Aural Fixations

CHEAP TRICK
Silver
(Cheap Trick Unlimited)
Can it really be 25 years? It's hard to believe Rockford, Illinois' favorite sons Cheap Trick not only still exist, but also retain their original lineup in a time when their 70s contemporaries like Styx and Bad Company boast only one or two original members (and none of them the singer). But guitarist Rick Nielsen, singer Robin Zander, bassist Tom Petersson and drummer Bun E. Carlos stuck together through the highs and lows, from the grueling midwestern bar circuit tours through the multiplatinum records, state fair appearances and their current renaissance. That they now record and tour under the aegis of their own record company is even better. And if they seem inordinately concerned with recalling past glories (their last five releases were a greatest hits set, reissues of their first three albums and another live album), at least they do it with the same enthusiasm, energy and finesse as they did at their mid-70s peak.

Recorded in Rockford at Davis Park, Silver boasts two disks, several guests (both celebrity and not) and, most surprisingly, at least one song from every album Trick has ever recorded. The show is divided into three sets: a regular set heavy on hits, an "unplugged" session with various Trick family members, a string section and a choir, and another electric set with celebrity guests, a drum corps and the strings. The first set is the one most likely to appeal to casual fans, beginning with "Ain't That a Shame," the Fats Domino tune they covered so memorably on their 1979 commercial breakthrough At Budokan. Alas, a major problem crops up immediately: the sound. Live recordings rarely boast top-of-the-line production anyway, but Nielsen's guitar sounds strangely muffled in the mix, particularly during lead breaks, and the audience's enthusiasm occasionally overwhelms the music itself.

Sound aside, though, there's little problem with the performance. There's the usual on-stage sloppiness most rock bands exhibit away from the studio, but that's due to exuberance rather than apathy. The band sounds genuinely enthused to play faithful old warhorses like "I Want You to Want Me," "She's Tight" and "If You Want My Love" (from 1983's Next Position Please, and 1982's One to One, respectively, and with bassist Jon Brant guesting) for a hometown crowd. Unfortunately also included is "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love," a syrupy ballad from 1990's Busted that isn't any less sappy live than on record and, curiously, "That 70's Song," the band' s reworking of Big Star's "In the Street," used as the theme for That 70's Show. A band like this takes its hits where it can find them, apparently. Fortunately, they also tear into a ferocious version of Dream Police's "Gonna Raise Hell," one of their most misunderstood songs (it's a party anthem only for folks who think the Jonestown massacre, the song's subject, is a good time), and the cross-dressing tribute "Oh Candy," a classic pop tune from their 1977 debut.

Then comes the ballad-heavy acoustic set, on which Trick is joined by their kids on percussion and backup vocals. "I Can't Take It," from Position, and "Tonight It's You," the generic rock hit from '85's Standing On the Edge, fare quite well, and the band sounds amazingly engaged in the unfamiliar format. That said, even Zander's virtuoso vocals can't save "Time Will Let You Know" (a new song), "It All Comes Back to You" (from 1997's Cheap Trick) and "World's Greatest Lover" (from 1980's All Shook Up) from drowning in their own treacle, and the strings and choir don't help. The band plugs back in for an appropriately bombastic version of their only #1 hit, the Zander showcase "The Flame" (from 1988's Lap of Luxury), a song the strings actually enhance. Afterwards the ballads thankfully go back in the bedroom closet.

Trick kicks off the third set with a strings-augmented one-two punch: "Stop This Game," one of their best and most underrated songs (from Shook Up) and "Dream Police," the title track of their 1979 studio album. Then comes Petersson's vocal showcase "I Know What I Want," a Police track that demonstrates why the 12-string bassist doesn't sing more often. Guns 'n' Roses picker Slash enlivens the snarling riff of "You're All Talk" (from '77's In Color), Nielsen's son Miles duets with Zander on a surprising cover of John Lennon's "I'm Losin' You" (from Lennon/Ono's Double Fantasy, on which Nielsen and Carlos played) and a spirited performance nearly redeems the execrable 1994 title track "Woke Up With a Monster" (nearly, mind you). The set proper ends with, of course, "Surrender," the quintessential Cheap Trick song, and one which neither band nor audience ever seems to tire. Encores include Shook Up's "Just Got Back," guest-starring two extra drummers and Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan, and the Beatles' "Day Tripper," from 1980's Found All the Parts EP, with Art Alekasis of Everclear. Neither reaches great heights but they don't plumb any depths either. Bizarrely, the band ends the show with the chant/drum corps novelty "Who D'King," also from Shook Up (which, with four songs taken from it, is the most-covered album here). The hometown fans love it, though most others will be mystified by its inclusion.

As perhaps befitting an anniversary celebration, Silver will appeal to loyal, longtime Trick fans the most, as they're the ones most likely to appreciate the deeper album cuts. Still, it's good to hear a veteran band that can still muster excitement for its back catalog. Even after 25 years, it's obvious the quartet still loves playing together. Cheap Trick are the very model of a successful marriage. Michael Toland

For fans of: Cheap Trick