10 More Essential Cheap Trick Songs

10. "Carnival Game" (Cheap Trick/1997)
I'll admit I skipped this album entirely when making my original top ten list back in the summer of 2015. I really loved their 70's material, didn't care much for the 80's, so I skipped the 90's and called it good. I was actually called out and plenty of friends said this was a stellar album.

Turns out it's out of print, yet, luckily I was able to track down a copy at a local record store. This is everything my friends said it was- chock full of pop, and bursting at the seams with fired up rock tunes; possibly the band's overall best album, since it blends both sides of the coin. This song lands on the pop side, showing off the Beatles' love that they wear proudly on their sleeves.

9. "Can't Stop Falling Into Love" (Busted)
I wrote off the 80's pop era, since I didn't like a lot of the production, and this felt like a cash-in on the previous Lap of Luxury album. Yet, listening to their Essentials collection a lot over the last few months, either at work or mowing the lawn, this track grew on me. One of the stronger ballads from the band, to tell the truth.

8. "Woke Up With A Monster" (Woke Up With A Monster)
Title track to Cheap Trick's 1994 album. Woke Up With A Monster features more emphasis on guitar, less on keyboards, and I think it stacks up well alongside what their peers were doing to alter their sound with grunge and alternative rock taking over.

7. "My Obsession" (Special One)
While I was listening to this album, Special One from 2003, I sent a text to a fellow Cheap Trick fan that "Words" is an amazing ballad. He said it's good, but his favorite track from that album is an earlier song, "My Obsession." Both songs seem to tackle the same subject, post-love, with this one being more upbeat while "Words" is more of a somber tune.

6. "Hard To Tell" (Cheap Trick/1997)
Another cut from their self-titled album, "Hard To Tell". It followed the same back-to-basics style as the previous Woke Up With A Monster album, unfortunately the album's label filed for bankruptcy only a few weeks after its release. No wonder it's a sought-after, out-of-print album!

5. "Stop This Game" (All Shook Up)
I didn't care for the album version much, yet I'm sucker for bands changing up songs when they are performed on live albums, and this is no exception. The Silver version knocked me off my feet! (I can't find the Silver version online, but here's a live version taken from an Illinois show.)

4. "She's Tight" (One On One)
This WAS my least favorite of the radio staples from the 80's that still get rotation here in Central IL. I hated the chorus and so I just never paid attention to the song. That is, until I just let their Essentials collection run on a loop while mowing a few lawns over the summer months. It grew on me and I found myself singing along to it. Strange how tastes change with age.

3. "Time Will Let You Know" (Silver)
While technically a solo Robin Zander song, the band recorded a live version for their anniversary album, titled Silver. They used a live strings section, piano, even Robin's daughter on guest vocals, too.

2. "Words" (Special One)
My favorite Cheap Trick ballad.

1. "Everything Works If You Let It" (Found All The Parts, EP)
This song is AWESOME! I know this is one I'd definitely overlooked two years ago while running through their discography at the speed of sound, which is because I didn't even know it existed. I only came across it this past spring once I dug into the discography of Enuff Z'Nuff. They covered it on an album, which led me to track down the original by Cheap Trick. It seems to have been included with Found All The Parts, along with a few later hits compilations, never getting a proper album release.