I’m sitting here in utter shock. Robin Zander rocks! Never thought I’d say that. When I worked in the music biz and Cheap Trick came along, there was a big buzz. Somebody made me go see them; I thought okay, they’ll do very well, cute visual gimmick with the contrasting pairs of guys and silly guitars; cute pop hits, I’m not interested. Fast forward to now, and I’m watching whatever version of Cheap Trick this is on TV. I stumbled on the show after a kinda depressing public TV fundraising drive featuring some “British beat” ’60s survivors quavering their way through their old hits. (Although, props to Lulu for still belting it out right.)
Normally I’d be watching bull riding at this hour, but the big league is on summer break, so I thought I’d give Cheap Trick another chance, having zero expectations of being impressed. I recognize the wacky guitar player and his bizarro axes– and he’s fierce. I’m not sure who else is from the original band and I’m not going to research anything. All I can say is, color me stupefied. Zander’s voice is seriously powerful and so much more exciting than when he was in his 20s. He’s got absolute control and enormous energy. (He also can get real sweet, as he did when singing a brief tune for a departed friend. The audience didn’t know what to make of that.)
I’m watching a monster ROCK band, not a pop band. And you know how great they must be in person, if they sound this good on TV? My measly 19-inch TV? I am gobsmacked. Robin Zander rocks! And now I’ll probably get lots of “I told you so” comments from people who got on board with the band in the beginning. But hey, trust me: they weren’t this good in 1980. 90% of bands devolve as they age. This one has Evolved. Props to Robin Zander. What a throat!
