Cheap Trick was formed in the thriving metropolis of Rockford, Illinois in 1973, and their "cheap trick" was to be a band formed of two cool cats (lead vocalist Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson) and two dorks (lead guitarist and chief songwriter Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos). Something for everyone! They released their first album in 1977, and their second later that same year, and in an oddity of sorts, while the band met with little success here in the States, they exploded in Japan (to a point where their success in the Land of the Rising Sun was compared to Beatlemania). They recorded a live album in Nippon for release only in Japan, but sales of the import here in the States were so strong their label released a domestic version--and the rest is history. It would go on to be Cheap Trick's best selling album, and forty-four years after their inception, Cheap Trick has released 18 albums (two of which are on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"), had a #1 single ("The Flame"), performed over 5000 concerts (you read that right: 5000), been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the list of artists influenced and naming Cheap Trick as among their favorite bands is literally too long to list (check the Wikipedia link above). They're still going strong, too--I saw them a couple years back on Live from Daryl's House (Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates food and music show) and they absolutely killed for a group of old farts older than this old fart.
For a pop music aficionado such as myself, I could easily write a dissertation on the brilliance of "I Want You to Want Me." Originally released in 1977 as a single from their In Color LP, the song failed to chart. Released again in 1979 on their Cheap Trick at Budokan LP, the live recording become Cheap Trick's best selling single, rising to #7 (you bet your ass with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and taking Cheap Trick from up and comer to massive commercial success. Until I did my half-assed research for this week's tune, it'd been years since I heard the studio version of "I Want You to Want Me" and was surprised to find it sounding much better than I remembered. Still, the focus of this week's FNJ is the live version from Budokan, and what a joy it is. Opening with Zander enunciating the song for his non-English speaking fans, the song breaks into a short drum solo from Bun E. Carlos before Rick Nielsen's screeching guitar conjures images of pop heaven. And from there...it never quits. It's just pop music nirvana after pop music nirvana--from Zander's heartfelt vocals, the sweetness of "shine my old brown shoes" lyric, the rat-a-tat-tat of the "didn't I"'s, and the non-stop driving of Carlos' drumming and Nielsen's guitar playing. It's power pop at it's finest--and another in a long line of songs from the 70's that those of us who love the music that came out of the 1970's point to and say,"See--now that's what I'm talking about!"
Fun Fact: When Nielsen wrote "I Want You to Want Me" he actually set out to do an over the top pop song with a heavy metal sound as a kind of joke--and the simplest thing he could think of was wanting something. He's probably spent a good deal of time over the years wishing he could find that particular magic again...
Lyric Sheet: "I'll shine up the old brown shoes/Put on a brand new shirt/I'll get home early from work/If you say that you love me...."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
No comments:
Post a Comment