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Cheap Trick: As Infectious as Ever

Cheap Trick.
Cheap Trick.

Drawing from the disparate worlds of '60s pop, hard rock and punk, the arena-rock legends in Cheap Trick have enjoyed influential and decades-spanning careers. Their infectious blend of hooky melodies, driving rhythms and big power chords — as heard on rock classics such as "Surrender" and "I Want You To Want Me" — has allowed them to sell millions of albums all over the world.

The band still resides in Rockford, Ill., where the original lineup first came together in the mid-'70s. The release of 1978's breakthrough Heaven Tonight, which spawned the great "Surrender," laid the groundwork for the following year's Live at Budokan. A bestseller and classic, Budokan helped make Cheap Trick a household name from that point on.

Cheap Trick's first new album in six years, Rockford, finds the group returning to its roots. As catchy and powerful as their many predecessors, songs like "Perfect Stranger" and "Welcome to the World" sound equally suited to old and new fans.

This segment originally aired Dec. 14, 2006.

Copyright 2007 XPN

David Dye is a longtime Philadelphia radio personality whose music enthusiasm has captivated listeners of World Cafe® since 1991. World Cafe is produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.