Review: Cheap Trick – All Washed Up

Cheap Trick Unlimited/BMG (November 14^th 2025)

Reviewer – Chris O’Connor 

More than fifty years after forming in Rockford, Illinois, Cheap Trick remain one of America’s most enduring and consistently rewarding power-pop institutions. Now 21 albums deep into a career that has outlasted trends, scenes, and several generations of bands they helped inspire, the quartet return with ‘All Washed Up‘ – a record whose title acts as a winking jab at critics eager to write them off. Spoiler alert: they shouldn’t. Cheap Trick sounds anything but “washed up” here.

From the opening moments, it’s clear the band still handle melody and muscle with instinctive ease. Rick Nielsen’s guitars snarl and shimmer, Tom Petersson’s bass anchors everything with a familiar thump, Daxx Nielsen continues to prove himself a perfect rhythmic fit since stepping behind the kit in 2016, and Robin Zander – astonishingly – remains one of rock’s most consistently superb vocalists.

So, let’s look at the album. The title track is a thunderous statement of intent. Built on a driving riff and tight groove, it bursts out with the sort of swagger only a veteran band with nothing left to prove can muster. ‘All Wrong Long Gone’ is a shade more deliberate in tempo – but is still stamped with the band’s unmistakable power-pop DNA. Lush, hook-laden, and confident.

‘The Riff That Won’t Quit’ is a jaunty, swaggering rocker with punchy rhythms and exactly the kind of flamboyant fretwork fans expect from Rick Nielsen. Robin Zander soars through the choruses, now this is what the band does so brilliantly. ‘Bet It All’ is menacing and slinky, the track coils around a sinewy groove and exudes attitude. It’s one of the record’s darker, more intriguing moments.

‘The Best Thing’ shows how Cheap Trick remain masters of the power ballad, and this one is no exception. Emotional, beautifully constructed, and performed with genuine passion, it’s a jaw-dropping moment of magic. ‘Twelve Gates’ is another slice of classic CT – melodic, balanced, and effortlessly appealing. It wouldn’t feel out of place on one of their vintage late-1970’s albums.

‘Bad Blood’ begins like a ballad but steadily builds muscle as it progresses. The soaring chorus is a highlight, and Zander once again proves why he’s among rock’s great voices. ‘Rocking With the Band, Dancing With the Band’ shimmies and shakes with Glam-pop exuberance through and through. Tom Petersson and Daxx Nielsen propel the track with vibrant energy. It’s pure fun.

‘Love Gone’ is “different”, here the band venture into late-era Beatles territory – harmonic, ornate, and full of nods to that era’s production quirks. Nielsen’s Harrison-esque lead lines are a nice touch, but the track ultimately doesn’t land as strongly as those before it. ‘A Long Way to Worcester’ is jangly power pop with some surprisingly Bowie-like vocal inflections from Robin Zander. Charming in places, but it feels like another slight stumble in sequencing.

‘What Boom Bang’ – what on earth? The title promises explosive energy, yet the track emerges as a semi-acoustic curiosity adorned with clarinet – or oboe-like textures. It’s an unexpected stylistic swing – interesting, but an anticlimactic closer that leaves the album finishing on a whimper instead of a bang. Colour me frustrated.

‘All Washed Up‘ is, for the most part, a vibrant and convincing reminder that Cheap Trick’s fire still burns brightly. When the album leans into urgency, bite, and melody – the elements that built their legend – the results are terrific. But the final trio of tracks wanders off-course, diluting the momentum the band builds so effectively in its first two-thirds.

As a lifelong Cheap Trick devotee, I wanted to adore every second, and for much of the runtime, I really do. But the closing stretch keeps the album from ascending to truly great status. In the end, ‘All Washed Up‘ is very good – often brilliant – but just shies away from being the undisputed knockout I hoped for. Close… but no cigar.

Tracklisting:

1. All Washed Up
2. All Wrong Long Gone
3. The Riff That Won’t Quit
4. Bet It All
5. The Best Thing
6. Twelve Gates
7. Bad Blood
8. Rocking With The Band, Dancing With The Band
9. Love Gone
10. A Long Way To Worcester
11. What Boom Bang

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