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One on One

Cheap Trick - One on One Audio CD

A fair review of the Cheap Trick "One on One" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Cheap Trick reviews here, or go back to the Cheap Trick tabs.

Band: Cheap Trick
Title: One on One
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Want You 2: One on One 3: If You Want My Love 4: Oo la la La 5: Lookin' Out for Number One 6: She's Tight 7: Time Is Runnin' 8: Saturday at Midnight 9: Love's Got a Hold on Me 10: I Want Be Man 11: Four Letter Word

Yes, Sony needs to REMASTER this *
You can tell it's RTB because there's a nice blend of the abrasive, raw, loud guitars and drums mixed with the smooth, soaring melodic vocals and harmonies, creating a big blast of hooks, screams, killer guitar riffs and lots of fun, yet well crafted songs. This is a full-on 1982 hard rock slab of power-pop madness from Cheap Trick, with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker at the console. Yes the production does have a bit of the typical 80's thing goin' on with that shot-gun, wet drum sound, and stuff like that, but the quality material rises above it all.
Opening up the album is a great Slade tribute screamer, the now obscure "I Want You" a long lost classic if there ever was one. Other highlights are the catchy title track, "She's Tight", the minor hit ballad "If You Want My Love", "Lookin' Out For #1", "Time Is Runnin" and "Love's Got A Hold On Me". Some of Robin Zander's best, most powerful vocals are featured throughout the One On One album, but it all comes down to the tunes, and this one is full of great songs. One of several albums in the Cheap Trick catalog that is need of a good remaster treatment. Good stuff.

Power Pop With A Bazooka tied to its back. KA BOOM!!!!!
I was just getting back into Cheap Trick around 86. I remember the first time I hear this cd. So, as I was upgrading my collection each week from my paycheck from being a bag boy I got up to One On One.

At first I was taken aback. I had never really heard songs like this before. They were so aggressive and loud. They were not going for the obvious on this at all. I think they wanted to make a heavy album in the worst way. I do know that they felt hemmed in by how In Color, Heaven Tonight and Dream Police were produced. All Shook Up had a great raw production, but I think they wanted more. So they saw One on One as a means to show the masses that they were a rock band, with the key emphasis on rock.

Some of the songs probably needed more work on the arrangement side. Time is Runnin' screams for a break down or a swirl of psychedelia in the middle with trippy alarm clocks going off and sample sounds of the chimes from clock strikes ten something akin to a Beatles backward vocals then storming back to the meat of the song. But hey that is just me.
Saturday at Midnight kind of has a Bowie feel to it and Love's Got A hold On me was a song they played way back in their early days, hence you have the lines from big eyes. Also you have a line from Lovin' Money on Saturday At Midnight as well.
She's Tight was them at their smutty best, ha. Now If You Want My Love, should have been a huge hit. However the record company did not get behind it and the only reason MTV played it so much was because they did not have a lot of stuff to play. By them playing the song though it got out to the masses and it did become a minor hit. With a proper push. . . well let's put it this way In Australia it went to #1.

Over all it is a very fun rock record. They took a little from Slade, The Beatles, The Who, and Bowie and Eno and molded something somewhat unique. Take for instance I Want Be Man. To this day I have never heard anything like this. It was industrial way before industrial really existed. One has to give credit to Cheap Trick, they were never afraid to experiment. Think of I Want Be Man as the evil counter part to Styx's lame Mr Roboto. It has a tremendous ending that I think should have went on just a little bit longer.
As for Four Letter Word, it mixes samples of live audience sounds and then just ends on this ferocious thrash jam. I do wish the production could have had some more warmth to it. It would have been nice to have had George Martin Produce this one and Next Position Please as well.
I would say check it out. It is totally original and non formula. This was not new wave, this was just power pop with a bazooka tied to the back of it. KA BOOM!!!!
.

Fine LP, but it really, REALLY needs a new remastering job..
Its far from being CT's best album. I hope Epic will someday re-issue this CD like they have done with other CT CD's. But it rocks like crazy, has several fantastic songs that have become classics and is still a lot of fun to listen to, especially when driving. I think it would have been a much better album had the 2 tracks from the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack replaced a couple of the weaker tracks.

There are a lot complaints about the tinny and compressed sound of the CD, and after comparing my original 1981 LP to the CD I think its the remastering to blame. The vinyl still sounds very compressed, but has a warmer sound with more bass and "air" in Roy Thomas Baker's production work.

When CD's became big business in the 1980's most record companies grabbed the eaisest master tape they could find (many times a second or third generation master tape EQ'ed for vinyl) and used it for the CD. Cheap Trick were one of the biggest bands to suffer from CBS's assembly-line remastering jobs and these old CD's shouldn't be sold anymore. If you have any later greatest hits CD or the box set compare the tracks from this CD with them, you can really hear the difference.

I think CT fans would appreciate the bands mid 80's albums better if they were remastered better just like their classic 70's albums. I would love to see "One on One" remastered with "Reach Out" and "I Must Be Dreamin'" along with the flipside "All I Really Want" (a great overlooked song) and the dance remix of "Saturday At Midnight" (just for fun) added as bonus tracks.

Hit and Miss
There are some great songs on it and some lesser tracks also. One On One is somewhat of a hit and miss album for me.
Produced by legendary Producer, Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, David Bowie, The Darkness), it was a change in style to a more 80's sound (given the decade).

1. I Want You is a great opener. Catchy, rocky and to the point.
2. One On One is a lesser track. Nothing much to offer from this song.
3. If You Want My Love is cheesy but a great track. One of their better known songs. Perhaps doesn't really fit in with the heavier feel to this album.
4. Oh La La La is a terrible song. One of CT's worst.
5. Looking Out For Number One is a nice rock track.
6. She's Tight is one of CT's best. Background vocals sound like Queen (the Roy Thomas Baker influence perhaps).
7. Time is Runnin' is a good track but hardly memorable. Likewise,
8. Saturday At Midnight. These two tracks compliment each other and hold their place on the album as good quality fillers.
9. Love's Got A Hold On Me is a good track. Perhaps could have been more rock, less pop.
10. I Want Be Man is one of CT's best. A real standout and a different sound to anything they'd previously done.
11. Four Letter Word is anthem rocker that doesn't rise to anthem heights. This along with Oh La La La are the weakest tracks here.

All in all, a good album with many highlights. Just a couple of lowlights to bring it down.

Album ranking wise it sits bottom middle. Below Busted, above Lap Of Luxury.

To correct some of the myths about Jon Brant, not BRANDT, and a better review of One on One
Period. Jon Brant was by far the best Bassist Cheap Trick ever had. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, it was Jon himself who told me in 1989, when his band Siren was playing out my way, on Tour for their great album, "All is Forgiven",
(**** stars) that he played Bass on the three songs that were used as singles from this release; 'She's Tight', just as he did in the video, 'If you want my Love', a number one hit in Australia that year ('82 - hey America, what's wrong with you?)
and 'Saturday at Midnight', which did not do well as either a 12", or 7" single [boy - I'm really showing 'my roots' there, eh?]. I was glad to see the egomaniac Thomas J. Peterson gone,
[does naybody remember that lousy solo 'Tom Peterson and Another Language?'}and only more sorry to see Jon(ny B. Good) forced out with an ecocnomic pistol (six-figure buyout) to his cabesa in '87, the year of the 'Tricksters unfortunate downfall ("Lap of Luxury", indeed!). My rating of top Trickster LPs:

1) Next Position Please, **** stars,
2) Standing on the Edge, **** stars,
3) The Doctor [absolutely the most underrated album of all time in any genre!], ***. 5 stars,
4) One on One, ***. 5 stars,
5) Sex, America and Cheap Trick, ***. 5 stars,
6) Silver ***. 5 stars
7) Authorized Greatest Hits [expanded Japan edition], ***. 5 stars
8) Budokan {entire Japan concert, Import}, ***. 5 stars
9) (Live at) Budokan ('78) ***. 5 stars
10) [Live @) Budokan II (released '92, combined songs from '78'79
Japan Tours], ***. 5 stars

For rest, try solo efforts by Jon and Rob Zander:

11)a] Robin Zander [german and japan releases without awful Emily
and + Miss Goodbye and other two songs]***. 5 stars
11)b] Jon Brant: 'Siren: All is Forgiven' [Pro-Christian and alternative metal at the sma time. The best video Jon was ever in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Contact: [. . . ] for compliments, complaints, et, al. Mahalo and Aloha Ka A Nui!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3) .

You can see a complete list of all Cheap Trick discography, or go back to the Cheap Trick tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.