The year is 1985 and Cheap Trick is coming off the commercial disappointment that was 1983's Next Position Please. The band looks back for inspiration, tapping Jack Douglas (who'd manned the boards for their stunning debut effort) to produce. In keeping with the times, the band would also rely upon heavy use of synthesizers, drum machines, and the all-too-common '80s cannon-fire snare sound.
We now take a track-by-track look back at the album, Standing On The Edge.
Little Sister
Those expecting an Elvis Presley cover would have to wait until 1988 (at which point the band would tackle "Don't Be Cruel" and score a Top 5 hit) found instead a caffeinated synthed-up rocker that signified the emergence of a new Cheap Trick. Loaded with hooks a-plenty, the song also features layers of keyboards, programmed percussion, and a kitschy-beyond-belief bridge break wherein guitarist Rick Nielsen electronically stutters "Oooh I l-l-l-l-like it when you talk, talk, talk dirty to me."
Truth be told, there's a great song underneath all the now-extremely-dated studio trickery.
Tonight It's You
At the time, this song seemed like a slam dunk candidate for returning the band to the top of the charts, where they belonged. I mean, this was back when power ballads ruled the day and this was Trick at their most powerfully balladesque. That the song failed to set the charts afire probably had less to do with the quality of the song and more to do with Epic's extreme lack of dedication towards anything with the words "Cheap" and "Trick" on it.
Despite a completely unnecessary synth break in the bridge, the rest of the song holds up extremely well and has always sounded great when the band performs it live.
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