Music for Hangovers [live]

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineCheap Trick celebrated their 25th anniversary in the best way possible. In a handful of major cities, the band did a brief residency, performing one of their classic first three albums in its entirety on three separate nights. And for their stay at Cabaret Metro in their hometown Chicago, they added a fourth night, where they ran through Live at Budokan. Music for Hangovers collects 14 highlights from their stand at the Metro, including selections from the encores, where they dipped into songs from Dream Police, One on One, and Next Position Please. In this context, the music is stripped of the novelty -- after all, it's not every day that a band decides to run through a classic album, in its original running order -- and left to stand on its own merits. Astonishingly, the record rivals the legendary Live at Budokan and, at times, sounds harder and rocks harder than that album. They may be doing oldies, but their hearts are in it, and the results are giddily entertaining. There are no new arrangements or anything unexpected (even the cameos from Billy Corgan and D'arcy of the Smashing Pumpkins fit seamlessly into the band's sound), just tight, exciting versions of classics, from hit singles ("Dream Police," "I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender") to cult favorites ("How Are You?," "Madocello," "Oh Caroline"). Music for Hangovers proves that getting older is not necessarily a death knell for a rock band, since Cheap Trick sounds as good as ever throughout the record. A welcome surprise from a great band.