Rockford

Out off all my CT cd’s I love this one the best..I played in a cover band back in Iowa and we played a club, upstairs in Rockford.Rick and Robin came to that gig…Forth Estate

After several albums that ranged in quality from pretty decent to not good, the mighty Cheap Trick begin their creative comeback on Rockford. Their previous album, Special One, was more pop than power pop and had few memorable songs. On Rockford, they brought back the power on a lot of the songs. Most of the tracks are compact and all of them are solid with a few really strong ones along the way. "Welcome to the World" works as a great intro with its dreamy pop into driving rock before it dives into one of their best tunes in quite awhile in "Perfect Stranger". The bulk of the best tracks arrive early as "Come On Come On Come On" is a strong anthem reminiscent of their peak years (but not quite on the level of the similarly titled "Come On Come On") while "If It Takes a Lifetime" and "This Time You Got It" are good songs with even better choruses. "One More" starts out like a dance tune with its bassline before it rocks out while "Dream the Night Away" is more sweet melodic power pop. The remaining tracks like "All Those Years", "Give It Away", "Every Night and Every Day" are all decent. As is their tradition, Cheap Trick usually end their albums well and they do it again on "Decaf". While not a classic like their best work, Rockford was a step in the right direction and future albums like Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello and especially We're All Alright! would continue the momentum.

I am proud to say, I am one of the "originals", having discovered Cheap Trick in 1978 as a 13 year old suburban kid days after hearing "Surrender" for the first time on radio. To this day, when I think of that song, the line "Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away," brings back all the non-conformist angst that drew me to the band almost 30 years ago. These guys were, and are, my heroes.Despite mixed commercial success after the HUGELY influencial "Live at Budokan", I've always stuck by the original 4 members, who've always stuck by their love and respect for melodic guitar-driven songs. This album is particularly for people who see the band like I do."Rockford" is certainly a tribute album, even if it didn't intend to be that way. The title alone tells volumes about the band, in that its named for the small home-town in IL that nurtured them. Just as the title brings them back to the beginning, so too do the songs -- tight, energetic, and as vital as anything the band put out on the now famous "first-five" (or the "Quint-essentials" as I like to call them). Still more amazing...they sound every bit as good as they did 30 years ago. They just refuse to get old, and go away quietly. One of the reason's they are still my heroes.Long-winded reviews bore me, and take up space from other contributors, so I'll summarize here. Long-time fans will see their faith in the band restored with the best set of new material since "Lap of Luxury", possibly even "Dream Police". People new to the band, who don't want to trip down memory lane will find a collection of tunes that hold their own with anything on the EMO charts today. And anyone who has always believed in the power of a good hook, a strong back-beat, and a loud guitar to redeem their soul will hear this as both a revelation and epiphany.

So why can't we give 6 stars? If any album deserves it, this one does. I'm not a great fan of contemporary music, but the other morning I turned on a radio show and suddenly a song came on. My immediate response was, "Finally there's a band out there that I could enjoy." The song ended and I discovered that the song, "Perfect Stranger," was from ROCKFORD. I shoulda known. As a Cheap Trick fan in Madison, Milwaukee, and points south in the 70's I was headed back to the future.How good is ROCKFORD? It's so good that the praise that it's receiving radically understates the case. This is more than a great Cheap Trick record; it's a virtual tour of all that was exceptional in the music of the 70's. Nearly every song includes a reference to the music of that period. It would be fun to play it in bits and pieces and have people guess as to what they're actually hearing. The Beatles, ELO, you name it, it's here. There are touches of Supertramp, the Moody Blues, and a number of bands with which Cheap Trick is seldom associated.Every track is strong. At least 5 of the tracks are truly exceptional and 1 or 2 could be considered instant classics. Most important of all, each is different. It is sad to see some of my old time idols making records in which nearly every track sounds the same. I know, I know, there are differences, but contrast TWO AGAINST NATURE with GAUCHO or AJA. With ROCKFORD we're looking at a major release and one that never, no never, disappoints.

The best band of the 70s has only faltered a few times since it's inception ("The Doctor", "Busted" and "Special One") but has made it clear over the past few years that their debut album was not only one of the 10 best debut albums in rock history, but a legacy that they would never turn their back on. The producer that helped to make that record such a milestone, Jack Douglass, is back on this CD, and it shows. Every song on the CD could astound listeners on even today's radio formats (my favorite track at the moment, "This Time You Got It", sounds like their Move-influenced rockers of yesteryear). Cheap Trick is my favorite band of all time, and I could not possibly be prouder of them than I am right now because of "Rockford". Their massive influence on other rock bands over the last 30 years just got that much bigger. If the so-called "R&R Hall of Fame" does not induct Cheap Trick soon (indeed, without The Cheaps, half of the rock bands of the past 30 years would never have been), that organization will be nothing but a sad joke in the eyes of true rockers everywhere.

After the truly abysmal (worst of their career) 'Special One' album, I as a long standing CT fan had begun to fear the worst. Had my beloved hero's finally lost it? Had so long out of the studio taken it's toll? Well, I am SO glad to be able to tell you that the answer to both questions on this evidence is a resounding NO! From the opening bars of 'Welcome To The World' to the last chord of the last track, this record is a triumph. 'Rockford' quite simply has put the rock back into CT! Back are the glorious melodies, back are the great harmonies, back are the chaotic, crazy and energetic performances and the bands timing, but best of all.. back are the SONGS. 'If it Takes A Lifetime' for example is EVERYTHING you've EVER LOVED about CT and has got to be one of the best trick songs ever (should have been a hit single too). Most of the songs on this record see the band in rockin' mood and the groups pop sensibilities once again match perfectly with some good old fashioned 'dirty rock n' roll'. Robin Zander sings like he really means business again and most of all the group sound like their enjoying themselves. Such freshness and vitality you would have expected to come from the band at the start of their careers, but after the dismal disappointment of 'Special One', it is indeed a tribute to the guys that with this record they've come back stronger than ever! ESSENTIAL!

Thirty or so years have evolved since I lost track of Cheap Trick. While searching for iconic albums from my teens, namely 1979' "At Budokan" and "Dream Police" albums among others, I stumbled onto something new (to me) too; a series of more or less 20 albums from the early 80's onwards!!! A lot of catching up to do!!! Getting to know how they sounded now, by comparison, would be a fair enough criterion. Thus, the acquisition of 2006' "Rockford". As it turned out, expectations were met. That familiar rocking sound is still there as in "Come on Come on Come on" as well as great ballads as in "O Claire"! In short, Cheap Trick are still Cheap Trick, fortunately! For late "rediscoverers" of Zander and co. "Rockford" is undoubtedly a good start.

Rockford is the best Cheap Trick album since their heyday in the late 70's. It sounds contemporary and retro at the same time. Most songs are uptempo without any of those wet ballads they started getting bogged down by in the late 80's early 90's. They rock loudly and tunefully which is what every real Cheap Trick fan wants.It's much better than their 'The Latest' and much much better than the, best forgotten, 'Special one' so if you were put off by those then don't hesitate to buy this one.Genuinely worth 5 stars.

A return to form after the dire One album.Great to hear the band firing on all cylinders again after a few years making sub-standard music.A GREAT band.

Nice and heavy return to form