Review: Cheap Trick Release ‘All Washed Up’ – Proving They Are Far From It

While I was down in Wichita this weekend, visiting my ol’ college roomie Drew and seeing Joe Walsh and friends rock out to raise money for Vets, venerable rock n roll band Cheap Trick released their 21st studio album (if you include their, gads, Xmas album) All Washed Up, and the title is obviously facetious as this music proves these guys are far from washed up.

I got back on the Cheap Trick bandwagon for 2017’s superb We’re All Alright! and that continued with the also great 2021 album In Another World. They are really on a late career hot streak. These are the kind of records I founded B&V to extol. It’s hard not to hear the influence of Big Star in the fabulous melodic or even pop rock these guys play. In 2025 I will always show up for a band with vocals/guitar/bass/drums.

Cheap Trick is still Rick Nielsen on lead/rhythm guitar, the intrepid Robin Zander on vocals/rhythm guitar, Tom Petersson on bass. All three of the founding members also receive production and songwriting credits, although songwriter Julian Raymond also receives credit for co-producing with Cheap Trick. Rick’s son Daxx is still on the drums, although not credited as a full member and while I miss Bun E. Carlos, if just for aesthetic reasons, Daxx does some righteous pounding.

These guys just keep coming up with great rock n roll. This is the most Cheap Tricky record that I’ve heard in a while and I mean that in a good way. Neilsen’s guitar work continues to be top shelf. The riffs and solo’s explode from the speakers. Robin Zander’s vocals haven’t lost a step but then he was never one for high notes. He has a way of putting raw emotion into a chorus that few singers still do. You get the feeling he’s well, feeling the lyrics. Petersson and Daxx provide a solid bedrock foundation for Rick and Robin to soar and soar they do. The record cover is set in a laundromat with each washing machine designed to highlight a different member… I thought it was funny but it’s a long cry from when the two handsome guys were always on the cover and the two… less handsome guys… were relegated to the back cover. While I’ve always aspired to be a “front cover” guy, at this point I think I might belong on the “back cover.”

The album starts immediately with a couple of patented Cheap Trick tunes, starting with the ferocious rocker in the title track. It’s a real strong start right out of the gates. That leads us to “All Wrong Long Gone” which is a track that should be blasting out of car windows on a warm, summer Saturday night while driving up and down the main drag of town. Zander’s vocals are the absolute star on “All Wrong Long Gone.”

The band then goes heavier on “The Riff That Wouldn’t Quit” and no, the riff doesn’t quit…”Gotta reach down inside your heart, If you wanna play the blues,” oh yes, so true! The guitar solo on that one is unhinged. “Bet It All” is probably the heaviest tune on the album. It’s got a thick riff that I dug. “Twelve Gates,” the first single is a song that just gets better with every listen and it’s pretty damn superb on first listen. Once again Zander gets kudos for a passionate vocal.

The ballads on the record are all pretty stunning and yes, as you would expect, over the top. “The Best Thing” is a song I wish I’d written for the Rock Chick… of course she’d say I was being a chick… One of us has to be a chick, honey, it might as well be me. “The Best Thing” is so over the top sweet that it would make a late period Aerosmith ballad blush but it just works. “Long Gone” is another great ballad, albeit a little more rock n roll centric. It’s got another huge chorus. How old is Zander and he’s still belting songs out?

“Bad Blood” is another track in the vein of “Twelve Gates,” not a ballad but not a full on rocker. It’s just a great Cheap Trick midtempo thing. All these songs are hook-laden and this one is no exception with great singing and choppy riffing. “Dancing With The Band” is another rocker that I immediately added to our Playlist: Songs About Dancing For All The Wallflowers.

“Long Road To Worcester” (a town in Massachusetts where I saw Boston, long ago) is another great midtempo track that is a total ear worm for me. It’s a great plea to a lover with another scorching guitar solo. “Wham Boom Bang,” which evokes the title of their 2016 album Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello, is a wacky left turn into old timey pop music of the kind that Paul McCartney was always fond of in the Beatles… think “Martha My Dear.” It’s funny but I’m not sure I’ll be cranking this one a whole lot. But hey, if they’re having fun, I’m having fun.

Cheap Trick is one of those bands who have always been consistently good and sometimes great, so much so that perhaps we overlook them occasionally. Much like the Black Keys who are always really good it’s easy to skip an album once in a while. One might even describe Tom Petty like that, although he was consistently good and occasionally excellent. I say all that to say, don’t take Cheap Trick for granted, they’re continuing to put out great rock n roll and these days we desperately need that!!

Turn this one up very loud and prepare to party like it’s 1978.

Cheers!