Album Review: “Bang, Zoom, Crazy, Hello” by Cheap Trick
As a teenager, I used to listen to Cheap Trick and rock out to “I Want You To Want Me” and “Dream Police,” and I tried to get to a concert to see them live. I wasn’t able to do that until about 2001, when they toured with Aerosmith. Yeah, I was older, but it was still a thrill to see and hear them live. Recently, the seventeenth studio album by the group was released, and I have to admit that I feel like a kid all over again!
“Bang, Zoom, Crazy, Hello” was released by Big Machine Records on April 1, and no joke, this album is crazy good! The release was just a few days before the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame on April 8 and is also the first album on which drummer Bun E. Carlos is not featured. The new drummer is Daxx Nielson (son of lead guitarist Rick Neilson), although Carlos is still listed as a band member. The second single, “When I Wake Up Tomorrow,” is already scoring big with most other music reviewers, and it has me hooked, too.
At first listen, “When I Wake Up Tomorrow” doesn’t sound that much different from their other slower rock songs until lead singer Robin Zander starts singing. Suddenly, I thought had hit a wrong selection and had to double-check myself. I actually thought I was listening to a David Bowie song! The whole vibe and sound of this song has a very Bowie-esque feel to it. The guitar playing is light and steady, and drumming is not overpowering. This, I think, will appeal to older and newer fans of the group.
The only song not written by the group on this album is “The In Crowd.” This is a cover of the 1964 song written by Billy Page, recorded as a Motown song by Dobie Gray. Cheap Trick’s cover has edgier guitar riffs. This may become a new classic for a younger crowd.
The lead single release, “No Direction Home” is upbeat and sounds like it could have been one of their earlier hits. I can hear Rick Neilsen’s backing vocals clearly, and the guitar is more playful in this song. Personally, I think this should have been the second release, not the first.
“Do You Believe Me” and “Long Time No See Ya” have an almost angry sound to them. The guitar is very hard, and the drumming is louder. “The Sun Never Sets” has a kind of retro ’70s rock sound. The vocal harmonies have a sound that makes you almost think this could have been a Beatles song, but the arrangement is pretty different. “Sing My Blues Away” also has a retro feel to it. It sounds like it could have been one of the band’s earlier songs from the late ’70s. Again, this song has those nice, smooth harmonies on the backing vocals that I really love hearing.
“Bang, Zoom, Crazy, Hello” took too long to produce. But now that it’s here, I am hoping to see this become as huge a hit for the band as their “Budokan” and “Dream Police” albums were. Welcome back to mainstream rock and roll, Cheap Trick, and please stay around a while!
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*Nielsen
Long Live Cheap Trick…If you don`t like pure, straight up Rock and Roll, you`re too old.
These guys didn`t die young and that`s the point. Work hard, stay true to your craft, support your business and enter the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.
Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello! What a fun collection of songs. Enjoy the sounds of success for what they are…nothing more.