Never Had a Lot to Lose
{{Infobox song
| name = Never Had a Lot to Lose
| cover = Cheap Trick 1989 Single Never Had a Lot to Lose.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Cheap Trick
| album = Lap of Luxury
| B-side = All We Need Is a Dream
| released = January 1989 (US){{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/3468563 |title=Cheap Trick - Never Had A Lot To Lose / All We Need Is A Dream - Epic - USA - 34-68563 |publisher=45cat |access-date=2018-03-02}}
April 1989 (Australia){{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/6546757 |title=Cheap Trick - Never Had A Lot To Lose / All We Need Is A Dream - Epic - Australia - 654675 7 |publisher=45cat |access-date=2018-03-02}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| length = 3:22
| label = Epic
| writer =
| producer = Richie Zito
| prev_title = Let Go
| prev_year = 1988
| next_title = Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love
| next_year = 1990
}}
"Never Had a Lot to Lose" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1989 as the fifth and final single from their tenth studio album Lap of Luxury (1988). It was written by lead vocalist Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson, and produced by Richie Zito.{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Cheap-Trick-Lap-Of-Luxury/master/116846 |title=Cheap Trick - Lap Of Luxury at Discogs |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=2012-03-11}} The song reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/cheap-trick/chart-history/hsi/ |title=Cheap Trick Chart History |publisher=Billboard |access-date=2018-03-02}}
Background
Music video
The song's music video was directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery for FYI.{{cite magazine |title=Music Video: New Videoclips |magazine=Billboard |date=March 11, 1989 |publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc. |volume=101 |issue=10 |page=67 |issn=0006-2510}} It achieved medium rotation on MTV.{{cite magazine |title=Music Video: The Clip List |magazine=Billboard |date=March 25, 1989 |publisher=Billboard Publications, Inc. |volume=101 |issue=12 |page=53 |issn=0006-2510}}
Critical reception
Upon its release, Billboard listed the song as a recommended single under the "Pop" category and described it as a "lively power rocker" and a "definite highlight" from Lap of Luxury.Billboard magazine - Single reviews - February 11, 1989 - page 71
In a review of Lap of Luxury, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press described the song as "durable" and one of the album's few bright spots.{{cite web|title=Cheap Trick|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=cheap_trick|publisher=Trouser Press|access-date=2016-05-03|author=Robbins, Ira|author-link=}} Steve Huey of AllMusic considered it a "catchy hard rocker."{{cite web|last=Huey |first=Steve |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r3728 |title=Lap of Luxury - Cheap Trick |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2012-03-11}} In the 1998 Cheap Trick biography Reputation Is a Fragile Thing, authors Mike Hayes and Ken Sharp call the song a "gem" and "an up-tempo commercial rocker, featuring a classic Cheap trick riff". They highlighted it as possibly the best song on Lap of Luxury.{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author1=Hayes, M. |author2=Sharp, K. |name-list-style=amp |page=154|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic|isbn=978-0-9662081-0-8}} In the 2007 book Shake Some Action - The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop, author John M. Borack described it as the "crown jewel of the record".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqtGTJgE4rEC&pg=PA43&dq=cheap+trick+never+had+a+lot+to+lose#q=cheap%20trick%20never%20had%20a%20lot%20to%20lose |title=Shake Some Action - The Ultimate Guide To Power Pop - John M. Borack - Google Books |isbn=9780979771408 |access-date=2018-03-02|last1=Borack |first1=John M. |year=2007 }}
Track listing
7-inch single (US and Australia)
- "Never Had a Lot to Lose" - 3:22
- "All We Need is a Dream" - 3:40
Personnel
Cheap Trick
- Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Tom Petersson - bass, backing vocals
- Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion
Production
- Richie Zito - producer
- Phil Kaffel - engineer, mixer
- Jim Champagne, Bernard Frings, Mike Tacci, Bob Vogt, Toby Wright - second engineers
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1989)
!Peak |
|---|
| align="left"|Australia (ARIA Charts){{cite web|url=https://www.bubblingdownunder.com/2020/04/week-commencing-24-april-1989.html|title=Bubbling Down Under Week commencing 24 April 1989|date= April 24, 2020|access-date=July 24, 2021}}
| style="text-align:center;"|118 |
| align="left"|US Billboard Hot 100 Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|75 |
| align="left"|US Cash Box Top 100 Singles{{cite book |last1=Downey |first1=Pat |last2=Albert |first2=George |last3=Hoffman |first3=Frank |title=Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993 |date=1994 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited, Inc. |location=Englewood, Colorado |isbn=1563083167 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cashboxpopsingle00down/page/60 60] |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxpopsingle00down |url-access=registration |access-date=September 28, 2022}}
| style="text-align:center;"|54 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cheap Trick}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Music videos directed by Jim Yukich
Category:Songs written by Robin Zander