Search - Cheap Trick :: Lap of Luxury

Cheap Trick - Bring In Outside Songwriters For A Commercial

Steven Sly | Kalamazoo, MI United States | 09/15/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"From a commercial standpoint the 80's were not kind to Cheap Trick. At the beginning of the decade they were a big arena act with platinum selling albums, but over the first 8 years of the decade the band's fortunes would take a turn for the worse. First bassist Tom Peterson left the band after the "All Shook Up" album in 1980. The band added a new bassist and soldiered on, but each successive album sold less than the one prior. By the time "The Doctor" was released in 1986 sales had declined and quality had fallen way off. "Lap Of Luxury" would find Tom Peterson back in the fold and the band's original lineup back in tact. Like Aerosmith, Heart, and other 70's era bands would do a few years later, Cheap Trick brought in outside songwriters to bolster up the creative department. How well this worked depends on your perspective. On the one hand the band had a huge hit with "The Flame" and another top 40 showing with a cover of the old Elvis chestnut "Don't Be Cruel". The album went platinum and put Cheap Trick back up to big time status on the touring circuit. On the other hand I find much of the material here to be rather bland and a few steps below what I know Cheap Trick is capable of. I do like "Never Had A Lot To Loose" which probably could have fit on any early Cheap Trick work, and "Ghost Town" is a nice balled even though it was co-written by schmaltz queen Dianne Warren. The rest of the album is overproduced, very 80's sounding and not nearly as in your face as much of the band's earlier work. I have to hand it to the guys for getting back on the sales charts in a big way, but this is far from the band's best work."

Good 80's music

B. A. Basden | Bertie Co. NC | 10/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thougt this album was awesome. If you are looking for "nostalgia" rock' This is it. Thie cover of Don't Be Cruel was wonderful. Please don't waste your time thinking, Buy this album"