosanne Cash at the end of the year and they changed my opinion.
I've been very negligent about writing in my blog this past year. I hope to spend future blogs writing about some of my favorites of 2009. Hopefully I will get started on it before May. There's a resolution for me.
1 Cheap Trick - The Latest (Independent)
2 Rosanne Cash - The List (Manhattan)
3 Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane (Atlantic)
4 Drew Nelson - Dusty Road to Beulah Land (Waterbug)
5 Buddy and Julie Miller – Written in Chalk (New West)
6 Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome (INO)
7 Over the Rhine – Live From Nowhere Vol. 4 (GSD)
8 Need to Breathe – The Outsiders (Atlantic)
9 Sara Groves – Fireflies and Songs (INO)
10 Jen Sygit – So Long Pollyanna (Earthwork)
11 Sam Baker – Cotton (Music Road)
12 Susan Werner – Classics (Sleeve Dog)
13 Pierce Pettis – That Kind of Love (Compass)
14 Wilco – Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch)
15 U2 – No Line on the Horizon (Interscope)
16 Transatlantic – The Whirlwind (Radiant/Metal Blade)
17 Rachele Eve – Mouth of Feathers (Independent)
18 The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World To Come (4AD)
19 Jars of Clay – The Long Fall Back to Earth (Gray Matter/Sony)
20 Mindy Smith – Stupid Love (Vanguard)
21 Chris Richards and the Subtractions – Sad Sounds of the Summer (Gangplank)
22 The Ragbirds – Finally Almost Ready (Independent)
23 Mark Olson and Gary Louris – Ready for the Flood (New West)
24 Michael Miller – I Made You Up (Shiny Shiny)
25 Tinted Windows – Tinted Windows (S Curve)
26 Keri Noble – Keri Noble (Telarc)
27 Jo Serrapere – Love Going South (Detroit Radio Company)
28 Gurf Morlix – Last Exit to Hollywood (Independent)
29 Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement ( Stones Throw)
30 Serena Ryder – Is It OK (Atlantic)
I've been very negligent about writing in my blog this past year. I hope to spend future blogs writing about some of my favorites of 2009. Hopefully I will get started on it before May. There's a resolution for me.
1 Cheap Trick - The Latest (Independent)
2 Rosanne Cash - The List (Manhattan)
3 Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane (Atlantic)
4 Drew Nelson - Dusty Road to Beulah Land (Waterbug)
5 Buddy and Julie Miller – Written in Chalk (New West)
6 Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome (INO)
7 Over the Rhine – Live From Nowhere Vol. 4 (GSD)
8 Need to Breathe – The Outsiders (Atlantic)
9 Sara Groves – Fireflies and Songs (INO)
10 Jen Sygit – So Long Pollyanna (Earthwork)
11 Sam Baker – Cotton (Music Road)
12 Susan Werner – Classics (Sleeve Dog)
13 Pierce Pettis – That Kind of Love (Compass)
14 Wilco – Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch)
15 U2 – No Line on the Horizon (Interscope)
16 Transatlantic – The Whirlwind (Radiant/Metal Blade)
17 Rachele Eve – Mouth of Feathers (Independent)
18 The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World To Come (4AD)
19 Jars of Clay – The Long Fall Back to Earth (Gray Matter/Sony)
20 Mindy Smith – Stupid Love (Vanguard)
21 Chris Richards and the Subtractions – Sad Sounds of the Summer (Gangplank)
22 The Ragbirds – Finally Almost Ready (Independent)
23 Mark Olson and Gary Louris – Ready for the Flood (New West)
24 Michael Miller – I Made You Up (Shiny Shiny)
25 Tinted Windows – Tinted Windows (S Curve)
26 Keri Noble – Keri Noble (Telarc)
27 Jo Serrapere – Love Going South (Detroit Radio Company)
28 Gurf Morlix – Last Exit to Hollywood (Independent)
29 Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement ( Stones Throw)
30 Serena Ryder – Is It OK (Atlantic)
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