Are You Ready? (2019)
1. Hello There
2. Clock Strikes Ten
3. I'll Be With You Tonight
4. Ain't That a Shame
5. California Man
6. Downed
7. On Top of the World
8. Gonna Raise Hell
9. Heaven Tonight
10.Stiff Competition
11.Voices
12.Way of the World
13.Need Your Love
14.I Know What I Want
15.I Want You To Want Me
16.Surrender
17.Auld Lang Syne
18.The House is Rockin'
19.Dream Police
Although no one could have known it at the time, Cheap Trick residing on top of the world (pun intended) would be fairly short. After they exploded in popularity with the release of their live At Budokan album, they stayed high in the limelight for approximately one more album - 1979’s Dream Police. Sadly, the 1980s weren’t as kind to the band, and even though they retained a fair level of popularity amongst a segment of their fans, album and ticket sales would dictate that the glory days of headlining major arenas was definitely over.
So when this concert, on New Year’s Eve 1980 at the Los Angeles Forum, was recorded for a Westwood Live radio show, it’s awfully nice that years later it gets an official release and a fan can revel at that brief time in the band’s history when they were at their most popular.
For my personal taste, this live album has what every live album should have: loud raunchy fans, a stellar performance, and peppers of in-between song banter from several of the band members. If one is brutally honest, the sound quality isn’t as great as it could be, but I’m sure no one listening to their radio on the last night of the decade of the 1970s really cared. My guess is that this release includes the whole show – including the obligatory Auld Lang Syne sing along.
It’s nice that fans can have a souvenir such as this so many years later.
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