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Cheap Trick - All Shook Up (Epic/Legacy)

Between 1977 and 1979, the pride of Rockford, Illinois known as Cheap Trick released five albums: the band’s self-titled debut Cheap Trick (1977), In Color (1977), Heaven Tonight (1978), the monumental live album At Budokan (1979), and Dream Police (1979). An album run such as this is rarely ever seen in today’s music world, especially if the albums are artistically solid. The closest to this might be R.E.M. between 1982 and 1988 with seven consecutive album releases.

But for as many hits Cheap Trick has achieved over the course of thirty years they have also experienced its fair share of misses, both in the music business and on record. During the '80s and '90s, the band barely saw success. Of the eight albums they released during that period, only twice did the band score commercially with gold (500,000 copies) and platinum sales (1,000,000 copies); the band also performed the instrumental track “Mighty Wings” for the movie Top Gun. What truly suffered the most was the band’s creative juices, showing an inconsistency of artistic edge buried in a sea of mediocrity. But if there had to be a choice of which album in Cheap Trick’s catalog took the most chances musically and pushed the band’s songwriting abilities to the peak, it would have to be the band’s fifth album, 1980’s All Shook Up.

Up to this point, Cheap Trick had only worked with two producers: Jack Douglas and Tom Werman. Douglas, known for his work with Aerosmith, tried to capture Cheap Trick’s road seasoned live sound while bringing out the band’s Beatle-esque pop sensibilities on the group’s 1977 debut. After Douglas, Epic Records assigned producer Tom Werman to the band. Werman sought to polish the band for radio play while sacrificing the band’s raw power. There always seemed to be a division created by Werman behind the producer’s chair: Cheap Trick as the studio band and Cheap Trick as the live band. Then came producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick into the picture.

It was almost fate that the famed producer of every Beatles album should partner up with Cheap Trick. No other rock band at that time in the late ‘70s harnessed the melodic colorfulness and pop arrangements of the Beatles the way Cheap Trick did. Martin and Emerick (engineer on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) helped lead Cheap Trick to their full artistic potential; guitarist and principle songwriter Rick Nielsen had the space to really flex his muscle as a songsmith; Robin Zander continued his climb as one of the most identifiable voices in rock music, and the rhythm section of bassist Tom Petersson and drummer Bun E. Carlos was superb.

Opening with “Stop This Game,” Cheap Trick pays homage to The Beatles with the sound of a piano drone fading in as the song builds, the same sort of drone The Beatles used to fade out with on “A Day In The Life” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Zander’s voice carries above the drone before stepping aside for slicing violin strings and Carlos’ sharp hits on the drums. Petersson’s bass parts flow as Martin gives his bass some color reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s work on The Beatles’ single “Rain.” Nielsen plays it simple with little flash as he crunches along on his guitar. Going one step further is the sinister “Just Got Back.” Carlos takes center stage as he is surrounded by 24 tracks of percussion parts. It’s a drummer friendly song that John Bonham and Keith Moon would have signed up to play on. If ever Nielsen wrote a song that recaptures the “they’re-coming-to-get-me” attitude of “Dream Police,” then “Just Got Back” would be the song. “Baby Loves To Rock” borrows a bit from Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame” but with the maximum R&B muscle of The Who.

An aspect of the band that often is under-appreciated is Cheap Trick’s way with arrangements. Without the right arrangement for a song, then details like a chorus or verse simply won’t work. In this sense, Martin and Cheap Trick made a perfect pair. On “Can’t Stop It But I’m Gonna Try,” Zander howls and seethes with the venom of a lover fighting obsession. Nielsen hits his mark with “World’s Greatest Lover.” Zander adopts his best John Lennon voice and delivers a fantastic performance, while Nielsen crafts one of the finest guitar solos of his career (some portions later pop up in “Mighty Wings”).

“High Priest Of Rhythmic Noise” would contend to be one of the earliest examples of industrial rock. The distorted effects over the lead vocals create a robotic vibe to the song that any Atari fan at the time would have appreciated. Nielsen credits the death of AC/DC singer Bon Scott as the inspiration to “Love Comes A-Tumblin’ Down.” The song is a fitting tribute to a band and a singer that Cheap Trick often applauded. Nielsen’s fiery solo is a nice nod to schoolboy-dressed guitarist Angus Young. “I Love You Honey But I Hate Your Friends” combines the best of Lynrd Skynrd and The Faces. The song’s title and chorus plays on Nielsen’s wit to always add a twist inside a song. The band bashes out the tune as if they were back playing at some dive bar in the Midwest.

Cheap Trick literally uses every trick in the book on the frantic riff fest “Go For The Throat (Use Your Own Imagination).” According to Nielsen in the October 1996 issue of Guitar World, “That song would have been tricky even for Rush to execute properly!” Here was another example where Martin’s experience benefited the band. Said Nielsen in the same interview, “George (Martin) really pushed us to go the extra mile in our songwriting, arranging and playing. For example, we never would have attempted a song as complex as ‘Go For The Throat’ without his encouragement.”

All Shook Up closes not with a swift knockout punch but with a laugh. “Who D’King” is the band’s “Yellow Submarine,” a ridiculously good time where Cheap Trick busts out into a conga line. The song adds some tongue-in-cheek flavor to an album hell bent on being the best rock album it can be, and without a little nonsense thrown in it wouldn’t live up to what a Cheap Trick album is all about.

The fact the band managed to keep it together while bassist Tom Petersson had his eye on leaving Cheap Trick (which he did following the album’s completion) is a testament to the band’s survival instincts. Although the band would reach commercial highs with 1982’s One On One and 1988’s Lap Of Luxury, All Shook Up remains to be the last Cheap Trick album that was consistent with its artistic mission.