Great album. You heard the re-recorded In Color they did with Steve Albini? It had some added juice, definitely.
No, I haven't...but I will on your recommendation....
But as far as that first album goes....
holy fuck!! This powerful album makes bands like The Foo Fighters seem like a bunch of damn
amateurs in comparison, and in 1977 at that! (For those of you that have never heard Cheap Trick's first album, it is assuredly WORLDS APART from "I Want You to Want Me," or anything you've ever heard on the radio by them for that matter.) This collection of songs displays a superior raw talent and musicianship as applied to every facet of "modern" rock & roll: good lyrical content, subtle and interesting song arrangements ("Taxman, Mr. Thief" and "Mandocello," or just about any of these songs), variety of instrumentation (
Mandocello), and balls-outtedness ("Hot Love", "He's a Whore" {you could pogo to this one} and "The Ballad of TV Violence," which is a disturbing tune indeed).
"Appearing at a time when disco and stadium rock ruled, Cheap Trick combined hard rock bombast with Beatle-like melodies, creating a hybrid that is still unique today." -epinions