THEY'RE SO UNUSUAL, no. 4. Cheap Trick, Heaven Tonight. He’s brushing his teeth!! ...so I listened to Side 1 the other night when I listened to the other Cheap Trick album and for days I was singing, “Mommy’s all right, Daddy’s all right, they just seem a little straaaange...” Every member of every band I was ever in worships that song, “Surrender.” And thing is, the first verse is his Mom freaking the protagonist out about STDs, the second verse is his Dad being naive about his Mom’s possible bisexuality... it’s a bizarre song for everyone to love. I listened to the whole album, both sides, again just now. Second side has some winners. I can never decide if I hear more influences of McCartney or Van Halen or Queen or Ozzy. Probably all of the above. Lotta Beatles touches, from the rocking side of the Beatles. The title cut kept making me think of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” Or the Cars “Moving in Stereo” without all the synths—though “Surrender” contains classic, Cars-worthy synthesizer work... At one point they sing, “There are many here among us who feel that life is a joke.” Those are actual lyrics on one of the songs on Side One (which are Dylan lyrics that Hendrix covered for those not steeped in Dylan lyrics). You can hear Cheap Trick influence on Foreigner and .38 Special but also like Fountains of Wayne and all those nerdy indie rock bands. This is an awesome album, especially on a hot summer night. #cheaptrick #heaventonight #surrender #mommysalright #daddysalright #theyjustseemalittleweird (at Noblesville, Indiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDS5lLIAlXt/?igshid=jqp2qrcyrfgx
