All Washed Up

"Big In Japan"、本国アメリカよりも先に日本で人気が爆発したバンドの1組、Cheap Trickが結成55周年を記念しリリースする通算21作目のスタジオ・アルバム!
ファンが長年愛してきたものが全て詰まっている、期待を裏切らない作品。

4年7カ月ぶりとなる21作目のスタジオ・アルバム。55年のキャリアを感じることができる作品で、Rick Nielsenの象徴的なギター・リフ、Tom Peterssonの轟くようなベース、Robin Zanderの圧倒的なヴォーカル、そしてそれらを支えるビート、長年に亘りファンが心を躍らせ、愛してきたCheap Trickの音楽が詰まっている。プロデュースはバンドと過去の作品にも携わっているグラミー賞受賞ソング・ライター&プロデューサーのJulian Raymond(Fleetwood Mac、Glen Campbell等)。1980年にリリースされた5作目のアルバム 『All Shook Up』にちなんで付けられた仮のタイトルが本タイトルになったらしい。

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The title of Cheap Tricks 21st album is definitely meant to be tongue in cheek, another bit of self-effacing, yet defiantly independent attitude from a band who shows no sign of slowing down. All Washed Up is an impressive mix of high-octane rockers, grinding hard rock, tender ballads, and shimmering pop songs, all delivered with a wink and a kick in the pants. So, its pretty much business as usual. Rick Nielsen is still an absolute best on six strings, the rhythm section of Tom Petersson and Daxx Nielsen is rock solid, and Robin Zander has the same mix of wild abandon and subtle sensitivity that has been the hallmark of the band throughout their long career. Indeed, the album plays like a sampler of all the styles they had taken in and conquered along the way. Bruising power pop (the title track) bumps up against finely layered Beatle-esque pop ("Bad Blood"); pummeling arena rock ("The Riff That Wont Quit") nestles next to a jangling Tom Petty-ish melancholy number ("A Long Way to Worcester"), and swaggering, somewhat menacing tracks like "Bet It All" are paired with riffy songs that come across like AC/DC at their poppiest ("All Wrong Long.") The band unsurprisingly knock the rockers and uptempo pop songs out of the park, Nielsens oddball way with a hook has never failed him and Zander can put across a song with zing thats undimmed by time. Whats a bit of a shock is how great they sound on the big, goopy power ballads that one might have thought they would have consigned to the vault. They do trot out the huge harmonies, slick layers of glistening guitars and synths, hooks so huge even Diane Warren would be jealous, and sentiments so sweet they could cause tooth decay. "The Best Thing" is the most charming of the bunch, a breathless love song built around Zanders heartfelt vocal, an uplifting chord progression, and words that might have even the crustiest grump believing in the possibility of love. "Twelve Gates" is another great example of mainstream Cheap Trick, stacking vocal harmonies and guitar jangle all the way up to heaven, while "Love Gone" flips the script to tell a heartbreak story with the same amount of soul, passion, and slickness. If Roy Orbison were still on the planet, this would have been a perfect song for him to cover. The only song that seems to come from nowhere is the album ending "Wham Boom Bang," a jolly little knees up full of clarinets, cute guitar licks, and a saucy vocal from Zander. The rest of the album is Cheap Trick through and through, every song a reminder of how their past achievements were truly special, while at the same time letting everyone know they are still cranking out songs with all the manic energy, gleeful abandon, and pure pop songcraft theyve embraced from the start. ~ Tim Sendra