Worth hearing for the first three songs
Simply put, the first three tracks ("My Gang", "Woke Up With a Monster", "You're All I Wanna Do") are great and are close to the level of the tracks on In Color and Heaven Tonight. Cheap Trick's 1994 release, Woke Up With a Monster, ditches the pop music of Lap of Luxury and Busted and attempts to replicate their glory days of the late `70s. Most of the remaining tracks bounce between schmaltzy power ballads ("Never Run Out of Love", "Tell Me Everything") and pop/rockers ("Ride the Pony", "Girlfriends") and none of them really grow on you. The last track, "Love Me for a Minute", is a very good closer. On a positive note, the band sounds hungry again noted in the strong performances. Normally, I would give an album with several unmemorable tracks only two stars. However, the first three songs are killer and push it up to a three-star album. .
Wake up to this Monster
Too bad they totally missed the boat on promoting it. Warner Brothers had Cheap Trick for exactly one album, and what a great record they got. "Woke Up With A Monster" rocks harder than either "Lap Of Luxury" or "Busted," and Van Halen producer Ted Templeman knew exactly how to capture the band's sound. Cheap Trick was also obviously emboldened by the freedom from their old contract, because this is a thoroughly unrestrained sounding disc.
The Gary Glitter glam of "My Gang" lays out the statement of purpose here. . . . this is an album for the faithful. "Ride Your Pony" is a great slinky salacious workout, and "Cry Baby" is as good as anything from the holy trinity of the first three CDs. The possession obsession of "Girlfriend" is a top notch look at the world of relationships through Nielsen's eyes and guitar.
This is also very much a band record! Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos are as tight as they were in the glory days, and Robin Zander shows no signs of being a near twenty year veteran of the rock wars.
Unfortunately, "Woke Up With A Monster" slipped through the cracks and right into the cut out bins. Don't make the same mistake by ignoring this record twice. It's every bit as strong as their ballyhooed 1997 eponymous album or 2006's "Rockford," so drop a few bills and bring this "Monster" home.
One of their best
Whose to blame I do not know but several things attributed to it's instant demise. It's a shame this album didn't rise to the heights it should have.
The lack of a strong first single is partly to blame. The song Woke Up With A Monster is something different, but shouldn't have been the first single. It wasn't radio friendly - or even fan friendly. Much better tracks from the album have remained hidden. You're All I Wanna Do (the second single) should have been the first. It's catchy and pure Cheap Trick.
The cover of the album had negative affects I'm sure. For me when I was flicking through the C's back in '94 it stood out for me. I didn't know at the time that CT had released a new CD (probably due to the lack of publicity). For others though it may have been off-putting.
The whole Record Label s**t-fight didn't have positive affects on its success either.
For me this album is my sentimental favoutite. I'd just gotten into CT during High school and only owned their Greatest Hits which I'd gotten a month before. This was the first Studio Album of theirs I bought. Luckily I bought it soon after its release as it soon went out of print.
I love this album. It ranks 4th in my listing for studio albums for CT. Girlfriends, Let Her Go (who wrote that?), You're All I Wanna Do, My Gang, Love Me For A Minute - all wonderful tracks and among their best.
Robin's voice never sounded better on the material here.
The track Woke Up With A Monster has it qualities but play it to a non or semi fan and they'll asked you to change the track. I can be a bit annoying and it's the albums low point.
Never Run Out Of Love is a bit mushy but OK.
Didn't Know I Had It follows mushy with semi mushy but has enough rock to save it.
Ride The Pony is a nice change. I always think of Queen when I hear it. It's sounds a bit like a Freddie vocal.
Tell Me Everything is softer also but has always been a favourite.
Cry Baby is in the vein of Elvis and Robin plays it right up. Maybe too much CRYYYYYY at the end but the whole track it a nice change.
If you can track this one down, get it and love it. Don't listen to those people that compare every album since Heaven Tonight to theirs 70's stuff. The 70's have gone. Take each CT album on it's own merrits.
Peace Out.
.
Monster Wake Up Call.
This 1994 release restored my faith in this exceptional band. The opening track "My Gang" lets you know that Cheap Trick is fully awake and ready to rock. There is plenty of that signature CT sound here with the classic tongue-in-cheek lyrics to boot.
"Woke Up With A Monster" is a very entertaining return to form with a heavy emphasis on the word "entertaining". There is no need to worry about having to program out (skip) any of the songs on this disk. All are good and some are exceptional. My personal favorites are "Ride The Pony", "Girlfriends", the aforementioned "My Gang", and the title cut. The bluesy "Cry Baby" and the bass-driven "Love Me For A Minute" get plenty of special attention from me, also.
Highly recommended.
.
Woke Up (?) With A Monster Bomb...but at least it's not a bad as In Colour (or was it black and white) or Busted!
Rick Nielsen, "Tell Me Everything"! Why did
you guys get a sorry Producer like Ted Templeman
to Produce what could have been a great comeback
LP? If you Trick fans wanna be in 'My Gang' then
you gotta spread the news to pray for better ef-
forts than this in the future if the Tricksters
are gonna stay employed!
'You're All I Wanna Do' and the title track,
with it's "Mommy and Daddy" chorus, is kinda
cool and retro for 'Surrender' - now the mar-
riage is on the rocks! Like Cheap Trick's ca-
reer after this disgrace! It's enough to make
you 'Cry Baby'. Pls. . . Pls. bring back Brant!
.
You can see a complete list of all Cheap Trick discography, or go back to the Cheap Trick tabs
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