DISQUS

David_E · 7 months ago

"Mr. Werman, I just wanna get my front tooth back."

I want a t-shirt of that. Complete with Frank Frazetta illustration.

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

The one who said that was Dave Hlubek, who was the leader of the group. And he did get his front tooth back. Meanwhile, I personally enjoyed the guitar style of Duane Roland, the designated second guitarist (mostly due to his laid-back personality). Check out his solo on "It's All Over Now", where he plays a doubled lead that articulates every note that Keith Richards had initially intended to play. Duane was a wonderful guy, funny and easygoing. He told me once that he had been shot in the stomach by his father. SOmetimes when I was in the studio with the Hatchet boys, I felt quite far from home.

The Man I Used To Be · 7 months ago

Interesting how you mentioned "I Want You To Want Me". We all know which version of that song is better and more organic. The live version IMHO is one of the top five classic rock songs of all time. What were the feelings when you heard that for the first time?

Brendan

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

The song actually morphed gradually into its harder version (It was born in the studio and grew), and I think it works well as both a ditty and a faster, harder song. Frankly, the live version will always sound a bit rushed to me, but many bands make many changes to many songs after those many years playing them night after night on the road. I do find it curious that I treated that song the same way I treated all the other Cheap Trick signature songs, but people seem to just go batshit about that tack piano and the fingersnaps. Most people don't know that Jay Graydonplayed lead guitar on the track, too. We all decided (together) that Rick 's style at the time wasn't right for the song's vibe.

The Man I Used To Be · 7 months ago

Tom,

Thanks for the response. Great insight on Jay playing lead and your thoughts on both versions. Don't get me wrong, I really do like the original studio version piano and finger snaps and all. To me the live version has become their anthem, with the crowd as background vocalist and the speed of it which you referenced. To me IWYTWM it is the perfect power pop song.

Take care,
Brendan

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

I've always thought "Surrender" or "Top of the World" was close to the perfect power pop song. I also really loved "Auf Wiedersehen".

Russ · 7 months ago

The Budokan version doesn't sound nearly as rushed as the early studio version on the reissue of the first album. The In Color version is fine, it just sticks out like a sore thumb on the album. Seems like it would've been better off as a single-only release, but those days (in the U.S. anyway) were gone. Then Epic actually DID put the live version out as a single-only release and the rest is rock 'n' roll history.

jesselun · 7 months ago

I love this column. Tom, great history here...thank you!

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

You're welcome. I enjoy writing this stuff down, but I do have some difficulty with the chronology of it all.

DwDunphy · 7 months ago

Tom, I have to say I enjoy the bleeding heck out of your column. I'm bracing myself for the Crue years though...

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

Well, fortunately we have a number of installments before we go there. Regrettably, I can't guarantee that my recollection will conform to that of Mr. Sixx. I'll just have to trust that by the time we get there, I will have established a modicum of trust with the readers, based on what I've had to say up to that point. Anyway, we'll roll along, and take the questions as they arise...

Gregg · 7 months ago

Mr. Werman, I love the stuff you did with Cheap Trick and Motley Crue. It is great reading all of this and I can't wait for the next installment. I do have one question tho, how do you feel about Cheap Trick talking about releasing a new and updated version of In Color produced by Steve Albini, and what you think of it if you have heard it. Thanks and I can't wait to read the next chapter!

Tom Werman · 7 months ago

Twisted Sister also re-recorded the Stay Hungry LP and I was told by JJ that they initially sold about 25,000. This is compared to the 4 million sales on the original, which is about the only measure we have. Things change over time. If I were to do Cheap Trick now, I think the mix would sound far more like the Foo Fighters' mixes than what we did back then. But I have no problem with bands' re-recording music that I produced. They want people to hear a representation of what they want listeners to think they intended originally. Problem is, they didn't. One of Popdose's readers asked an important question: If these bands were so unhappy with their records, why did they use me for 2 more LP's, and why are my productions their biggest records?

side3 · 7 months ago

Mr. Werman,

I am loving your posts here at Popdose. They are some of the best reads I have come across in a long time...very very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to write about your career. Thanks for taking the time to comment too...that is very cool.

As for Cheap Trick and their supposed reassessment of the sound of the albums you produced...I have to say, I love Cheap Trick....when I was in high school they were 'my band'. I am a pre-Budokan fan...I already had all three albums before Budokan came out....I still love Trick 30 plus years later...but they never sounded as good as they did on "In Color", "Heaven Tonight" and "Dream Police"....especially "In Color", which is in my Top 10 of all time. I really have thought over the years "I love to tell Tom Werman how great those CT albums sounded...and now I have! You did a great job...so my thanks to you for that.

I was pretty shocked to find out Jay Graydon played guitar on "I Want You To Want Me"...were there any other tracks where an outside guitarist (or bassist) was used?

Oh...and I agree with you on Aerosmith's "Rocks". I still love that album too...my fav track is Joe Perry's "Combination".

RB

motovatin · 7 months ago

I have always been surprised that nobody that I know of has covered "Auf Wiedersehen", one of my favorite CT songs. Somehow, I can see Metallica covering it!

Tom, on "On the Radio", the outro with the D.J. sounds almost, (almost!) hip-hopish! Were you and CT ahead of your time?

DavidMedsker · 7 months ago

This column is catnip to me. Love reading the behind-the-scenes stories, and I'm just gobsmacked at the number of big-name bands that literally fell into your lap. And while I am equally eager to read about the Crue years, I am also just as curious (albeit morbidly) to read about the experience of producing Poison, Stryper and Kix.

Steve · 7 months ago

Anthrax did a stomping version of "Auf Wiedersehen" --- I think it was the b-side to a single in the early 90's, can't recall.

Tom, love reading all this...as a HUGE Cheap Trick fan, along with Beck and Nugent, I've long admired the sounds you got from those artists.

It always pained me that Bun E. in particular loves to slag the sound of those records...but c'est la vie I guess.

Tom Stewart · 7 months ago

Wow, when I saw a link posted online about a multi part column being written by you Mr. Werman, I couldn't get here fast enough LOL You, along with a handful of others(Roy Thomas Baker, Jack Douglas, Bob Ezrin, Mike Chapman, etc) are responsible for helping to make some of the greatest recordings of all time in my book. I always wondered why someone hasn't decided to make a huge book on just interviews with record producers from what I consider the golden era of classic rock/new wave (1969 to about 1983...maybe 1985 if you want to include some metal/hair band stuff too). To me, the ins and outs of what it took to make these classic albums, from a non-band member perspective, is priceless. I could read a 300 page book just on the making of Dream Police LOL Not that it would ever get published, but you get the jist. I could ask a hundred questions, but I will TRY to be somewhat brief in my questions/comments/ramblings. Let me just say regarding Cheap Trick, my 2nd favorite band behind the original 70s version of KISS, the 3 studio albums you did for them are absolutely the jewels in the catalog, with the exception of the Jack Douglas produced debut, which is also right there along the other 3.
Was it your idea to bring in the strings/synth parts into the band's sound? That's an element that I thought really worked with them....bringing out an ELO/Who element to the songs that, since ELO and The Who are also in my top 10, really hits home with me. Songs like Way Of The World just come alive with those string sections, without wimping it out. It's part of their "classic" sound in my opinion.
Why is the drum sound on In Color so dry and muted, vs the crisp, punchy drum sound on say Dream Police and Heaven Tonight? Was it a studio issue, a mix decision, or just what sounded right at the time? This is not a knock, but as a drummer, I always loved the drum sound on the D Police album, and thought In Color has the killer songs, but lacked the crisp punchiness in the mix. But it doesn't hurt it's classic status either.
What did you think of George Martin's work on All Shook Up? What would you have done different? I love that album, because it's a throwback to the 1st album in that it's very heavy and weird, sort of ramshackle sounding, but I thought it was strange that having The Beatles producer in the chair, they went in the OPPOSITE direction you would think they would. I always hated the drum sound on it...very trash can/thin sounding, and thought if it had the mix/production values of D Police, the album would have benefited.
I also love the work you did with The Producers...especially You Make The Heat, which to me was a crisper, more in your face sounding record than the debut, which is also a power pop classic and the sound on that record is perfect for those songs. I remember seeing What's He Got on MTV when I was 11 and just being like WOW! Where did these guys come from? Energy, charisma, tunes...they should have at least been as big as say The Romantics or any of those other bands that weren't quite stadium acts, but had something.
Sorry for such a long post....I get carried away with this stuff LOL Are you actually working on a book? Thanks for doing this...it's a really cool thing to see. And thanks for helping to shape the soundtrack of my childhood...