Journalist friend: Did you hear that Sparks' Russell Mael sings on one track on the new Cheap Trick album?
Me: Awesome, which song?
Journalist friend: "You Drive, I'll Steer".
Me: Are you fucking kidding me?
So began the '90s for Cheap Trick and I.
Even so, the day the album came out, I hightailed it from my law firm on LaSalle Street to a nearby Rolling Stone Records location and purchased a copy.
A quick glance at the credits on the el train back to my apartment revealed that the band could have just as easily called the album "Lap Of Luxury 2" as the title they went with instead, Busted.
Opening track "Back N' Blue" opens with some Bic lighter-worthy "Na na na na nana"s before the bottom drops out, slowly building to a chorus that sounds more like a deep cut off the first Enuff Z'Nuff record. Those who were raised in the Chicago burbs may not think there's anything wrong with that, but for this alt. rock leaning city boy, this was a far cry from the Cheap Trick that gave us "Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School", much less "Stiff Competition" or "Dream Police".
While Busted isn't a bad album by any stretch, the album's only real flaw is how comfortable it feels.
From the beginning, the band finds a nice mid-tempo groove and never leaves until the Roy Wood cover at the end of the record, which comes off sounding more like Poison song than one would think Cheap Trick were capable of sounding.
As for "You Drive, I'll Steer", what a wasted opportunity to make great use of Russell Mael's talents. Truth be told, I remain stunned that Mael, a longtime friend of Nielsen's, agreed to lend his vocals to such a sophomoric track.
Speaking of wasted opportunity, what was the big idea roping the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde into singing the hackneyed ballad "Walk Away"?
Among the albums other tracks is the obligatory Diane Warren song, "Wherever Would I Be", which Epic forced upon the band. Hilariously, Sony pulled the same stunt on Henry Lee Summer, who agreed to cover the song not long after Cheap Trick did, but only under the condition that Sony wouldn't release it as a single. This, of course, raises the question: Why record it at all if it wasn't going to be released as a single?
Of course, Cheap Trick released it as their second single, following the inexplicable Top 20 success of the saccharine-drenched "Can't Stop Falling Into Love", and it missed the Top 40.
On a side note, despite the song's chart success, when's the last time you actually heard "Can't Stop Falling Into Love" on the radio? Usually, a Top 20 hit tends to stay in circulation to some extent, but that one seems to have vanished into thin air.
Now onto the album's bright spots: Mick Jones of Foreigner co-wrote "If You Need Me", a tolerable slab of mid-tempo guitar chug that hits the spot on any road trip compilation tape, but isn't exactly a single contender.
"Had To Make You Mine", however, remains one of the best Beatles imitations ever written. How Epic Records didn't jump on that one as first single boggles the mind, as it announces itself quite righteously from the first note and never lets up.
As for the album's title cut, it's nice to see Nielsen's guitar work rise above the ever-present synth pads, but the final product winds up sounding too close to Bob Rock-era Motley Crue for this loather of all things Motley.
What this writer misses most about the band that turned this record into Epic Records is the complete lack of danger and of pushing the lyrical envelope the way they did on "He's A Whore" and "Oh Candy".
Thankfully, the band's live shows remained as potent as a keg of dynamite, as proven by the band's stellar show at Chicago's Hard Rock Cafe to promote this album's release. When Nielsen wasn't hurling profanities and empty beer cups at a Nielsen lookalike positioned within feet of him on a nearby balcony, he was firing off jagged guitar riffs with the same ferocity that won over crowds at the Red Lion and Sunset Bowl before the band ever had a deal.
Sadly, Busted is an album that only someone happily unaware of early Cheap Trick can truly appreciate.
Thankfully, it would bring an end to their tumultuous days at Epic Records.
Catch Part 2 of "Cheap Trick In The 90s" next week!
Tags:
crotch of commercialism