Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight, their best album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Thievius, Jul 1, 2017.

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  1. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
  2. stoneknuckle

    stoneknuckle Forum Resident

    Location:
    reading pa usa
    Was "Everything Works If You Let It" recorded during the Lost Album sessions?...another incredible tune. My band back in the early nineties considered covering it and quickly realized it was better left alone, those vocals were just so far out of our range even on a good day.
     
  3. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    It was recorded during the All Shook Up sessions with George Martin.
     
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  4. sami

    sami Mono still rules

    Location:
    Down The Shore
    In Color (despite the production), then the debut, then Heaven Tonight.

    All three are excellent records, and that's pretty much where it ended for me. Dream Police was okay, then they fell off the cliff.
     
    mick_sh and mrbobdobalina like this.
  5. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    When I turned 40 last April I scooped up all those Cheap Trick early albums as a gift for myself. Heaven Tonight just may be my favorite, I'll relisten and see.
     
  6. recap200

    recap200 Forum Resident

    Location:
    nowhere land
    Last night, late night, I listened to Heaven Tonight and Nick Lowe's 16 All-Time Lowes (a greatest-hits record). Whoa, heaven (on earth)! And so it goes...great music, great songs, great lyrics.

    Tonight I'm spinning CT '77 and Budokan and In Color.

    Anybody listening?
     
  7. sddoug

    sddoug Music Aficionado

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    In Color was the first Cheap Trick album I bought so I tend to favor it a little more than Heaven Tonight. Also was the tour where I first saw them when they opened for Kansas. My friend had an extra ticket and I went mainly to see Cheap Trick.
     
  8. johnsiddique

    johnsiddique Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    And another one here for their 1st lp. In my top 5 all time favourite records by anyone.
     
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  9. KDubATX

    KDubATX A Darby Man Never Says When

    Location:
    Austin
    In Color is my pick, but HT is also a goodie.
     
  10. James H.

    James H. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Runnemede, NJ
    My father won at the wheel game on the Wildwood Boardwalk, NJ back in '79 (I was 9 years old). My sister had At Budakon and we played that album to death. After my father won, it was the only album that caught my eye. I couldn't wait to get home and play it. Like previous posts before, there is not one bad track on it. At that time, I didn't know how to properly take care of records. So it was in pretty bad shape. Last week, I found an original pressing at my local record store in a VG condition and bought it and it plays really nice. I feel like I'm 9 years old again. Worth the $4.00.

    I definitely threw my KISS records out after hearing this album
     
    RickH likes this.
  11. GeorgeDJungle

    GeorgeDJungle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Aberdeen NJ
    I never liked the production on the first though the songs are great
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2017
  12. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    1A S/T
    1B Heaven Tonight
    1C In Color
    2 Dream Police

    etc.
     
    John Porcellino likes this.
  13. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I think that for a lot of fans the first Cheap Trick album they heard is their favorite. I got into Cheap Trick with Heaven Tonight. which I bought on the basis of "Surrender." I eventually bought the first two albums, but neither of them moved me as much as HT and it remains my favorite.
     
    PDK likes this.
  14. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    Disagree, they are better. :)
     
  15. mrbobdobalina

    mrbobdobalina Forum Resident

    Location:
    Not here
    Yep, that sums it up for me. First three are near perfect, and "Dream Police" is pretty solid. After that, it was a cut here, a cut there.
    Incidentally, there's a great 20 minute clip on You Tube of their appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in 1977. Watch that, and remember just how good these guys were.
     
    sami likes this.
  16. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    I vote yes.
    Heaven Tonight is easily in my top 50 all time.
     
  17. CirculationUnderflow

    CirculationUnderflow Well-Known Member

    Location:
    florida
    CHEAP TRICK IS UNTOUCHABLE.... The first 4 + Live are ESSENTIAL .... Parts - Lap of Luxury PRETTY ESSENTIAL.... The 97 CT PRETTY ESSENTIAL... The sex AMerica CT box is essential for a few of those tracks that didnt make it on the reissues (DOWN BY THE BAY smokes )

    Zander is a top 5 vocalist, even though all he does is chain smoke between songs,

    CHEAP TRICK IS THE BAND AND ARE ESSENTIAL
     
    kouzie likes this.
  18. juno6000

    juno6000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pembroke Pines, FL
    Personally, I do not care for California Man or On the Radio.
    So for me, it is not flawless.

    In color comes closer for me.

    I also think One on One is better overall as well.
     
  19. Spazaru

    Spazaru Angry Samoan

    Strangely enough, as much as I love Heaven Tonight, my three go-to CT albums are In Color, Next Position Please, and Standing On The Edge.
     
  20. RickH

    RickH Connoisseur of deep album cuts

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    In Color was the first CT album I bought, buying it after reading Rolling Stone's 4-star review without ever hearing a note of their music first. Rolling Stone's review couldn't have been more spot-on and the album is still my favorite of theirs. Needless to say, I eagerly anticipated Heaven Tonight and while I liked it quite a lot, it didn't have the same effect on me, song for song, that In Color did.
     
    midniteinsanjuan likes this.
  21. "Heaven Tonight" is certainly as great an album as they ever recorded... not sure if I could pick a single greatest one...

    Reviewing here, it appears there's never been a poll about the best Cheap Trick album here on SHF (there was one on best 80's album from Cheap Trick: Poll: Cheap Trick in the 80's-Fave Album? ).

    If such a poll was done here (Big Hint to the OP here ;) ), I'd prefer that it have folks being able to vote for as many choices as they like... but you'd certainly need, at least, 3, or maybe more, hence my preference for as many as anyone would like to pick... and that's because...

    For me, it's almost impossible to choose between those first four incredibly brilliant albums- "Cheap Trick", "In Color" (with a gun to my head it's the one I'd choose today), "Heaven Tonight" & "Dream Police" (the next three are pretty fine too- "All Shook Down", "One On One" & "Next Position Please"- what a run, really...)

    I just haven't kept up much past those first 7 (heard some great tracks here & there, but diminishing returns) but, while it's mostly covers, their newly released 19th studio album "Christmas Christmas" sounds pretty terrific to me!

    While those chose to include a longer version of the title track (and album closer) "Christmas Christmas" (the web address inadvertently has the "F" word in it, albeit with odd capitalization, & it doesn't look like it'll show up here... so in the **"Edit" below it appears as in intro, rather than in isolated, individual form)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76N****WFu4

    ... they also chose to leave off two older Christmas versions of their classics- the terrifically fun "I Want You To Want Me", which became "I Want You For Christmas"-
    Cheap Trick - I Want You For Christmas
    ... and, even better, the downright fabulous transformation of "Come On, Come On" into "Come On Christmas"!!-
    Come On Christmas! Cheap Trick

    **Edit- Looks like that earlier version of "Christmas Christmas", was the intro to the single version of "Come On Christmas"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpBjZ2nWq4s
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2017
  22. jc1303

    jc1303 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lincolnshire, UK
    At Budokan is my absolute favourite but if we are talking studio albums then Dream Police probably just above Heaven Tonight.
    Special mentions for Woke Up With A Monster and Bang! Zoom! Crazy! Hello! too
     
  23. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Either Heaven Tonight or the debut. Those the THE TWO.
     
  24. CowboyBill

    CowboyBill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Utah
    In Color for me. Debut is a close second. Honestly everything up to "All Shook Up" is pretty great. Also always loved "CT 1997" and "Special One"
     
  25. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    Yes, absolutely. Topped only by Budokan. The four album run from the debut through Budokan was stunning, stellar, wonderful, and thrilling! Listening to it again tonight, which prompted a forum search where I found this thread. Thank you for posting!
     
    PDK likes this.
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