Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted?

The Year: 1978

The Date: April 28 or 30th

The Place: Tokyo, Japan

"I want you to want...me. I want you to want...ME!"

And with the kick off of a shuffling drum starts the next number in my favorite all time song list:

Cheap Trick "I Want You To Want Me" (1977 / 1979)



As big a hit song as this is, it took a while to grow on me. I had heard the song on the radio of course before I had bought a Cheap Trick record, but couldn't tell you at the time that I had. Just one of those songs on the radio that I didn't care who sang it or why. Before buying their stuff, the song I knew Cheap Trick for was "Surrender" aka "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they're just a little bit weird". It seemed like their best known song, even the ticket scalper in Fast Times At Ridgemont High sang "Surrender" when trying to sell Cheap Trick tickets. "Surrender" came with the record At Budokan and since it was the Nice Price (i.e. permanently discounted) I was motivated to buy it. Thanks to my two music bibles in high school (The Encyclopedia of Rock and The Rolling Stone Magazine Rock Encyclopedia) I knew their biggest hit was also from that album, "I Want You To Want Me". So I figured bonus, I get the song I want plus whatever their biggest hit was.

I've been Tricked!

So I bought the At Budokan record and when I got to "I Want You To Want Me" I listened intently. This was Cheap Trick's biggest hit! Shuffling drums, springy bass line, guy singer whining sort of like Marilyn Monroe with a shot of testosterone...sounds kind of familiar...really? This is the big hit? A song with like six lines or something, one of which makes a huge deal about wearing a brand new shirt?? What kind of guy likes clothes that much??? The live audience on the record seems to like it, some weird chanting going on after the singer says something about seeing him crying. Decent guitar solo, huh not a lot of pace changes in this just the same beat going til the very end.

In high school, I thought this song was sooo overrated. I'd play it off the record sometimes, but usually when spinning that tasty piece of vinyl I'd throw on "Surrender" or the racuous "Clock Strikes Ten". Later when I had the song on The Greatest Hits cd I got a little more used to the song but wouldn't say I loved it.

So what changed?

Have a Coke and a smile

The song started to show up in other media, delivered in a way that hit my easily influenced mind the right way. In other words, it was used in a soft drink commercial. Edited down to 20 or so seconds, "I Want You To Want Me" in a Diet Coke ad completely changed my mind on this one. Hearing the live recording played loud in the advertisement with some guy singing along in the shower or rocking out in his apartment seemed cool to me. And the hook drilled it's way into my brain and wouldn't let go. Damn you ad execs, you nailed it! But I still prefer Pepsi, so you do not attain total victory on me.

Then, my brother started playing the soundtrack to the film 10 Things I Hate About You every time we saw him and it included "I Want You To Want Me", except it was finally sung by an actual girl. The group was called Letters For Cleo and the cover wasn't bad. Sometimes I would see a video for this version, with the band playing on top of a roof. It was pretty much a straight cover, except the girl went the pixie alterna girl route instead of the cooing Robin Zander delivery. I got a copy of this song off my brother and played it semi regularly. Never did get into Letters For Cleo, this cover is my only true exposure to the band. And it seems the internet remembers this version coming from the band Save Ferris instead, so Letters For Cleo don't even get credit for their own work anymore. Wonder where they are now?

I wanted to play the original song on my own time, but I had sold off my Cheap Trick's greatest hits CD before any of this happened (I had really needed the money) and the only Cheap Trick version I had on a 70s rock compilation cassette and it sounded real different. REAL different.

WTF? Who put Billy Joel in there?



The Cheap Trick "I Want You To Want Me" I had was the studio version, presumably from the In Color album. It was a little slower, cleaner (natch) and lighter. The gritty slightly ragged guitar from the live take was replaced with a polite piano that would say "please" and "thank you" instead of "hell yeah!". Yeah, that metaphor made no sense but you know what I mean. There's even a piano solo at the end, what the hell is this from The Sting soundtrack? You ever notice Robert Redford always plays like, liars in his movies? Wait, there's echo on the word "cryin" in the chorus, that's what that weird chanting was! The fans were singing the echo. Wow, that echo sucks.

After hearing this version off the tape, I felt like I was in a mirror universe. Up was down, left was right, The Enterprise wanted to destroy the Halkan counsel instead of negotiate, Sulu wanted to bang Uhura...it was sheer utter unmitigated...wait for it...madness.

I needed to get the original live version. Needed it bad, so I bought The Complete Budokan Concert on two cds so I could have it. Bwa ha ha ha!

Mad About The Mouse


"I Want You To Want Me" has continued to hold sway over me after my reassesment of it. When I bought the Cheap Trick box set it came with a cool alternate studio take of the song that, interestingly, sounds a lot like the live version but with some studio polish. This version quickly ramped up into my favorites and is the one I like the most of the many, many various takes on what's become a well worn classic.

On top of this, "I Want You To Want Me" seems to have become a rite of passage for female Disney actresses. They're all over You Tube, there's Lindsey used to be hot Lohan, some blond girl from a movie called Bandslam and then a group called KSM that flail through it like a Noxema ad. For whatever the reason, the Mouse is lovin' this one for the kids. Oh, that sounded really wrong.

The Want Ads

So when it comes to "I Want You To Want Me" I went from indifference to thinking it's the stuff of genius. Simplicity at its finest. And to their credit, any attempts at making a copy of their own smash hit weren't memorable enough to stay in my memory. That takes guts to not remake their own song with different words to milk the sucker dry, it's not like Cheap Trick is necessarily above that sort of thing (play "The Flame" and "Can't Help Falling Into Love" back to back and see if you o.d. on power ballad ice). Even the recent Weezer song "If You're Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)" owes a nod of debt to this sturdy classic. And now ladies and gentlemen, check out this dude Dr. K who sings the song with an Elvis styled voice. Awesome!

The Design Of A Decade Pt 1: Devil Horns To The Sky!

The future is the past. The past is the future. Chickenfoot keeps arena rock alive in 2009!

The first decade of the 21st Century is almost over, makes me feel like I'm Buck Rogers living in this space age of microwave ovens and high definition sunglasses. And with any landmark of time there must be Best Of lists because hell, if you can't list things you like in an arbitrary order then why have an internet? So this is my list, in order of genre, of my favorite CDs of the past ten years. I wish I could say every album on my list is a flawless gem but I'm old, most new music (even by old artists) don't hit me like that. This is part 1 of a series that I'm naming after a Janet Jackson album because as she would say, what have you done for me lately?

We're at the stage of life for 70's / 80's rock bands to discover that sadly rock and roll does not come with a pension plan. As a result these groups keep chugging along on the road to make dough for their IRA. Or maybe they just plain love what they're doing and meant it all those years ago when they gave interviews saying "I'll play live til I die whether it's to 20,000 people or just one guy in the room." In any case, these road warriors hit the stage to rock out annually and occasionally release new material to keep things fresh. Here's my favorite Arena rock releases of recent past.

Rock The Half Sold Out Arena!

My favorite of all music genres headed up by my favorite band, Journey. The 21st Century era of this group will forever be in dispute because for some Journey begins and ends with Steve Perry. Though Perry is my all time favorite singer, I was a fan of the band as a whole which included Jon Cain, Neal Schon and Ross Valory and was happy to see them continue. Arrival (2001) is the best of the bunch with Steve Augeri on the mic, Journey rocked hard on cuts like "Higher Place", "To Be Alive Again" or the strutting "I Got A Reason". Naturally this had to be offset by soft soaring ballads such as "Lifetime Of Dreams" or "Signs Of Life". Only the "When You Love A Woman" rewrite "All The Way" feels like a misstep although it isn't bad. Augeri allowed the group to rock its hardest since the Escape / Frontiers era. After drafting Arnel Pineda a year ago, the bay area band recorded Revelations (2008) which brought back some needed soulfulness to the vocals (Augeri was a better rock belter, Pineda a better crooner). The strong mix of rockers and ballads continued with the high flying "Change For The Better" offset by the soft "Turn Down The World Tonight".

Recent Journey tour mates Heart and Cheap Trick both had good albums to back up their noise. Heart delivered Jupiter's Darling (2004) that found middle ground between their Zepified 70's persona and slick 80's model. Meanwhile, the Tricksters have spent decades trying to recapture their early magic with hit and miss results. On 2006's Rockford they hit the right balance of catchy power pop brilliance and power chord thunder.

Other early 80's survivor Loverboy strapped on the head bandanna one more time for Just Getting Started (2007). One of the few successful attempts to meld modern sensibility into an established 80's rock sound. The fired up title track has plenty of Loverboy's famous freewheeling fun, the bluesy "One Of Them Days" swings and the power ballad "The One That Got Away" is first class.

Shagadelic

The Hair Metal bands of the 80's have some renewed interest thanks to the Guitar Hero / Rock Band phenomenon. Still, no one is willing to reproduce their classic spandex pants with wall of hair look. Instead they opt for leather pants and a shaggy shoulder length hair cut that says "Hey, I'm old and won't look out of place shopping at Wal Mart but still know how to rawk!"

It took a band not from that era to hand down the truest (and at same time mocking) expression of this maligned art form: The Darkness. They came out of nowhere to throw down "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" establishing a heady mix of Queen and hair band euphoria. Their album Permission To Land (2003) backs up their hit tune with other material that is silly and playful in its excess. Too bad drugs and a delayed follow up caused them to crash and burn.

Whitesnake proved David Coverdale could still howl in the still of the night with the excellent Good To Be Bad (2008). Copying your own hits over again usually seems lame, in the hands of a master like Coverdale remakes of "Slow and Easy" or "Is This Love" (titled "Good To Be Bad" and "All I Want All I Need" respectively) are downright inspired. I got to see them live just before Coverdale's voice gave out, he rawked!

Marketing king Jon Bon Jovi spent much of this decade serving up streamlined pop rock to the masses with success. Although I liked the hit songs he's had lately, as a full album statement the disc I liked the most was the hitless Bounce (2002). I wish I could say this was a great album, it's just pretty good, yet as an album it blends the faster and slower material evenly and cleanly. Plus I love that title song.

It's A Long Way To The Top If You Want To Rock And Roll

Two bands that were virtual outlaws in their hey day compared to where they landed now are AC/DC and Metallica. AC/DC were shunned as being "Satanic" and represented all that was "evil" in rock music during the late 70's and early 80's. Raunchy sexism hammered down with a heavy guitar riff and a jolt of humor made them easy targets for God fearing parents wrath. How weird is it now, nearly 30 years later, you can buy AC/DC memorabilia at department stores and see little kids decked out in the Aussie band's branded merchandise? Times have changed making AC/DC classics like "Let Me Put My Love Into You" or "Let's Get It Up" tame by comparison.

AC/DC didn't do a whole lot the last ten years to necessarily earn this boon, though they did turn in the enjoyable Black Ice (2008). Black Ice had some catchy stuff such as the slick "Wheels" or the menacing title tune. I'd like to say 2000's Stiff Upper Lip was great as that was the disc that got me into the band beyond a casual interest. Just can't say that because too much of the CD has songs stuck in the same groove making it repetitive.

Metallica is another band that rocked so hard they couldn't get any recognition from mainstream media for the first third of their career. They managed to hit it big on their own terms initially, since the mid 90's they have continuously watered down their image to ensure lasting popularity. Even if it reeked of career move-itis, last year's Death Magnetic was the bay area thrashers throwback to basics CD. Lengthy songs, pummeling rhythms, spiraling solos and dog bark vocals came back with a vengeance. Admittedly some of Death Magnetic rings hollow, still I'll take this over most of what the band has done the last fifteen years any day. I have no favorite individual songs from this disc, I like it as a whole.

Oh Yeah!

The last CD I have under this style is 2009's Chickenfoot. The supergroup made up of half of Van Hagar (Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar), guitar god Joe Satriani and funky drummer Chad Smith cranked out shameless hard rock. Playing to their strengths, straightforward AOR performed with inspiration produces an adrenaline fueled feeling of power. Would have been nice if the songs were a touch better, what is here is good enough anyway.

That's a wrap on part one of this series, think I'll tackle the 90's stars next. Until next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel!

Mr Mike's AOR Project 1988

It was a concert I had wished I had gone to.

It's fitting after covering a whole lotta Zep that 1988 is the next year in my AOR Project because that was the year everyone wanted to be Zep. In the wake of Whitesnake's success a slew of bands took to the Zeppelin sound and interest renewed in the original members. On top of that Hair Metal went into overdrive. The Monsters of Rock tour was somewhere around this time led by the Hagar driven Van Halen. Everything was great in '88!

Disc 1:

Fate - Love On The Rox

When bands split up, it usually doesn't seem clean. So when Mercyful Fate divided and one half became Fate, well that was just pure genius.

Robert Plant - Heaven Knows

I debated with myself to include this or "Tall Cool One". Tough call to make, I went with the slower tempo number.

Cheap Trick - The Flame

Not just a great power ballad, one that seems to get a pass from people critical of this genre. Great acoustic guitar sound on this track.
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Kingdom Come - Get It On

In one of the best marketing moves of the day, the band sent this record to radio stations without a mention of who it was. Rumors spread that this was Led Zeppelin's new song (because it sounded very "Kashmir") and it got all over the airwaves.

Bonham - Wait For You

If anyone who was not a former member of Led Zep had a right to tackle that sound, it was Jason Bonham. The prodigal son gets his Physical Graffiti on with this ripping cut.

Toto - Pamela

Not to be outdone, Toto also sounded like Led Zep...no, not really, Toto came off as very Toto with a jazzy retread of "Rosanna".

3 - Talkin' 'Bout

To this day I'm shocked they didn't force Robert Berry to legally change his name to something like Like so they could remain ELP. Emerson, Like and Palmer has a nice ring to it.

Mr. Big - Addicted To That Rush

A few years before they invented the campfire clap power ballad, the mini supergroup made up from former members of Eric Martin Band, David Lee Roth and Racer X fired up the fret work to a crazy fast beat.

Hurricane - I'm On To You

Current Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen spent the 80's rocking like a, um Hurricane.

Shy - Break Down The Walls

I'm not even gonna front yo, I've got to admit I learned about this group through Melodicrock and had not heard of this group at the time. Not bad stuff.

Aerosmith - Angels

Power ballads are all about the cheese baby, and it's hard to top the fondue fountain that is "Angel".

Saraya - Love Has Taken It's Toll

One of my favorite lost bands, this song has so many memories of drunken games at the pool halls for me. It sucks this album is out of print, Sandi Saraya rocks!

Alice Cooper - Poison

In 1988 none could resist the power of Desmond Child and he revived the 70's Icon with this comeback jam.

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me

The Lep seemed all washed up when the 5th single dropped a year after the album release. One of the first mainstream meldings of rap and metal after "Walk This Way", it became a legend of 80's rock.

Pat Benatar - All Fired Up

A few years before her unfortunate foray into Blues, Benatar came up with one more Arena Rock winner before heading off to the oldies circuit.

Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

The reason everyone knows this band was because of this uncharacteristically sweet midtempo rocker. A great song, though if I have to hear the story of how Slash came up with the opening riff again I'll go into convulsions.

Disc 2:

Glass Tiger - I'm Still Searching

The Tiger made a play for a lasting career but was caught looking on a fastball. How's that for mixed metaphors!

Poison - Every Rose Has It's Thorn

I'd put down Bret Michaels but the man has a dream life: He slaps on his weave and plays generic music to screaming fans and has VH1 act as his personal pimp every few months. Lame or not, Michaels did come up with one of the best known poems in the late 20th century. Every rose has its thorn, just like every day has its dawn, just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.

Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine

An awesome, awesome hair band arena rock jam with a big ass chorus and rapidfire verses.

Van Halen - When It's Love

Things looked a little wussy in Van Halen land for a second with this lenghty ballad. "Unchained" this is not.

Queensryche - I Don't Believe In Love

Part of the classic Operation: Mindcrime album, the Seattle based unit brought the heat on this dramatic rocker.

Britny Fox - Girlschool

C'mon, it's Britny Fox! What else can I say?

Eddie Money - Walk On Water

Eddie was on the money with this amazing slice of AOR written by Sammy Hagar's ex-keyboardist Jesse Harms. I remember getting out of the hospital and buying the tape. And finding out this was the only good song on the whole freakin' tape.

Jimmy Page - Wasting My Time

Unable to get Robert Plant to stick around (sounds familiar), Page cut a fine solo album called Outrider that featured this hard rockin' cut.

Scorpions - Rhythm Of Love

I find it weird how sometimes a certain song title will become popular. Case in point, "Rhythm of Love" was released by Yes in '87 and the Scorps in '88 and the two songs have nothing to do with each other at all.

Europe - Superstitious

Hey, it turned out guitarist John Norum was the most important member of this group after all. When Norum left this was the last hit the group could generate.

Def Leppard - Love Bites

One of the most interesting power ballads in terms of lyrics ("Love Bites / Love Bleeds / It's what I need"). Probably goes over well with that Twilight crowd. Say it. Vampire. Ooh...

Kix - Don't Close Your Eyes

You know it's 1988 when it's another song, another power ballad.

White Lion - Wait

Maybe the best name in Hair Metal, Mike Tramp, led his group through the jungle with this winning melody.

Paul Dean - Sword and Stone

Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean cut a Paul Stanley song for his solo album with strong results.

AC / DC - Heatseeker

It's Ac/Dc. You either get it or you don't.

Bad Company - No Smoke Without A Fire

The radio station in Sacramento loved this song, I heard it a couple times a day for months. This chorus is forever jammed in my brain.

Sheriff - When I'm With You

In a strange turn of events, a failed band from 1983 got their song played on the radio by a DJ who liked this song in 1988 - years after the band had split up. Later the singer and guitarist would team up with former members of Heart to make Alias.
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And that was 1988. Just one more year to go!

Turkey Shoot - The Top 10 Most Disappointing Songs

I missed posting on Thanksgiving, had a delicious dinner at my parents place. So my Thanksgiving post is a day late, with Turkey's being the key symbol of this Holiday I thought it would be a good time to do a Top 10 Turkey Songs. These aren't songs about...haven't you heard? I said HAVEN'T YOU HEARD? About the Bird? Bird Bird Bird, Bird is a Word...

Anyway, these are the 10 most disappointingly bad songs I've heard. They feature a lot of my favorite artists because it's harder to be disappointed in a musical act you don't have much of an interest in anyway. So here it is, the Ten most disappointing songs I've heard...Ten Turkeys- songs that should have been left overs. Pulled from the refrigerator, unwrapped from its protective foil and thrown out in the street. Somebody get the gravy!

10. Night Ranger - The Secret of My Success (1987)

The Bay Area rockers were on a roll with Top 10 hits and Platinum albums by the mid 80's. What could be better? How about a movie soundtrack theme for the latest Michael J Fox movie, co written and Produced by the inimitable David Foster? This is a plan that can't go wrong. The power of Night Ranger, the super slick sonics of David Foster and the likability of Michael J Fox all rolled into one. A Perfect Storm of marketing synergy. Depressingly, that's exactly what it sounds like- a marketing plan brought to life. Foster's Chicagoisms of synth horns, mannered guitar work and busy instrumentation didn't mesh well with Night Ranger's free wheeling high speed rawk. Unsurprisingly, Night Ranger saw their commercial fortunes slide after this song.

9. Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster (1993)

By the late 80's / early 90's the Tricksters had been all over the map stylistically. When they got to "Woke Up With A Monster", the group seemed tired. It was like they were trying to work up some whimsy but only had enough juice to sound mean. Thankfully, shortly after Alternative Rock bands began citing Cheap Trick as an influence-buying them some much needed credibility.

8. Styx - Music Time (1984)

Styx was near the end of their initial run and to cap it they released a double live album, Caught in the Act. The record came with one new studio track, "Music Time". I was so excited, I was getting a live record by one of my favorite groups plus a new song. Then I actually heard the record. "Music Time" took all of the annoying excesses that ringleader Dennis DeYoung could muster and slammed it into a four minute tune. All the dorky Broadway jazz hands crap that DeYoung had in him to a cheap synth riff unchecked by anything. Seee it. Liiikke it. Loooovve it. DoitDoitDoitDoit. Waannt it. Neeedd it. Can't get enough of it! All the wayyyy!

7. Steve Perry - I Am (1994)

Can "The Voice" really do wrong? After hearing this track, the answer is Yes. The song is supposed to convey a sense of hard won maturity but instead it comes off as turgid and self indulgent. A torpid pace sinks any chance "I Am" has of winning me over, one of the few songs to be graced by Perry's voice that I just can't stand. It's like watching a bad episode of Dr Phil where a guy can't stop bleeding his heart out.

6. Boston - Corporate America (2004)

I like everything Boston, even this song I like in a so-bad-it-becomes-kinda-good way. Many an Arena Rock band has made the mistake of thinking a cheap, anxious synth line sounds good. Although this was recorded in the 21st Century, the overworked keyboards immediately dates the track as early 80's to the point that the rampaging guitars in the chorus isn't enough to ramp up interest. To top it off, Boston leader Tom Scholz stacks the deck with awful lyrics decrying the evils of large corporations. Look Out! Look Out!

5. Chicago - Bigger Than Elvis (1993/2008)

When Jason Scheff replaced Peter Cetera in 1985, Scheff was recognizably different in his approach though many did not notice. Jason Scheff had a more winsome style that could get more than a little sentimental. But until the recently released Stone of Sisyphus disc I had no idea how sentimental. On "Elvis", Scheff writes a heartfelt ode to lovin' his Dad ( not that way, get your mind out of the gutter sicko). Scheff's father was the bass player for Elvis Presley, the song chronicles how Scheff loves his Pop to the point that his Father is "Bigger Than Elvis". A beautiful arrangement can't mask the saccharine, be careful when listening to this or you may go into a diabetic coma.

4. Asia - Countdown To Zero (1985)

During the Cold War, the Arms race and possibility of Nuclear War was on everyone's minds. It was on John Wetton's mind, resulting in one of the worst anti-war anthems you could imagine. "Countdown to Zero" has more corn than, well, a corn field as Wetton builds the anxiety about irreconcilable international tensions. What really caps it is the ending, where Wetton reels off a list of Countries names and then pleads for Peace. In a large, booming echoey voice, Wetton slowly intones "Don't Do It. Don't Press the Button. No. Don't Start. Don't Start the Countdown to Zero. We Want To Live. We Will Live. Don't Press the Button." and goes on like this for a while. It's hilariously bad, in College I had a running joke with a roommate who also liked Asia where we would talk just like this.

3. Van Halen - How Many Say I (1998)

With Van Halen 3, Eddie Van Halen had finally gotten rid of all the lead singers that had stood in his way of total domination of the band. And now EVH could do what he really wanted to do...sing! With a weathered voice that made Roger Waters sound like Christina Aguilera, Eddie Van Halen ended Van Halen 3 with this piano based ballad containing an almost childlike circular melody. Raw ego never sounded so wrong.

2. GTR - The Hunter (1986)

Debuting with the outstanding "When The Heart Rules the Mind", GTR hit the scene as a team up of prog guitar legends Steve Howe (Yes, Asia) and Steve Hackett (Genesis). After taking in "Mind", I anxiously waited for the follow up single. What I got was this, the ridiculous "The Hunter". Musically, it's a very nice song featuring Howe and Hackett's fine acoustic guitars. What stops the fun is a sing songy melody with lyrics like "He's a fighter, he's a swan, he's the one I'm counting on. Steal the glory, take the prize - only the Hunter, only the Hunter...Survives!" El lamo.

1. Rod Stewart - Love Touch (1985)

For two decades this song has represented to me all that can be crappy in music. Taken from the soundtrack for the Robert Redford / Debra Winger rom com Legal Eagles, Stewart doesn't just go Pop but ingests it whole like a Sarlacc pit. It should be a slight, innocuous pop piece of fluff. But something in this song offends me on a deep deep level. Nothing here works for me, its not just the sound of someone selling out that gets me. It's the sound of a talented performer phoning in a performance to a song devoid any real feeling done in a style that's supposed to seem adventurous and fun. And then I had to watch this hunk of junk become a Top 10 hit. Oh the pain, the pain. I can't even bring myself to provide a link to this.

That wraps up my Top 10 musical turkeys, as I mentioned at the start these are some of my favorite groups so why carp on just one song versus the hundreds that I enjoy from these people? Simple, because it's fun. No one can be perfect all the time and these artists are no exception. Though that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun at their expense. And it's perfectly possible that other people may love these songs. So have you heard? Have you heard about the Bird? Bird Bird Bird, Bird is a Word...

Journey to the Shoreline Amphitheatre? Crappy. Journey at the Shoreline Amphitheatre? Priceless.

Neal Schon takes his You Tube favorite selection a bit literally. We are so lucky he didn't get Rickrolled .

Last night I went to Mountain View, CA to see the Arena Rock triple header of Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. It's the first time we've been to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in a while and encountered the worst ever traffic to that venue in all the times we've been there. It took us 90 minutes to travel to Mountain View. After getting to the city, it took another hour to get to a place we could park. It looked like a sell out show with standing room only on the lawn. Because of the massive delay, we didn't get to see Cheap Trick. We did get to hear half of the set.

Cheap Trick's set that we heard while walking through the dusty back lot parking area: The Flame / Surrender / Goodbye Now / Dream Police (encore).

What we heard sounded great, Robin Zander's vocals held up well and the band had the same manic energy and freewheeling fun spirit as on record. I caught a glimpse of the video screen when we entered the facility during "Dream Police". After getting settled in, we found we had the best seats I've ever sat in (it was about 11th row) which was great. So we waited for Heart to start their set.

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Heart's set: Wild Child / Magic Man / Never / Straight On / These Dreams / Alone / Love Reign O'er Me / Barracuda / Going to California (encore) / Silver Wheels (encore) / Crazy on You (encore).

Keyboardist Debbie Shair started things off with a pleasant, slightly Yessy synth intro before the band joined her on stage. Once in position, Heart surprised (and they would a few more times) with a roaring version of "Wild Child" from the Brigade album. From there the band slid into "Magic Man" where lead guitarist Craig Bartock showed he had both the reserved demeanor and pinched note playing style of classic Heart sidemen Howard Leese and Roger Fisher. It seems many of the band's 80's songs have been recast to be more acoustic and organic starting with "Never". After the big synth heavy intro supported by the excellent drumming of Ben Smith, Nancy Wilson played both acoustic guitar and towards the end harmonica to soften the steely sound. The pumping "Straight On" proved how tight this band was as they got mildly funky. Nancy Wilson dedicated "These Dreams" to the memory of Bill Graham as that song was remade to feature Wilson's mandolin and Ric Markmann's stick bass. Then it was just the Wilson sisters and keyboardist Shair for "Alone".

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On recent tv programs it sounded like Ann Wilson's voice was getting a touch weaker, yet live that was entirely not the case. Wilson belted everything with the same power heard on early recordings of the band and on "Alone" she gave a bravura performance. Ann Wilson showed power and emotion to a series of applause's while Shair's keyboards and the harmony vocals supported the vocal moment of the night.

In a night of surprises, Heart tackled the Who classic "Love Reign O'er Me" much to the delight of Nancy Wilson who skipped and leaped like when Snoopy was happy in the Peanuts comic (Arnel Pineda would also do this dance later). Ann Wilson belted out the famous "Looovveeee...reign on me!" just as well as Eddie Vedder or Roger Daltry. Then they jumped straight into "Barracuda" as Rock Star inspired light effects flew all over the stage.

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With the 80's over, Nancy Wilson displays more of a youthful kid like style with her spins and jumps than when I saw them in '85. The band was clearly having fun as Nancy Wilson gave a Captain's salute to Bartock during his guitar fill on "Barracuda". After leaving and returning for an encore, Heart surprised again with a brilliant cover of my wife's favorite Led Zep song "Going to California." Nancy Wilson took center stage for a great acoustic guitar solo to lead into the final song.

"Crazy on You" was delivered with full force even with an extended bridge section that slows down to allow Ann Wilson to wail a bit more. After a big finish, Heart left to allow the stage to be reset.

Journey set list: Never Walk Away / Only The Young / Star Spangled Banner / Stone In Love / Ask The Lonely / Keep On Runnin' / After All These Years / When You Love A Woman / Change For The Better / Separate Ways / Faith In The Heartland / Jon Cain solo / Open Arms / Don't Stop Believin' / Faithfully / Wheel In The Sky / Escape / Any Way You Want It / Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' (encore).

With the Revelation CD there was a DVD included that had Pineda's first American date as lead singer. I thought the DVD prepped me for what to expect. It really didn't.

From the get go, Journey came across as a full band again. The group interplay was visible and all members seemed to like the new guy. And in terms of energy, Pineda may be the strongest yet as he ran, jumped from a standing position, flew off the drum riser, spun all over and flipped his mic around like a baton. Even towards the end of the show, Pineda was pulling off Diamond Dave worthy leaps. And he did it with a big grin as he fist bumped and high fived anyone in range (my wife and I even got high fives).

The combination of a revitalized band playing in their home (the Bay Area) and performing in one of the heaviest populated Filipino communities in the country (again the Bay Area) meant this show was beyond sold out. I've never seen the Shoreline this full for any event. Not for Van Halen, not for Fleetwood Mac...nobody.

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Entering the stage to the strains of AC/DC's "Back in Black", the group kicked into "Never Walk Away" from the new album. Immediately Pineda established his presence despite his small stature (there seemed to be a monitor speaker placed dead center at the lip of the stage to allow him to stand and be more visible) and the group segued into a sparkling Only The Young". Neal Schon then reserved some space for himself with his guitar solo "The Star Spangled Banner". Very different from Hendrix's famed version, Schon's smooth blazing style was extremely patriotic as bassist Ross Valory held his hand over his heart and video screens showed stars and stripes.

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One of my personal faves "Ask The Lonely" came next as Pineda showed no signs of pacing himself, leaning back with his eyes closed to unleash one bracing high note after another. This made me both disappointed and relieved when he got a break as drummer Deen Castronovo took over lead vocals for the charged "Keep on Runnin". I still have a problem with two singers working the same territory (Steve Perry style wails) but since it was a fast song I didn't mind as much. Except in singing lead at a fast pace Castronovo didn't have too many drum fills to add.

Regretfully, nature called so I heard but couldn't see "After All These Years" and "When You Love A Woman". I came back midway thru the song I liked the most from the new album, "Change For The Better". Again Pineda was gettin' big air on his jumps, whether it was straight up to punctuate a cymbal crash or flying off the drum riser like Michael Jordan going for a slam dunk. The athleticism was really impressive.

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The crowd was behind the band as they launched into "Separate Ways". "Faith In The Heartland" came across well and seeing Pineda sing standing between Schon and Valory recalled the Journey of old. Seeing the audience took a seat during "Heartland", Pineda encouraged everyone to stand up for "our song", "Lights". A sea of lit cell phones swayed like a colony of fireflies in the night as Pineda sang about the "city by the Bay". Jon Cain then laid out an impressive piano solo leading into "Open Arms". Standing next to Cain, Pineda showed he had the sensitivity needed to make the song work.

In case anyone had it in their mind to slow down, Journey continued to dip into the Escape songbook for "Don't Stop Believin". Their best known anthem roused the fans to renewed frenzy as the song ended with the video image of the name "Journey" written in Sopranos style red gun font. In a recent Rolling Stone magazine article that was downplayed by the band, Pineda said the hectic touring schedule was causing him a lot of difficulty with his personal life. Fittingly, "Don't Stop Believin" was followed by the life-on-the-road power ballad "Faithfully". Pineda seemed to get a little choked up during the first part of the song, particularly the line about "love and a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be". But he remained focused to the end of the song.

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The big finish was next as "Wheel in the Sky", "Escape" and "Any Way You Want It" were scorching hot. "Escape" was the point when Pineda made it to our side of the stage where Bunny and I were able to high five and see the man up close. And it was then that I was able to put my finger, so to speak, on what makes Pineda work as a frontman for the band (in addition to his voice). He comes across as a friendly, open, energetic and talented guy, someone who can work the crowd in a way that the other band members can't. The others can wow with their playing skills but Journey's music needs a relatible person at the forefront. Pineda fits that very well. That and Cain / Schon get a lead singer who isn't going to enforce his personal vision on them for better or worse. So he sings and performs like a man possessed and gets along with the rest of the group. Outwardly, the band appears unified for the first time in a long while.

We left as the encore "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin" played.

Some final notes to wrap up - the venue was extremely difficult to access, really disappointed with Shoreline's crowd control. The sound where we stood was missing bass except for the kick drum which hit you with force on your body. This made the singers sound higher, Nancy Wilson in especially sounded a bit chirpy as a result. The crowd itself was generally good natured and drunk. At the vendor stand, the T Shirt seller was a jerk. But the performers and seating were fantastic. It was hell to get there, but great seats and two and a half awe inspiring performances made it worthwhile.

Focus On: Turnin' Tricks for Kenny Loggins

You oughta be in pictures: Cheap Trick makes some noise for Hollywood

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I was racking my brain trying to think of a different way to say something about Cheap Trick since I'm planning on seeing the famed power poppers this weekend. They've had a unique career arc where very little ever went as planned (with the exception of 1988's Lap of Luxury record, that went exactly as planned) and had a mix of highs and lows. After a couple of throwaway ideas, I decided it would be fun to cover their career from strictly a movie soundtrack perspective.

That's where Kenny Loggins comes in. Until the 90's Kenny Loggins was the undisputed king of the movie soundtrack. He could rock, but in a streamlined and inoffensive way. He could do wimpy ballads or bellow his way through a rocked out love song. All with a finely trimmed beard and a smile. Kenny was made for the big money movie soundtracks and often appeared on the most successful of them (Top Gun, Footloose). Make no mistake, Kenny Loggins is Nobody's Fool (Caddyshack 2 soundtrack).

Movie soundtracks grew and changed in the 80's as they became pop music samplers that were sometimes bigger than the films that spawned them. Like the Now That's What I Call Music series of today, when done right you got a cross section of current artists, classic tunes and cheap videos with film scenes inserted in. For current artists, it just meant they had to be willing to play the game: It wasn't about creating music, it was about filling an order on spec. And, not puttin' them down, that was something Cheap Trick did not have a problem with. The band's sound of classic Beatles choruses, driving Arena Rock guitars and odd sense of humor made them critics darlings and big rock stars in the 70's. But by the 80's their creative well suddenly dried up and they became more hit and miss (though I became a fan at this time and bought each album as it came out from One on One up to Busted, I even owned The Doctor once. Think I needed a doctor after hearing that one).

So I'm going to cover their soundtrack songs which sort of provided markers for different trends in the movies and the tunes that went with them. The focus will be on songs written for or promoted as new for a specific movie, meaning I won't be counting the millions of times "I Want You To Want Me" or "Surrender" have been used (except for one small exception towards the end).

Rock & Roll Fantasy

In the late 70's Rock and Roll was still considered outsider music even though it was getting more mainstream. As relatively clean cut Arena Rock bands dominated the airwaves the music was still associated with sex, drugs and/or Satan. So when Cheap Trick made the hard edged Everything Works If You Let It for the film Roadie (1980) it wasn't much of a stretch. A song I like a lot, "Everything" rocks in classic Trick manner with a raucous groove colliding with Magical Mystery Tour melodicism. Of all their soundtrack songs, this was the most natural and hardest rocking cut.

Animation Domination

For about a year cartoons were the answer to cinematic rock. Able to become more fanciful and dark with animation than live action, filmmakers focused on making movies like The Wall (1980) or American Pop (1981) allowing the music to help take viewers on a wild ride. Starting with the Sci Fi classic Heavy Metal (1981) the Trick gave two songs including their most pure backing tune I Must Be Dreaming which is mostly instrumental. The guitars are recognizably by Rick Nielsen and vocalist Robin Zander makes an appearance but most of it is this steamrolling groove dotted by keyboards like some high tech thing must be happening on screen. Three songs were written for Rock & Rule (1983) two of which hit hard but in a similar way. Born to Raise Hell and "I'm the Man" both brought fury and power to decent songs. The third one was the late night bar ballad Ohm Sweet Ohm which is excellent. But America's flirtation with pen drawn rockers ended fast as any sense of artistic highbrow was replaced by...

Cheap Trick Gone Wild

Teen sex comedies became the "in" thing as Porky's (1982) drew a ton of teens who wanted to see what they couldn't show you on tv. Rock and Roll and teens go hand in hand so movie music was adapted as light, feel good anthems of mischief to a series of low budget flicks. At the same time, Cheap Trick's commercial and artistic fortunes were sliding fast so they probably needed the cash. I haven't heard the title song for Spring Break (1983) but I have fond memories of Up the Creek (1984) because it's one of my favorite Cheap Trick songs. I just read Rick Nielsen considered this song one of the worst he's written, but I still love it and even had bought the soundtrack back then just for Up the Creek!

Kenny Loggins Padowan Learner

By '86 the band had sunk pretty low and it seemed like the record company began to dictate their actions as a result. In addition to using outside songwriters for more commercial material they adapted to the current film scene again. They followed the Sith Loggins to Top Gun (1986) and Caddyshack 2 (1988) , recording a tune I consider one of their worst: Mighty Wings. The song was your run of the mill fast rock beat encased in steely synthesizer carbonite as Robin Zander howled about sky or wings or some kinda crap. It wouldn't have been as bad if it had been billed to just Zander since he's the only recognizable part of the group in the whole mess. But it wasn't and so the best selling soundtrack Cheap Trick appeared on did zilch for their career. I'm overstating the case but it's tragic man! They also recorded mediocre songs for Say Anything (1988) and Another Way (1988). At least on their regular albums the marketing strategy paid off as The Flame burned its way to #1.

Mike Reno got a cool headband and all I got was this duet...

In 1989 Robin Zander finally got some soundtrack glory for himself. Teaming up with the Loverboy vocalist's partner from Footloose's Almost Paradise, Zander and Heart's Ann Wilson recorded Surrender to Me which actually was a sizable hit. A pleasant ballad with those awesome 80's glowing keyboards, it had a life separate from the Mel Gibson movie that spawned it. Rock ballads were just as important to movies as they were to Hair bands and everyone loves a soft rock duet. Hey, maybe they'll play this song this weekend! That would be killer.

Drago!

As the makers of South Park noted, in modern film making you need to have a Montage. Why have writing and acting when you could play a rock song to boost energy and cut a bunch of images together? For training sequences it was a fast upbeat rock song and for love scenes a power ballad, as long as you got the feeling that the characters are working or lovin' it did the job. So nearly all soundtrack songs started to sound like it went to a montage even if it didn't. Taken at face value, these songs weren't bad and could be pretty listenable when you're in the mood. And I Will Survive from Gladiator (1992) sounds Rocky X ready with it's generic Go Get 'Em attitude (it's not the disco song). Meanwhile, a Diane Warren penned power ballad Wherever Would I Be was snapped up from their Busted album for the Look Who's Talking Too movie. Because John Travolta and Kirstie Alley need a song to love to. Makes you want to climb a snow covered mountain and yell, doesn't it?

Woke Up With A Monster

By 1992 Grunge and Alternative had taken over MTV leaving older bands scrambling for relevance. Already dealt a blow by the failure of the Busted album, Cheap Trick employed a movie move many of their peers had used - the gratuitously over produced cover song. The subject: Encino Man (1992). The song: Wild Thing. A clunky, frantic arrangement where the band tries to downplay and distort the famous song hook. Embarrassingly bad, even if it does keep the awesome drummer Bun E Carlos busy. Fortunately for Cheap Trick, alternative nation embraced their 70's stuff keeping their name around. That goodwill saved the band from joining the long list of has beens at that time.

Big Stardom

What goes around comes around, Cheap Trick's biggest break in the 90's came by way of a TV theme song. Going into the second season, That 70's Show brought in the Tricksters to cover Big Star's In The Street which was being used as the program's theme song. So Cheap Trick made it over into a song that, ironically, sounded as natural as their classic material. Their version of In The Street wasn't a monster smash but it got Trick their most press in years. Tagging the end with "Surrender" was a nice touch as well. The 70's revival fad was short lived but at least it lasted long enough for Cheap Trick. A great song well covered.

And we've come full circle. Cheap Trick played the soundtrack game well and occasionally fit in what made them distinct. While they could never keep up with Sith Loggins (I'm poking fun, I don't mind Kenny Loggins generally) Cheap Trick was able to adapt to the latest trends in music and film with some success. And movies utilized bands like Cheap Trick, at first to acquire Rock & Roll's rebel spirit and rambunctious life but eventually to sell product in an assembly line fashion. It's a trend that's lasted up to the present, as a slew of teenage singer/dancers sing "rock" songs in teen musicals. The larger debt may be to David Cassady or Shaun Cassady but the evolution of rock soundtracks is in there somewhere. Really! Da Do Ron Ron.

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A bonus for me, while searching out these videos I came across a song I haven't heard in decades because it's from the out of print Standing on the Edge (1985) album. The sound and video quality isn't great but I'm really pumped that I get to hear "Little Sister" again.

Cheap Trick "Little Sister"

Midnight Madness - Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles Edition

Kind of reminds me of that Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact.

The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has returned for a second season. I'm two episodes in and finding it just as big a kick as last year. It's well written and acted Sci Fi fun, a nice escape from reality. When combined with Terminator 3 and Terminator 4 it looks like the rampaging machine future gets more crowded by the second.

The Edge of the Blade - In an interview with Rolling Stone, new singer Arnel Pineda reveals he's homesick and a little worn out from Journey's punishing touring schedule. Maybe he'll be able to overcome these issues but ultimately it's up to him what makes the guy happy. If he leaves it will be a bummer, the band's recent disc Revelation is creeping up on Gold. The interview is here, Pineda says he has no intention of leaving yet. On the plus side, I've treated Rolling Stone reporting with a little skepticism ever since the hatchet job they did on Eddie Vedder in the mid-90's. There's always a chance the reporter got the whole thing wrong.

Blink 182 drummer - Travis Barker and DJ AM are in critical condition following a plane crash that killed four people. A sad, tragic event for all of the victims involved. Update: Barker and DJ AM are expected to recover, which is very good news.

Damage, Inc. - Metallica has scored their fifth #1 album with Death Magnetic proving there's still life in the career of the long running Metal band. The huge buzz has paid off for this excellent disc.

The End of the Line- Some fans are up in arms when a better sound mix for Death Magnetic showed up as part of the Guitar Hero game. What's funny for me is that I thought the monolithic mix was intentional because it reminded me of ...And Justice For All which had a dry, boxey recording itself. Oh well, if a new mix doesn't come out I'm not worried, I like it as is so if I hear a better version then bonus!

Motown Producer - Norman Whitfield who had co-written "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and produced the Temptations passed away. Another sad loss for music.

Idol Talk - Last season's Idol winner David Cook is set to politely rock out on November 18th when his disc drops. Meanwhile, David Archuleta and Kristie Lee Cook both have put fresh material in the marketplace. "And I am telling you" that Oscar winning singer Jennifer Hudson is engaged to an ex reality show contestant.

Super Sonic - I finally got to eat at a Sonic fast food restaurant this weekend, it was pretty good! The chocolate shake and tater tots were awesome. The burger was good, but it did fall short of In N Out burger standards. Overall, I do recommend it though. Mmmm...Sonic.

Hello There Ladies and Gentlemen: Next Sunday I'll get to see Journey with Heart and Cheap Trick. It will be my first chance to see the Tricksters and Journey with sad Arnie. Heart I saw once in 1985 and it was great so I'm looking forward to this show. I'll post a bit about these bands this week to get psyched up. As Joe on Family Guy would say, "Let's do this!!!"

Free Stuff - Two web sites have provided a bit of entertainment for me this week. The first is Fancast which allows free streaming Tv programs and movies. I've managed to catch up on my Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles through this site. Also, free streaming music that will create a playlist based on your favorite artists is at Pandora Radio . The website is definitely worthwhile for any music lover.

Mini DVD Reviews:

• Stranger Than Fiction - This movie came out in 2006, an ingenious fantasy about a blocked writer who happens to control the life of an IRS auditor with her writings. He hears her voice in his head as she narrates / dictates the events of his life. Will Farrell surprises as he dials down his childlike mania to give a mature performance. Good stuff.


• 10 Items of Less - Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega go faux indie on this flick where Freeman plays a movie star much like himself observing and meddling with the life of a grocery store clerk. The cute theme wears a bit thin yet the stars keep it watchable. Wouldn't go out of my way for this one


• The Condemned - My favorite wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin gets sent to an island with a bunch of killers to fight for his life as its broadcast on the internet. Austin has good presence and is as convincing on film as in the ring. Too bad the rest of the film is crap. And that's the bottom line, 'cause I said so!

New Song that Rules - The recent issue of Paste magazine included a song from the group The Bridges which is produced by Matthew Sweet and has been compared to Fleetwood Mac. That's right up my alley, the song Pieces is definitely worth an easy listening listen. But that's not all! AC freakin' DC. That says it all.

AC / DC "Rock and Roll Train"