CHEAP TRICK: DREAM POLICE (1979)
1) Dream Police; 2) Way Of The
World; 3) The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems); 4) Gonna Raise Hell;
5) I'll Be With You Tonight; 6) Voices; 7) Writing On The Wall; 8) I Know What
I Want; 9) Need Your Love.
Apparently, The Holy Trinity of classic Cheap
Trick albums was meant to be a quaternity, but the unexpected success of Budokan led to the label delaying the
release of the fourth studio album, and now it always gives off the impression
of a «transition» between classic Trick and broken down Trick. It does have its
own flavor, of course — namely, the addition of loud keyboards and strings that
puts it more in line with mainstream arena-rock and dance-pop of that period —
yet essentially, Dream Police still
gives us the Trick we have grown to love, just the way they are: loud,
reckless, humorous, sarcastic, and generally hooky.
So it may be a bit of a step down: there's
nothing here that gets under your skin the way ʽHeaven Tonightʼ gets under it,
and there is no blatantly successful generational anthem like ʽSurrenderʼ — the
closest thing to a generational anthem would probably be the title track, which
went on to become the band's last commonly recognized classic hit.
Stylistically, it sounds not unlike Alice Cooper circa Billion Dollar Babies, a gruesome Orwellian nightmare story with
Zander pulling a paranoid type to the best of his ability (I do have to say
that he does much better when impersonating homicidal maniacs) and perfect
climactic bits from Nielsen's synthesized strings. It's lots of theatrical fun,
to be sure, but not really on the level of the band's top pieces — you don't
get to feel true paranoia here, more
like a funny caricature of it.
On the other hand, this is a pretty caricaturesque album in general, and I'll certainly
take the joking nature of it over the band's Eighties' «seriousness» any time
of day. And sometimes the goofiness really pays off well — ʽThe House Is
Rockin'ʼ plays out like a straightforward headbanging rock'n'roller alright,
until you remember the subtitle ʽ(With Domestic Problems)ʼ and understand that the
song actually impersonates being pissed-off at the breakdown of a family
relationship. Alternating between hilarity in the chorus ("oh boy, oh
boy") and moments of seemingly real anger (exacerbated every time Nielsen
takes to soloing — it's not every day that he gets to being that batshit crazy on his solos, and if
the studio version is not enough for you, there's an early live version
appended to the CD reissue where he's even crazier), it's one of their greatest
pure glam-rock songs, with the entire band at its tightest (Bun E. Carlos gets
a special medal of honor for keeping that complex beat throughout,
unflinching), angriest and funniest at the same time.
Other times, the goofiness takes some getting
used to: ʽI Know What I Wantʼ used to irritate the crap of me before I
understood that they gave it to Tom Petersson to sing for a reason — there was
no way Zander could have sung it in such
a dorky manner. Clearly, it's a parody
of a cheap arena-rocker, performed in such a way that it should be impossible
to take the lead singer seriously as he wheezes his way through "it was
love at first sight, when I looked in your eyes, I was blinded by the feelings
in my heart..." like Don Kirshner with a clothespin around his nose. Of
course, then the joke eventually wears thin, and unless you have new neighbors
to irritate, you probably won't want to be enjoying it forever and ever.
The actual «progression» on the album comes in
the form of large epics — each of the album's two sides ends with an extended
number, and I'm guessing that this was not due to a lack of new material, but
rather to Nielsen's desire to try and experiment with his guitar playing and
the arrangements in various ways, stretching out like an art-rocker, but
without any exaggerated virtuosity. I must say that it works, both times.
ʽGonna Raise Hellʼ incorporates elements of disco (one more reason why it is so
long — typical of dance-pop numbers of the era), both in terms of rhythm and
orchestration, but Nielsen really shoots in all directions here, with hard rock
riffs, blues licks, funky syncopation, and Beatlesque stretches of melodicity,
and as repetitive as Zander's chorus seems to be, I have to say that few rock
vocalists are capable of bellowing it out with as much conviction as the man
does — you really do get to feel like the overtly patient bartender who'd like
nothing as much as to toss that guy out the door, only he's a little afraid to
do that...
And I do like this version of ʽNeed Your Loveʼ
more than the even longer Budokan
rendition. Zander's vocals, benefiting from the studio mix, sound even more
psychedelic here, whereas the rhythm and lead guitars sound even scarier,
especially as the song kicks into overdrive in the middle, and the whole thing
becomes a pseudo-improvised jam with Nielsen trying out a new riff or solo
every minute, almost like a tribute to a live Who track circa 1970. What is the
song even about? Another psychotic
outburst — the hero torn between maniacal pleading tenderness and a mad killing
spree on which he embarks once the object of his passion has fled his grasp?
Seems like it, in which case Nielsen's extended solo is a shooting spree, and
Zander's final "need... your... love..." are the protagonist's last
words before he puts the last bullet in his own head. There, I think that's all
the enticement you need to go listen to that one again.
Putting it roughly, the album's not that serious, but all the songs are fun
— and I haven't even mentioned the catchy (and sometimes deliciously trippy,
particularly on the "world goes round... world goes round..." bit)
ʽWay Of The Worldʼ, the psychedelic love ballad ʽVoicesʼ and those two other
songs, I think one's poppier and the other's rockier, but both are good. So
perhaps there's just fewer truly outstanding moments, but there can be no
denying that this is still classic Cheap Trick classically doing what they do
best — tossing off pop hooks, rocking their heads off, and putting a witty,
humorous touch on all sorts of everyday situations like there was no tomorrow.
With the fourth studio LP in a row delivering the goods, it's as if they just
couldn't fail, right? No matter what happens? Thumbs up for eternity guaranteed?
Oh boy, if only we could have foreseen what the Eighties would bring... then
again, we'd probably either have to shoot ourselves dead, or everybody else
dead. But then, it might not just have been the Eighties — see, Dream Police was essentially the last
Cheap Trick album that the band made before
they became megastars. And mega-stars, as it happens, no longer belong to
themselves.
I am from their hometown, Rockford, IL, and after their rock and roll hall of fame induction the city put up signs to commemorate: http://www.rrstar.com/storyimage/IR/20160804/NEWS/160809746/AR/0/AR-160809746.jpg&MaxW=500&MaxH=500
ReplyDeleteComically, the city has a crime problem so dream police is fitting. Shortly thereafter though the state declared them illegal and forced them to be taken down.
-Jon