Cheap Trick - In Color - Steve Albini Sessions -1998 Cd Flac- Review

By 1998, Cheap Trick was in a weird purgatory. They were beloved, but considered "classic rock." Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana, PJ Harvey) was the anti-producer. He hated digital reverb, hated headphones, and famously rejected "The Record Industry."

Rick Nielsen’s guitar solo is sloppy. Not lazy, but aggressive. You can hear him stomp a distortion pedal in the left channel 0.5 seconds before the solo starts. Most producers would edit that out. Albini left it in because "that’s what playing feels like." By 1998, Cheap Trick was in a weird purgatory

The result? A brutalist, stripped-down re-recording of their 1977 classic, In Color . Officially released as a promo CD in 1998 (and later a very limited Japanese tour item), this isn’t just a remaster; it is a full-throated exhumation. Today, we are analyzing the of that elusive disc. Not lazy, but aggressive

9/10 for sound quality (Loses one point because the vocals are intentionally too quiet in the mix). Mood: Angry, sweaty, and perfect for a winter garage. Albini left it in because "that’s what playing feels like