A GIGOLO
IS THE ONLY
WAY TO GO
Cheap Trick
is the debut
studio album
by the
American
Rock band
released on
February 3, 1977.
It was
released under
Epic Records
and produced by
Jack Douglas,
a frequent collaborator
of the band.
The album did not reach
the Billboard 200 chart
but did
"bubble under"
at number 207
for one week
in April 1977.
Overview
Most of the songs
have a more raw sound
akin to hard rock bands
of the period
compared to
the group's later
more polished
power pop style,
and the song lyrics
deal with more
extreme subject matter
than later albums.
For instance,
"The Ballad of TV Violence
(I'm Not the Only Boy)"
is about
serial killer
Richard Speck,
"Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School"
is about an ephebophile,
and
"Oh, Candy"
is about a
photographer friend
of the band,
Marshall Mintz,
who committed suicide.
Critical Reception
The album was generally
well-received
by critics
with favorable comparisons
to the Beatles
and
the Who,
with critics
likening
Robin Zander's
vocals to
John Lennon's.
Billboard
included the album
as one of their
"Top Album Picks"
for the week ending
March 19, 1977,
and called the band
“clever, musically inventive,
and uses the tools
of teen cataclysm rock
with charm and style.”
Note:
The original vinyl record had
"Side A"
printed on the label
on one side
and
"Side 1"
printed on the other,
a humorous touch
reflecting the band's
conviction that they didn't
have any
"B material".
The placement of the
track listing
on the jacket
seemed to indicate
"Hot Love"
was the first track
on the album.
When the album
was released on CD
in the mid-1980s,
it followed the same sequence.
However,
when the album was
re-issued in 1998,
the band's
preferred sequence
was used,
placing
"Side 1"
before
"Side A"
and included
five bonus tracks
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