CHEAP TRICK
Silver (Cheap Trick Unlimited 2001-1)
Reviewed by Melanie Campbell


Perhaps you've noticed that it was 1997 when we last heard something new from Cheap Trick, and that since then, they've gotten caught up in this somewhat annoying habit of re-releasing 20+ year-old material (either by themselves, or at the behest of Epic Records, those wonderful corporate behemoths that almost drove this band straight into the ground). Since that time, we had the re- mastered reissues of Cheap Trick, In Color, and Heaven Tonight. And then they re-mastered the now-infamous live at Budokan sets from the late 70s, put the show in chronological order, and released it as the Complete Budokan. There also was an "Authorized Greatest Hits" package put out (which contained the TV theme recorded by the band for "That 70's Show"), and then there was 2000's Music For Hangovers. That live set was recorded in Chicago, highlighting the band's "album show" sets that they took on the road when their first three remasters came out. All of 'em were great packages; however, there was repetition in the track lists, though of course there were "new" or "previously unreleased" tunes thrown in here and there. Mind you, all this is not necessarily a bad thing, though it would be damned nice if they could get off the road and into a studio long enough to lay down some new tracks. Rumor has it that some new tunes have been in the can for awhile now, so we're begging--can somebody throw some respect and some greenbacks at these guys and bankroll the damn thing already?

But, enough bitching-no matter which versions of these classic songs you hear, we guarantee that you will find something to like somewhere. And so it is with the best of this lot thus far: the live set, Silver. This 2-cd package, recorded in the band's real hometown of Rockford, IL, is a stellar celebration concert of Cheap Trick's 25 years together as bandmates. It contains some bitchin' versions of some old favorites ("Ain't That A Shame," "Surrender," "I Want You To Want Me"). It also contains the first live appearance of "That 70's Theme," a re- write of the Big Star tune "In The Streets," and it appears here with the Alex Chilton-penned lyrics intact. What makes this set especially interesting, though, is that there are also a number of Trick tunes that haven't seen the light of day in awhile (such as "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love," "Tonight It's You," "Take Me To The Top"). They even invited Jon Brandt to sit in for a bit (appearing here on "If You Want My Love" and "She's Tight"). Brandt is the guy who replaced Tom Petersson on bass when Petersson wigged out and took a hiatus from the band in the mid-80s. And all of these songs appear here sounding better than they ever did on record.

Not only that, the rest of the guest list for this special show, and the really neat things that went into the set itself, definitely make it worth the price of admission. The star turns here are outstanding. Billy Corgan's guitar work on "Just Got Back", Art Alexakis of Everclear singing and playing on a cover of the Beatles' "Day Tripper", and Slash's paint-peeling axe turn on "You're All Talk" enhance an already-great set. But you also get a glimpse of Cheap Trick on Silver that you've probably never seen before. These guys are notorious for keeping their off-stage lives well under-wraps, and because of that, they managed to have fairly normal family situations, raising some well-adjusted children in the process. And of course, the kids wanna follow in the footsteps of their dads! It is here that Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander are proud to show off said musical progeny to the world for the first time. And it is abundantly clear that they passed on some of their talent genes.

Spectacular proof of this fact is provided in the vocal work on Zander's "Time Will Let You Know." This tune, which originally appeared on his 1993 self-titled solo record, features Zander in a duet with his daughter Holland on this lovely ballad. Adding to the goosebump factor is an appearance by the Harlem High School Choir (of Rockford), whose soaring background vocals give this song an almost gospel-like quality. Also appearing is Ian Zander, who turns up on "It All Comes Back To You." This song appeared on the last Trick studio release from 1997, and Zander recreates the sound of the original here, strumming beautifully on something called a tiple, which sorta looks like a ukelele, but has a deeper, richer sound altogether. Meanwhile, Miles and Daxx Nielsen - who also have a band of their own called Harmony Riley -play backup and/or vocalize on several tunes, notably the cover of John Lennon's "I'm Losin' You."

But the best part of this show is the string section, hands-down! Cheap Trick went out and found themselves an orchestra to help 'em out on a few tracks, and lest you wonder if the result sounds real hokey, wonder no more. The Rockford Symphony Orchestra's String Quartet lends a nice touch to "The Flame," a fun, bouncy effect on "Dream Police," and an absolutely smokin' intro to "Stop This Game." The latter sounds suspiciously like the intro to Led Zeppelin's "In The Evening," but we can overlook that, because the darn thing cooks like nobody's business.

Rumor has it that a DVD of this show is in the works - it was filmed live for posterity, and portions of it ran as a Free View on Direct TV a few months back. Perhaps that will be packaged on video and show up on store shelves as well. But any way you can get this thing, get it. It's a keeper for the ages.

Track List:

Disc 1 Ain't That A Shame * I Want You To Want Me * Oh, Candy * That 70's Song * Voices * If You Want My Love * She's Tight * Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love * Gonna Raise Hell * I Can't Take It * Take Me To The Top * It All Comes Back To You * Tonight It's You * Time Will Let You Know * World's Greatest Love

Disc 2 The Flame * Stop This Game * Dream Police * I Know What I Want * Woke Up With A Monster * Never Had A Lot To Lose * You're All Talk * I'm Losin' You * Hard To Tell * Oh Claire * Surrender * Just Got Back * Day Tripper * Who D' King

© 2001 - Melanie Campbell