Next Position Please

by Stephen Thomas ErlewinePerhaps sensing something was going wrong, Cheap Trick hired superstar producer Todd Rundgren for Next Position Please. Rundgren helped the band return to the appealing pop/rock of their In Color days, albeit stamping it with his heavy-handed production. However, Cheap Trick do benefit from Rundgren's control, since it gives them a sense of focus lacking on All Shook Up and One on One. Though the record was hampered somewhat by Epic's insistence of adding a bad cover of the Motors' terrific "Dancin' the Night Away" and the lightweight "You Say Jump," Next Position Please is effectively a return to form for Cheap Trick, boasting their most consistent set of songs since Heaven Tonight. "I Can't Take It," "Borderline," "Younger Girls," "Heaven's Falling," and "Invaders of the Heart" may not quite reach the heights of the first three albums, but they come within shooting distance, making Next Position Please Cheap Trick's last satisfying record.