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Cheap Trick- Essential- Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander

On a maximum scale of five stars, the 1977 debut by Cheap Trick  receives AllMusic.com's highest rating, and the even more melodic, better sounding  sophomore effort "In Color" in the same year earns 4 1/2 stars. Then Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos wrote and recorded the  masterpiece "Heaven Tonight" in May 1978, yet again scoring a critics' perfect five star rating. So in hindsight it would appear that recording the Rockford IL quartet's set while performing the strongest material from these three killer studio albums, in front of an adoring audience in one of the world's premiere venues, would be as obvious as a sumo wrestler in your shower stall.
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Cheap Trick- Dream Police- Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander

we find out from my guests Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander and guitarist/songwriter Rick Nielsen that the band had actually interrupted recording their fourth studio album, "Dream Police" , in order to do that first Japanese tour in 1978. Several hits would eventually come from "Dream Police", including "Voices","It's the Way of the World", and the title song, but those would have to wait while Cheap Trick scuttled all plans while they learned to surf the tsunami of success from the unexpected live album.
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Cheap Trick- Live at Budokan- Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander

Cheap Trick live "At Budokan"   has just been added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Hear the story In the Studio from Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen.

Cheap Trick- Come On, Come On/ Stiff Competition- Passaic NJ 12-8-78

Forty years ago this week, Cheap Trick was poised on the brink, but depending on what continent you were referencing, it could have been the brink of  Beatlemania-type mass popularity ( as in Japan that Summer 1978 ), or the brink of disaster…

Cheap Trick- Big Eyes- 12-78 Passaic NJ

Happy new year from Cheap Trick!