Cheap Trick

All Shook Up

If CDs had sides...

Review Score:

(8/10)
At this junture of Cheap Trick's career it would have been a safe bet to stick to formula, you know play it safe. The suits at Epic must have been hoping that Cheap Trick take that route. Nope, Cheap Trick came up with an album that has taken most critics and fans twenty years to get. When All Shook Up came out in 1980 nothing sounded like it. With just about everybody and their mom trying to mimick the soft rock sound of the Eagles and their ilk, Cheap Trick went for the throat. All Shook Up is chock full of diversity, with each track sounding different from the other. There is no preaching or finger pointing going on here just some playful fun lyrics with some dark brooding thrown in to make it all balanced. On top of that pile of humanity, there is some good punk rock energy surging on songs like on "Just Got Back," and "Love comes A tumblin' Down." Then there is "Baby Loves to Rock," with the everything but the kitchen sink style production (Think the Beatles Good Morning, Good Morning). "Stop This Game," is power, with a great swooping bass line, that reminds me of the tone in the Beatles Song "Rain"(Maybe because George Martin produced All Shook Up). The Mambo Bridge on "I Hate Your Friends," is priceless. But, the real tour deforce is "High Priest Of Rhythmic Rhythmic Noise." Its weird, its fun, it is so far removed from formula it makes Pluto seem close. The band took a lot of heat for not playing it safe, and confusing all the boring hippies at Rolling Stone. Since most critics could not understand "All Shook Up," they ridiculed it, calling it a comedy album. It took critics, suits at Epic and music fans in general till 1991 to catch up to Cheap Trick's vision via Nirvana. So check All Shook up out and for that matter their first 8 albums, and their studio album from 1997, if you dare. If all you know about them is the Flame or I Want You to Want Me, you are missing out.

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