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Powered by Classic Gear, Rick Nielsen Revs Up Cheap Trick’s Latest Release, We’re All Alright

- Art Thompson

“THE JAPANESE LIKED OUR MUSIC AND THEY UNDER stood us. We’re still around, so maybe they were on to something,” says Rick Nielsen when asked about the upcoming 40th Anniversary of Cheap Trick’s 1978 breakthrough album, Cheap Trick at Budokan. It’s been so long since that record blew up in America via the Top 10 single, “I Want You to Want Me,” that it’s hard to believe there was a time when the band actually had difficulty connecting with audiences on the other side of the Pacific. Following that seminal album wasn’t easy, and it would be 1988 before Cheap Trick’s fortunes would soar again with Lap of Luxury. But in the meantime, the band proved itself to be a force to be reckoned with, especially in concert, as the gonzo enthusiastic audiences in Japan so thoroughly demonstrated a decade earlier.

Like the Rolling Stones and ZZ Top, Cheap Trick still has its original members, albeit Nielsen’s son Daxx now has the drum chair, replacing Bun E. Carlos, whose rift with lead singer Robin Zander ended his touring with the band (although Carlos reportedly retains a 25 percent ownership in Cheap Trick). On the plus side, the band continues to make new music (two albums are hitting in 2017) and they certainly maintain an active tour schedule.