Cheap Trick - Dream Police [4 bonus tracks] (1979)

Year: September 21, 1979 (CD 2006)
Label: Epic Records (US), 82796 94485 2
Style: Hard Rock, Power Pop
Country: Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Time: 64:52
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 449 Mb

The album overall dissociates itself quite a bit from the previous one, "Heaven Tonight", which is somewhat the projection of the 70s, to begin embracing an 80s perspective and taste, which would take definitive form some time later. The intention for change is recognizable from "Voices," still rooted in the almost ended century, to "Need Your Love," which perhaps intentionally is placed at the end just to indicate the result of their effort.
Overall, the tracks on the album have the same style, except for some pleasant highlights. Interesting, beyond the music, is also the vocal plan of the backing voices in "Dream Police." The album opens with the title track, which shouldn’t be labeled as the main highlight of this work, as you quickly realize with songs like "Way Of The World" and "I'll Be With You."
In "The House Is Rocking", there is a different trend compared to the first tracks, more refinement in the voice and the riff, and guitar solos appear throughout the track. Then comes "Gonna Raise Hell", which is just what I talked about earlier. The change in style and sound is very evident, and with this track and "The Writing On The Wall", the album takes on a more seriously rock direction.
(en.debaser.it/cheap-trick/dream-police/review)

01. Dream Police (03:54)
02. Way Of The World (03:38)
03. The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems) (05:11)
04. Gonna Raise Hell (09:20)
05. I'll Be With You Tonight (03:51)
06. Voices (04:22)
07. Writing On The Wall (03:27)
08. I Know What I Want (04:30)
09. Need Your Love (07:40)
10. The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems) (Live) (Bonus track) (06:16)
11. Way Of The World (Live) (Bonus track) (04:00)
12. Dream Police (No Strings version) (Bonus track) (03:53)
13. I Know What I Want (Live) (Bonus track) (04:44)

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Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (1977)

Year: October 21, 1977 (CD )
Label: Epic Records (Europe), CDEPC 82419
Style: Hard Rock, Progressive Pop
Country: Dallas, Texas, U.S. (September 27, 1947 - January 20, 2022)
Time: 46:36
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 309 Mb

Charts: US #13, AUS #1, GER #11, IRE #1, NL #1, NZ #1, NOR #3, SWE #13, SWI #9, UK #3. CAN: 2x Platinum; UK: 11x Platinum; AUS: 26x Platinum; US: Diamond (14x Platinum).
Bat Out of Hell is the debut studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from the musical Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan which Steinman wrote for a workshop in 1974. It was recorded during 1975–1976 at various studios, including Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, and released in October 1977 by Cleveland International/Epic Records. Bat Out of Hell spawned two Meat Loaf sequel albums: Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993) and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006).
Bat Out of Hell has sold over 43 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is certified 14? platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is the best-selling album in Australia, having been certified 26? platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). As of June 2019, it has spent 522 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, the fourth longest chart run by a studio album. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 343 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
A musical based on Bat Out of Hell, staged by Jay Scheib, opened at the Manchester Opera House on February 17, 2017, before transferring to the London Coliseum and Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre in late 2017. Between April 2, 2018 and January 5, 2019, the show was performed at the Dominion Theatre in London, before a short run the same year in the United States.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Out_of_Hell)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Bat Out of Hell (09:51)
02. You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) (05:05)
03. Heaven Can Wait (04:41)
04. All Revved Up with No Place to Go (04:19)
05. Two Out of Three Ain't Bad (05:25)
06. Paradise by the Dashboard Light (08:28)
07. For Crying Out Loud (08:44)

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Cheap Trick - In Color [5 bonus track] (1977)

Year: September 1, 1977 (CD 1998)
Label: Epic Records (US), EK 65573
Style: Hard Rock, Power Pop
Country: Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Time: 46:19
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 311 Mb

Charts: US #73, AUS #93, JPN #30. US & CAN: Platinum.
“Any fears of a sophomore slumber party were put to bed with the brilliant In Color. Producer Tom Werman captures a softer and zanier Cheap Trick on songs like I Want You To Want Me and Come On, Come On that has as much in common with The Bay City Rollers as The Beatles.
“As with their first record, underneath the perfect three-minute pop songs run Rick Nielsen’s dark currents of sexual angst. Hello There asks the musical question ‘Would you like to do a number with me?’ and, knowing Nielsen’s sense of humor, I’d guess the number he has in mind is somewhere between 68 and 70. Clock Strikes Ten is a blatant booty call. On later albums, Nielsen would cross the lines of good taste, but he’s got his ducks lined up in a perfect row here; the first four tracks on this record are as strong an opening as you’ll find on any pop or rock record.
“In Color also has a surfer-boy swagger to it that seemed to emanate from Robin Zander’s persona: Southern Girls, Oh Caroline and ‘Come On, Come On’ have an indelible twang to them. [Yes, I actually wrote ‘indelible twang,’ as if there are twangs that come off with a good rubbing.] It’s worth mentioning to newbies that ‘I Want You To Want Me’ is the exception on In Color. When I first bought this album as a kid, I was disappointed to find that the whole thing didn’t sound like ‘Mr. Blue Sky.’ Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t fall head over heels for Downed, ‘Oh Caroline’ and ‘Southern Girls,’ but I was kind of a wiener as a kid. I’ve since gotten a handle on that. So, to sum things up, great power pop record, half of it classic Cheap Trick, and not nearly as lascivious as my little review would make it out to be.”
I didn’t say it was a good review, but I guess I’m feeling a bit nostalgic this morning. I would add that In Color, even more so than Cheap Trick, is the quintessential power pop record. Any band that could rock as hard as Aerosmith and lace their songs with melodies as sweet as anything from Electric Light Orchestra was destined for some measure of immortality. Of course, Cheap Trick eventually proved mortal (the muses being fickle things), but for their first three or four albums, there wasn’t a better power pop band on the planet.
(progrography.com/cheap-trick/review-cheap-trick-in-color-1977/)

01. Hello There (01:41)
02. Big Eyes (03:09)
03. Downed (04:10)
04. I Want You To Want Me (03:11)
05. You're All Talk (03:34)
06. Oh Caroline (02:59)
07. Clock Strikes Ten (03:02)
08. Southern Girls (03:43)
09. Come On, Come On (02:39)
10. So Good To See You (03:46)
11. Oh Boy (Instrumental version) (Bonus track) (03:10)
12. Southern Girls (Previously unreleased demo) (Bonus track) (03:03)
13. Come On, Come On (Previously unreleased demo) (Bonus track) (02:06)
14. You're All Talk (Previously unreleased live version) (Bonus track) (03:41)
15. Goodnight (Previously unreleased live version) (Bonus track) (02:18)

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Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick [6 bonus tracks] (1977)

Year: February 3, 1977 (CD 1998)
Label: Epic Records (US), EK 65572
Style: Hard Rock, Power Pop
Country: Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Time: 57:13
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 395 Mb

Loud, raw, noisy, messy: those are the adjectives that spring to mind when hearing Cheap Trick's debut. Too bad the melodies are hit and miss, and the noise kind of buries the hooks ocassionally. Other than those problems, though, this is one exciting platter; it rocks crazier and harder than they ever would again, veering close to anarchy in a few spots. I'm glad that their producer reined them in for a concentrated attack on their next two discs, but the chaotic mess here is fun in its own right - it sounds like what Nirvana were shooting for on Nevermind, but were a little too glossy to get right. Hell, Steve Albini even covered "He's A Whore" in his Big Black days. For once me and Albini meet at the same taste - that song rocks! It's probably the catchiest number on here, with Zander screaming "I'll do anything for money!", sentiments which he would unfortunately live up to during Trick's asslicking '80s tenure. Oh, but there's "Taxman, Mr. Thief", which pushes its Beatles homage far beyond any reasonable call for obviousness, but only in the title and lyrics - the Fabs would never have played music this heavy and sinister, though they would have written the melodic chorus. "The Ballad Of TV Violence" is sung from serial killer Richard Speck's point of view, as Zander keeps screaming over and over, "I'm not the only boy!". "Elo Kiddies" is a warped kind of Garry Glitter style chant that advises youngsters to ditch school for crime 'cause it's all that matters and everybody steals it anyway; for some reason the song starts off with the sound of alarm bells. The whole shebang kicks off with the driving lust ditty "Hot Love", which ends with a barely audible (put your head next to the speakers and turn it up really loud) Nielsen cackling "Hello there I'm Steven Tyler of Aerosmith" and something more that's unintelligible (they were on the same label). The album ends with "Oh Candy", an elegy for a depressed friend's suicide, and one of the great lost singles from the mid-'70s MidWest. There are some other songs on here, too, but they're not as good.
(starlingdb.org/music/temp/cheaptrick.html)

01. Elo Kiddies (03:41)
02. Daddy Should Have Stayed In High School (04:44)
03. Taxman, Mr. Thief (04:15)
04. Cry, Cry (04:22)
05. Oh, Candy (03:06)
06. Hot Love (02:30)
07. Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace (04:34)
08. He's A Whore (02:42)
09. Mandocello (04:46)
10. The Ballad Of TV Violence (I'm Not The Only Boy) (05:25)
11. Lovin' Money (Outtake) (Bonus track) (04:09)
12. I Want You To Want Me (Early version) (Bonus track) (02:44)
13. Lookout (Previously unreleased studio version) (Bonus track) (03:30)
14. You're All Talk (Previously unreleased studio version) (Bonus track) (03:31)
15. I Dig Go-Go Girls (Previously unreleased) (Bonus track) (03:06)

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