Cheap Trick (1997 Album)

Cheap Trick (1997 Album)

Cheap Trick, commonly referred to as Cheap Trick '97, is an eponymous album by the American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by the band and Ian Taylor and released on Red Ant Records and Alliance Entertainment. The album is referred to as "Cheap Trick II" when it is referenced on the promotional DVD that was released with the band's Special One album in 2003. Ian Taylor had previously engineered the One On One LP in 1982 and produced a handful of other tracks in 1983 including the single "Dancin' The Night Away" for the Next Position Please LP as well as the contributions that the band recorded for the 1983 Sean S. Cunningham comedy film Spring Break.

Named after their original 1977 eponymous debut, the album features a similar black-and-white scheme on the cover and a similar stripped-down sound to what they had used 20 years earlier. (In a twist of irony, Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos are represented on the front cover (rather than the back) of a Cheap Trick album for the first and only time, likewise Robin Zander and Tom Petersson are relegated to the back, but their gear appears instead of the band members themselves.) Some have suggested that the band chose this approach treating their debut with Red Ant/Alliance as an opportunity to re-introduce themselves as a band to a new era. Red Ant filed for bankruptcy three weeks after the album's release. There was one black-and-white video shot for the LP; "Say Goodbye". The Japanese version of the album featured a different album cover, a black-and-white photo of the band members.

The album is now only available as a digital download at various online retailers, although a limited edition reissue was released in Japan in 2004.