For My Sunday Song #314, we are going after the song “Sick Man of Europe” off the Cheap Trick 2009 album ‘The Latest’. The album came out on June 23, 2009 and the single and video for this song came out on August 13 of the same year. The song didn’t chart, but the album did at #78 on the Billboard Charts. The song was written mostly by Bun E. Carlos and Julian Raymond but credits will go all around to Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson.
“Sick Man of Europe” is named after the band name Rick and Tom had for their band while they were in Europe in the early 70’s, pre-Cheap Trick. The song is a nod to the old, but it is new again. It is basically them calling out to the world and telling them we still got it.
The bass is king here. Tom goes ballistic on this track as he is balls-to-walls amazing. Bun E. Carlos has such great feel on this one as he tears up the skins. Rick lays down some wicked riffs and Robin sounds as youthful as ever with that never aging voice. The song has all the punk attitude and force you remember from early Trick with tracks like “He’s a Whore” for example. It is short and sweet and will get you on your feet! It will slap you upside the face and kick you in the ass. It is a force to be reckoned with and shows they still got it.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 