Woke Up With a Monster(1994)
1.My Gang
2.Woke Up With a Monster
3.You're All I Wanna Do
4.Never Run Out of Love
5.Didn't Know I Had It
6.Rid the Pony
7.Girlfriends
8.Let Her Go
9.Tell Me Everything
10.Cry Baby
11.Love Me For a Minute
 
It had been almost 4 years since the
last new Cheap Trick release and many people were beginning to wonder
what was going on. Their last release, Busted, had mild success but was unable to
replicate its predecessor, Lap of Luxury,
which was probably the main intention when they recorded that record. So Cheap Trick was now not only
with (yet) another producer, but with a completely different record
label. Ted Templeman, mostly known for his work with Van Halen, was
decided upon to be a good fit for the band and, for awhile, rumor was
out that this record was going to sound "a lot like their first album".
It doesn't come close. They do manage a few brilliant cuts on this
album, yet they're so buried down on the song list that they're easy to
overlook. Girlfriends, Let Her Go and Tell Me
Everything show everyone that the guys are capable of recapturing the
magic of their early days. The sad thing is that the rest of the album
doesn't measure up as good as these three.
In fact, there are several songs that sound an awful lot like their last
two albums. They come across as catchy, kitchy and radio friendly.
You're All I Want To Do, Never Run Out of Love and
Didn't Know I Had It all could have been radio hits, but the
diehard fan probably won't revere them as anything particularly
memorable.
Then we have the "Completely Horrid" department. This album features some
of the worst songs the band has ever produced. They try to be
bluesy/sleazy with Cry Baby and Ride the Pony. They just
come off as embarrassing. Then, for whatever reason, the annoying title
track was chosen as the single for the album. It barely cracked
the top 200 for one week. It proves that Robin Zander should sing, not
scream.
The album was a flop. Of course, they blamed their record company. Who
wouldn't?
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