Unlike many of their contemporaries like Survivor and Foreigner, Cheap Trick has been able to hold on to a certain hip cachet. Perhaps because their geek rock anthems like "Surrender" pointed the way for an entire generation of wasted youth like Nirvana and Green Day, or perhaps because a lot of us got laid the first time to "I Want You To Want Me." Or, perhaps because the band has always stayed true to its musical ideals — well, okay, except for that brief late '80s transgression with "The Flame."

Whatever, now that they are elder spokesmen for the pop punk movement, I'd like to report that they are still producing very relevant music. Sure, the new album is no Dream Police, but with the angry rant "Hard To Tell" and the musical calliope "Carnival Game" and the Beatlesque single "Say Goodbye," these guys still sound fresh, which is a hell of a lot more than you can say about the last Green Day album.  (7/97)