Description

The band’s debut album. And with producer Jack Douglas at the helm, it had a rougher approach than we’d come to expect from them in later years. But the raw feel of the performances gave the songs an extra frisson. But it suited the songs, which represented the band’s live set at the time.  Elo Kiddies, He’s A Whore and Mandocello all have a directness that owed something to The Who, albeit with a quirky undercurrent more in keeping with The Move.

Here is the actual vinyl LP that is for sale:

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Studio album by Cheap Trick
Released February 1977
Recorded Record Plant, New York 1976
Genre Hard rock, power pop
Length 40:05
Label Epic
Producer Jack Douglas

Cheap Trick is a studio album released in 1977 by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It was their debut album, produced by Jack Douglas.

Most of the songs have a more raw sound akin to hard rock bands of the period compared to the groups usually more polished power pop style, and the song lyrics deal with more extreme subject matter than later albums. For instance, “The Ballad of T.V. Violence” is about serial killer Richard Speck, “Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School” is about a pedophile, and “Oh Candy” is about a friend of the band who committed suicide.
This album, along with the following three albums, are considered by fans and critics to be Cheap Tricks best works. This one, however, is more known for capturing both their dark side and the fierceness of their early live performances more than any other studio release in their catalogue.
The album was produced by Jack Douglas, who had achieved a similar sonic density with the blues-rock/hard rock Aerosmith, and the album sounds quite different than subsequent Cheap Trick records.

Side 1
“ELO Kiddies” 3:41
“Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School” 4:44
“Taxman, Mr. Thief” 4:16
“Cry, Cry” (Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson) 4:22
“Oh, Candy” 3:07

Side A
“Hot Love” 2:30
“Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace” (Terry Reid) 4:35
“Hes a Whore” 2:43
“Mandocello” 4:47
“The Ballad of T.V. Violence (I’m Not the Only Boy)” 5:15

Robin Zander lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Rick Nielsen lead guitar, vocals
Tom Petersson bass guitar, vocals
Bun E. Carlos drums

The original vinyl record (this IS the original vinyl) has “Side A” printed on one side of the label and “Side 1” printed on the other, a humorous touch reflecting the bands conviction that they didn’t have any “B” material, although the placement of the track listing on the jacket seemed to indicate “Hot Love” was the first track on the album. Indeed, the matrix numbers on the record show the “Hot Love” side was designated side A and the “Elo Kiddies” side as side B.

Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick

Blame The Beatles. Without the loveable moptops there would never have been a Cheap Trick – and without the band from Rockford, Illinois, what we now call pop-rock probably would have been a very different animal too. Blessed with an innate sense of melody and an irreverent sense of buffoonery, Cheap Trick were almost seen as punk rock, certainly when compared to the AOR behemoths who dominated the US charts in the 1970s.

Seriously, Cheap Trick were prepared to take the piss out of themselves and everyone else, while crafting songs so hummable that if writing memorable hooks were an offence they’d have been locked up with no chance of parole. It started in 1968 with the band Fuse, with guitarist Rick Nielsen (very much the main songwriter) and bassist Tom Petersson. One album for Epic proved unsuccessful, as did a name change to Sick Man Of Europe and a relocation to Philadelphia. By 1973 they’d become Cheap Trick, adding drummer Bun E. Carlos and vocalist Randy Hogan. The latter didn’t stay long, ousted in favour of Robin Zander. Their distinctive image was the sum of two duos: Zander and Petersson were the pretty boys; Nielsen and Carlos were the wacky looking pair.

The band’s debut album, with producer Jack Douglas at the helm, had a rougher approach than we’d come to expect from them in later years. But the raw feel of the performances gave the songs an extra frisson. But it suited the songs, which represented the band’s live set at the time. Elo Kiddies, He’s A Whore and Mandocello all have a directness that owed something to The Who, albeit with a quirky undercurrent more in keeping with The Move.