Great essay! Don’t know that I saw a T-Rex/glam reference, which I think was also a large influence, especially on their first album. They’re quirky, and fairly versatile, but yes, I think power pop is their core.
Thanks, man! It was fun putting this one together, especially because it allowed me to revisit many amazing Cheap Trick songs. And, of course, because I got to talk about a great band with some of my favorite music writers.
I remember being a preteen kid living in rural northern Minnesota and picking up a signal from WLS (Chicago) on my transistor radio late one night. It was the first time I'd ever heard Cheap Trick, and the song was "Dream Police". Well, it blew my little Rock and Roll mind, and I scrambled to scrape up enough money to buy that album (as well as Budokan and Heaven Tonight) on 8-track. Since that fateful but wonderful night, Cheap Trick has always been my favorite band. I've gone along with others calling them a Power Pop band, but honestly, I think they are a straight-up Rock band with some "Power Poppy" songs.
Thanks for checking it out and for sharing your Cheap Trick discovery story. And, most importantly, thanks for agreeing with my little pet theory... 🤩. If you're gonna have a lifelong favorite band, you could do way worse than Cheap Trick!
I re-listened to "Dream Police" while putting this essay together and it still blows my mind. It's got elements of the White Album throughout, but pure power pop in the choruses—which I think reinforces my theory here.
I'm finding that most of your thoughts are spot-on to me. I'm really enjoying your articles and for fear of repeating myself, I own and love your book "Go All the Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop". Thanks for what you do!
WA elements within Dream Police is a fun thought — similarly, I’ve long thought of a connection to Won’t Get Fooled Again, esp Bun E’s epic battle with the strings near the end.
Love this--having grown up in the western exurbia of Chicago about 30 miles from Cheap Trick's home base in Rockford while the band was in its pre-Epic Records wilderness, I tend towards Paul Meyers' assessment that the band was a midwestern rock and roll band first with inclinations toward Power Pop second. The Jack Douglas-produced first album, dominated by Rick Nielsen's unhinged guitar and raw feel, is really closest to what they were (and are, live at least, these days.) Ditto for suburban Chicago cohorts Pez Band and its spawn, with singer Cliff Johnson, Off Broadway. That said, when CT go power pop, they do it with unmatched verve and style; to me, their power poppiest is "Come On, Come On," from In Color. I really think they are their own city state, stylistically, like Hong Kong or the District of Columbia. BTW: a great primer on Midwestern Power Pop (and PP adjacent) bands of the era is this compilation, which includes Shoes, The Kind and much more. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lopky2-dWYV_v59d_yJX5p2CmVyVHtpn0
This! » “I really think they are their own city state, stylistically, like Hong Kong or the District of Columbia.” And thanks for sharing the playlist.
Fun read. The problem I most often have with things people label "power pop" is the complete lack of power. Marshall Crenshaw would be the chief example of this. Jangly guitars, poppy melodies, check and check. But where's the power?
Thanks! That’s a fair question to ask, for certain. It’s a big tent that accommodates many perspectives and musical tastes, far as I can tell. But people on one side of the tent sometimes get frustrated with the people on the other side of the same tent. Which is why I spend more time in the even larger (but harder to find) Guitar Pop tent these days. 🤣
Crenshaw himself is NOT a fan of the label, so he wouldn't disagree. The stuff I tend to love most falls into the guidelines you've set - power pop, with the emphasis on power.
I find it kinda funny that he has clearly made his distaste for the power pop label known and generations of fans are still like, "One of the Top 10 power pop artists of all time!" I think that says a lot about the nature of this genre.
There are already many comments posted. So I'll admit it, there are many who know more about Cheap Trick than I do. But I'll add one more thing that may. be interesting to a Cheap Trick fans.
Since I'm a music lover (music nut?) I've had many conversations about how great a band Cheap Trick is. I might have had at least one about whether or not Cheap Trick is a power pop band or not.
My answers are always the same, regardless of which band we're talking about.
The best one is:
There are only two genres of music. 1. Good, and 2. Bad. Cheap Trick is in the first genre. Of course.
If the question is about Cheap Trick, I answer the question with a question: Have you heard a decent copy of Cheap Trick's first album? Even though some of their best tunes are NOT on this album, it is still the blueprint for their entire catalog. "Surrender," is not on it. This is one of the best songs ever written, regardless of genre (it's in the Good genre, btw ;)
Sadly, the first CD pressing of Cheap Trick's first, self-titled album's sound quality is crap. It's too bad they pressed so many of them, they are all over the place.
This first CD pressing sounds so bad I could imagine some listening to this CD, regardless of what they listen to this CD on, whether it's a car stereo, or through a high-end audio system, the chances of someone who never heard it saying "meh" when asked what they think is very likely.
On vinyl it sounds MUCH better. Even listening to this album on Spotify or other streaming service it sounds better than the first CD pressing.
But the best sound quality of this album is on vinyl. Anyone with ears will surely agree.
The vinyl that is currently available is sourced from high-res digital. But it still sounds great. Older pre-digital pressings in good condition sound better. The best sounding, affordable pressings are from the UK, as long as they are from before the mid-1990s. Pre-digital. These pressings will drive Cheap Trick fans wild!
As a super-fan of Cheap Trick's first album, my copy is a Japanese pressing. It sounds AMAZINGLY good. It also looks very cool with the paper sash (called by many an "Obi") wrapped around the cover so non-English speaking Japanese can read it. The used copies missing the Obi sell for less. But since this sash doesn't affect the record's sound quality, it's fine without it.
And yes, it's a magnificent POWER POP album! One of the best!
I'm glad you wrote those because I feel the same way about The Cars. They're kinda an art rock band but they have a lot of great power pop especially on the first record that I would almost count them.
Btw, if you should give The Feeling's first record 'Twelve Stops And Home' a listen, but especially 'Love It When You Call' as it's one of the great power pop songs. I would put it up there with the best of the genre
I'm born and raised in Chicago - the Mecca of midwestern power pop, and although we claim
Cheap Trick - they're actually from Rockford, IL., a small city of its own about 90 minutes west of Chicago. Cheap Trick has always been a bit of a conundrum!
They absolutely released great power pop songs,(some mentioned in the article), like "Come On, Come On", which is a perfect power pop tune!
Then there are others that drift into midwestern rock,("The Flame" "Voices").
One of my fav Trick songs is "He's a Whore", but I don't agree with John Borack's assessment that it's a "power pop" song! To me - that one was a bit more punky/rock...
Unlike most other late '70s-early '80s straight-up power pop bands,(Pezband, Off Broadway, Shoes, etc.)- there's a reason why Cheap Trick hit the mainstream level!
They found a way,(I believe unintended), to straddle the line between rock and power pop - with juuust enough rock, a zany enough look and sound to smack a bit of new wave, and (in their hey-day,),with just the right timing for mainstream rock radio program directors to pick them up for the world to be exposed to.
As we know - for whatever reason, the power pop genre seems to be more favored by dudes, so, it also didn't hurt that Cheap Trick differed by having a front man and bass player with "Tiger Beat looks" to also get them noticed by women!
The mix of all of those elements is what has made it tougher to pigeonhole them!
Glad you dug it! No doubting that Cheap Trick was always destined for mainstream success. And they deserved even more than they got as far as I'm concerned.
Since you mentioned the "Tiger Beat looks," I have always loved the dichotomy between the "front of the album guys" (Robin and Tom) and the "back of the album guys" (Rick and Bun E.). They really played that part of their aesthetic up in a funny way.
And speaking of punk, the classic decaying Cheap Trick logo always struck me as among the most punk logos ever. I suppose that only added to the confusion early on in their career.
Cheap Trick are and always have been many things to many different music fans, as is evidenced by the music writers included in the essay and all of the fantastic comments--including yours.
Rick Nielson is quite the songwriter - like Jeff Lynne, has facility in all the genres and subgenres that influenced him (and between them they have The Beatles, and then Jeff’s influence on Rick with Jeff’s ever so brief tenure with The Move), and he paid the influence forward.
“He’s a Whore” takes that Eddie Cochran riff from “Somethin’ Else” and transformed it into a lasting power pop/punk one - so much so that I made a wee playlist of them. Notably, The Knack and the Plimsouls were gigging around LA at the same time with THAT RIFF. Doug Feiger’s obsession with teenage sex felt icky to me, being at the time only just out of my teens (I was 21 when “My Sharona” was released, but still..) but I have to hand it to the late Bruce Gary… he played the hell out of that beat… so much authority.
Can't agree more about Rick's songwriting and influences. And thanks for sharing that playlist -- I love connecting the dots between songs and bands the you have. Bruce Gary was a force to be reckoned with, for sure.
Okay...wow. Talk about being in the room where it happened. The fact that CT auditioned for a major label at a pizza place/bar joint seems poetic given their incredible Midwestern work ethic.
I was working at US Steel South Works and we were doing rotating shifts. Then they added alot of overtime and it reached a point where we were just thrashed. I said “Enjoy! I’ll pass” and hung up on my friend at least three times. He would not take “No!” for an answer. Literally rolled up to my place, put a couple of bumps in me and said “You’re going! Get ready, cuz this show is gonna be amazing”
Cheap Trick is many things to many people. I hear power pop, hard rock, glam, and more. And that is their brilliance. They can be and not be power pop depending on your mood, perspective, background, or song selection. And that is why labels only go so far for a band like this. They help you find or describe them and after that, you are on your own
I agree with you, which is why I thought it was worth exploring their automatic inclusion on many power pop band lists (while also having a little fun). I think the stylistic diversity in their catalog proves your point, and kinda proves mine as well. I also totally agree that perspectives on music are often situational.
Much like the liner notes of the first album, they were always intentionally vague and tough to pin down to any one (or two, or more) style or genre. They are subversive (even on recent releases), catchy, quirky, funny, a little dangerous, but in the end, always interesting....just like the actual song "Go All The Way", all over the place, in all the best ways. I mean, who else has a 12 string bass guitar player? Who else has a guitarist who plays a different guitar on nearly every song live? Who has worked with George Martin, Jack Douglas AND Todd Rundgren? Is there a more consistent and entertaining band around, and for so long?
I think the fact that SO many bands credit them as a major influence speaks volumes. But back to the point of the essay, I think one of the main factors in being considered "power pop" is the ability for virtually anyone to remember and sing your songs. And they have that in spades.
I think that highlighting their foundational subversiveness is a great point. And I fully agree that they are one of the most consistent and entertaining bands around, and have been for decades.
And I really appreciate your simple consideration for qualifying as power pop: "The ability for virtually anyone to remember and sing your songs." That definitely is a critical piece of the puzzle.
I'm reading your book at the moment and love these discussions of various bands. It has prompted me to create a playlist of some of my favorite power pop songs - now that I'm understanding the concept better! There are several Cheap Trick cuts on it. I've been a big fan of the band since their heyday and I think I now have a better sense as to why!
Great essay! Don’t know that I saw a T-Rex/glam reference, which I think was also a large influence, especially on their first album. They’re quirky, and fairly versatile, but yes, I think power pop is their core.
I don’t think the glam influence got mentioned. Great call!
LOVE this! A paradox indeed.
Thanks, man! It was fun putting this one together, especially because it allowed me to revisit many amazing Cheap Trick songs. And, of course, because I got to talk about a great band with some of my favorite music writers.
I remember being a preteen kid living in rural northern Minnesota and picking up a signal from WLS (Chicago) on my transistor radio late one night. It was the first time I'd ever heard Cheap Trick, and the song was "Dream Police". Well, it blew my little Rock and Roll mind, and I scrambled to scrape up enough money to buy that album (as well as Budokan and Heaven Tonight) on 8-track. Since that fateful but wonderful night, Cheap Trick has always been my favorite band. I've gone along with others calling them a Power Pop band, but honestly, I think they are a straight-up Rock band with some "Power Poppy" songs.
Thanks for checking it out and for sharing your Cheap Trick discovery story. And, most importantly, thanks for agreeing with my little pet theory... 🤩. If you're gonna have a lifelong favorite band, you could do way worse than Cheap Trick!
I re-listened to "Dream Police" while putting this essay together and it still blows my mind. It's got elements of the White Album throughout, but pure power pop in the choruses—which I think reinforces my theory here.
I'm finding that most of your thoughts are spot-on to me. I'm really enjoying your articles and for fear of repeating myself, I own and love your book "Go All the Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop". Thanks for what you do!
Wow. Thanks so much for your kind words. That really goes a long way around here. Putting that book together with Paul was so much fun.
WA elements within Dream Police is a fun thought — similarly, I’ve long thought of a connection to Won’t Get Fooled Again, esp Bun E’s epic battle with the strings near the end.
I love this! (and Cheap Trick)
Thanks! Never trust anybody who doesn’t luv Cheap Trick.
Great discussion! Cheap Trick boasts a LOT of excellent tunes that I'd call "power pop" even if I didn't know the term when I first them.
Thanks! I think a lot of people had that experience with CT. That’s a lot of what Jeff Rougvie is getting at in his excellent essay.
Love this--having grown up in the western exurbia of Chicago about 30 miles from Cheap Trick's home base in Rockford while the band was in its pre-Epic Records wilderness, I tend towards Paul Meyers' assessment that the band was a midwestern rock and roll band first with inclinations toward Power Pop second. The Jack Douglas-produced first album, dominated by Rick Nielsen's unhinged guitar and raw feel, is really closest to what they were (and are, live at least, these days.) Ditto for suburban Chicago cohorts Pez Band and its spawn, with singer Cliff Johnson, Off Broadway. That said, when CT go power pop, they do it with unmatched verve and style; to me, their power poppiest is "Come On, Come On," from In Color. I really think they are their own city state, stylistically, like Hong Kong or the District of Columbia. BTW: a great primer on Midwestern Power Pop (and PP adjacent) bands of the era is this compilation, which includes Shoes, The Kind and much more. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lopky2-dWYV_v59d_yJX5p2CmVyVHtpn0
This! » “I really think they are their own city state, stylistically, like Hong Kong or the District of Columbia.” And thanks for sharing the playlist.
Fun read. The problem I most often have with things people label "power pop" is the complete lack of power. Marshall Crenshaw would be the chief example of this. Jangly guitars, poppy melodies, check and check. But where's the power?
Thanks! That’s a fair question to ask, for certain. It’s a big tent that accommodates many perspectives and musical tastes, far as I can tell. But people on one side of the tent sometimes get frustrated with the people on the other side of the same tent. Which is why I spend more time in the even larger (but harder to find) Guitar Pop tent these days. 🤣
Crenshaw himself is NOT a fan of the label, so he wouldn't disagree. The stuff I tend to love most falls into the guidelines you've set - power pop, with the emphasis on power.
I find it kinda funny that he has clearly made his distaste for the power pop label known and generations of fans are still like, "One of the Top 10 power pop artists of all time!" I think that says a lot about the nature of this genre.
There are already many comments posted. So I'll admit it, there are many who know more about Cheap Trick than I do. But I'll add one more thing that may. be interesting to a Cheap Trick fans.
Since I'm a music lover (music nut?) I've had many conversations about how great a band Cheap Trick is. I might have had at least one about whether or not Cheap Trick is a power pop band or not.
My answers are always the same, regardless of which band we're talking about.
The best one is:
There are only two genres of music. 1. Good, and 2. Bad. Cheap Trick is in the first genre. Of course.
If the question is about Cheap Trick, I answer the question with a question: Have you heard a decent copy of Cheap Trick's first album? Even though some of their best tunes are NOT on this album, it is still the blueprint for their entire catalog. "Surrender," is not on it. This is one of the best songs ever written, regardless of genre (it's in the Good genre, btw ;)
Sadly, the first CD pressing of Cheap Trick's first, self-titled album's sound quality is crap. It's too bad they pressed so many of them, they are all over the place.
This first CD pressing sounds so bad I could imagine some listening to this CD, regardless of what they listen to this CD on, whether it's a car stereo, or through a high-end audio system, the chances of someone who never heard it saying "meh" when asked what they think is very likely.
On vinyl it sounds MUCH better. Even listening to this album on Spotify or other streaming service it sounds better than the first CD pressing.
But the best sound quality of this album is on vinyl. Anyone with ears will surely agree.
The vinyl that is currently available is sourced from high-res digital. But it still sounds great. Older pre-digital pressings in good condition sound better. The best sounding, affordable pressings are from the UK, as long as they are from before the mid-1990s. Pre-digital. These pressings will drive Cheap Trick fans wild!
As a super-fan of Cheap Trick's first album, my copy is a Japanese pressing. It sounds AMAZINGLY good. It also looks very cool with the paper sash (called by many an "Obi") wrapped around the cover so non-English speaking Japanese can read it. The used copies missing the Obi sell for less. But since this sash doesn't affect the record's sound quality, it's fine without it.
And yes, it's a magnificent POWER POP album! One of the best!
Holy wow. What wonderfully thorough and thoughtful response that I will deem...GOOD!
In Colour (sorry Canadian here) is my fave CT album. PP or not; great album. But it fits my understanding of the term power pop no paradox for me.
That’s a classiuc! You won’t get any arguments from me.
I'm glad you wrote those because I feel the same way about The Cars. They're kinda an art rock band but they have a lot of great power pop especially on the first record that I would almost count them.
Btw, if you should give The Feeling's first record 'Twelve Stops And Home' a listen, but especially 'Love It When You Call' as it's one of the great power pop songs. I would put it up there with the best of the genre
The Cars is definitely another great example. And maybe early Tom Petty? I’ll check it out.
I definitely have a few Petty tunes in my power pop playlist, so definitely!
Great read, Steve!
I'm born and raised in Chicago - the Mecca of midwestern power pop, and although we claim
Cheap Trick - they're actually from Rockford, IL., a small city of its own about 90 minutes west of Chicago. Cheap Trick has always been a bit of a conundrum!
They absolutely released great power pop songs,(some mentioned in the article), like "Come On, Come On", which is a perfect power pop tune!
Then there are others that drift into midwestern rock,("The Flame" "Voices").
One of my fav Trick songs is "He's a Whore", but I don't agree with John Borack's assessment that it's a "power pop" song! To me - that one was a bit more punky/rock...
Unlike most other late '70s-early '80s straight-up power pop bands,(Pezband, Off Broadway, Shoes, etc.)- there's a reason why Cheap Trick hit the mainstream level!
They found a way,(I believe unintended), to straddle the line between rock and power pop - with juuust enough rock, a zany enough look and sound to smack a bit of new wave, and (in their hey-day,),with just the right timing for mainstream rock radio program directors to pick them up for the world to be exposed to.
As we know - for whatever reason, the power pop genre seems to be more favored by dudes, so, it also didn't hurt that Cheap Trick differed by having a front man and bass player with "Tiger Beat looks" to also get them noticed by women!
The mix of all of those elements is what has made it tougher to pigeonhole them!
Glad you dug it! No doubting that Cheap Trick was always destined for mainstream success. And they deserved even more than they got as far as I'm concerned.
Since you mentioned the "Tiger Beat looks," I have always loved the dichotomy between the "front of the album guys" (Robin and Tom) and the "back of the album guys" (Rick and Bun E.). They really played that part of their aesthetic up in a funny way.
And speaking of punk, the classic decaying Cheap Trick logo always struck me as among the most punk logos ever. I suppose that only added to the confusion early on in their career.
Cheap Trick are and always have been many things to many different music fans, as is evidenced by the music writers included in the essay and all of the fantastic comments--including yours.
Rick Nielson is quite the songwriter - like Jeff Lynne, has facility in all the genres and subgenres that influenced him (and between them they have The Beatles, and then Jeff’s influence on Rick with Jeff’s ever so brief tenure with The Move), and he paid the influence forward.
“He’s a Whore” takes that Eddie Cochran riff from “Somethin’ Else” and transformed it into a lasting power pop/punk one - so much so that I made a wee playlist of them. Notably, The Knack and the Plimsouls were gigging around LA at the same time with THAT RIFF. Doug Feiger’s obsession with teenage sex felt icky to me, being at the time only just out of my teens (I was 21 when “My Sharona” was released, but still..) but I have to hand it to the late Bruce Gary… he played the hell out of that beat… so much authority.
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/that-riff-again/pl.u-gxbllg4u5XNa0P
Can't agree more about Rick's songwriting and influences. And thanks for sharing that playlist -- I love connecting the dots between songs and bands the you have. Bruce Gary was a force to be reckoned with, for sure.
I was lucky enough to be at Cheap Tricks showcase for their first record deal.
It was in Homewood (South Chicago suburb) and just a pizza place / bar joint.
They fucking leveled that joint!
Okay...wow. Talk about being in the room where it happened. The fact that CT auditioned for a major label at a pizza place/bar joint seems poetic given their incredible Midwestern work ethic.
Wow!
I bet it was Luigi’s?
Unusual venue/bar, I remember seeing them there once and for awhile they played there pretty often.
YES! I’ve tried to remember the name of the place for decades! Thanks! ‘78? Right in there.
Yeah - I think it had to be ‘78…
I was working at US Steel South Works and we were doing rotating shifts. Then they added alot of overtime and it reached a point where we were just thrashed. I said “Enjoy! I’ll pass” and hung up on my friend at least three times. He would not take “No!” for an answer. Literally rolled up to my place, put a couple of bumps in me and said “You’re going! Get ready, cuz this show is gonna be amazing”
Bob Mirich, wherever you are, I owe ya!
Bob did you a solid.
Yeah - I think it had to be ‘78…
Cheap Trick is many things to many people. I hear power pop, hard rock, glam, and more. And that is their brilliance. They can be and not be power pop depending on your mood, perspective, background, or song selection. And that is why labels only go so far for a band like this. They help you find or describe them and after that, you are on your own
I agree with you, which is why I thought it was worth exploring their automatic inclusion on many power pop band lists (while also having a little fun). I think the stylistic diversity in their catalog proves your point, and kinda proves mine as well. I also totally agree that perspectives on music are often situational.
Much like the liner notes of the first album, they were always intentionally vague and tough to pin down to any one (or two, or more) style or genre. They are subversive (even on recent releases), catchy, quirky, funny, a little dangerous, but in the end, always interesting....just like the actual song "Go All The Way", all over the place, in all the best ways. I mean, who else has a 12 string bass guitar player? Who else has a guitarist who plays a different guitar on nearly every song live? Who has worked with George Martin, Jack Douglas AND Todd Rundgren? Is there a more consistent and entertaining band around, and for so long?
I think the fact that SO many bands credit them as a major influence speaks volumes. But back to the point of the essay, I think one of the main factors in being considered "power pop" is the ability for virtually anyone to remember and sing your songs. And they have that in spades.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
I think that highlighting their foundational subversiveness is a great point. And I fully agree that they are one of the most consistent and entertaining bands around, and have been for decades.
And I really appreciate your simple consideration for qualifying as power pop: "The ability for virtually anyone to remember and sing your songs." That definitely is a critical piece of the puzzle.
I'm reading your book at the moment and love these discussions of various bands. It has prompted me to create a playlist of some of my favorite power pop songs - now that I'm understanding the concept better! There are several Cheap Trick cuts on it. I've been a big fan of the band since their heyday and I think I now have a better sense as to why!