No
rock record collection should exist without
Cheap Trick's first three albums. But if you really want a budget (actually not that cheap) sampler,
I Want You to Want Me should suffice. Of course the explosive miracle
"Surrender"makes an appearance, and
"Dream Police" packs almost as brilliant a punch. The tinkly studio original of the title track is a surprise, since the raw and heavy
Live at Budokan version put the band on the map.
"You Say Jump" was written by -- and then written-off by -- the quartet as being an
"I Want You to Want Me" knock-off, but it isn't a bad
pop-bit. Same goes for
"Younger Girls," one of the few cuts in the band's career wherein supreme vocalist
Robin Zander steers the tune rather than guiding loony
Rick Nielsen. These album slices from the
Rundgren-helmed
Next Position Please (this collection's cut-off) are decent, but they can't touch missing '80s masterworks like
"Stop This Game" and
"I Want Be Man." Luckily, the elegant
"If You Want My Love" shines as one of the band's truly great moments, and from the glorious '70s comes the oh-so-cool
"Heaven Tonight," which extends the late-night dose-riff moving through
"Kashmir." "Big Eyes" combines the
"Green Manalishi" with
"She's Not There," again proving
Cheap Trick's dexterity with infinite influences. This disc should suit the curious, but those persons should just dive into the band's mercurial catalog (the cover photos come from the
Doctor, an obnoxious oddball offering often considered the worst
Trick album, but none of its song appear here). Each
Trick album is a study in production, and honestly, these tracks lose something in the transfer. ~ Whitney Z. Gomes
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