When Epic Records reissued their first three albums in 1998, Cheap Trick went out on tour to promote them. I was privileged to witness their three-night stand in Austin, Texas; they performed each album in its entirety on successive evenings. They were, in a word, phenomenal, and those albums are, in a word, essential. Cheap Trick melded midwestern heavy metal crunch to sprightly, Beatle-esque pop and, while it lasted, were the best rock and roll band in the world - even if it took 20 years for the world to say so.

The first disc (Cheap Trick, 1977) is the heaviest, and the second (In Color, 1977) has the best songs (e.g. "I Want You To Want Me"). The third (Heaven Tonight, 1978) is a brilliantly produced, radio-ready pop pastiche; if you can listen to "Surrender" without running to turn up the volume, play wild air guitar, bounce up and down, and scream along till you're hoarse, well, Gunga Din, you're a better man than I.... Shortly after Heaven Tonight, the band released a monumental live album, Cheap Trick At Budokan, in Japan; imported copies sold so well in the United states that Epic released it here, and it was this record that made the band famous. Budokan is now available as an unexpurgated two-disc set - very highly recommended.

Cheap Trick's fourth studio album, Dream Police (1979), is almost as good as the ones that preceded it, but signs of creative malaise were beginning to show. (Dream Police, by the way, has not yet been remastered.) Cheap Trick never again scaled such artistic heights, but they usually managed several memorable tracks per album - songs like "Just Got Back" (All Shook Up, 1980), "She's Tight" (One On One, 1982), and "Tonight It's You" (Standing On The Edge, 1985). Their Sex America Cheap Trick boxed set (1996) includes nearly all the best bits from their later records Epic albums, and it culls a bunch of rare material to boot.

After releasing Busted (apropos title) in 1990, Cheap Trick left their longstanding label and, despite some strong efforts (such as 1997's Cheap Trick), failed to rekindle much commercial spark. They remain, however, as sharp as ever in person and a top draw wherever great music is played and appreciated.

As for collections, Cheap Trick's old Greatest Hits LP (1991) got a sonic upgrade in 2002 and is still a great listen, while the updated Authorized Greatest Hits (2000) is pretty much an even swap. The Essential Cheap Trick (2004), however, is 2-CD set that easily trumps them both. Finally, Music For Hangovers is a rockin' souvenir from the abovementioned tour - and a hint, at least, of how consummately Cheap Trick rocks on stage.