Billbord Magazine, 31 July 1998 (Moira McCormick)

If it's the salacious side of these one time superstars you're looking for, you won't find it here. But what you will find is practically everything there is to know about Cheap Trick, from its bar band start to its rise to arena headliner and descent into bar band status again. Where many a rock band biography focuses on hotel-key-throwing groupies and rampant drug use, "Reputation Is A Fragile Thing" focuses its attention on the musical details of the Cheap Trick story. Cheap Trick is one of the most popular and influential bands of the '70s, and this exhaustively researched history of the band is densely packed with a wealth of information on recording sessions and live shows. Hardly by coincidence, the book has arrived in stores at a time when Cheap Trick is experiencing a resurgence because of the rerelease of its star making live album, "Cheap Trick At Budokan". For authors Mike Hayes and Ken Sharp, who are both journalists and record collectors, the book, whose title is from a lyric in the 1982 Trick song "One On One", is a labor of love as well as an obsession with the story behind the Rockford, IL, based band. But if you're not already a fan of Cheap Trick, this tome won't turn you into one. Lacking a strong overall context of Cheap Trick's influence and importance, the book assumes you already believe the band is a rock icon, or else you wouldn't be reading it. Once this is established, Hayes and Sharp get down to the business of how Cheap Trick made music. The book begins with an account of each band member's early days, paying special attention to the member's music connections. For example, guitarist, songwriter, and ringleader Rick Nielsen's parents were "enthusiastic, moderately successful opera singers." Lead singer Robin Zander's dad had a jazz band, drummer Bun E.Carlos' folks played various instruments, and bassist Tom Petersson took up guitar in his early teens. Hayes and Sharp do yeoman's work sorting through the tangle of early local bands that future Cheap Trick members were in, like the Paegans and the Grim Reapers. The latter, in fact, paved the way for the formation of Cheap Trick. The authors also pay particular attention to the band's connection with '60s pop group Nazz, which was Todd Rundgren's group before he went solo. Nielsen and Petersson replaced him. Fans of the band will find out how Cheap Trick evolved its one-of-a-kind visual image, which played the two stunningly beautiful members (Zander and Petersson) against the two goofy looking members (Nielsen and Carlos), and even how they developed the distinctive bleeding-type logo. Hayes and Sharp then follow the group's ascent through the Chicago-area club scene to the signing of its contract with Epic Records and the release of its classic self-titled album. From there, the authors dissect the band's music album by album, producer by producer, and they include behind the scenes stories about virtually every track on every Cheap Trick record. Side projects and guest appearances are covered as well, including the unreleased work that Nielsen and Carlos did on John Lennon's "Double Fantasy". In addition, the authors delve into the band's frustrations with stardom and personnel changes, including the departure and return of bassist Petersson. The book also explains Cheap Trick's superstardom in Japan, which sprung from the band's appearance in magazine photo layouts and not radio airplay. An extensive, rarity-stocked photo collection is another plus for the die hard fan. Hayes and Sharp may be preaching to the converted here, but the sermon is welcome.

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