"Back 'n Blue" is a song by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

, which was released in 1990 as the opening track on their eleventh studio album '' Busted''. It was written by

Taylor Rhodes Taylor Laurence Rhodes is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from Nashville, Tennessee, most notable for his work with hard rock band Aerosmith since 1993. Music career 1980s In 1987, Rhodes co-wrote the lead-off minor hit title tr ...

, Robert A. Johnson,

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including hi ...

and

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

, and produced by

Richie Zito Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...

. Although not released as a single, "Back 'n Blue" gained enough airplay to reach No. 32 on the ''

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 ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Busted'', Ivan Brunet of the ''

Nanaimo Daily News The ''Nanaimo Daily News'' was a Canadian daily newspaper published weekdays in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia for 141 years until ceasing publication in January 2016. The paper's final owner was Black Press, which also publishes ...

'' described the song as "a rockin number that's got that Keith Richards open-tune five-string sound down cold". Chuck Dean 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 ...

'' considered it to be a "typical get-ready-for-the-weekend-and-love-me-dammit prototype". Barbara Jaeger of ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'' noted, "Outright rockers such as 'Back 'n Blue' and a cover of 'Rock 'n' Roll Tonight' are sizzlers." George Smith of ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

'' commented, "Numbers like 'Back 'n Blue', the title track and 'I Can't Understand It' blow fuses better than anything on ''

Lap of Luxury ''Lap of Luxury'' is the tenth studio album by American musical ensemble, band Cheap Trick. Released on April 12, 1988, it is the band's second-most commercially successful studio album (trailing only 1979's ''Dream Police''), reaching number 16 ...

''." In a 2010 retrospective of ''Busted'', Michael Fortes of ''Popdose'' wrote, "'Back 'n Blue' assome moderately cool rock guitar riffage, some well placed na-na-na's and a tough Robin Zander vocal. The title of the song continued CT's tradition of having fun with words, but the song itself didn't reflect that fun. It plodded, and probably would have been better off in the hands of

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

Personnel

Cheap Trick *

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

- lead guitar, backing vocals *

Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson (born May 9, 1950), better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known as the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands ...

- bass, backing vocals *

Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson (born June 12, 1950), better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...

- drums, percussion Production *

- producer *

Mike Shipley Michael Shipley (7 October 1956 – 25 July 2013) was an Australian mixing engineer, audio engineer, and record producer. Shipley's music career spanned more than 30 years – mostly working in Los Angeles. At the Grammy Awards of 2012 he ...

- mixing *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

- mastering

Charts

References

{{authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles Cheap Trick songs Songs written by Robin Zander Songs written by Rick Nielsen Songs written by Taylor Rhodes Song recordings produced by Richie Zito Epic Records singles