Search - Cheap Trick :: Next Position Please

The Wizard Strikes Again

David Vawter | 04/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Had "Heaven's Falling" been the lead single, this record would have returned Cheap Trick to the pop firmament. That's because it's actually a Todd Rundgren record with Robin Zander singing lead, delivering what is probably his greatest vocal performance ever. Pretty much everything else is prime Rundgren: monstrous yet melodic guitar, background choruses that go on for days, and one irresistable hook after another. Pure pop perfection of a type almost never heard these days."

CT's best of the 80's

Juz Man | Hobart, Australia | 05/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My review of this is of the original - without You Talk Too Much and Don't Make Our Love A Crime. Those two songs didn't appear on the original LP and should not appear on the CD. They are terrible, terrible songs.

Having said that, Next Position Please is fantastic. The best of their 80's releases and their second best overall (in my opinion).



1. I Can't Take It was always a bit soft for me. I appreiciate it more now though. Don't know that it should have been the single though, but who can resist that great Jon Brant bass work.

2. Borderline is corny but great. A standout track.

3. I Don't Love Here Anymore is a good track. The weakest track for the first half of the album though (the old side one).

4. Next Position Please is my pick for the album. It's a great song and is one of my favourite CT tracks.

5. Younger girls like most of the tracks is quite poppy but has a supreme chorus.

6. Dancing The Night Away is a cover but I love it. Love the way the verse builds.

7. You Talk Too Much - skip it.

8. 3-D is the weakest track on here (apart from the two extras). Bit too 80's sounding.

9. You Say Jump is also very 80's but I guess that was the decade.

10. Y.O.Y.O.Y is the single ballard and not a bad one at that.

11. Won't Take No For An Answer sounds like it's from One On One. Heavier than the rest of the album.

12. Heaven's Falling is amazing. What an awesome song. The only bad thing is that CT didn't write it.

13. Invaders of the Heart is a good track. Don't know about the counting though......

14. Skip it. Can't even be bothered typing the title.



Find it, buy it, love it. The 80's at it's embarrasingly best.

"

A Good Album That Could Have Been Better...

CD Kahuna | LA & Hawaii | 09/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The choice of Todd Rundgren as producer of CT's Next Position Please seemed like an inspired one, as he has worked magic on many other LP's, from Badfinger's Straight Up to XTC's Skylarking, but somehow things didn't quite work out this time around.



Rundgren has stripped Rick's guitar sound of all it's bite. Although the playing is as stellar as ever, the production has effectively neutered their sound, robbing it of any balls that it may have had.



Having said that, all is not lost. There are some very strong songs here, and Rundgren's production works well on a few of them, especially the album's opener "I Can't Take It", "Borderline" and the pure pop delicacy, "Heavens Falling." Many of the other tracks are very good songs that would have benefited from a more aggressive guitar sound that was typical of their earlier albums, but that does not mean that they are a total waste.



So in conclusion, this may not be CT's best album, but it is also not their worst. That distinction goes to The Doctor, which is their only one star effort.

"