Cheap Trick: Is 'All Washed Up' Their BEST Album In Decades?!

Been listening to the latest Cheap Trick album all week. Can you believe it's their 21st album?! 

I give me thoughts and also read the "professional" reviewers from the recent Classic Rock magazine to compare notes. You'll see if I'm crazy or not. 

Transcript

Hey, rock fan. I wanted to share with you a stellar album that I've been checking out all week. You know how you go through your music streaming services and you kind of click on what's new or new releases? Well, guess what I saw? Cheap Trick. You remember Cheap Trick?

Yes, that Cheap Trick. The I want you to want me. I... sorry, I butchered that. But yes, that Cheap Trick. Believe it or not, their 21st album. They just came out with that this week, and I was pleasantly surprised after clicking on listen to the whole album a couple of times, and man, it blew my mind.

I gotta say, it blew my mind. Who knew a band that could have last... I mean, they've been around since the '70s. So imagine, the '70s till now and they can still deliver a rocking album. This is really impressive. You know, I joke around with my friends, you know, a band normally has about four really good albums in them, and after that it's all kind of downhill.

But I'm really impressed with this album. I mean, it has everything you want on it. It's definitely a rocking album, don't get me wrong, but it has really good variety. It has, uh, surprises as well. You know, you'd be listening to a song and then, whoa, you know, this riff would come in and completely change the dynamics of the song, and, uh, make it awesome.

Rick Nielsen's guitar playing on this one, I'm telling you, he's at his peak. It really impressed me. That's one of the things that impressed me the most about this album is his playing, his guitar playing. There's different parts going on,

I'm telling you, his solos are on another level. Very energetic, very, uh, powerful solos, and in your face, urgent. I love it. I love the sound. And obviously, Robber Zander's singing, wow. Who knew at that age you can sing like this? Obviously, it's in the studio, but hey, I went to see him live a couple of years ago.

They did this thing, I think it was called, uh, the Kings of Chaos, where it was him, I believe it was Sebastian Bach in the band. It was a super group. Duff McKagan was in the band as well. I think Matt Sermon was drumming, if I'm not mistaken. But Robbin Zander did, uh, the...

one of the most memorable live experience I've ever had. He sang The Flame, and it was just him. It was just him playing guitar and singing that song, and he was so moving. It was so emotional. You heard his... just his voice, his beautiful voice, and an acoustic guitar singing that classic song, love song I should say, and, uh, it almost brought me to tears it was so moving.

And to this day, I remember it. What a performance that really marked me, and one of the highlights of my life for sure. His singing is right on point. So I highly recommend this album. I think it's the best album I've heard this year, and I'm not even kidding.

Go check it out, and don't take it from me. I saw a review of Cheap Trick's latest album called All Washed Up, amazing title, All Washed Up by BMG, I saw a review and they rate it eight out of 10. Eight out of 10, so don't take it from me.

And I'm here to read you this article to prove to you that I'm not crazy and, uh, to let the professionals let you know how good this is.

Now, before I get to the eight on 10 review by Chris Roberts from Classic Rock Magazine, I gotta say, the reason why I love this album is that it really does take you on a journey. Obviously, there's some rocking songs, but there's, uh, slow ballads, there's medium tempo songs, and even within a song, like I said earlier, you have these surprises that come in.

Uh, like for example, you'd be listening to this song and all of a sudden it switched these, like, minor chords, like, out of nowhere, and like, whoa, okay, this is interesting to the ear. Uh, there's some, uh, I think horn solos on there, unexpected twists and turns within the song, and unexpected twists and turns within the entire overall album.

Really well put together. One of the things I love about this album is the sound. I don't know who they work with, I gotta check it out, but the sound is tremendous. It sounds stellar. Stellar, stellar sound. So whoever mixed and mastered this album, kudos to them. All right, let's get into the review here.

Cheap Trick, All Washed Up, Illinois' past masters relight the flame on swaggering 21st.

From the first riff, which hasn't come to make small talk, Cheap Trick are plainly here to do what they do best,

punkily but never losing control, these septuagenarians, whatever that means, sept... do I get that right? Septuagenarians are still tapped into the mother lode of rock 48 years since their debut. They're still bright beasts who understand its essence. They know it, own it, like Parliament new funk, like ABBA new pop, like Hank new country.

Decades on from the moment in Surrender when they were startled to discover their mom and dad getting high to Kiss records, they're delivering their turbocharged power pop so purely that multiple generations will be able to roll on a couch to the ageless thrill of someone getting classic rock right.

All Washed Up, they're a clean machine. Also, one thing, if you take a look at the album, what's fun... first of all, the name is unbelievable, great name. Secondly, uh, there's four washing machines on it, and if you take a look, each washing machine represents one of the band members, so I thought that was pretty clever."If

they're less about straight lines than AC/DC, happy to allow the noise to spill outside its structures at times, they and long time producer, Julian Raymond, are shrewd enough to know route one still gets you there faster. Home run single, 12 Gates, flirts with the Beatles' Rain, its harmonies especially, before blowing the Doors off.

Robin Zander, who hits his mark throughout this humdinger, sings of a brand new start and a new taste coming. in truth, anyone looking for those things is in the wrong place. Nobody here wants to reinvent any wheels. They just want to assert that their electricity is evergreen, their chests are puffed out, and their libido, one of the many things Oasis lacks, is extant.

Like we said, it's rock.

"Everything pounds excitedly. Rick Nielsen's guitars, garrulous, until the inevitable slow one halfway through as a token nod to Light and Shade." So that's what I'm saying. It's taking you through a journey 'cause it starts... Their first song is really rocking, and then near the mid of the album, it kind of dips down a bit, slows down a bit and rocks back up.

A great journey.

"That's left in the dust as the pace again picks up. Glimmers of Aerosmith." For sure, yes. I've heard that as well. "The Cars, The Knack, and even The Sweet can be discerned. But the best comparison point is probably Big Star on beer. Bands are often tiresomely described as being like another On Acid," quote, unquote.

"That wouldn't work here. No one's wigging out or wandering off or thinking deep thoughts during titles like The Riff That Won't Quit or Bad Blood." Bad Blood, actually, it's one of my favorites. Go check it out. "That would dilute the direct crunch of the punches. Cheap Trick just aim to fizz, and so still singing

of wanting to touch you and be touched, of getting it on, and whamming and booming and banging, Cheap Trick stay eternally youthful. Loyal servants of a genre which is lucky to have their priceless magic." Review by Chris Roberts.

Cheap Trick, in my eyes, is a band that really never got the credit they deserved and never really rose to the top of the mountain like some of the other bands that came out during their time. I don't know why. I'm really not sure, but I mean, they're power pop, so they're definitely accessible type of music.

And Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander are just killer talents in their own right. But unfortunately, even, like, recently, you know, they haven't really done any headlining tours. What Cheap Trick is known for is really opening acts for big names. And obviously, a lot of big acts respect them as a band and as musicians, so they've been able to stay relevant by opening for a lot of these bigger acts.

But man, that aside, whatever aside,

just looking at the album from a musical point of view and just how much of a rocking album it is, if you're looking to just rock and not really thinking about how the world is depressing right now or AI is gonna kill us, but you just want to rock and have a good time, this is the album for you.

It definitely has my vote for the best album I've heard in 2025. And man, I can't believe it came out in November. But hey, at least we got it. So enjoy it. Thank you for listening. Rock on. Oh, by the way, if you're into this sweater and you want to see other rock fashion, go check out itsoneletter.com and hopefully you'll find a thing or two that you enjoy there.

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