CHEAP TRICK: ROCKFORD (2006)
1) Welcome To The World; 2)
Perfect Stranger; 3) If It Takes A Lifetime; 4) Come On Come On Come On; 5) O
Claire; 6) This Time You Got It; 7) Give It Away; 8) One More; 9) Every Night
And Every Day; 10) Dream The Night Away; 11) All Those Years; 12) Decaf.
Finally, Cheap Trick score one with critics and
veteran fans alike. Returning to their home base to write and produce their
next album, they simply decided to cut the crap and give the people what they
want — an «authentic», no-frills, classic-style power-pop Cheap Trick album,
all balls and energy and catchy anthemic choruses and raw distorted guitars and
even an album cover that pictures all four band members just the way they are
supposed to be, smartly disguised through a cartoon perspective that
successfully hides their age from inquisitive minds.
Everybody fell for this: where critical
reception for Special One was
lukewarm at best, Rockford was
hailed as a true return to form — and it does not take long to see why, because
upon first listen, it really sounds like the good old Trick has returned, and
that long, strange, embarrassing trip they'd been on since 1980 is finally
over. The album truly bursts with energy, as most of the songs are taken at
moderately fast tempos, and all four band members, despite any potential age
issues, sound just as youthful and enthusiastic as if it were 1977 all over
again. The production is excellent — just the right balance of sound between
guitars and vocals, and Bun E. Carlos' mule-kicking drumming is completely free
of any distracting post-production effects (granted, neither did we have any
problems with the production on Special
One). And, like most veterans, they have that elusive «authenticity bonus»
— unlike the youngsters of today, they can allow themselves the luxury of
keeping it simple, idealistic, and Beatle-copping, and feeling all happy and
glowing about it rather than embarrassed.
And yet, as much as I actually enjoy listening
to these twelve songs (and I do, really), I would have to insist that, in terms
of the general curve, Rockford is a
serious slide down in substance, if
not superficial quality, after the modest comeback of Cheap Trick '97 and even Special
One. The reason is simple: neither of those two records felt like a
conscious effort to go back to being the Cheap Trick of '77. What they did was
try to make things right by returning
the music to those styles and values that justify Cheap Trick's existence — but
the first one of those also made allowances for the band's age, sounding a bit
more mature and introspective than usual, and the second one at least tried to
branch out a bit, experimenting with moods and textures on ʽPop Droneʼ, ʽSorry
Boyʼ, ʽBest Friendʼ, and yes, even the ʽLow Lifeʼ joke.
More precisely, Rockford suffers from two pervasive (and somewhat connected)
problems. First, the music is downright lazy.
We may enjoy the kick-ass energy all we want, but is there even a single
classy, original guitar riff from Nielsen? 90% of the time he is relying on
simplistic guitar patterns, each and every one of which has probably already
been used up dozens of times by power-pop and punk-pop bands around the world. I
think that the only guitar melody on the entire album that got my ears perked
up was the funny funky weave on ʽOne Moreʼ, which reminded me a little bit of
the various ways these guys used to fool around in the past (especially on
tracks like ʽGonna Raise Hellʼ). Everything else had a cool sound, but lacked
memorability.
Second, there's just too much emphasis on the
«having a good time» vibe. Classic Cheap Trick could turn into wild (but
benevolent) party animals and rock'n'roll shamans at a moment's notice, but they
also had that adventurous, cynical, dangerous side to them — the edgy side that
produced such classics as ʽBallad Of TV Violenceʼ, ʽHeaven Tonightʼ, ʽYou're
All Talkʼ, ʽGonna Raise Hellʼ, etc. The Cheap Trick of Rockford, in comparison, is a big, burly, friendly beast that can
smother you in a well-meaning hug, but is incapable of trampling you under its
hooves. The above-mentioned ʽOne Moreʼ is the only thing on the album that spices it up with a little aggressive
negativity, but even that one is disappointing — first it cons you into
thinking that Zander is going to throw one of his classic tempers, impersonating
a "gonna raise hell" type of a guy, but then it merely turns into a
timid variation on the subject of ʽI Can't Get No Satisfactionʼ (subject-wise,
not musical). Everything else, song after song after song, is imbued with the
optimistic spirit — which would be fine if the songs were at least easily
distinguishable from each other in terms of melody, but no. Half of these tunes
begin and I'm all like, "Wait, you just sang about that in your previous number, do you think I was dumb
enough to not get it the first time?"
It does not help life much that there are
numerous intentional self-references here, along with unintentional rip-offs
of their own and others' musical moves. ʽWelcome To The Worldʼ was described
by Nielsen as an update of the message and structure of ʽHello Thereʼ (except
that it replaces the funny irony of ʽHello Thereʼ with a much more
straightforward and optimistic greeting), but it also cops a part of the ʽDream
Policeʼ solo. ʽCome On Come On Come Onʼ clearly references ʽCome On Come Onʼ
(now you will spend the rest of your life trying not to confuse the two), but
its chorus lacks the call-and-response excitement and aching yearning of the
classic oldie. ʽO Claireʼ is a Lennon-style ballad with some delicious
falsettos in the chorus, and it has nothing to do with the self-mocking ʽOh
Claireʼ joke of Heaven Tonight, but,
naturally, the title was intended to look as if they'd finally gotten around to
turn that one into a real song. (And
now they've also loaded you with the responsibility of remembering the
difference between ʽOh Claireʼ and ʽO Claireʼ — they could have at least
come up with another C-name).
Speaking of titles in general, they are really running out of imagination:
anybody who has four songs in a row titled ʽGive It Awayʼ, ʽOne More Dayʼ,
ʽEvery Night And Every Dayʼ, ʽDream The Night Awayʼ should
probably be forced to memorize Ulysses
in its entirety as adequate punishment. And they hunt for Beatles-related
inspiration so avidly that eventually they do not even notice themselves that
they begin sounding like Jeff Lynne's ELO instead — the "lonely lonely
lonely lonely night" bit on ʽAll Those Yearsʼ, for instance. (For that
matter, the "it could happen to you, it could happen to you" bit on
ʽDecafʼ is exactly the same as it is on Paul McCartney's ʽTo Youʼ from Back To The Egg, but let's chalk this
one up to coincidence).
Cutting a long story short, Rockford is superficially enjoyable —
you can headbang to it, you can sing along to it, you can even try to forget
how derivative and forced it is if you are a big, big fan of the band — and
despite all the harsh criticism, I still give it a thumbs up because relatively well
done nostalgia for a great past is still better than a poorly done, embarrassing
attempt at harnessing a progressive future. But this is precisely what it is:
an age-defying attempt to bring back a 1977, polished and updated for a 2006. I
will never be the biggest fan of that, and would not advise anybody to
frantically search for a justification of why Rockford is «simply a little different» from In Color. It is
different, and not in a satisfactory manner.
Thank you. This is a pleasant album, but the idea that it's any kind of comeback insults the band.
ReplyDeleteWell Put ..... I wondered why I stopped listening to Rockford soon after the initial giddy 'comeback'rush. This one DOES seem to be a calculated derivation of past glories.
ReplyDeleteYou now have me re-evaluating Special One (PS: agree with your appraisal of 'Hummer' ..... always found this track a guilty pleasure, yet SO addictive)
(subtle plug: THE CHURCH please :-)