#robin Zander

[twixnmix]

Andy Warhol and Cheap Trick backstage at the Bottom Line in New York City on June 12, 1978.

Photo by Bob Gruen

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Round One of the Hottest 80s Musician Tournament

Robin Zander

January 23, 1953-

Known as: Lead singer and rhythm guitar for Cheap Trick

Music released in the 80s:

All Shook Up (1980)

One on One (1982)

Next Position Please (1983)

Standing on the Edge (1985)

The Doctor (1986)

Lap of Luxury (1988)

Propaganda:

Cliff Burton

February 10, 1962- September 27, 1986

Known as: Bassist of Metallica

Music released during the 80s:

Kill 'Em All (1983)

Ride the Lightning (1984)

Master of Puppets (1986)

...And Justice for All (1988) (posthumous writing credit on "To Live Is to Die")

Propaganda:

Visual propaganda for Robin Zander:

Visual propaganda for Cliff Burton:

[zimtrim]

Cheap Trick - Rick Nielsen

[metalcultbrigade]

Robin Zander 23/01/1953

[johnentwistlesbassguitar]

[jeremyleerennerdotcom]

there are still tickets available for the show in vegas next weekend.

around $50 up to $200+ for vip (it's for charity!)

[catgirlneilyoung]

[possible-streetwear]

[iamtryingtobelieve]

HELLO WISCONSIN!

[vancruejovi]

Robin Zander ⭐️

[born-to-lose]

So we all know how Robin ended up on the Metal Sludge penis chart? Rick must have known what he was doing when he wrote He's A Whore for Robin to sing knowing he's the whore👀

[jeffcbliss]

Robin Zander of Cheap Trick - The Venue at Thunder Valley; Lincoln, CA (2-15-25). @cheaptrick #RobinZander

Photo: Jeff Bliss

[zimtrim]

Cheap Trick - Rick Neilsen

[bandpicfolder]

Cheap Trick - Surrender - Midnight Special

[vinylspinning]

Cheap Trick: Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 (2019)

Sometimes I can't even remember what I was doing last week, let alone last year and certainly not on New Year's Eve 1979, but, thanks to this clearly dated Record Store Day release, we all know precisely what Cheap Trick were doing as the '70s gave way to the '80s ...

Yes, seems Rockford's finest were rocking their fans at L.A.'s Fabulous Forum while local radio station KLOS broadcasted a small part of the show live; but this double LP from 2019 rounds up the entire, 90-minute, 19-song concert for the first time. (*)

To be honest, I was a little skeptical at first, since this isn't the first time (nor will it be the last) that Sony Music has tried to exploit the incomparable legacy of 1978's At Budokan to sell inevitably inferior in-concert recordings of Trick at their precocious peak.

But I must say that Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 may be the closest they've come to justifying the exercise -- and the spending of your hard-earned dollars -- with a recording that balances believable rawness (**) and excitement with a sheer wealth of classic material.

As they did At Budokan, Cheap Trick were still bookending shows with "Hello There" and "Goodnight Now," playing those early hits ("Clock Strikes Ten," "Ain't That a Shame," "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender"), plus In Color's excellent "Downed," but, oddly, still totally ignoring their self-titled debut.

But fans of Heaven Tonight got a generous helping (the title track, "Stiff Competition," "Way of the World," and an apropos "California Man") and those partial to the recently released Dream Police got virtually the entire LP, including standout performances of "Voices," "I Know What I Want," and the wonderfully creepy "Need Your Love."

On the other hand, the interminable "Gonna Raise Hell" is only slightly more tolerable live than on record, Rick Nielsen's stage raps are just as often irritating as amusing, and employing a keyboard player behind a curtain to enhance their sound when needed (e.g. "Surrender" and the encore of "Dream Police") was always a little shady.

But, all things considered, these are largely small "nits" about a set that obviously still boasts a lot of additional and essential early Cheap Trick material (***), much of which that had yet to be released at the time of At Budokan's recording, all of 18 months earlier.

So I don't want to lead you astray by suggesting Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 actually compares with that earlier set's flawless (and, admittedly, somewhat doctored) perfection, but its probably the next-best Cheap Trick live album I've heard, and that includes the expanded Budokan concerts package.

Happy new year!

* Although some of these cuts were previously available on expanded CD reissues of the Dream Police album.

** The first reel of the master tapes was never found, so that rawness is especially noticeable on the first four songs, which had to be sourced and remastered from a high-resolution tape of the original radio broadcast.

*** Presumably, when the clock strikes midnight (no pun intended on "Clock Strikes Ten"), the band sneaks in a quick rendition of "Auld Lang Syne."

More Cheap Trick: Cheap Trick, In Color, Heaven Tonight, At Budokan, Dream Police, Found All the Parts, All Shook Up, One on One, Woke Up with a Monster.

[bloominghour]

I made these as a joke, but I don't think it's a joke anymore since I had too much fun making it