Dream Police Explained

Dream Police
Type:	Album
Artist:	Cheap Trick
Cover:	Cheap Trick Dream Police.jpg
Border:	yes
Recorded:	1978–1979
Studio:	Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
Length:	45:45
Label:	Epic
Producer:	Tom Werman
Prev Title:	Cheap Trick at Budokan
Prev Year:	1978
Next Title:	All Shook Up
Next Year:	1980

Dream Police is the fourth studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick.^[1] It was released in 1979, and was their third release in a row produced by Tom Werman. It is the band's most commercially successful studio album, going to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart^[2] and being certified platinum within a few months of its release.^[3]

Overview

Dream Police shows the band expanding into longer, more complex songs and incorporating orchestration on several tracks. Three videos were produced: "Dream Police", "Way of the World" and "Voices". The album had been completed by early-1979, but its release was pushed back several months due to the surprise success of Cheap Trick at Budokan.

The album's title track became a Top 30 hit for the band. "Voices" was also a hit for the band, reaching No. 32 on the Billboard chart.

Near the end of "Gonna Raise Hell" the orchestra is citing a snippet from "Heaven Tonight". That song was described by AllMusic critic Tom Maginnis as having an "extended, disco-inflected, slowburn groove".^[4]

Critical reception

The New York Times called Dream Police "a busy, diverse album, one that can be applauded in many ways... But it doesn't suggest that Cheap Trick has anything really important to say."^[5] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "the emphasis is on lead-fisted hard rock."^[6]

The Spin Alternative Record Guide praised the "audacity of its loopy concept."

Variations

In 2010, Cheap Trick re-recorded the title track as "Green Police" for the controversial^[7] Green Police advertisement which aired during Super Bowl XLIV for Audi.^[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Rick Nielsen, except where noted.

• The bonus tracks of the 2006 reissue of Dream Police consisted mainly of rare live versions of songs from the album. "I Know What I Want" is noteworthy for being the b-side to their 1988 single "Don't Be Cruel" and the only non-live track is a demo of the title track without its trademark strings.

Singles

• 1979: "Dream Police" b/w "Heaven Tonight" – #26 US, #4 Canada, #79 Japan
• 1979: "Voices" b/w "Surrender" (Live) – #16 Australia (UK)
• 1979: "Voices" b/w "The House Is Rockin' (With Domestic Problems)" – #32 US, #12 Canada,(US & Canada)
• 1980: "Way of the World" b/w "Oh Candy" – #73 UK
• 1980: "I'll Be with You Tonight" b/w "He's a Whore" & "So Good to See You" (UK)

Unreleased outtakes

• "It Must Be Love" (This song was given to Rick Derringer who covered it on his 1979 album Guitars and Women)
• "Next Position Please" (Features Robin, Rick, and Tom on vocals, later re-recorded for the 1983 album of the same name)
• "See Me Now" ("Way of the World" with alternate lyrics)
• "Way of the World" (with Rick Nielsen on vocals)
• "I Know What I Want" (with Robin Zander on vocals)

Covers

• Sam Kinison covered "Gonna Raise Hell" on his comedy album Leader of the Banned.

Personnel

Cheap Trick

• Robin Zander – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rick Nielsen – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (middle eight) on "Dream Police"
• Tom Petersson – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "I Know What I Want"
• Bun E. Carlos – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Jai Winding – organ, piano, keyboards, Synth
• Steve Lukather – guitar on "Voices"

Technical

• Tom Werman – producer
• Gary Ladinsky, Mike Beiriger – engineers
• Ken Adamany – assistant engineer
• George Marino – mastering
• Steve Dessau, Paula Scher – design
• Reid Miles – photography

Charts

Weekly Charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[9]	7
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[10]	4

Year-end charts

Notes and References

1. News: Leviton . Mark . Cheap Trick Meet the Dream Police . LA Weekly . 21 Sep 1979 . 39.
2. Web site: Dream Police Billboard Albums . 2011-11-15 . . Rovi Corporation.
3. Web site: RIAA Database Search for Cheap Trick . 2011-11-15 . Recording Industry Association of America.
4. Web site: Cheap Trick Gonna raise Hell review . 2011-09-02 . Maginnis . Tom . . Rovi Corporation.
5. News: Rockwell . John . The Pop Life: Two disks with an appeal for teen-agers . The New York Times . 28 Sep 1979 . C24.
6. News: Cromelin . Richard . Road-Happy Cheap Trick: Wrong Turn . Los Angeles Times . 14 Oct 1979 . Calendar . 80.
7. News: Audi's 'Green Police' Super Bowl ad controversial . 2014-06-24 . February 9, 2010 . The Christian Science Monitor.
8. Web site: Cheap Trick and Audi of America come together for "Green Police" . 2010-02-11 . 1 February 2010 . Cheap Trick Official Website . https://web.archive.org/web/20100204185401/http://www.cheaptrick.com/greenpolice . 4 February 2010 . dead .
9. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6.
10. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9. ja.
11. Web site: ドリーム・ポリス+7 | チープ・トリック.
12. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Recorded Music New Zealand. 28 January 2022.