So here's a funny co-incidence:
A couple of weeks ago I bought a nice gently used 70's issue of Cheap Trick's live At Budokan album on vinyl. The very next week, I learned of the announcement that the band would be coming to my city in the fall. Unfortunately, they are only playing support act to... Rod Stewart?! Nah, I'll give it a pass. I was never a Rod fan, and he is WELL past his prime. Plus the steep ticket prices scare me off what would be a very short Cheap Trick set, probably less than an hour. What a weird pairing, though, eh?
As for that record, it's in really nice condition and plays like it's brand new. It's the only live album I know I'll listen to (not a live recording fan normally), so it was worth grabbing to complete my early-era Trick vinyl collection. A very reasonable price, too. In a live context, the band really heavies up classics like Look Out, Come On Come On, Surrender, and I Want You To Want Me, and I love the CT hard rock treatment of Ain't That a Shame... its extended intro with guitar and drum solos stands alone in history for me. I also have a thing for the dark and heavy vibe of Need Your Love, which would arrive a bit later on the Dream Police studio album.
After spinning and thoroughly enjoying that LP, I remembered that I had two other versions of the album on CD (not to mention another vinyl copy, which is unplayable). The first is At Budokan: The Complete Concert, which includes an assembly of all 19 songs played at two Japan shows. The other edition is Cheap Trick - Budokan!, a 30th Anniversary release. This package is bursting with previously-unreleased material, including a CD of the same setlist on the Complete Concert, bonus tracks from other live performances, and a DVD of 15 songs that were filmed live at those shows for Japanese TV. That live video was what prompted me to jump on that purchase. Live vintage 70's Trick!
It can be a bit confusing with this mangled history of the album. Apparently the original At Budokan was actually an edited down compilation of songs pulled from two different concerts. The Complete Concert contains one version of every song they played at those shows, where setlists varied slightly. Then the live video was a selection of those songs. Whew.
Now...
Something has struck me lately, and it is that Cheap Trick, 1970's rock superstars, have never completely left the public consciousness. They reached their peak in the late 70's with their live At Budokan and studio Dream Police albums. After that, there was sporadic success with hit singles (like The Flame in '88), but they weren't on the tip of everyone's tongue any longer. And even though I was a huge fan up until Dream Police or maybe even All Shook Up (1980), I lost interest in following the band any longer. I was moving on to heavier, proggier music while keeping the classic-era Rick and Company music close to my heart.
Cheap Trick never stopped touring and recording, though. They have, according to Wikipedia, played more than 5,000 concerts, released over 20 albums, and sold more than 20 million units over the course of their career. And still going.
It's interesting though how I've noticed a nod to this seminal "cult" band in a couple of movies and a TV show I saw recently. I'm certain there are many more references to the Trick in film (Top Gun, Heavy Metal, and so on), but just within the past couple of weeks, I noted some neat ones. I watched, for the first time, 10 Things I Hate About You, a 1999 teen comedy which is okay but nothing to write home about. The final scene and credits were backed by a cover version of I Want You To Want Me by indie band Letters To Cleo (never heard of them before). We actually see the band playing the song high up on a rooftop. Cool to see this, with a decent instrumental interpretation, though the vocals were kind of touch-and-go.
Then in episode 8 of the 2020 TV series High Fidelity (cancelled, sadly), we are treated to that exact same song - I Want You To Want Me, as part of the soundtrack, as played by Cheap Trick. And then there's the Simon character in the show, who is frequently wearing the same Trick T-shirt. A pretty good re-interpretation of the story (the book and the original movie adaptation).
Another recent Cheap Trick sighting was in the 2009 movie Bandslam, a pleasantly fun teen music flick. That same song, a popular one of course, shows up in an early scene. The kid who shows up to hear the teen band play for the first time gets to hear a super rough version of the tune. The girl has a pretty good singing voice but it doesn't really suit the song all that well. And sloppy guitar. Still, neat seeing this modern-day nod to one of my favourite all-time bands.
Though my affection for the band is rooted far in the past, a warm nostalgic feeling sweeps over me when I see acknowledgement of Rick and boys. Well.... back to Budokan.
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For more on Cheap Trick, check these posts:
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