Cheap Trick - One On One (1982/2013) [Hi-Res]

Tom Petersson left Cheap Trick following the George Martin-produced All Shook Up, and the band was somewhat left in a lurch, recording 1982's One on One largely without a bassist; eventual replacement Jon Brant is on record and on the cover, but he's obscured by a picture of Rick Nielsen, possibly because the guitarist handled the bulk of the basslines on the LP. In any case, One on One finds Cheap Trick rebounding from Martin with a slick, punchy, AOR record, hemmed in a bit by stiff sequenced rhythms -- you can almost feel Bun E. Carlos straining against the metronome -- but sparkling in its analog synths and pumped-up guitars. No, it's not as ballsy as Cheap Trick's best, but its glossy glimmer is appealing, a combination of heavy metal roar and new wave strut, and would be more so if the songs were just a bit tighter. Sometimes, Nielsen winds up knocking it out of the park -- the title track grinds nicely, "She's Tight" is good and sleazy -- but there are several truly odd detours, usually when the group veers too strongly toward the new wave, like on the awkward, clanking "Saturday at Midnight" and the stiff Devo misinterpretation "I Want Be Man." These tracks accentuate the album's 1982 artifact appeal, but ironically are the things that kept it from being a blockbuster at the time.

Cheap Trick attempted to ride the new wave on 1982's One on One, but wound up with a wipe-out, so they recovered by hiring Todd Rundgren, one of the few `70s album-rockers who proved that he knew how to negotiate the treacherous waters of the early `80s, for 1983's Next Position Please. Rundgren wielded a heavy hand during his production, pushing Cheap Trick toward making a record that could easily be mistaken for a Utopia record -- so much so, the Todd composition "Heaven's Falling" slips onto the second side without calling attention to itself. The bright surfaces with the guitars and keyboards melding so tightly with the vocal harmonies they're inseparable, produce a sound that is uncannily reminiscent of Oops! Wrong Planet, but Rundgren also helps keep an eye on quality control, letting Robin Zander's terrific "I Can't Take It" open the album, coaxing the band to cover the Motors' "Dancing the Night Away," and editing Rick Nielsen's best set of songs since Heaven Tonight. Next Position Please is still very much a new wave-era Cheap Trick album -- this is shiny surfaces, not kicks to the gut -- but it's the best of the lot, and one of their best-ever albums.“ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Robin Zander, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Rick Nielsen, lead guitar, vocals, bass
Jon Brant, backing vocals, bass
Bun E. Carlos, drums, percussion

Records at Utopia Sound Studio
Engineered by Ian Taylor
Mastering by George Marino
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker

Digitally remastered