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Dream Police

by

Cheap Trick

 
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Dream Police
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Avg: 4.0 (226 ratings)

  • Date Released: October 1, 1979
  • Genre: Rock/Pop
  • Style: Rock
  • Label: Epic
  • Copyright: (P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Relentlessly uptempo, hooky, smart new wave pop for knowledgeable people

  • We Say...

    Dream Police, Cheap Trick's third studio album, was recorded in 1978 but its release was delayed by the unexpected success of Live in Budokan in Japan and, ultimately, the United States. "Delay" was relative in those days, when it was not unusual for a band to release two albums in a year: Dream Police came out in 1979, Cheap Trick's fifth album in three years. This was the new wave moment: England had Elvis Costello, L.A. had The Knack, and Cheap Trick split the difference, the pride of Rockford, Ill. Dream Police is prime Cheap Trick, relentlessly uptempo, hooky, smart and tight, the product of years of playing every VFW gig in the Quad Cities. "The House is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems)" shows their gift for mixing teen angst and big riffs, and "Gonna Raise Hell" is an arena rocker as simple and irresistible as AC/DC. They switch gears smoothly with "Voices," which was a "Beatlesque" ballad before that term got worn out. "Writing On the Wall" has the easy bopping presence of a Nick Lowe tune, and like Lowe, they transcend clichés by both acknowledging them and challenging them: the unexpected chords and complex arrangement of "I'll Be With You Tonight" is pure pop for knowledgeable people.

  • They Say...

    At Budokan unexpectedly made Cheap Trick stars, largely because "I Want You to Want Me" had a tougher sound than its original studio incarnation. Perversely -- and most things Cheap Trick have done are somehow perverse -- the band decided not to continue with the direct, stripped-down sound of At Budokan, which would have been a return to their debut. Instead, the group went for their biggest, most elaborate production to date, taking the synthesized flourishes of Heaven Tonight to extremes. While it kept the group in the charts, it lessened the impact of the music. Underneath the gloss, there are a number of songs that rank among Cheap Trick's finest, particularly the paranoid title track, the epic rocker "Gonna Raise Hell," the tough "I Know What I Want," the simple pop of "Voices," and the closer, "Need Your Love." Still, Dream Police feels like a letdown in comparison to its predecessors, even though it would later feel like one of the group's last high-water marks. [An expanded edition of Dream Police was released in 2006 with four bonus tracks.]

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