Customer Reviews

Cheap Trick - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm glad this came out with a reorganized sequence, because Cheap Trick's cover of "Magical Mystery Tour" is one of the worst songs they have ever recorded. By bumping it to the close of this CD where you can just hit eject and pass it by, you're better off. Using a live version of "Clock Strikes Ten" gives you a much better opening idea to what Cheap Trick, in their heyday, was really about. Loud fast fun!

It's also a sweet victory for Cheap Trick that their late 80's comeback material holds up pretty well next to their classics from the 70's. "Tonight It's You" should have been the hit, instead of the band having to hire songwriters to get "The Flame" for. We must also not forget the obvious...any album that contains the amazing "Surrender" and "I Want You To Want Me" is worth owning.

ON THE OTHER HAND: The "Authorized Greatest Hits" contains a couple other strong selections ("Walk Away" and "Stop This Game" most notably). The main reason I would suggest having THIS version of the greatest hits is for the studio version of "The Flame." ("Authorized Greatest Hits" substitutes it with a live version.) Otherwise I'd wholeheartedly recommend passing on this version for "A.G.H."

Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard often goes on about how much he loves Cheap Trick and has been influenced by them. Then, when I saw the video for the Dream Police, I was pleasantly bugged out by the funky images and the awesome guitar work- very imaginative and rocked like hell.

So, the other day, I was able to get this particular version of their greatest hits for a low price... And this is a terrific starter album. The regular albums are probably sequenced better.

It sounds like a pretty mixed bag- no chronological order, which I prefer anyhow. The live tracks are terrific- these guys could make "My Little Buttercup" sound like total rocker, and they're very creative. The old-school studio tracks (first released when I was born) like Dream Police, Surrender, and Voices still sound fresh and exciting- there is no such thing as "over the top" in rock n' roll!

As for the latter-day ballads...well, that's a matter of taste. I used to not like hair metal ballad stuff when I was growing up in the 80's. The market was really flooded with it and I just couldn't relate to the majority of it. Now that I'm a little older, I enjoy it as a bit of a kitchy thrill and the Cheap Trick tracks of this nature are better than most.

It's a pretty inexpensive disc so, while you're shopping, you may as well pick this up- cheap, of course (they wouldn't have it any other way).

Cheap Trick always seemed like three bands rolled up into one, and most of their career has been spent trying to find a balance between the different styles. You have your Beatlesque power pop tunes, which brought the band deserved hits in the 70's and a place in the heart of indie rockers from Nirvana to Guided by Voices. You have the 80's AOR years, filled with ballads that are musically pleasing with great choruses but artistically less interesting, and often heavily produced. And finally, you have the side of the band that was capable of cranking out menacing rockers with dark lyrics such as "Auf Wiedersehen" and "I'm Not The Only Boy".

While the third side of Cheap Trick is pretty much ignored here, the first two are covered pretty well. There's a decent cover of "Magical Mystery Tour" here, though it seems like the boys are rocking by rote rather than adding anything new to the song. All of the big hits are here, including the two songs that guaranteed Cheap Trick their place in the classic rock pantheon - "Surrender" and "I Want You To Want Me".

If you're looking for a disc that captures Cheap Trick as you heard them on the radio, this is a good single-disc encapsulation of their biggest hits. But if you really want to find out what Cheap Trick was all about, and still get most of their big hits, splurge for all five of their first records - Cheap Trick (self-titled), In Color, Heaven Tonight, At Budokan, and Dream Police. While Dream Police is the weakest of the bunch, all of these albums are absolute classics and really cover ALL sides of Cheap Trick - one of the most misunderstood bands of all time.

This fine collection of hits from one of the hottest bands of the late 70's and 80's has something for everyone. Included are the rock-n-roll staples "Surrender", "Dream Police", and the live version of "I Want You to Want Me". All of these great songs feature Robin Zander's fine vocals, Bun E. Carlos' thundering drums, and Rick Nielsen's screaming lead guitar. For those of you who like ballads, there are two excellent ones included in this collection; "The Flame" and "Tonight its You". The disc is rounded out with other Cheap Trick greats including "She's Tight" and "Magical Mystery Tour".

This band originated in a town only 30 miles from where I live, so I've followed them very closely over the years, and this cd has remained one of my favorites. It is perfect for the "casual" Cheap Trick fan who doesn't want to buy each one of their albums just to get their favorite songs. This great cd has all of their greatest hits, so just pop it in the cd player, sit back, and enjoy some GREAT rock and roll!

I agree with most of the reviews here. Cheap Trick- Greatest Hits gives you most of their chart hits but doesn't give you their best stuff. The fact that there are no studio tracks from either of their first two (and best albums) underlines the problem with this collection. To be fair, there is still a lot to love here. You have the excellent "Voices" and the awesome title track from Dream Police. You have their signature track in "Surrender" along with the two big singles from At Budokan ("I Want You to Want Me" and "Ain't That a Shame"). You also have some golden nuggets from their inconsistent `80s albums, most notably "Tonight It's You", "She's Tight", and "I Can't Take It." Then you get "The Flame", "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love", and their mediocre version of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel." Big hits? Yes. Their best songs? Not even close. To top it off, you have the unnecessary cover of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour." Your best bet? Pay an extra 6 bucks and pick up The Essential Cheap Trick which gives you a generous portion of their great early stuff (the first four albums) as well as the aforementioned nuggets and even the schmaltzy big hits.

This basic collection is good no doubt, but as always it's what's missing that's the problem. The biggest hits are here, but where is "Southern Girls", "Ghost Town", "Mandocello", theme from "That 70's Show", and countless others? In short, if you're looking for a single disc collection I suggest "Authorized Greatest Hits" which is longer and better. There's also the 2-disc "Essential" collection if you really need a healthy dose. Either of those should do the "trick".

I've already worn out one copy of this CD so just HAD to get it again! One thing: there is an extra song on this one which isn't all that great, but at least all the others are still there!!

All their best songs and a few I had forgotten they sang. Definitely a great addition to my MP3 library of songs.

I saw them once in concert as they were the opening-act for Heart. These guys were great!!! Love their style of rock n roll! Some of my personal favorites are: Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love, The Flame, Voices, and I Want You To Want Me. They're all on this CD! I really like their sound of music. It's a more modern rock n' roll sound with some is fast, loud and wild, while other songs are slow and romantic like "The Flame". This CD is in my collection and I won't ever sell it or give it away! Enjoy the music while you can!

Cheap Trick was one of the finest rock bands of the late 70s. However, their best material is omitted on this CD and the greatest sin of all is that there is not one song pulled from their phenomenal, yet under recognized debut. Skip this CD and fork out the extra cash to buy either all of their first five albums or a compilation that presents Cheap Trick as they truly were in their golden years, prior to the embarrassing 80s tripe; you will not be disappointed.