NEW YORK (AP) – Of the acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this month, only Cheap Trick is hawking new product, seeking relevance in a contemporary music world light years from their late 1970s peak.
Having Scott Borchetta in their corner gives them a fighting chance.
Borchetta’s Nashville-based Big Machine label, home to Taylor Swift, is one of music’s biggest success stories and is diversifying beyond country music. He’s also a Cheap Trick fan who helped the band focus on what it does best for the new disc, “Bang Zoom Crazy … Hello.”
The quartet from Rockford, Illinois, known for “Surrender,” ”Dream Police” and “I Want You to Want Me,” now emphasizes the power in its power pop sound.
“Anybody who was a fan of their first three records and hears this album, they’re going to love it,” Borchetta said. “I guarantee it. It’s the perfect bookend to where they started.”