Customer Reviews

One on One/Next Position Please

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

 

 

I am very glad these two are available again. They do complement each other nicely as a combo too. Like many of you, I have spent much $ over the years buying Japanese imports of albums like SOTE and The Doctor, which are not nearly the classics these two are. So although I have the US CD releases of both One on One (Epic EK-38021) and Next Position Please (Epic EK-38794), when I saw that they were newly remastered, I had no hesitation buying them again. The quality of the original mastering leaves much to be desired.

After comparing several tracks on each album with the original CD releases using a couple different pair of good headphones, my conclusion is that the new mastering is indistinguishable from that of the original CD releases. It was often a toss up as to which was better, and in some cases I felt that the original CD sounded superior. So I would give five stars for the music, but deduct a star for the lack of new remastering.

If you're thinking of buying this because you don't have these on CD, then by all means get it. It is a steal at the price for such great music. On the other hand, if you already own these on CD and are considering getting it for the new remastering, then forget it. Stick with what you already have. Plus you won't lose the bonus tracks off Next Position Please which had to be cut to fit both albums on one disc.

And in any case, go yourself a favor and go back and listen to these again real soon! What an amazing collection of such great music these guys have given us over so many years!!!

Although Epic/Sony routinely mistreated Cheap Trick while they were under contract, they have made up for it in recent years by treating the catalog with reverence. "Sex, America, Cheap Trick" is a great box set and the "At Budokan" DVD/CD package was over the top; not to mention the remasters of the first five albums. I was wondering when they would get around to the Jon Brant years and now I find that they have farmed it out to Friday music, who, to my disappointment, have turned out a shabby, disappointing product.

First of all, I hate twofers. Give me the albums individually with extra tracks please. Secondly, let someone who is actually a fan of the band supervise the project. I knew we were in trouble when I read the liner notes under the CD tray and Jon Brant was referred to as "Jon Bryant". Really? They couldn't have had Bun E. do a quick proofread, or just double check on Wiki? This shows me they just don't care.

Next we have the booklet. Two pages of it is advertising for other product, while the art reproduction is barely ahead of bootleg quality. Finally, we have the sound. I can detect no discernible improvement over the original CDs. I am really bummed that Sony doesn't think it worth the effort to upgrade these releases in house. "One on One" is a gold record, and "Next Position Please" is frankly a pop masterpiece.

I will be dumping this edition and sticking with the original CDs and my vinyl copies and I will skip future Friday Cheap Trick Reissues. It is a shame, because only true fans will want these reissues and true fans would pay (...) for quality equal to the first five Sony reissues.

Finally got my CD of the Next Position Please and One On One remasters today and compared it to the old Epic CDs. The differences are subtle but there is a slight improvement. They took out a touch of upper mid and added some low end. It would be difficult to discern the difference if you weren't making direct comparisons though. I appreciate the mastering engineer not running the level up with a limiter though. Kudos for not adding to the loudness war.

I know Vic Anesini (the guy who did all the other CT remasters) did a partial version of Next Position Please for iTunes. The few songs Vic has mastered are still the best. Wish he could've done both of these albums instead of just a couple tunes for various GH comps.

Is the Friday Music remastered CD worth it? Probably not. The songs 'You Talk Too Much' and 'Don't Make Our Love A Crime' have been omitted and the sound really isn't that much of an improvement. Glad these albums are back in print but this one is strictly for techie geeks like me.

3 stars for a missed opportunity.

Just bought this through Amazon. Volume levels are very low. Can't tell any difference from the original releases. The orginal releases Voulume levels seem louder.

Very disappointed! The CD did not have the extra tracks that the CD's have on their own. Good thing I didn't get rid of my original CDs. Even though this is a remastered CD, I rather keep the old ones.

Two terrific, underrated Cheap Trick records from the early 80s, when their star had begun to fade a bit and they undertook an album-by-album process of updating/altering their sound at the behest of record company pressures. These two records are the early entrants in that sequence, and the results are quite strong. Roy Thomas Baker had already shaped the radio-friendly sound of Queen in the 70s and the Cars in the late 70s/early 80s, so it made sense to see if he could buff up CTs sound for AOR radio. The result is "One on One," a loud, clamorous album awash in 80s studio gimmickry, only some of which manages to undermine an excellent set of songs, including two big radio hits, "If You Want My Love" and "She's Tight." The record had a slow start but eventually did quite well. The follow up, "Next Position Please," also makes sense on a conceptual level: hook up CT with Todd Rundgren and see if they can find that sweet spot between Nazz and the Who. "Next Position Please" isn't quite that magical combination: for some reason, the suits at Epic demanded that CT record an overblown cover of the Motors' "Dancing the Night Away"; elsewhere, the sound is thin and sparse. In fact, though, the latter quality makes this one of the most unique sounding albums in their catalogue: its closes analogue is "In Color," even if "Next Position Please" isn't quite as strong, song for song. But it's a humble little winner, this one, and well worth your attention, if you're looking to fill in the gaps. There's been some question raised about the quality of the remastering. I had the original CDs of these records and replaced them years ago with Japanese remasters from 2004: the new release sounds to my ears very comparable to those Japanese releases with less compression and a slightly lower volume. But the tape-hiss heavy deadness of the original late 80s releases is entirely absent here: the recordings sound crisp and detailed and punchy. I might be wrong, but that's my two cents.

I've been looking forward to the reissues of these albums for a while. The previous 5 reissues have been well packaged and sound great.
I'm a tad disappointed that these two albums have been put together. Personally I would have preferred to buy the CD's seperately, with bonus tracks.
The missing songs from NPP, while (I'll be honest) pretty bad, still should be on here - as bonuses. These songs were added in the MP3 release but are left out here. I believe the original track listing from 83 is superior order, but I also like my bonus tracks.
To combine both albums and sell as one was a bit of a cop out. Sure, Sony will say that you're getting two for the price of one but that's not what true CT fans want. We want the albums in the same format as the previous 5 re-releases. Remastered, repacaked and lots of bonus tracks - not just live stuff either!!
Many CT fans won't buy these on the remastering quality alone. The remastering isn't that great. Certainly not huge improvement. It certainly doesnt make these a must buy

At least we can now buy them again I guess. I'm disappointed though. There are so many non album tracks from the 80's (that wern't on Sex, America CT) that will now not get a re-release.

Plans are to do the remaining 4 Epic CD's in the same format. LoL and Busted won't fit on one CD so not sure what they'll do there. One can only hope they change their minds.

Music-wise: 4.8/5 for Next Position Please (3D is quite bad), 4/5 for OoO (One on One and Oo La La La are terrible)
NPP is their best 80's album - full of hooks. One on One was heavier but not as solid. These albums couldn't be further in style from their 70's efforts but are charming in their own 80's way.

The title for this review says it all.The way these records struck me in the 80's stands today.They both are so underrated,and were out of print for far too long.I cannot speak for the remaster work,here,fine to my ears,but it has been so long since I have owned these recordings,and I missed them terribly.I have been temmpted a couple of times to pay upwards of 70.00 to have these recordings before this reissue.To me,this is the most underrated and underappreciated band in rock history,and by far,the greatest snub ever,associated with the rock hall of fame.The hall should be ashamed.
I wont go song by song like some reviews.These titles make sense together,and are incredible back to back in one listen.Thanks for filling in Jon Brant.Robin Zander has got to be in the top couple,versatile and amazing lead singer.Rick and Bun E. are in top form as well.Buy it!

As much as I prefer Cheap Trick with Jon
B. Brant (for Pres. '12) on bass to Mr.
heavy-fingers (ten-left-thumbs), there
are two original Next Position Please
'bonus' cuts missing from the long over-
due remaster double disc. Jon joined late
in the proceedings for One on One and his
bass in only on Saturday At Midnight, If
You want my Love and She's Tight. He's also
in the vid clips. Rick handled the bass on
the other 8 One On One cuts, pretty well
though. Jon's best bass work was probably
on Standing on the Edge and The Doctor,
which should also be released soon as a
double disk...that's the one I am really
waiting for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!