Cheap Trick - Fan Club (1988)

In 1967, Rick Nielsen formed Fuse with Tom Peterson (later known as Tom Petersson), and when Bun E. Carlos joined on drums in 1971 they moved to Philadelphia, calling themselves Sick Man Of Europe. After a European tour in 1973 without Carlos, Nielsen and Petersson returned to Rockford and reunited with him, recruiting Randy 'Xeno' Hogan on vocals, and re-naming themselves Cheap Trick. Hogan left the band shortly after its formation and was replaced by Robin Zander, and in 1975 the band recorded a demo, and also played in warehouses, bowling alleys, and various other venues around the mid-western United States. They were signed to Epic Records in 1976, and released their eponymous debut album in early 1977, which garnered critically favourable reviews which were not reflected in its sales. Their second album 'In Color' was released later that year, and although singles 'I Want You To Want Me' and 'Southern Girls' failed to chart, the album itself had since been ranked in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. When the band toured in Japan for the first time in April 1978, they were received with a frenzy reminiscent of Beatlemania, and during the tour they recorded two concerts at the Nippon Budokan, from which ten tracks were chosen and compiled for live album entitled 'Cheap Trick At Budokan', and which was to be exclusive to Japan. The band's third studio album 'Heaven Tonight' was released in May 1978, and its first single 'Surrender' was their first US chart success, peaking at No. 62. Demand for 'Cheap Trick At Budokan' became so great that Epic Records finally released the album in the U.S., launching the band to international stardom, with the album going triple platinum in the United States. The first single from the album was the live version of 'I Want You to Want Me', which had originally flopped when extracted from the 'In Color' album in 1977, this time reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and becoming the band's best-selling single to date. 

Their next studio album 'Dream Police' was released in 1979, with the title track and 'Voices' becoming hit singles. By 1980 Cheap Trick were an arena band, and later that year Petersson left the group to record a solo album with his wife Dagmar, being replaced by Jon Brant. In July 1981, CBS Inc. sued Cheap Trick and their manager Ken Adamany for $10 million, alleging they were attempting to coerce CBS into re-negotiating their contract and had refused to record any new material for the label since October 1980. The lawsuit was settled in early 1982 and work commenced on the next album 'One On One', followed by 'Next Position Please' in 1983, and 'Standing On The Edge' in 1985, with this last record being called their "best collection of bubblegum bazooka rock in years". Petersson rejoined the group in 1987 and helped record 1988's 'Lap Of Luxury', but the recording was a fraught time for the band, as due to the their commercial decline, Epic Records insisted that they collaborate with professional songwriters on the album. However, when 'The Flame' was issued as a single from the album it became the band's first-ever No. 1 hit, and the four following singles from the album also charted. 'Lap Of Luxury' went platinum and became recognized as the band's comeback album, with Billboard commenting that "after a long hit-less streak, Cheap Trick brings it all back home. This is the quartet's punchiest effort since its mid-'70s heyday." The band consolidated this success on subsequent albums, with their most recent being 'We're All Alright!' in 2017. This collection of b-sides, demos, out-takes and soundtrack recordings covers their most fruitful period from 1977 to 1988, and even on these left-overs you can still hear why they've been cited as one of the best power-pop bands of the 70's and 80's.  

Track listing

01 Lovin' Money (out-take 1977)
02 Fan Club (demo 1977)
03 I Was A Fool (demo 1980) 
04 Everything Works If You Let It (alternate take 1980) 
05 I Need Love (demo 1980)
06 I'm The Man (from the soundtrack of the film 'Rock & Rule' 1981)
07 Born To Raise Hell (from the soundtrack of the film 'Rock & Rule' 1981)
09 Don't Make Our Love A Crime (demo 1982)
10 All I Really Want (b-side of 'She's Tight' 1982)
11 Twisted Heart (out-take 1983)
12 A Place In France (out-take 1985)
13 Funk #9 (demo 1986)
14 Money Is The Route Of All Fun (out-take 1986)
15 Fortune Cookie (demo 1986)
16 You Want It (from the soundtrack of the film 'Say Anything' 1988)  
17 Through The Night (b-side of 'The Flame' 1988)