Song:Dream Police
Album:Authorized Greatest Hits
For years it looked like guitarist Rick Nielsen would never make it in the music business and that includes the early days of Cheap Trick. But aggressive touring paid off and by the late 70s they finally had chart success. Dream Police was one of their early hits. Nielsen bounced around several bands in his hometown of Rockford, IL in the 60s. In 1967, he formed Fuse with future Cheap Trick member Tom Petterson. They released one album for Epic in 1970 that went nowhere. They moved to Philadelphia in 1971 and called themselves Sick Man Of Europe. After striking out, they returned to Rockford. They brought in drummer Bun E. Carlos who they had worked with before. Then they settled on lead singer Robin Zander after trying someone else. Veteran producer Jack Douglas saw Cheap Trick perform in Wisconsin and he got them a record deal with Epic. Cheap Trick's 1977 debut album was critically acclaimed but it didn't sell. And their next two albums didn't sell either. But they did well in Japan. So Epic decided to record them at Budokan Hall in Tokyo and the resulting album was released only in Japan. But demand for import copies became so great, Epic released Cheap Trick At Budokan in the US in 1979. The album reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified 3XPlatinum. Hit singles like I Want You To Want Me came out of the success of the live album as it had been released before. The success also postponed the release of the 1979 album Dream Police. And when it was released, it was a big success and the single reached the top 30. So Cheap Trick was able to maintain the momentum of the Budokan album and this fed their success through the 80s. This comp is a good intro to their music. Tom Pettersen left in 1981 and was eventually replaced by Jon Brant. They had legal issues with Epic but continued to record with great success. Pettersen returned in 1987. By the early 90s, Cheap Trick faded and left Epic for Warner Bros. in 1994. That went badly and since then Cheap Trick has continued to tour and occasionally record. Obviously they are considered a nostalgia act today. Here's the video for Dream Police by Cheap Trick.
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