{"id":19735,"date":"2016-04-23T13:48:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T12:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=19735"},"modified":"2016-04-23T14:24:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-23T13:24:15","slug":"blues-or-illusion-have-cheap-trick-still-got-the-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/04\/blues-or-illusion-have-cheap-trick-still-got-the-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"BLUES OR ILLUSION – Have Cheap Trick Still Got The Magic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Neatly timed to coincide with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bang Zoom Crazy…. Hello?\u00a0<\/em>is the Illinois veterans’ 17th album.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Described by songwriter\u00a0Rick Nielsen<\/strong> as an attempt to get back to their roots, it bears all the hallmarks of a classic\u00a0Cheap Trick <\/strong>recording.<\/p>\n

It’s loud, fast, slick and shot through with Nielsen’s trademark guitar pyrotechnics – the sound of a band firmly in their comfort zone and having a good time with each other.<\/p>\n

And therein lies the problem – this album feels like it came too easily – a jam session rather than a finely tuned masterpiece.<\/p>\n

Opening songs\u00a0Heart On The Line<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0No Direction<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0When I wake Up Tomorrow<\/strong><\/em> come and go pleasantly enough, but are instantly forgettable.<\/p>\n

Do You Believe Me<\/strong><\/em> is better, big meaty chords and a squalling squiggly solo that’s enough to have indie purists running screaming from the room.<\/p>\n

As the album develops it’s clear that Cheap Track are not so much hearkening back to their ’70s heyday, as teleporting back wholeheartedly to the Glam Rock era.<\/p>\n

Blood Red Lips\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is a ballroom stomper that sounds like\u00a0Sweet <\/strong>by way of\u00a0Marc Bolan<\/strong> and their cover of\u00a0Dobie Gray<\/strong>‘s In Crowd <\/strong><\/em>bears more than a passing resemblance to\u00a0Bryan Ferry’s\u00a0<\/strong>1974 version.<\/p>\n

There’s another rollicking guitar solo on\u00a0Roll Me, <\/strong><\/em>but as with so much of the album,\u00a0Robin Zander<\/strong>‘s full-throated vocals can’t disguise the\u00a0borderline embarrassing lyrics.<\/p>\n

Lines like ‘I got some trouble tonight\/Got a woman to squeeze me tight’ are not what you’d call Academy of American Poets material.<\/p>\n

It seems churlish to chide musicians with a 40-year career for not trying to reinvent the wheel, but the overwhelming impression you get from this album is of a band on cruise control.<\/p>\n

That’s not to say it’s a disaster, there’s plenty for fans to enjoy here, and the album finishes strongly with The Who<\/strong>-like psychedelia of\u00a0The Sun Never Sets<\/strong><\/em> and grungy\u00a0All Strung Out<\/strong><\/em>, perhaps\u00a0the only song to namecheck both\u00a0Patsy Cline\u00a0<\/strong>and Courtney Love<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

All in all this album is like going a bar to see a band that sound a lot like Cheap Trick, \u00a0you just wish they’d tried a bit harder to get the real thing.<\/p>\n

* Bang Zoom Crazy… Hello? <\/strong><\/em>is out now through Big Machine Records from iTunes on this link<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Amazon.com\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n