I have the results of the Cheap Trick Poll. I had a feeling of the outcome but it was very cool to see a wider range of selections where this band is concerned. My overall preference is easily their debut. For me, it is a perfect power Pop album in every way. There were some excellent Power Pop bands that spawned from the fact that Cheap Trick existed like Cliff Johnson's (ex-Pezband) Off Broadway, and it all points back to the first CT album. Here are your choices:

• Live at Budokan (31) - This album certainly put this band on the map. I remember so many of my friends actually ordering this "new" band phenomenon as an import. I often slapped my head because I was telling them about this great band when the debut arrived. I had the good fortune to see the band at Mothers' in Chicago before the debut release and I was enthralled then. No matter, this frenzied album worked then and it works now. Even so, it is a home for live renditions of studio songs from some very great albums.
• Heaven Tonight (17) - Excellent album, and a welcome choice. It represents a band that had enjoyed some excellent sales numbers and this album was also way up there. The title track, "Surrender," "High Roller" and the cover of Roy Wood's "California Man" helped set the stage for the successful Budokan.
• Dream Police (16) - Highly anticipated studio creation after the rage of Budokan set the world on fire, it was a massive success with excellent tunes like "Dream Police," "The House is Rockin'," "Gonna Raise Hell," and well, the whole album.
• Cheap Trick (debut from 1977) (11) - a pure gem. With excellent songs like "'Elo Kiddies," "Oh, Candy," and "He's a Whore," this band on this album still sounds uniquely different from all of their albums to come. I LOVE this one!
• In Color (8) - the cover shot and the black and white back shot showcases the band's unique take on their appearance. Gimmicky? Maybe. But it's still SO good with "Clock Strikes Ten," "Southern Girls," "Oh Caroline," and "Hello There." Oh, did I forget that this houses "I Want You to Want Me?" Sorry!
• All Shook Up (5) - So different in so many ways, it earned some scorn amongst CT purists. The intent was to push them into a new direction and keep them radio friendly. Those dang producers! Still, it yielded some classy tracks like the hit single, "Stop This Game," and "World's Greatest Lover."
• Next Position Please (4) - A Todd Rundgren production and with no Tom Petersson in place, this album did well. With songs like "I Can't Take It," it did Cheap Trick proud. Still, it's no early works.
• Rockford (2) - Released recently, it is still a band hard at work to create the kind of music they always had. It also shows that this band may be the hardest working band from the past. They never gave up.
• Cheap Trick (S/T from 1997) (2) - My brother swears by this one. While it's not his numero uno, he feels that it is a worthy album tucked deeply into the already deep catlalogue of the band.
• One on One (1) - Released after All Shook Up, this album represented change in the fact that Petersson was out and replaced by the musician that is also heard on Next Position Please. It's not a bad album. It has some very good tunes.
• The Latest (1) - This album was released in 2009 and shows that Cheap Trick is still a creator. The band heartily covered "When the Lights Are Out" by Slade and delivered the goods on 13 tracks in all. Anyone doubt we'll get more?

This completes this Poll. Missing out on loving were Standing on the Edge; The Doctor; Lap of Luxury (WHAT?!?! and this one had "The Flame" and a decent version of "Don't Be Cruel."); Busted; Woke Up With a Monster; and Special One. This period of forgetfulness underscores how badly Cheap Trick was ignored (not so with Lap of Luxury though) until recently.

I hope that you enjoyed this Poll as we haven't had one for a while. I have a few suggestions for the next Poll so when the wind dies down a bit, I'll plug the wind machine in with the next Poll.

And, before I run off, I have a cool contest for you as well. I have a single CD copy of Elvis 75: Good Rockin' Tonight. It's not as great as the 4CD Box but it has 25 Elvis greats skimmed from the 100-track Box. Want it? All you have to do is to click the email link and send me the pertinents. Simple. And good luck to everyone of you.

I have two reviews for you today that include Pocket Fulla Nasty from Doug Johns, reviewed by returning contributor, Douglas Bice, and a single CD (2 for 1 set) remasters (2009) for the Captain Beyond 1972 S/T debut, and its 1973 followup, Sufficiently Breathless by Captain Beyond, as reviewed by Robert Metcalf.

See you on Wednesday.

I have a music-related app idea that I'm fleshing out but, surprise, I can't code for it. If anyone out there can write iPhone/iPod apps, and would like to do a collaboration for a 50/50 revenue split, let me know.

A&M Records will release a CD reissue of Argy Bargy by Squeeze on March 16.

With the upcoming February 9 Mute reissues of three Buzzcocks albums in Special Editions, I can do no better (and you deserve the full scoop) than a cut 'n' paste from the announcement: Here it is in its full glory:

Buzzcocks and Mute will release the original Buzzcocks’ albums, Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A Different Kind of Tension from 1978 and 1979 on February 9, 2010.  The reissues will also feature previously unreleased tracks, John Peel sessions, associated singles, demos, backing tracks, and live versions.

Buzzcocks’ first album, Another Music in a Different Kitchen - a major punk landmark and a great record to boot - was released almost exactly thirty years ago. It’s  full of fire, wit, speed, philosophical lyrics and gender explorations, as well the sly psychedelia that always made Buzzcocks stand out from the pack. This disc contains the full Another Music in a Different Kitchen album with the relevant John Peel session and another disc of various out-takes and the full live show recorded at the Electric Circus in October 1977: the venue’s  last night and the moment when Buzzcocks began to go national.

Love Bites is the second disc covering the associated singles: “Love You More” and “Promises”, and two Peel sessions as well as thirteen demos from summer 1978. As an added bonus, there is the full concert from the Lesser  Free Trade Hall in June 1978, an exercise in instant nostalgia filmed by Granada TV under the guidance of Tony Wilson. Love Bites came at a troubled period for the group and the culture that had formed them. After the demise of the Rotten  Sex Pistols in January 1978, Punk was seen as over. Buzzcocks were in danger of becoming yesterday’s future. But 1978 was an extraordinary year for the group. They released two albums, five singles – with two in the UK top twenty – and toured relentlessly.

This new edition of A Different Kind of Tension pulls together all the associated singles – five of them, including Parts 1–3 recorded with  Martin Hannett and later collected on an American mini-album – as well as the last track the group recorded in their first incarnation: “I Look Alone”. As an added bonus, there is a whole disc of demos from the period, including several hard to find songs like “The Drive System”, “Jesus Made Me Feel Guilty”, and Paddy Garvey’s heart-rending “Run Away From Home”. The set is rounded off with four BBC recordings from the period, including an early outing for “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays”. This key song set the tone for this much-misunderstood period in Buzzcocks’ history.

BUZZCOCKS
FULL TRACK LISTINGS:

A  Different Kind Of Tension

CD 1
1-Paradise
2-Sitting ‘round At Home
3-You Say You Don’t Love Me
4-You Know You Can’t Help It
5-Mad Mad Judy
6-Raison D’Etre
7-I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life
8-Money
9-Hollow Inside
10- A Different Kind Of Tension
11-I Believe
12-Radio Nine
Associated Singles
13-Everybody’s Happy Nowadays
14-Why Can’t I Touch It
15-Harmony In My Head
16-Something’s Gone Wrong Again

CD 2
Associated Singles
1-Are Everything
2-Why She’s A Girl From The Chainstore
3-Airwaves Dream
4-Strange Thing
5-What Do You Know?
6-Running Free
7-I Look Alone
Demos
8-You Say You Don’t Love Me (Demo)
9-I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life (Demo)
10-Harmony In  My Head (Demo)*
11-I Don’t Know (Demo)
12-Run Away From Home (Demo)
13-The Drive System (Demo)
14-Mad Mad Judy (Demo)*
15-Jesus Made Me Feel Guilty (Demo)
16-Something’s Gone Wrong Again (backing track) *
17-You Know You Can’t Help It
18-I Believe July 1979 Indigo Arrow-Chronology
BBC Sessions
John Peel Show 18/10/78 TX 23/10/78
19-Everybody's Happy Nowadays
John Peel Show 5/21/79 TX 5/28/79
20-I Don't Know What To Do With My Life
21-Mad Mad Judy
22-Hollow Inside
* previously unreleased