Hey guys,
My band was just asked to participate in a cheap trick tribute show. Problem is we aren’t big cheap trick fans and don’t really know any good songs. Any suggestions?
He’s A Whore
It was good eough for Big Black.
Surrender. It’s from an album of which I can’t recall the name of from the late 70’s. “Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright, they just seem a little weird. Surrender, Surrender, but don’t give yourself away.”
“Dream Police.” Great riff, cool lyrics, and I love the bridge.
He’s a whore’s great.
Also,
“She’s a model”
I’ve got to go with “Surrender” too. It’s off “Heaven Tonight”. I’m not a Cheap Trick fan either, but that song kicks ass.
BIG Cheap Trick fan here.
He’s A Whore is a good one of course and Surrender’s quite the anthem…
But for one that maybe every other band isn’t going to do though… How about Elo Kiddies? Great tune, pretty heavy.
Or the Ballad Of TV Violence. Fun in a twisted kinda way. Sample lyric “I’m 30 but I feel like 16, I might even know your daddy. I’m dirty but my body’s clean, I might even BE your daddy…”
Depends what kind of band yer in. Cheap Trick covered a good bit of ground from punkish power pop to sappy, crappy love ballads.
If you want a decent sample of their stuff pick up “Live at Budokan”, if only to hear a great live version of I Want You To Want Me.
Other stand out tracks include Southern Girls and I Know What I Want, or maybe the tongue in cheek She’s Tight. The nihlistic Auf Weidersehen is always nice, especially for a closing number.
Of course all of these are on Napster.
If you need to know more, feel free to drop me a line.
Bri
Yeah, I forgot about “Southern Girls” … god song. Their first three albums were all full of good stuff. Then true suckiness brgan setting in.
I was a huge Cheap Trick fan until I met Rick Nielsen about 10 years ago. He was an enormous jerk, and fatter than Oprah and Elizabeth Taylor combined, to boot.
Not a big fan since.
Here are my faves:
Southern Girls- In Color
Surrender- Heaven Tonight
Elo Kiddies- Cheap Trick
Hot Love- Cheap Trick
California Man- Heaven Tonight
Four Letter Word- One on One
She’s Tight- One on One
If your band has a more hard rock or punk edge, I would suggest ‘Hot Love’ or ‘Four Letter Word’.
gotta go with Surrender and I Want You To Want Me
Fascinating. So if he had been thin you’d still be a fan?
Pick as many tunes as you want randomly off their 1st three albums. Forget the rest. Many folk erroneously mistake “Budokan” for the beginning. It was, of course, the beginning of the end.
There’s also “The Flame”, which I think was one of their last big hits.
Green Day and some local St Pete band covered Surrender, so I’d avoid that one like the plague. A Cheap Trick concert is like being pregnant, at first - it’s exciting… then it’s just there… Then you just want it to be done. I highly suggest running away as soon as your set is done (in order to avoid the geriatric C.T. fans)
On the other hand, it probably won’t be too hard for you to steal the show…
Punk Snot Dead,
broccoli!
Oh yeah, and I want you to want me has been done to death too…
I cannot spell
If I were the one doing the picking I would choose You Say Jump without hesitation. Some other good ones would be (depending on your style and what you wanted to do with them) Younger Girls and another vote for She’s Tight. …and don’t be afraid to change the style. One of the best songs I’ve ever heard was a ska version of Margaritaville. It was great. What a Haloween party that was. 
“Ain’t That a Shame” one of the best remakes of all time. It rocks alot more than the original and the drumming is awesome at the front of the song.
I agree wholeheartedly with Dinsdale’s assertion. The 1st three albums were great, and the quality of the band begin to drop after that.
As far as a song to cover, Stiff Competition would lend itself well to a raucous send-up. It can be found on the Heaven Tonight album.
Also, at the risk of flaunting my age (40 years old TODAY! Happy birthday to me…), you must realize these guys were a bar band without equal in the mid to late 70s. At the time I was fortunate enough to have a close friend who was a maniac fan of the band and acquaintance of the members. All I can say is, thank heaven for those old pink and green IL drivers’ licenses.