Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (vocals); Rick Nielsen (guitar, piano); Tom Petersson (bass); Bun E. Carlos (percussion).

Recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat, England.

Cheap Trick: Robin Zander (guitar); Tom Petersson (bass guitar); Bun E. Carlos (drums); Rick Nielsen.

Personnel: Robin Zander (vocals); Rick Nielsen (guitar, keyboards); Bun E. Carlos (percussion).

Liner Note Author: Ken Sharp.

Recording information: Air Studios, London, England; Air Studios, Montserrat And London.

Photographers: Lynn Goldsmith; Art Maillet; Jim Houghton; Moshe Brakha; Henry Diltz.

Arranger: George Martin.

Cheap Trick's first genuinely disappointing album (1979's Dream Police wasn't bad, it just wasn't up to the level of the first four), 1980's All Shook Up is pretty much a complete botch. Much of the blame belongs to producer George Martin, who, for all his brilliance, was simply a wrongheaded choice for these brash power poppers; his production style simply doesn't translate. Unfortunately, primary songwriter Rick Nielsen has to shoulder his portion of the blame as well: the band's sixth album in under four years shows that the guitarist is starting to run out of both hooks and interesting lyrics. Too many songs are based around half-baked braggadocio like "High Priest of Rhythmic Noise" and "World's Greatest Lover," without the snarky wit that elevated their earlier albums, and the tunes themselves are substandard boogie deficient in both head-bobbing riffs and singalong choruses. "Baby Loves to Rock" is a glad-handing rocker with a certain resemblance to T. Rex's classic string of hits, but it's not enough to save the album. [An Expanded edition of All Shook Up was released in 2006 with five bonus tracks.] ~ Stewart Mason

With the legendary George Martin sitting in the producer's chair for this one, you'd think that Cheap Trick would have had it made. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, for with All Shook Up, the hits stopped coming and the near constant touring was beginning to take its toll. Well worth seeking out, but it's not the best in Cheap Trick's notable history. ~ James Chrispell

ALL SHOOK UP was produced by George Martin, the genius behind the boards for the Beatles (and was also recorded by longtime Beatle engineer Geoff Emerick). But ALL SHOOK UP isn't any more Beatle-influenced than any other Trick album; in fact, with the exception of the majestic "World's Greatest Lover," which Martin actually arranged, the band mostly nods to other stylistic influences.

For instance, "Just Got Back" has '70s glam touches as well as a big percussion sound reminiscent of Adam and the Ants or Bow Wow Wow. Then the very funny "Baby Loves to Rock" (one of Robin Zander's best vocals ever) manages to reference the Yardbirds, early Led Zeppelin, and the Move. The splendidly titled "I Love You Honey But I Hate Your Friends" is a cross between EXILE-era Stones and the Faces with Rod Stewart. And "High Priest of Rhythmic Noise," fittingly, is heavy on the sound-effects and actually veers in the direction of techno.

Cheap Trick's first genuinely disappointing album (1979's Dream Police wasn't bad, it just wasn't up to the level of the first four), 1980's All Shook Up is pretty much a complete botch. Much of the blame belongs to producer George Martin, who, for all his brilliance, was simply a wrongheaded choice for these brash power poppers; his production style simply doesn't translate. Unfortunately, primary songwriter Rick Nielsen has to shoulder his portion of the blame as well: the band's sixth album in under four years shows that the guitarist is starting to run out of both hooks and interesting lyrics. Too many songs are based around half-baked braggadocio like "High Priest of Rhythmic Noise" and "World's Greatest Lover," without the snarky wit that elevated their earlier albums, and the tunes themselves are substandard boogie deficient in both head-bobbing riffs and singalong choruses. "Baby Loves to Rock" is a glad-handing rocker with a certain resemblance to T. Rex's classic string of hits, but it's not enough to save the album. [An expanded edition of All Shook Up was released in 2006 with five bonus tracks.] ~ Stewart Mason

Uncut (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "ALL SHOOK UP remains a creditable slice of irony-heavy pomp-pop..."