Next Position Please

Next Position Please
Studio album by Cheap Trick
Released	August 15, 1983 (1983-08-15)
Recorded	December 1982
Genre	Rock, power pop
Length	48:02
Label	Epic
Producer	Todd Rundgren, Ian Taylor
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone [1]
Cheap Trick chronology
One on One (1982) Next Position Please (1983) Standing on the Edge (1985)

Next Position Please is a studio album by Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983. It was the band's seventh studio album and eighth release overall.

Overview

Cheap Trick's eighth album Next Position Please, is a return to the pop-oriented sound of In Color. It was produced by Todd Rundgren. The LP peaked at #61 on the Billboard 200 LP charts.

The album received favorable reviews upon release, and yielded the minor hit singles "I Can't Take It" (the only Cheap Trick song written solely by lead singer Robin Zander) and the Rick Nielsen-penned "Borderline", which was debuted on The Alan Thicke show. The then-band members (Jon Brant, Bun E. Carlos, Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander) consider it one of their best albums. "I Can't Take It" has become a concert staple over the years. Several of the album's tracks were re-worked older material, such as the title track and "You Talk Too Much."

Standard physical copies of the album are now out of print (with the exception of Japan) and the album is only available as a digital download.

Cover art

The album cover is a parody of Bruce Springsteen's pose on the cover of Born to Run, with the title making a humorous correlation.

Tracks

The original vinyl record included 12 tracks. "You Talk Too Much" and "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" appeared as bonus tracks on the cassette version and later on the CD. The record was originally supposed to include both of these tracks along with two others called "Twisted Heart" and "Don't Hit Me With Love," but Cheap Trick's label at the time, Epic Records, forced the band to include a cover of The Motors' "Dancing the Night Away" and the outtake "You Say Jump" in their place. Rundgren refused to produce "Dancing the Night Away," so the track ended up being produced by the band with Ian Taylor, who had engineered the band's previous album , One On One. "Twisted Heart" eventually surfaced on the box set Sex, America, Cheap Trick. There was one video shot for this LP; "I Can't Take It."

In 2006 Cheap Trick and Epic/Legacy reissued Next Position Please as a digital download, calling it Next Position Please (The Authorized Version). The title refers to the fact that the 13 tracks intended for the original album were restored and sequenced according to the band's wishes, while "You Say Jump" and "Dancing the Night Away" were put at the end as "bonus tracks" along with the previously unreleased track "Don't Hit Me With Love." The track "I Don't Love Here Anymore" is incorrectly titled "I Don't Love Her Anymore."

Track listing

1. "I Can't Take It" (Zander) – 3:28
2. "Borderline" (Nielsen) – 3:34
3. "I Don't Love Here Anymore" (Nielsen) – 3:51
4. "Next Position Please" (Nielsen) – 3:51
5. "Younger Girls" (Nielsen/Zander) – 3:14
6. "Dancing the Night Away" (Garvey/McMaster) – 4:58
7. "You Talk Too Much" (Nielsen) – 1:55 (Bonus track - Cassette/CD only)
8. "3-D" (Nielsen) – 3:37
9. "You Say Jump" (Nielsen) – 3:06
10. "Y.O.Y.O.Y." (Nielsen) – 4:54
11. "Won't Take No for an Answer" (Nielsen) – 3:13
12. "Heaven's Falling" (Rundgren) – 3:48
13. "Invaders of the Heart" (Nielsen) – 4:00
14. "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" (Nielsen) – 3:43 (Bonus track - Cassette/CD only)

Track listing (2006 "Authorized" reissue)

1. "I Can't Take It"
2. "Borderline"
3. "I Don't Love Here Anymore"
4. "Next Position Please"
5. "Younger Girls"
6. "Don't Make Our Love a Crime"
7. "3-D"
8. "You Talk Too Much"
9. "Y.O.Y.O.Y."
10. "Won't Take No for an Answer"
11. "Heaven's Falling"
12. "Invaders of the Heart"
13. "Twisted Heart"
14. "Don't Hit Me With Love"
15. "You Say Jump"
16. "Dancing the Night Away"

Singles

• (1983) "Dancing the Night Away/Don't Make Our Love A Crime"
• (1983) "Dancing the Night Away/I Want You To Want Me & Ain't That A Shame"
• (1983) "I Can't Take It/You Talk Too Much"
• (1983) "Next Position Please" (Europe)

Outtakes

• "Yardbirds Medley" (Instrumental medley of Yardbirds covers, available on Bun E.'s Basement Bootlegs "Covers")
• "Play By The Rules" (Alternate, instrumental version of "I Don't Love Here Anymore," released on a Trickfest II prize cassette)
• "Invaders of the Heart (Unedited Instrumental)" (Also released on the Trickfest II prize cassette)

Personnel

• Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
• Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jon Brant - bass, backing vocals
• Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Todd Rundgren - guitar, producer, engineer
• Ian Taylor - producer
• Paul Klingberg - engineer

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)