''Next Position Please'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...
, produced by
Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.
The title track was originally demoed for the band's 1979 album ''
Dream Police'', which had lead singer Robin Zander, lead guitarist Rick Nielsen, and bassist Tom Petersson each singing a verse. The song did not go beyond a demo, but it was referenced in "High Priest of Rhythmic Noise", a track from 1980's ''
All Shook Up''. "Position" was eventually re-recorded for this album, and features only Zander singing.
Background
Produced by
Todd Rundgren, ''Next Position Please'' marks a return to the more pop-oriented sound of 1977's ''
In Color''. The LP spent 22 weeks on the Billboard 200 LP charts and peaked at number 61.
The then-band member
Bun E. Carlos considers it one of their best albums. "I Can't Take It" has become a concert staple over the years. Several of the album's tracks were re-worked versions of older material, such as the title track and "You Talk Too Much."
Physical copies of the album were out of print for several years (except in Japan), but on April 6, 2010, it was reissued together with the previous album, ''
One On One'', on a single CD.
Cover art
The album cover is a
parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's pose on the cover of ''
Born to Run''. The guitar on the cover is Rick Nielsen's Hamer double-neck "Uncle Dick". Rick Nielsen is pictured on the cover with eight fingers extended, plus a folded-in-half pinky. ''8 1/2'' was a potential title for the album, Cheap Trick having released seven full albums and a four-song EP prior to this release.
Releases
The original vinyl record included 12 tracks. "You Talk Too Much" and "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" appeared as bonus tracks on the
cassette version and later on the CD. The record was originally supposed to include both of these tracks along with two others called "Twisted Heart" and "Don't Hit Me With Love", but Cheap Trick's label at the time,
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
, forced the band to include a cover of
the Motors' "
Dancing the Night Away" and the outtake "You Say Jump" in their place. Rundgren refused to produce "Dancing the Night Away", so the track ended up being produced by the band with
Ian Taylor, who had engineered the band's previous album, ''
One on One''. "Twisted Heart" eventually surfaced on the
box set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
''
Sex, America, Cheap Trick''. There was one video shot for this LP; "I Can't Take It".
In 2006, Cheap Trick and
Epic/
Legacy
Legacy or Legacies may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Comics
* " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline
* '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics
* ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press
* ''Legacy ...
reissued ''Next Position Please'' as a
digital download, calling it ''Next Position Please (The Authorized Version)''. The title refers to the fact that the 13 tracks intended for the original album were restored and sequenced according to the band's wishes, while "You Say Jump" and "Dancing the Night Away" were put at the end as "bonus tracks" along with the previously unreleased track "Don't Hit Me With Love". The track "I Don't Love Here Anymore" is incorrectly titled "I Don't Love Her Anymore".
Reception
Upon release, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' wrote: "This quartet sticks with what it does best: hard-edged but melodic guitar rock laced with echoes of the best '60s British and American bands."
[Billboard magazine – Top Album Picks – August 27, 1983 – page 48] ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' commented: "Rundgren offers his nimble fingers to mold Cheap Trick into a viable pop force once again, and just judging from the first number, he's succeeded admirably. Other cuts should receive an enthusiastic response from old and new fans."
[Cash Box newspaper – News & Reviews - Reviews: Albums - August 27, 1983 – page 8]
J.D. Considine of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' stated: "A better title for this one would have been ''Next Producer Please'', because from the signature harmonies of "I Can't Take It" to the predictable chorus of "Heaven's Falling," it's clear that this album belongs as much to producer Todd Rundgren as to the members of Cheap Trick. Throughout the album, every shred of melody is given the hard sell, so that when everything clicks, ''Next Position Please'' approximates the snap of the band's overlooked classic, ''Heaven Tonight''. But things really don't click all that often, and a large part of the problem seems to be that Cheap Trick don't really remember what they're supposed to sound like."
In a retrospective review of the album,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
commented: "Todd Rundgren wielded a heavy hand during his production, pushing Cheap Trick toward making a record that could easily be mistaken for a
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
record. ''Next Position Please'' is still very much a new wave-era Cheap Trick album - this is shiny surfaces, not kicks to the gut - but it's the best of the lot, and one of their best-ever albums."
Track listing
All songs written by
Rick Nielsen, except where noted.
Outtakes
* "Yardbirds Medley" (Instrumental medley of
Yardbirds covers, available on ''Bun E.'s Basement Bootlegs "Covers"'')
* "Play By The Rules" (Alternate, instrumental version of "I Don't Love Here Anymore", released on a ''Trickfest II'' prize cassette)
* "Invaders of the Heart (Unedited Instrumental)" (Also released on the ''Trickfest II'' prize cassette)
Personnel
Cheap Trick
*
Robin Zander –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
,
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
,
keyboards
*
Rick Nielsen –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
,
backing vocals
*
Jon Brant –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, backing vocals
*
Bun E. Carlos –
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
Technical
*
Todd Rundgren –
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
producer,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
* Ian Taylor – producer
* Paul Klingberg – engineer
* Chris Andersen – engineer
*
John Berg – design
*
David Kennedy –
photography
Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
Charts
References
{{Authority control
Cheap Trick albums
Epic Records albums
1983 albums
Albums produced by Todd Rundgren