New Wave music reviews

The Ghostbusters soundtrack is very good. at first i thought it would suck. but it turned out to be pretty good. I love the Ghostbusters theme by(Ray Parker Jr.) this is truly a excellent soundtrack.

If you liked this cd then Check out the Ghostbusters 2 soundtrack and the movies

Yes, Ghostbusters is my favorite movie. Yes, I consider it the greatest comedy of all time (and I'm not alone). This soundtrack evokes the "spirit" of the movie well (pun intended!), bringing the memories back instantly.

Not only do you get "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr., but also "Hot Night" by the (late) Laura Branigan, "Magic" by Mick Smiley, and "Cleanin' Up The Town" by the Busboys. Also included are snippets of Elmer Bernsteins phenomenal score.

A super soundtrack to a super movie. Five stars!

who could not love the beautiful sound of those daring men out to kick some butt of course i know they are not singin it but man is that song good ne ne ne ne ne ne who ye gonna call...ghost busters ne ne ne ne etc etc etc you know how it gos and coz you do... buy it now at this acceptional price ......ne ne ne come on u know you wanna love you all peace amy xxx

Listen to the opening lines of "The Loved Ones" and you hear Costello at his best. Snappy lines, sung with force and definitely dripping with caustic wit. Then we hit the piano "noodling" and the song starts to drift away from me. The CD is filled with moments like this; great lyrics and a solid melody often lost amidst overproduced musical adornments. Stripped down, this is some of Costello's best stuff; songs that walk the fine line between emotion and intellect. But every time I feel like I get close to the heart of the song, I feel lost in the middle of music that serves no purpose. This is definitely worth a listen and I still enjoy popping it in the machine, but I feel some of his other works is more deserving of the high praise given IMPERIAL BEDROOM.

The opening four songs of "Imperial Bedroom" are a simply amazing outpouring of Elvis at his finest; "Beyond Belief", "Tears Before Bedtime", "Shabby Doll", and "The Long Honeymoon" come at you like a brilliant bully, daring you not to be dazzled by their lyrical dexterity and musical diversity. "Beyond Belief" is that, with a spine tingling delivery of Elvis at-his-best lyrics that almost qualify as an instrument in itself. The first four are followed by "Man Out Of Time", which is fine also, and which manages to pull in the reigns of the almost out-of-control locomotive energy created by the first four songs. This definitely is a work of great ambition by an Elvis Costello at the peak of his songwriting powers, and its sprawl only occasionally dilutes the towering achievement of "Imperial Bedroom". "Town Cryer" is promising but never finds its edge, and is not helped by overproduction. In general it is the (over)production that is the only real weakness, and it's not a significant weakness. The sheer, raw talent of the young Elvis flexing his prodigious songwriting muscles more than compensates for a few too many horns.

This is definitely Elvis Costello's best work to date. All of the songs are strong with nary a dud on the album. It's also notable that the additional songs that were provided for this CD version are great too. If you are new to Elvis's work, this is the best place to start.

Cyndi Lauper's Christmas album is a real treat. It isn't "just another Christmas album". Seven of the eleven songs are originals that Cyndi co-wrote, and they are all fine songs. If you like Cyndi, you'll like this album.

When Cyndi Lauper's MERRY CHRISTMAS...HAVE A NICE LIFE was first released back in '98, I remember reading some capsule review in some popular magazine or other (maybe PEOPLE?) to the effect that it was surprisingly good, better than it "had a right to be," in fact. Huh? Is that a compliment?

I imagine the reviewer thought he was being pretty darn generous to a performer, whom he no doubt recalled as being basically a novelty act from the early MTV days. What's frustrating about reviews like this is that they seldom reference any previous recording other than SHE'S SO UNUSUAL (or, if you're lucky, TRUE COLORS). Cyndi's 90s work(HAT FULL OF STARS and SISTERS OF AVALON) had demonstrated a maturing talent (not that the "immature" stuff was bad--far from it). It's just that, had anybody been bothering to listen, they would have known that she was an artist to be taken seriously and a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, too many had written her off prematurely. And by 1998, her record company was pretty much ready to show her the door. She had one record left on her contract with SONY (who hadn't been offering much in the way of support anyway). Cyndi had gone out touring in '97, opening for Tina Turner, and giving it her all while visibly pregnant...and the record company could scarcely be bothered to promote her excellent SISTERS OF AVALON. A Christmas album seemed like a handy way to meet the terms of the contract and for artist and record company to bid each other adieu.

Christmas CDs are usually lower budget affairs (I'm told) and as it happened, Cyndi already had a couple of Christmas themed tracks in the can anyway. Actually, "Feels Like Christmas" from HAT FULL OF STARS is really more of a love song than a true holiday song, but it had the Noel thing going on in the title and a nice bounce (one of the more upbeat tracks on what was otherwise Cyndi's most serious record to date). "Early Christmas Morning" had appeared on the Japanese version of SISTERS OF AVALON, so that only meant eight or nine new tracks at the most.

It could have been a knock-off, folks, but Cyndi Lauper's sense of artistry and adventure knows few if any bounds, and musically, HAVE A NICE LIFE (the title obviously being something of a kiss-off to SONY) continues to explore the same musical terrain as the previous two records. Queens born Cyndi comes by her multi-culturalism naturally, You've got a little Zydeco here, a little Island music and her version of "Silent Night" starts off with some Mid-Eastern strains, which only begs the question, why hasn't anybody done anything like this before. But that's the closer, let's go back to the beginning.

It's been said that the best Christmas music is tinged with melancholy, and Cyndi's opener "Home for Christmas Day," replete with ringing Byrds-like guitar, is something of a rock rewrite of "I'll Be Home For Christmas." (Ever notice how many holiday albums BEGIN with the latter song: Cyndi honors the tradition in her unique way by starting off with her own updated, similary themed carol.) Then it's off to Cajun-inflected "Early Christmas Morning" and Cajun-Caribbean mix on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (a wink and a nod to Brenda Lee--a singer she was often compared to back in the day). The fun continues with "Christmas Conga" and the winning, slightly ribald novelty "Minnie and Santa." Gradually, though, the all the spirited fun begins to give way to a more serious, solemn and (dare we say it?) spiritual mood.

Two songs in row celebrating Cyndi's recent motherhood? Why not? It might be a little much for some artists, but for one as open hearted and honest as Cyndi Lauper, it works. I've had a few "Well, I dunno about this moments" with Cyndi's ballads before (including classics like "Time After Time" and "True Colors"), but they always win me over eventually. "New Year's Baby (First Lullabye)" and "December Child" are no different, delicate songs that avoid slipping into the precious by dint of Cyndi's sheer conviction.

After starting out on such a sunny, tropical note, the album ends on an appropriately winterlike note with the Celtic flavored "In the Bleak Midwinter" and a relatively stark reading of "Silent Night." From the festive to the hauntingly fragile...Cyndi Lauper sums up the season. Definitely, not a knock-off.

Fast forward to 2003-2004, Cyndi's back with SONY (at least for now), doing the standards thing (but definitely doing them her way), and now the record company has now come out with a remastered version of this album. I haven't heard the new version yet, but it did actually seem as though this yuletide offering, delightful as it is, could have used some brightening (of sound and spirit). Looks like everyone may just be having a nice life after all.

All the credit should go to that vastly underrated performer with the crystal clear pipes- Cyndi Lauper. Most of the songs on this CD are written by Cyndi, including the already classic rocker "Home On Christmas Day," the beautiful "December Child," and the reggae charged "Christmas Conga." I even put this CD in my player throughout the entire year, whether it's Christmas or not, it's that good. While most of my other Christmas albums have been collecting dust, Cyndi Lauper's is on constant play. You have to check this one out.

I owned an older CD of this from the 80s, one of his rocking-est albums and my favorite, along with "Delivery Man". The definitely superior sonic remaster (not a lot of obvious re-mixing for a change!), the bonus disc and informative liner notes really made this worth buying. I subsequently bought the other remasters with bonus discs, and now have a huge library of THE Elvis (as I heard him claim on a radio interview in 1977), with loads of demos, alternative versions and tasty goodies.

This second album by Elvis Costello is far better than My Aim is True, in my opinion. The tunes are more immediate with much more of a pop flavour whilst the music is also more rhythmically varied and compelling. It marks the transition to his wonderfully accessible Armed Forces masterpiece.

There is even a reggae beat in (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea and a ballad with lovely piano - Little Triggers. My favourites on the original disc are the up-tempo Pump It Up, You Belong To Me and the poignant This Year's Girl, plus of course the pulsating Radio Radio with its subversive lyrics. Night Rally is somewhat dark and disturbing.

The second disc includes a wealth of previously unreleased tracks, demo tracks, live and alternative versions. Not all of these alternate takes are as gripping as the familiar versions but they are certainly interesting and worthwhile, demonstrating various facets of his extraordinary musicianship.

Elvis Costello's debut, My Aim Is True, is a hard act to follow. But follow it he does with This Year's Model. He ditched his old band, Clover, for the Attractions (Steve Nieve on keyboards, Bruce Thomas on bass, Pete Thomas on drums). They serve him much better, too. Bruce provides some solid basslines. Listen to the Beat, Pump It Up, and (I Don't Want to Go to) Chealsea for examples.
Anyway, this is a great collection of songs, the best being the bass-driven (coincidence? I think not). But that's not all. Still more acid sarcasm (No Action, This Year's Girl, the social commentary of Radio Radio). And he doesn't relent. So if you're morally opposed to sarcasm, best stay away from this one. The rest of us will treat ourselves to an enjoyable listen.

Actually this is a 5 star effort, but I deducted 1 star because they didn't make this a double album. That and the fact they didn't put Saints in Hell on this.

I never could decide what posed a more impressive sight, Halford on stage flanked by Tipton and Downing, or Meine on stage flanked by Jabbs, Schenker, and Buchholz, but I do know one thing: back in the late 70's both the Scorps and Priest were putting out hellacious live albums.

The Scorps came out with Tokyo Tapes, and Priest countered with unleashed in the East (live in Japan). Although both of these were surpassed by Deep Purple's Made in Japan, (not to be confused with Iron Maiden's Maiden Japan) they are still outstanding efforts...

Exciter gets it going, and then Running Wild, Sinner, The Ripper and The Green Manalishi just bowl you over. The first 3 minutes of Sinner are absolutely amazing (I'm listening to it again as I type). The pace slows a little for Diamonds and Rust (no one could keep it up that long) and then BAM Victim of Changes cranks it back up again. The album ends with Tyrant and Genocide which are also decent tracks. (The re-released CD includes 4 additional songs, but I haven't gotten around to buying it yet)

Both the Scorps and Priest would go on to release more live stuff, but if you really want to know what REAL LIVE METAL sounded like, get their 1978 releases. If you don't like them, then you don't like metal..

Along with Black Sabbath's "Live Evil", Deep Purple's "Made In Japan" and "Made In Europe", Motorhead's "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith", the Scorpions' "Tokyo Tapes" and "World Wide Live", Rainbow's "On Stage", and UFO's "Strangers In The Night", stands Judas Priest's "Unleashed In The East".

As the title suggests, this is a Japanese recording, and I have heard that Japanese pressings contain additional tracks. But what we have here on the U.S. version is more than enough.

This album has unfairly been maligned as "Unleashed In The Studio" because of its excellent sound quality. I wasn't there to know whether anything has been "tweaked" but it certainly sounds live - and heavy!

Rob Halford turns in what is probably his best vocal performance.

Nowhere in the studio does the twin-guitar team of Glenn Tipton and KK Downing shine like they do here, especially on the intro to "Victim Of Changes."

You can actually HEAR Ian Hill in parts here, especially on the last track, "Tyrant"!

This would be the last album for drummer Les Binks. This is unfortunate, as he is quite good and worlds better than his replacement, Dave Holland.

In many ways this album signalled the end of an era for Priest that had been hinted at on "Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather": shorter, snappier songs, with less extended soloing, and a very live sound.

This album towers head and shoulders over many other live albums (including Black Sabbath's Ozzy cash-in "Reunion") and there is a place for it in every collection of true, British heavy metal. Rarely does a week go by without listening to this masterpiece.

THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST HEAVY METAL RECORDING LIVE EVER DONE! THIS IS HEAVY METAL AT ITS BEST! HAIL TO THE METAL GODS!!!!!!!!!!

This cd is excellent for those who are a bit more familiar with Blondie and their music...and for those who are just getting acquainted with Blondie it's great because it has songs from all of their previous cds. This cd has very good sound and has basically all the hits. Great cd, I recommend it!

This Blondie compilation is the best, to date that there is. It's got all of the hits and then some. Blondie always had fun songs and this disc reflects that. The sound is also great, too. Whether you are a casual, or serious Blondie fan, you should have this, it is an essential part of rock and pop history. They definately did this compilation right. Highly recommended.

a cd , which where you can find all the history of blondie, memories, life and pleasure.

I have a very different worldview then every artist I have listened to. I can still enjoy their music. This is the first album that doesn't allow me to do that. First of all abortion is a womans' issue. Glad to see Grahams' point of view ignores the woman right to choose and allows him to choose without even carrying the baby. As for life beginning when an embryo is made. One could argue I am filled with sperm that has the potential to fertilize the egg of the girl that just passed me by. Not having sex with her aborts the potential life form. Since the argument for when life begins can not be settled, it is up to the women to choose. Those who are pro-life seem to be happy to have unwanted children that can not be cared for populate our country. The option of adoption is another argument from pro-lifers. I have seen this and grew up with a number of adopted kids. I know this is a generalization, but from my experience these kids came out extremely screwed up. The more religious the parents were the more screwed up the kids were. There is now a shortage of families wanting kids so it is much more likely for a child not to be adopted. Not only this, but I haven't seen any pro-lifers adopt a child. Put your money where your mouth is Graham. This isn't a political forum, but since this issue is at the heart of this album I felt it necssary to address it. After all this song ruins the album for me. Like the House Of Freaks say, The Righteous Shall Fall.

To XraySpex: the song "You Can't Be Too Strong" is not anti-abortion. Listen to it again. If you knew anything at all about Graham Parker, you would know he is the furthest thing from a religious fundamendalist that you can get. The song doesn't take a stand one way or the other. It's simply *about* an abortion, and is likely a true story.

That aside, this is a legendary album that everyone should own. And with the Live Sparks promo added as a bonus, it's indispensible.

I bought the vinyl LP back went in came out in the late '70s (yep, I was still in the 8th. grade!) and to this day still drag it out and play it from front to end. I guess I can say that was one of the best things I ever bought with my allowance $$, LOL. Although it was a shame Graham Parker never received as much attention in the US compared to other artists who were of the "angry young men" school of rock, Squeezing Out Sparks was a great calling card to introduce his music to other people--so much so that at times I felt I could have collected some royalties myself for turning others on to Graham Parker! Fast forwarding to 1999: I got wired to the Net at home then quickly fell into a message board community of old school punk and new wave affectionados. The first person I was emailing on a daily basis was a fellow GP fan from Germany who noticed all the posts I wrote about Squeezing Out Sparks, also in his 30's at the time, who needed someone to help him better understand what most of the album's lyrics meant due to his limited English. One particular track I patiently explained to him on more than one occasion was "You can't Be Too Strong", that poignant anti-abortion song; I guess the angry, yet emotionally empty feelings Graham Parker used in his that song sang with much passion really confused him along with most of the phrasing that trying to graspe such a powerful song as a non-English speaker, and non British English to boot, was really overwhelming for him. We kept in touch for several months and at one point after finding Graham Parker's own website, my German friend went to look at it himself, sent an email to GP which Graham had personally answered!! =) My friend mentioned how Graham was pleased to have been emailed by a German fan, then GP being a big football player himself, the two of them talked about football teams then Graham had made a standing offer to play a little football with my fellow German GP fan should my friend ever visit England. Having heard him tell me about this conversation with our favorite singer almost make *me* feel like I had met "the man himself", too! Sometimes the Internet can be a wonderful thing! =)

Talking Heads fifth album explored similar material to their masterpiece, the brilliant Remain In Light, but is more influenced by American funk than African pop. This is the first album since 77 without Brian Eno producing and what he added on previous albums, that sense of sonic exploration and density of sound, is sorely missed. As a consequence Speaking in Tongues sounds stripped down, thinner than its amazing predecessor Remain In Light and far less interesting. Speaking In Tongues seems to be a step sideways rather than forwards and though it's enjoyable, it's far from the groundbreaking music I'd come to expect from the Heads. There are some very good songs on Speaking In Tongues such as Girlfriend Is Better, or This Must Be The Place, but many of the songs seem half baked, and when compared to Remain In Light sound like demo tracks. You can blame Eno's absence, his production and musicianship might have pushed Talking Heads over the edge into more creative territory. But the fault lies primarily with the songs themselves: that wacky spark of originality usually found in their music is largely missing. The material simply doesn't measure up to the high standards previously set by Talking Heads, neither musically, nor lyrically. Speaking In Tongues is actually a fun listen, but for me was a letdown. The band seem content to merely entertain rather than innovate, with the consequence being that Speaking In Tongues was the first Talking Heads recording that could be considered almost ordinary.

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DUAL DISC WITH SOME EXTRA TRACKS.
HOPEFULLY IT HAS BETTER SOUND.

Released in 1983, this is the Talking Heads' fifth studio album. It came after three years after Remain In Light. In those days, 3 years between albums was a long time. In the sixties some groups released a couple of albums a year. If they didn't you wondered what happened to them. Now, groups go up to a decade between album releases.

The sound quality on the original CD is OK but not excellent. It is a little bit muddled and not as sharp as it should be, especially considering the musical style the band used at the time. There is new version out, on a dual disc. One side is a normal CD and the other is an audio DVD. There are some extra tracks on this.

This might be the Talking Heads best album, if it didn't all sound the same and eventually get stale and boring. I think if they had left out Pull Up the Roots, the album would have been near perfect. Pull Up The Roots just drones on with a disco beat. It almost sounds like one of those extended mixes created just for discos.

Otherwise, this CD is just filled full of great songs and real classics: Buring Down the House, Girlfriend Is Better and Swamp. When I first heard Swamp, I had no idea who it was.

This album is the basis for much of the live CD/DVD, Stop Making Sense. I think that many of the songs are even better on this live album.

If you like this album, than you should check out the early Tom Tom Club albums, especially Dark, Sneak, Love Action. Tom Tom Club is spin off band featuring Franz and Weymouth.

Like many others, I believe the Stop Making Sense concert video is the ultimate Talking Heads moment. But in terms of studio albums, Speaking in Tongues is their best.
1. Burning Down the House: 10/10. A classic, my favorite Talking Heads song. Ominous synth, fine lyrics, highly danceable, and nice use of African rhythm. Who can resist?
2. Making Flippy Floppy: 8.5/10. The Talking Heads at their best: Paranoid, danceable and synth-driven. Especially noteable are the Eastern-y synth lines in the instrumental break.
3. Girlfriend Is Better: 10/10. David Byrne's disjointed narrative, set to an irresistably funky bat, never gets old. "Stop making sense! Stop making sense!" is practically the group's battle cry.
4. Slippery People: 10/10. Another one of the album's high points, similar to the previous three songs (not like that's bad, of course) but still it's own song. And if you aren't dancing like a fool by now, I don't know who you think you are.
5. I Get Wild/Wild Gravity: 7/10. Good song, but never was a favorite of mine. Sort of Talking-Heads-By-Numbers.
6. Swamp: 10/10. A menacing, bluesy tune with great antiwar lyrics and perfect delivery.
7. Moon Rocks: 7.5/10. See I Get Wild/Wild Gravity.
8. Pull Up the Roots: 7/10. Used to love this one, but now I don't as much. Weakest songo n the album.
9. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody): 8.5/10. Damn, does the title suit it well or what? Though it's a bit too naive (on purpose, I understand) to be Talking Heads, I still like it.
Speaking In Tongues is one of the better Talking Heads albums, though I'd also recommend Songs About Buildings and Food and Stop Making Sense. (Keep in mind that I haven't heard Fear of Music or Remain in Light)

It's a fun little album. I enjoy all of the songs there, and actually like The B-52's version of "Downtown" better than anyone else's.

Their 1979 absolute must-have (or least borrow it first)eponymous debut effort. A new wave classic. I, personally remember when this lp first hit the stores. Something like six months later, ALREADY vinyl bootlegs were obtainable. Let's face it, at THAT time the music scene was in need of several changes. Totally dug about every track on this CD reissue, such as "52 Girls", the awesome "Dance This Mess Around", their smash hit "Rock Lobster" (ironically, my LEAST favorite cut on this disc), "Lava", "Hero Worship" and their version of "Downtown". Highly recommended.

The B-52s are my favorite old-time band! Super bouncy and fun, with that weird double-throwback thing going on. Whenever I feel like a trip to the 60's via the 80's I pop on the B-52s, and this first album is their best! Let's hear it for girl singers, ironic commentary, and guitars!

I would say that this is the closest that Cheap Trick ever got to making a perfect album. There are only two songs on here that I'm not one hundred percent crazy about...the slow and gloomy depressing title track and ' On the Radio ', which I think kisses up to radio D.J.'s too much. I love the rest of this.

This album was my introduction to Cheap Trick and I would definitely recommend it to anybody as introduction to them. ' Surrender ' is an out and out classic and possibly my favorite Cheap Trick song of all time. Like most of the rest of the album, it's heavy, it's catchy, has great singing and interesting lyrics, and it says all it has to say in three to five minutes. ' Auf Weidersehen ' is another favorite tune of mine...it may be one of the heaviest tunes C.T. has ever done. I particularly love Bun E.'s energetic drumming on it. Zander really rips his vocal chords to shreads on this tune! Another great hard rocker is 'Stiff Competition'.

Of the more pop oriented songs, I would say ' Taking Me Back ' is another personal favorite of mine. Probably should have been a hit, dang it! ' How Are You ' shows off the band's terrific sense of humor...I particularly like the reference to one of their earlier songs! The other tunes from the first half that I didn't mention are also terrific, particularly ' On Top Of The World '.

My only complaint about this newly remastered version is that it doesn't include the lyrics, which WERE included on the original LP version. That is but a minor complaint. I don't think Cheap Trick ever made another album quite as great as this one.

I got into classic rock little over a year ago. Before that, I was soley and one hundred percent a country fan. I was scared off easily by harder music, which looking back on is strange because other than classic rock, my favorite music is metal.

I have to admit, when my dad said 'Cheap Trick are great' for the first time, I didn't now what to think. I was at a CD store, and my father was holding a CD in my face. It looked like two guys with funky hair to me, nothing special. I'd seen that a thousand times before.

But I did trust my father's judgement, and only a few moments later I was leaving the store with a bag of CD's in my hand, Cheap Trick's Heaven Tonight on top.

We popped it in the CD player of his truck and turned the volume up all the way. The first time I heard the title track I got chills. It was an amazing song, and the spooky, chill-inducing sound of 'you can never come down, you can never come down' sticks with you long after the song is over.

I must have listened to the album one thousand times over since then. It is a true must have for any fan of classic rock music. Cheap Trick's finest moment, and the album that got me hooked to their sound.

'Surrender' yourself to this one, you won't regret it.

My own reviews of Cheap Trick albums written already, I'd give each 2 stars. They were poorly written, and didn't even delve into the importance of the band's output from 1976 to 1979. I'd rewrite my reviews of Cheap Trick / In Color/ and Dream Police, if I thought you'd read them. But it was in my early days of Amazon, so verbosity wasn't adhered to, and I just tried to ''sum it up''.

What I've realised about particular bands I listened to constantly, growing up in America, was that I always had a favourite band member. No matter how good the band was together, there was always a person who stood out to me as ''on their own, they're just as good''. And maybe I don't listen to KISS the same way I used to, but I still feel Ace Frehley was their saving grace. I may not believe The Beatles were ''all that'', but George Harrison still remains my one of the very few in the category musical ''hero''. Queen's Roger Taylor issued solo albums, and I have each one of them, but not a solo album by any of the others. And so on and so on. Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. Colin Moulding of XTC. Glenn Hughes in Deep Purple. There's always someone who stands out to me in a group.

Except for Cheap Trick.

It's the one band I know I listened to religiously between 1977 and 1984, that I did not have a favourite member of the band. And that must say something. It must say, that no one stood out over anyone else in this band, that they were all equals in some way some how. Without Zander singing Nielsen's ''power-pop'' it wouldn't be the same. Without Petersson's revolutionary use of the 8 & 12 string Bass, Cheap Trick would not have sounded as individual & unique as they did. And without Bun E. Carlos, they just wouldn't have had as great a drummer. It seemed all for one, and one for all in Cheap Trick, and it's the one band I can remember I did not say, ''yeah they're great, but Zander 'makes' that band.'' Not once.

So applauds to Cheap Trick for achieving the status of a 'true band'. With no one standing out over anyone else, and solidarity and unity present, even with a prolific main songwriter at the helm (Rick Nielsen).

Much debate hangs around the production techniques of Tom Werman as opposed to Jack Douglas. My main debate tends to linger around why a producer such as George Martin could give the band its first reasonable failure after such a high degree of rising success (All Shook Up). Maybe it's because the comparison to The Beatles is always brought up in accordance with Cheap Trick. But I believe that if you look more towards The Move and Electric Light Orchestra is where you'll find more influence hanging around Cheap Trick's way of doing things. Particularly late period albums by The Move, where there is definitely a way Zander & Nielsen do things that are highly reminiscent of the Wood & Lynne way of doing things. Listen closely to songs like 'Brontosaurus', 'Hello Susie', and, of course, 'California Man'. You'll find more Cheap Trick here than on ''The Beatles'' or ''Abbey Road''.

So Jack Douglas may have captured Cheap Trick's rawness, which Budokan's success said was the way to go, and Werman captured Nielsen's Pop Rock talents and gave them a ''sheen'', which was not a bad way to go either. It showed both sides of where Cheap Trick could sit on that fence, much like their album covers represented 2 sides of the band. And I played 'In Color' no more or no less than I did their 1st album. You can't resist songs like ''Oh Caroline'' and why would you? Nor would you want to avoid songs like 'Taxman Mr. Thief'' because they weren't as shined up.

And with Heaven Tonight, you get a little bit of both. There are definitely songs here that fit well on to the 1st album, and some of them were written that far back, so much was Nielsen's arsenal of songs in reserve. And it was a good thing that ''Surrender'' was held back, to enjoy the success Budokan would give it. It might have gone unsung if placed on the 1st album, which no one seemed to know about. And there are moments of ''pop bliss'', like the title track, which showed where Cheap Trick took finesse and where they went with it.

And overall this is a great album, with songs one after the other showing how good a band Cheap Trick is, no matter who's recording them. No filler whatsoever. Pop catchiness in ''On The Radio'', satirical remarks on society in ''Surrender'', the nastiness of "Auf Wiedersehen." The all-out rock of ''Stiff Competition'' and the power pop dregs of society aimed ''High Roller''. It all turns into a brilliant album, and what would have happened to Cheap Trick had Budokan not broke them through is anyone's guess. Something had to give, but for a band to put out three seminal albums in 2 years is pretty remarkable. Especially albums that have shown huge influence on American ''rock''. Cheap Trick's first 4 albums hardly sound dated, and with the current trends in 'alternative' rock, they don't sound like they're out of keeping either. The first 4 Cheap Trick albums are pretty much timeless. Highly recommended, you will not be disappointed.

Maybe Petersson's my favouriter member of the band. Nah. They're all great.