Record Collector, July 1998 (Peter Doggett, Editor)

It's no coincidence that Roy Wood contributes a preface to this enthusiastic biography of Cheap Trick, because the American band not only regard the Move maestro as a friend but as an inspiration. Like the Nazz, the Move were obvious pioneers of the Cheap Trick sound, a beefy but never metallic brand of power-pop that marries Beatlesque commerciality with arena-sized riffs.

What's marked out the Trick from the rest of the American AOR brigade over the last20 years is their sense of humour. Unlike the facelessly famous - Kansas, Boston, Foreigner and the rest - they stamped a zany visual image across our collective memory, and then tattooed it indelibly into the brain via hook-filled wonders like "1 Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender".

Reputation Is A Fragile Thing tells their story in an unashamedly positive light. It's a book written for fans by fans, with the group's apparent blessing if not exactly their full co-operation. You can look elsewhere for sociological analysis or tabloid titillation: this book never strays far from the music, whether that's the Trick's brief involvement in the recording sessions for John Lennon's "Double Fantasy", or their tie-ups with celebrity producers like George Martin and Todd Rundgren.

Every song is documented, every relevant quote reprinted; what Hayes and Sharp don't know about Cheap Trick probably isn't worth knowing. This isn't the kind of biography that will convert the band's critics, but if you love their music as much as these guys do, you won't want to be without a copy. Every band who've survived two decades of triumphs and traumas deserves a biography as thorough and committed as this one. (PD)

Available airmail for $33 IMO, from Poptastic! Box 1249, Willow Grove, PA 19090, USA., or from specialist stores and dealers in the UK.

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