Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

On August 28, 1999, power pop masters Cheap Trick played a special show for fans at Davis Park in their hometown of Rockford, IL, to salute their 25th anniversary as a band together. The show included several musical celebrities making cameo appearances (as well as relatives of Cheap Trick bandmembers) and the inclusion of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra String Quartet on several tracks, while the 29-song set list dipped deep into the band's catalog – including at least one song from every album of their career thus far. The evening's proceedings have been captured on the 2001 double-disc Silver, the band's second live release in two years. All of the expected fan faves are included – "Ain't That a Shame," "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender," "Dream Police" – but longtime fans will go straight to the set's abundance of more uncommon material. Standouts include two standards of early MTV ("If You Want My Love" and "She's Tight"), the Big Star tribute "That 70s Song," the forgotten 1979 Beatlesque power ballad "Voices," a song that two members of CT cut with John Lennon back in 1980 ("I'm Losin' You"), the jamfest "Gonna Raise Hell," plus tracks sung by other members – "World's Greatest Lover" (Rick Nielsen) and "I Know What I Want" (Tom Petersson). Also featured are guest appearances by big-name fans Billy Corgan ("Just Got Back"), Slash ("You're All Talk"), and Art Alexakis ("Day Tripper"). Although it lacks the punch of their 1979 classic At Budokan (widely regarded as one of the greatest live rock albums of all time), Silver shows that the band is still having fun on stage 25 years later. The 2004 edition of the album adds two songs: "Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School" and "On Top of the World."

~ Greg Prato, All Music

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

Cheap Trick has been through it all: from barrooms to Budokan to barbecues to this birthday bash. And what a fiesta: the boys blow through their career catalogue, hitting the numerous high points of their 25 years as a group and nailing each crowing achievement with the precision and confidence that could only come from rockin' the house together night after night. Several guests – some famous and some family – show up, but the true stars are, obviously: Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos. Cheap Trick is the brainstorm of colorful guitarist Nielsen, who is one of the most memorable wise-acres ever in rock, but on this night, the Master of Ceremonies diplomatically steps aside (except for wartime valentine "World's Greatest Lover" and the spellbinding train wreck "Gonna Raise Hell") and lets his cohorts shine throughout the mammoth 29-song show. One of the greatest, but unsung, voices in rock, Robin Zander's singing never needs support. His tone hardened with age, but never lost an ounce of power and still sets the standard against which all pop voices are measured. In fact, here he delivers the best version of "Voices" ever. Midway through the set, Zander proclaims he's sung enough ballads and intently begins belting out the rocky stuff. Whether snarling the incomprehensive lyrics of "You're All Talk " (while playing a mean set of maracas) or crooning "Time Will Let You Know" with his daughter, Robin, he inadvertently blows away whoever is on-stage with him. (A long-lost live version of "Johnny Be Good" reveals Zander could even out-scream Bon Scott.) Meanwhile, Petersson's full-bodied 12-string lays the bedrock for Nielson's flailing hot licks and Carlos' wavering big beat. Petersson's turn at the mic on the immortal throwaway "I Know What I Want" is always a pleasure, even though Nielsen has tortured his once-delicious solo beyond recognition. And in the end, as in the beginning, it all comes back to Carlos and the "Tusk"-like chant "Who D' King." Odd-man-out Jon Brant shows up in some kooky headgear, working it on a couple of '80s killers he worked on. Shout-along should-have-beens like "She's Tight" and "Never Had a Lot to Lose" sound good, oh so good. The poignant pop perfection of "Oh Candy" and "Tonight It's You" still resonates decades later. Like most great bands, Cheap Trick possesses two personalities, one in the studio and the other under the spotlight. In the mid-'90s, when Cheap Trick returned to the club circuit, the band didn't bring a keyboard player and each song benefited highly from the bare-bones Live at Leeds powerhouse delivery that first broke the quartet back in the '70s. Such is the case with the opening numbers here, but the deadly keys of fifth member Tod Howarth soon crash into the set. Luckily, his big-'80s chimes perfectly fit the wonderfully ridiculous "Can't Stop Falling into Love" and the Rockford Symphony orchestration accompanying grand opuses like "Stop This Game" and "World's Greatest Lover" finally frames those works as the masterpieces they are. Silver signals the end of an era for one of the greatest live bands and one of the greatest rock bands in history. This DVD works for the lucky people who were there and for the people who weren't. What more could anyone want?

~ Doug Stone, All Music

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close

×

Cheap Trick - Silver (2001) {2004, CD + DVD}

Close