Cheap Trick

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One of Rock's most entertaining attractions, Cheap Trick formed in Rockford, Illinois USA, in 1975. The core members were guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson, locals who had already played in the touring bands Fuse and Sick Man Of Europe. However, after just one album, this short-lived outfits folded and the duo formed a new band, Cheap Trick. The initial line-up was completed by vocalist Randy 'Xeno' Hogan and drummer Brad 'Bun E. Carlos' Carlson. Hogan departed the group shortly thereafter to be replaced by singer + rhythm guitarist Robin Zander.

Epic signed the group barely a year after they'd formed and issued their self-titled debut album in February 1977, it fared better in Japan than in the United States; the band toured relentlessly, playing over 150 concerts a year, including support slots with Journey, Queen, Santana, Kiss and AC/DC.
Later that year, Cheap Trick released its second LP, "In Color", reaching #73 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart.

1978's "Heaven Tonight" captured both the loud, raucous energy of their debut and the hook-laden song craft of the sophomore effort, leading to their first U.S. Top 100 single, "Surrender", which peaked at #62 while the album hit #48 on the Pop Sales chart.

In 1979 the live LP "At Budokan" marked their commercial breakthrough, the album stayed on the U.S. Pop chart for over a year, peaking at #4 and eventually selling over 3 million copies; a live version of "I Want You To Want Me", pulled from the album, became their first top 10 hit and a revival of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame" reached the #35 spot on the Pop Singles chart.
A few months later Cheap Trick released their fourth studio record, "Dream Police", which followed "At Budokan" into the top 10, selling over a million copies and launching two top 40 hit singles with the title-track and "Voices".

Petersson left the group in the summer of 1980 after recording "All Shook Up", this album performed respectably, peaking at #24 on the U.S. Top 200 LPs & Tapes chart eventually going gold, yet the main single released from it, "Stop This Game", failed to crack the Top 40. For subsequent tours Pete Comita and shortly thereafter Jon Brant, replaced Petersson.
That same year, the band contributed a new song to the soundtrack of the movie "Roadie"; released as a single, "Everything Works If You Let It", reached #44 on the U.S. Pop chart.

The first album recorded with Brant was "One On One", the group's sixth studio LP that appeared in 1982; although it peaked at #39, the record was more successful than its predecessor achieving platinum sales status along the way; it included "If You Want My Love" which rose to #11 on the Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and produced a couple of minor hits in "She's Tight" and "Saturday At Midnight".

"Next Position Please", released in 1983, failed to launch a hit single and spent only 11 weeks on The Billboard Top 200 reaching #61.

Two years later Cheap Trick delivered its ninth album "Standing On The Edge" which hit #35 on The Billboard 200 and yielded the Mainstream Rock top 10 single "Tonight It's You".

1986's "The Doctor" was a complete flop.

Petersson's return for the album "Lap Of Luxury" brought them back to platinum status, the set debuted at #16 on The Billboard Top 200 chart, upon its spring 1988 release, thanks in part to the smash single "The Flame" which shot to #1 on The Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top 3 on The Mainstream Rock Tracks; the LP also included their rendition of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" which rose to #4 on The Billboard Hot 100 and to #8 on The Mainstream Rock chart plus two further top 40 hits: "Ghost Town" and "Let Go".

Two years later Cheap Trick delivered their final album to Epic Records, "Busted"; it reached the #48 position on The Billboard Top 200 and spawned the Mainstream Rock top 5 hit "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love" which also crossed over to #12 on The Billboard Hot 100; the first single was followed by a couple of mid-sized hits: "Back 'N Blue" and "Wherever Would I Be?".

The group subsequently moved from Epic to Warner Bros. Records; their term there resulted in one album, "Woke Up With A Monster", the record spent two weeks on the U.S. Top 200 chart, peaking at #123 and produced a Mainstream Rock top 20 hit with the title-track.

Following the poor performance of this album, Cheap Trick decided to go back to the basics; they left Warner and over the next few years several alternative rockers, who were influenced by Cheap Trick, gave the band opportunities to restore their reputation. The Smashing Pumpkins had the band open some shows in 1995 and the group performed on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour.

In April 1997 the group released a new CD titled "Cheap Trick", like the group's debut album, presumably because the record represents a new beginning; the disc, which came out on Red Ant/Alliance, reached the #99 position on The Billboard 200 chart and contained the album-Rock radio top 40 hit "Say Goodbye".

After spending a good part of 2001 writing songs and about six weeks of pre-production, Cheap Trick went into Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, N.Y. in March 2002 where the lads put together song by song their first studio album in six years, "Special One"; it broke into the top 10 of the U.S. Independent Albums chart and reached #128 on The Billboard 200 Sales list.

In June 2006, the veteran Illinois Rock group issued a new solid studio album, "Rockford", on Unlimited/Big3 Records. The disc, which was prefaced by the single "Perfect Stranger", reached the #101 position on The Billboard 200.

Cheap Trick decided to step outside of the label world to release its next studio album, "The Latest", itself. The 13-song set arrived in June 2009.

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Cheap Trick

(1977)

1. ELO Kiddies
2. Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School
3. Taxman, Mr. Thief
4. Cry, Cry
5. Oh, Candy
6. Hot Love
7. Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace
8. He's A Whore
9. Mandocello
10. The Ballad Of T.V. Violence (I'm Not The Only Boy)

 

In Color

(1977)

1. Hello There
2. Big Eyes
3. Downed
4. I Want You To Want Me
5. You're All Talk
6. Oh Caroline
7. Clock Strikes Ten
8. Southern Girls
9. Come On, Come On
10. So Good To See You

 

Heaven Tonight

(1978)

1. Surrender
2. On Top Of The World
3. California Man
4. High Roller
5. Auf Wiedersehen
6. Takin' Me Back
7. On The Radio
8. Heaven Tonight
9. Stiff Competition
10. How Are You?
11. Oh Claire

 

At Budokan
[live]

(1979)

1. Hello There
2. Come On, Come On
3. Lookout
4. Big Eyes
5. Need Your Love
6. Ain't That A Shame [NEW TRACK]
7. I Want You To Want Me
8. Surrender
9. Goodnight
10. Clock Strikes Ten

 

Dream Police

(1979)

1. Dream Police
2. Way Of The World
3. The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems)
4. Gonna Raise Hell
5. I'll Be With You Tonight
6. Voices
7. Writing On The Wall
8. I Know What I Want
9. Need Your Love

 

All Shook Up

(1980)

1. Stop This Game
2. Just Got Back
3. Baby Loves To Rock
4. Can't Stop It But I'm Gonna Try
5. World's Greatest Lover
6. High Priest Of Rhythmic Noise
7. Love Comes A-Tumblin' Down
8. I Love You Honey But I Hate Your Friends
9. Go For The Throat (Use Your Own Imagination)
10. Who D'king

 

Roadie
[soundtrack]

(1980)

INCLUDES:

- Everything Works If You Let It

 

One On One

(1982)

1. I Want You
2. One On One
3. If You Want My Love
4. Oo La La La
5. Lookin' Out For Number One
6. She's Tight
7. Time Is Runnin'
8. Saturday At Midnight
9. Love's Got A Hold On Me
10. I Want Be Man
11. Four Letter Word

 

Next Position Please

(1983)

1. I Can't Take It
2. Borderline
3. I Don't Love Here Anymore
4. Next Position Please
5. Younger Girls
6. Dancing The Night Away
7. You Talk Too Much
8. 3-D
9. You Say Jump
10. Y.O.Y.O.Y.
11. Won't Take No For An Answer
12. Heaven's Falling
13. Invaders Of The Heart
14. Don't Make Our Love A Crime

 

Standing On The Edge

(1985)

1. Little Sister
2. Tonight It's You
3. She's Got Motion
4. Love Comes
5. How About You
6. Standing On The Edge
7. This Time Around
8. Rock All Night
9. Cover Girl
10. Wild Wild Women

 

The Doctor

(1986)

1. It's Up To You
2. Rearview Mirror Romance
3. The Doctor
4. Are You Lonely Tonight
5. Name Of The Game
6. Kiss Me Red
7. Take Me To The Top
8. Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)
9. Man-U-Lip-U-Lator
10. It's Only Love

 

Lap Of Luxury

(1988)

1. Let Go
2. No Mercy
3. The Flame
4. Space
5. Never Had A Lot To Lose
6. Don't Be Cruel
7. Wrong Side Of Love
8. All We Need Is A Dream
9. Ghost Town
10. All Wound Up

 

Busted

(1990)

1. Back 'N Blue
2. I Can't Understand It
3. Wherever Would I Be
4. If You Need Me
5. Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love
6. Busted
7. Walk Away
8. You Drive, I'll Steer
9. When You Need Someone
10. Had To Make You Mine
11. Rock 'N' Roll Tonight

 

Woke Up With A Monster

(1994)

1. My Gang
2. Woke Up With A Monster
3. You're All I Wanna Do
4. Never Run Out Of Love
5. Didn't Know I Had It
6. Ride The Pony
7. Girlfriends
8. Let Her Go
9. Tell Me Everything
10. Cry Baby
11. Love Me For A Minute

 

Cheap Trick

(1997)

1. Anytime
2. Hard To Tell
3. Carnival Game
4. Shelter
5. You Let A Lotta People Down
6. Baby No More
7. Yeah Yeah
8. Say Goodbye
9. Wrong All Along
10. Eight Miles Low
11. It All Comes Back To You

 

Special One

(2003)

1. Scent Of A Woman
2. Too Much
3. Special One
4. Pop Drone
5. My Obsession
6. Words
7. Sorry Boy
8. Best Friend
9. If I Could
10. Low Life In High Heels
11. Hummer

 

Rockford

(2006)

1. Welcome To The World
2. Perfect Stranger
3. If It Takes A Lifetime
4. Come On Come On Come On
5. O Claire
6. This Time You Got It
7. Give It Away
8. One More Day
9. Every Night And Every Day
10. Dream The Night Away
11. All Those Years
12. Decaf

 

The Latest

(2009)

1. Sleep Forever
2. When The Lights Are Out
3. Miss Tomorrow
4. Sick Man Of Europe
5. These Days
6. Miracle
7. Everyday You Make Me Crazy
8. California Girl
9. Everybody Knows
10. Alive
11. Times Of Our Lives
12. Closer, The Ballad Of Burt And Linda
13. Smile

 

Cheap Trick discography - an exclusive and detailed creation of 100xr.com
The section contains all of Cheap Trick albums released to date
with original cover art and complete track-listing

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