The Latest

The Latest
Studio album by Cheap Trick
Released	June 23, 2009
Recorded	2008–2009
Genre	Hard rock, power pop, AOR
Label	Cheap Trick Unlimited
Producer	Cheap Trick, Julian Raymond & Howard Willing
Cheap Trick chronology
Rockford (2006) The Latest (2009) Sgt. Pepper Live (2009)
Singles from The Latest
"When The Lights Are Out" Released: January 18, 2009

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	B+[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Hard Rock Hideout	(9/10)[4]
PopMatters	[5]
Spin	(7/10)[6]

The Latest is the sixteenth studio album by the American power pop band Cheap Trick. The album was produced by Cheap Trick, Julian Raymond and Howard Willing and was released on June 23, 2009. The album was issued on standard CD as well as limited pressings of vinyl and 8-Track tapes. The album was released to retailers on July 21, 2009.

A video for the cover of Slade's "When the Lights Are Out" has been released. The song was released exclusively through iTunes Australia in November, 2008.^[7] The video is also available for viewing via the band's YouTube page. A video was also made for "Sick Man of Europe".

The track "Sleep Forever" was written in memory of a friend who died,^[8] "Miss Tomorrow" was originally a B-side from Robin Zander's eponymous 1993 solo album, taken from the "Show Me Heaven" single,^[9] whilst "Sick Man of Europe" was one of the band names used by Nielsen and Petersson in the early 1970s. "Everyday You Make Me Crazy" was originally written by the band as a Pepsi jingle from 1995^[10] while "Alive" is a re-worked version of "What's in It for You", an outtake from the band's previous 2006 album Rockford.

Reception

The Latest debuted at number 78 on Billboard 200, and number 36 on the Top Rock Albums. The album has sold 24,000 copies in the United States as of March 2016.^[11]

Formats

• CD
• Vinyl LP
• 8-Track Tape

Track listing

1. "Sleep Forever" - 1:37
2. "When the Lights Are Out" (Slade cover) - 3:26
3. "Miss Tomorrow" - 4:11
4. "Sick Man of Europe" - 2:08
5. "These Days" - 2:44
6. "Miracle" - 3:47
7. "Everyday You Make Me Crazy" - 1:17
8. "California Girl" - 2:47
9. "Everybody Knows" - 4:16
10. "Alive" - 3:36
11. "Times of Our Lives" - 3:59
12. "Closer, The Ballad of Burt and Linda" - 3:00
13. "Smile" - 4:12

Chart performance

Personnel

• Robin Zander: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rick Nielsen: lead guitar, background vocals
• Tom Petersson: bass, background vocals
• Bun E. Carlos: drums

Additional musicians

• Julian Raymond: arrangements, additional musician
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr: keyboards
• Bon Harris: programming
• George Doering: acoustic guitar
• Luis Conte: programming
• Bennett Salvay: orchestration
• Jason Falkner: additional musician
• Todd Youth: additional musician

References