"Carnival Game" is a song 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 ...

, released in 1997 as the third and final single from their thirteenth studio album ''

''. It was written by Jerry Dale McFadden,

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 ...

, Robert Reynolds,

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

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 ...

, and produced by Cheap Trick and Ian Taylor. As with the rest of the ''Cheap Trick'' album, "Carnival Game" was recorded at Pie Studios, Glen Cove, New York, and mixed at Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York.

Release

The song was released as a promotional single by Victor in Japan. The B-side, "You Let a Lotta People Down", is an album track on ''Cheap Trick''. The main release was issued in a 3" DJ promo CD with a snap-pack picture sleeve with lyrics. The artwork used featured photographs of each band member with a black background. In addition to this, a one track promotional-only CD was also produced, with a custom photocopied picture insert with all text in Japanese.

Promotion

During 1997, whilst promoting the album, the band performed the song live on the American TV show ''Hard Rock Live''.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Cheap Trick'', Carlo Wolff of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' considered the song to have "

ELO Elo or ELO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album * ''Elo'', a member magazine for the Tuglas Society Biology * Very-long-c ...

-style jauntiness" and described the song as "cute" and "harmony-laden". Steven Mirkin of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' felt that "Say Goodbye" and "Carnival Game" "approach the and'searlier material's heady rush". Jae-Ha Kim of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' commented: "The wah-wah guitars in "Carnival Game" punch up the driving number." He added: "Rick Nielsen's nimble lead guitar work in "Carnival Game" and the shimmery chorus of "Say Goodbye" herald their strengths." Curtis Bonney of the ''

San Francisco Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...

'' wrote: "The standout tracks are fairly plentiful: the sugary

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

- uh - stylings on "Carnival Game," "Yeah, Yeah," and "You Let a Lot of People Down." Nice chord progressions, nice hooks; you've heard them all, but you haven't, really." Rob Seng of ''

The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

'' noted: "Although outside writing help is sometimes a harbinger of trouble, the contributions that the band gets here from the members of

the Mavericks The Mavericks are an American band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in 1989 along ...

results in an engaging hook on "Carnival Game"." In a 1997 concert review, Chris Riemenschneider of the ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...

'' described "Carnival Game" as a "delightful poppy ditties a la "

Oh, Candy "Oh, Candy" is the debut single 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. Carlo ...

"."

Track listing

;CD Single (VIDP-30002 - promo) #"Carnival Game" - 3:50 #"You Let a Lotta People Down" - 4:27 ;CD Single (CDS-463 - promo) #"Carnival Game" - 3:49

Personnel

Cheap Trick * Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, producer * Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals, producer * Tom Petersson - 12 string bass guitar, backing vocals, producer * Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion, producer Additional personnel * Ian Taylor - producer, engineer, mixing * Glenn Preston - assistant engineer * George Fullan, Rob Polhemus - 2nd engineer * Bob Ludwig - mastering * Peter F. Baynes - guitar technician * Donna Brainard, Larry Mazer - management * Angela K. Herl, Mike Herl - business management

References

{{authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Cheap Trick songs Songs written by Rick Nielsen Songs written by Robin Zander Songs written by Tom Petersson