Silver (2001)


 

 Disc One  
  1.Ain't That a Shame
  2.I Want You To Want Me
  3.Oh, Candy
  4.That 70's Song
  5.Voices
  6.If You Want My Love
  7.She's Tight
  8.Can't Stop Falling Into Love
  9.Gonna Raise Hell
 10.I Can't Take It
 11.Take Me to the Top
 12.It All Comes Back to You
 13.Tonight It's You
 14.Time Will Let You Know
 15.World's Greatest Lover

 Disc Two
  1.The Flame
  2.Stop This Game
  3.Dream Police
  4.I Know What I Want
  5.Woke Up With a Monster
  6.Never Had a Lot to Lose
  7.You're All Talk
  8.I'm Losin' You
  9.Hard To Tell
 10.Oh Claire
 11.Surrender
 12.Just Got Back
 13.Day Tripper
 14.Who D'King

 Itunes Bonus Tracks
  1.Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School
  2.On Top of the World

 

By the time Cheap Trick assembled Silver, a 25th anniversary retrospective staged in their hometown of Rockford, Illinois, the band were veterans of the road and the recording studio alike. It’s a curious artifact: part celebratory send-off, part redundant rehash. Had it not been preceded a mere three years earlier by the superior Music for Hangovers, Silver might have stood on firmer ground. As it is, comparisons are unavoidable—and not often flattering.

Sonically and structurally, Silver echoes its predecessor. Several of the same songs reappear, as does the intimate venue vibe. One is left wondering why more of the back catalogue wasn't mined—especially on a night billed as an all-encompassing retrospective. The setlist's insistence on touching every album in their discography, while admirable in scope, undercuts the flow. Quantity over quality prevails, and the result is more scattershot than definitive.

The guest appearances—a who's who of family, friends, former members, and even a local high school choir—aim for warmth but occasionally veer into clutter. There’s a Robin Zander solo cut, a Lennon tune (one which Rick and Bun E. guested on originally), and novelty turns from Carlos and Petersson. These moments, while charming in isolation, erode the band’s famed cohesion. The spontaneity and snap of a true Cheap Trick performance gets diluted by the pageantry.

The irony is that there are golden moments here, just buried beneath the excess. The performances are professional, frequently spirited, and the band's love for their hometown is palpable. Two iTunes bonus tracks—Daddy Should Have Stayed in High School and On Top of the World— are worth tracking down, offering flashes of the Trick’s past danger and drama.

Ultimately, Silver is not a failure—just a missed opportunity. Where Music for Hangovers distilled Cheap Trick’s essence with lean precision, Silver spreads itself too thin in trying to be everything to everyone. A single disc with sharper focus might have served them better. As it stands, it’s a scrapbook: generous, heartfelt, but perhaps best appreciated by the devoted rather than the curious.

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