The production of those albums puts me off - I don't think either Jack Douglas or Tom Werman managed to capture the band's energy or get their sound right in the studio. At Budokan is the one where everything falls into place for me: the production's more direct, the guitars properly power pop, the rhythm section has more oomph, and you can't beat the enthusiasm of those screaming Japanese teenagers in the audience. XD

Cheap Trick's best album is At Budokan. They never managed to equal that in the studio, sadly.

I think it's better off not being on top. The thing is, when you're super-popular, every record label will try to control you and milk you for as much money as possible before they throw you in the trash. All the good things in rock happened despite its popularity, not because of it, by artists fighting for the right to experiment against record labels who cared only for the bottom line.

By not being as popular, there's less pressure on rock. There's more space to experiment and try things, more room to manoeuvre that it didn't have when it was a cash cow. Record labels want a guaranteed money-making formula. When grunge hit it big, they just rushed to sign post-grunge bands that could duplicate the sound in the idea that it would just continue being big forever.

Found the corporate bootlicker.