The One Buck Guy Has Some Cheap Tricks To Lure You...

 ...as well as some old ploys and a bunch of shenanigans. Joe Ely on thursday was a good start, but I thought to myself, "Gee, OBG, it's been a while that you had some really crunchy music on here", and who can provide more crunch, plus more knowing ridiculousness, plus one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time, than Rockwood, Illinois's finest? 

And since me and you and everyone we know own already all the Cheap Trick classics - ok, maybe you don't, but we all know you should - today's One Buck Records is obviously something a little different, which hopefully has even the Cheap Trick connoisseur have his ears perk up. Because, as it should, this is an exclusive comp that you won't find in stores or elsewhere, collecting most of Cheap Trick's rare material from their heyday - I didn't bother with stuff from the last years (ok, decades now). What you get is the Cheap Trick we all know and love from the mid-70s to the late 90s. 

I'm also throwing in a couple of rare Robin Zander solo tracks, because why the hell not. Who's gonna stop me, right?! Also, as said, one of the finest voices in rock'n'roll, and he doesn't always get his due (Zander solo tracks are nos. 13,14,17 and 19 on disc two). Most of the tracks here are sourced from their box set Sex, America, Cheap Trick, that offered a huge amount of alternative versions, demos and live cuts. This was of course to lure in the collector, as well as not devaluing entirely the original albums. (Whether that really worked is another question for another day) Having all these albums brought me to the idea of collecting only these rarities in one place, aided and abetted by another dozen cuts of outtakes, live or bonus tracks.

And that is that. Old Ploys, Cheap Tricks & Other Shenanigans is the rare anthology that I sequenced chronologically, mainly because their music didn't change much over the twente years and change this set covers. Disc One presents music from 1977 to 1982, though to have a kick-ass opener (or, say, a more kick-ass opener), the single version of "Southern Girls" is presented slightly out of order.

You also get such Cheap Trick classics as "High Roller" and "Everything Works If You Let It" in different versions, as well as such unexpected treasures like their live medley take on Velvet Underground – not an obvious inspiration for the band – with "Waiting For The Man/Heroin". These four years were arguably the high point of the band, and even this alternate history gives you a good impression of how and why.

Disc Two covers more ground, going from 1982 to 1999, from one of their last indisputable classics in "If You Want My Love" to "That 70s Song", their reworked version of Big Star's "In The Streets" for modern sitcom classic That 70s Show, brought the band back to mind, if not into a huge spotlight. Quality is arguably and admittedly slightly spottier, kind of like the band's career itself. Of course, if you want to complete your collection of rarities, be sure to check out the re-upped Cheap Trick – Ruckus At The Movies, that collects all their original soundtrack contributions in one tidy package.

Et voilà, that is a bunch of old ploys, cheap tricks and shenanigans to immerse yourself in, full of trademark Rick riffage, Zander zounds, and the rock-solid support of the band's rhytm section (Beauty and The Beast?). Get your airguitar poses ready, ladies and gentlemen, Cheap Trick are going to rock the house...(and not with domestic problems, fingers crossed !).

Ruckus At The Movies: Cheap Trick

You know what's been missing around here lately? Some good ol' fashioned rock'n'roll, that's what! Amid my love for all things Americana, I sometimes forget to mix in something a little more...crunchy. Et voilà, a new series to remedy that (I know, throw it on the pile...). So, what's Ruckus At The Movies? It'll be a bunch of compilations of harder rock acts and the music they contributed to movie soundtracks. And what better band to start off shenanigans than that ultracrunchy quartet from Rockford, Illinois - the one and only Cheap Trick. 

Cheap Trick are the ultimate smart dumb rock'n'roll band. They also seem to be perpetually underrated. No one ever seems to go "Hey, those Cheap Trick fellas were pretty damn good, right?". Or: "That Rick Nielsen sure knew how to write some deceptively clever seemingly dumb songs". Or: "Boy, that Robin Zander really was quite a singer, wasn't he?". All of these things go without saying, but the fact that Cheap Trick were seen as a dumb rock'n'roll band seems to have prevented them from having some cred with the cool crowd. Other than...uh, Billy Corgan, where are the rock'n'roll stars singing the praises of the Trick? 

Arguably, most of the tracks on this compilation come from when the band was on a bit of a downswing, meaning from the early 80s on. Trying to find a sympathetic producer after having separated from Tom Werman, as well as a hit record, the Trick went from George Martin to Roy Thomas Baker to Todd Rundgren to Jack Douglas to Tony Platt, the latter messing up the band's sound on Standing On The Edge and especially The Doctor. The Richie Zito-produced Lap Of Luxury brought them their only no. 1 hit, power ballad "The Flame" before follow-up Busted, well, busted whatever commercial standing they had.

                                           The dreamboats and, uh, the other guys

All the while Cheap Trick maintained income and visibility by placing songs on soundtracks, from genre exercises like Heavy Metal and Rock And Rule (for which they recorded three songs, both outtakes are also included) to mainstream fare like Caddyshack II (for which they recorded a stomping cover of "Money (That's What I Want)") or the forgotten Brendan Fraser-comedy Encino Man (for which they recorded an even more rowdy - and heavy - cover of "Wild Thing"). I also threw in two solo tracks by Robin Zander, big AOR ballads for the Sly Stallone-vehicle Over The Top and the Kurt Russel-Mel Gibson joint Tequila Sunrise. The latter features Ann Wilson.  

One of my favorite Trick tracks from this comp is a pure "gun for hire"-work. Harold Faltermeyer, who worked on the scores and songs for Top Gun got them to perform "Mighty Wings" which is also prominently featured in the film. And yet the single missed the charts completely, whereas even Loverboy's soppy "Heaven In Your Eyes" made it all the way to no. 12. Oh well. Opener "Everything Works If You Let It" (from Roadie) and "Up The Creek" from the movie of the same title (which the band incidentally hates and describes as possibly their worst song) at least scraped into the Top 50. 

But hey, charts, shmarts, right?! If you wanted some big dumb fun rock'n'roll on your movie soundtrack, you should call Cheap Trick and they would get the job done. The 17 tracks featured here are the proof. So, hang up your brain for a while, get warmed up for some air guitar and let's cause some ruckus at the movies...