Voices (Cheap Trick song)

The song was originally recorded with Cheap Trick bass guitar player Tom Petersson singing the lead vocal, but it was later rerecorded for the Dream Police album with Cheap Trick's usual lead vocalist, Robin Zander, singing the lead.{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author=Hayes, M.& Sharp, K.|page=77|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic! |isbn=978-0-9662081-0-8}} On the released track, Petersson and Nielsen provide back up vocals. The song is unusual for Cheap Trick in that six or seven vocal tracks are layered in, making it impossible to replicate the sound on the album in live concerts. Steve Lukather of the band Toto plays lead and acoustic guitar on the version of the song on Dream Police, but is uncredited.

Prior to its release on Dream Police, "Voices", backed by "Surrender", was released as a single in the UK as a promotion for the upcoming album.{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author=Hayes, M.& Sharp, K.|page=64|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic! |isbn=978-0-9662081-0-8}} However, when the album release was delayed, the single was quickly pulled. When Dream Police was finally on the verge of being released, Arnold Levine directed a promotional film of the band featuring "Voices" and two other songs from the album, "Dream Police" and "Way of the World".{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author=Hayes, M.& Sharp, K.|page=70|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic! |isbn=978-0-9662081-0-8}}

Subsequent to its release on Dream Police, "Voices" has appeared on several Cheap Trick compilation albums, including The Greatest Hits, The Essential Cheap Trick, Collections, Playlist: The Very Best of Cheap Trick and The Music of Cheap Trick and the box set Sex, America, Cheap Trick.{{cite web|title=Voices|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/voices-t1083693|website=allmusic|access-date=2010-12-09}} A number of live versions have also been released. A performance from August 28, 1999 at Davis Park in Rockford, Illinois was released on Silver. A 2008 performance at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo was released on the DVD in the 30th anniversary edition Cheap Trick at Budokan. In 1980, Zander and Nielsen performed the song during an appearance on the television show Kids Are People Too.{{cite book|title=Reputation Is a Fragile Thing|author=Hayes, M.& Sharp, K.|page=86|year=1998|publisher=Poptastic! |isbn=978-0-9662081-0-8}}

Billboard described "Voices" as being a "Beatlesque soft rocker" with an a cappella beginning and whose only hard rock element is its guitar solo.{{cite news|title=Top Single Picks|newspaper=Billboard|date=December 1, 1979|access-date=2020-07-07|page=52|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-12-01.pdf}} Cash Box also compared "Voices" to the Beatles, saying that Rick Nielson's guitar playing and Robin Zander's vocals are in the style of George Harrison and Paul McCartney, respectively.{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=December 1, 1979|page=20|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-12-01.pdf}} Record World called it a "sweeping ballad" on which Cheap Trick "use a multi-layered vocal assault here instead of the usual guitar barrage."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=December 1, 1979|accessdate=2023-02-11|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-12-01.pdf}}

Critic Rick Clark of Allmusic described "Voices" as being "appealing [and] melodic (albeit wimpy)" and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, also of Allmusic described it as one of Cheap Trick's finest songs.{{cite book|title=The All-Music Guide to Rock|year=1995|publisher=Backbeat Books|edition=1st|author=Clark, R.}}{{cite web|title=Dream Police|author=Erlewine, S.T.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dream-police-r3733|website=Allmusic|access-date=2010-12-09}} Audio described the song as a "lovely tune".{{cite news|title=Audio Magazine|publisher=CBS Magazines|year=1980|issue=64}} Ultimate Classic Rock critic Dave Swanson called it "one of the Cheap Trick's best ballads ever," noting that the use of strings gives it a Beatles or ELO flavor.{{cite web|title=40 Years Ago: Cheap Trick's 'Dream Police Becomes Belated Smash|author=Swanson, Dave|access-date=2019-09-24|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/cheap-trick-dream-police|date=September 21, 2015|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock}} Robert Coyne considers "Voices" to be Nielsen's "best ever ballad", but Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone described is as "disastrous" and "a ballad from a band that has absolutely no facility for ballads".{{cite book|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|author=Coyne, R.|editor=Buckley, P.|page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/186 186]|publisher=Rough Guides|year=2003|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/186}}{{cite magazine|author=Marsh, D.|author-link=Dave Marsh|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=1979-11-29|title=Dream Police|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/dream-police-19791129}} Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic called "Voices" "a yearning power ballad that certainly stands as the prettiest song in Cheap Trick's catalog".{{cite news|title=Cheap Trick's best 5 albums|author=Masley, E.|newspaper=The Arizona Republic|date=November 14, 2008|url=http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/articles/2008/11/14/20081114cheaptrickhotlist.html|access-date=2012-05-25}} The Fort Worth Star Telegram rated it to be the 2nd best single of 1979.{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2022-06-18|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|author=Kaye, Roger|date=January 13, 1980|pages=1D, 10D|title=The best albums, singles and concerts of 1979|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104005068/fort-worth-star-telegram/}}

In the 2007 book "Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide", a section on Cheap Trick included author John M. Borack's top 20 stand-out tracks from the band, including "Voices". Borack wrote, "Another sureshot of a slow one, with a tune that still raises goosebumps 25+ years after its release. The original simply kills - has Zander ever sung better? - but the live version on Silver is pretty swell, as well."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqtGTJgE4rEC&q=cheap+trick+can%27t+take+it&pg=PA42 |title=Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide - John M. Borack - Google Books |isbn=9780979771408 |access-date=2012-06-23|last1=Borack |first1=John M. |year=2007 |publisher=Shake Some Action - PowerPop }}

Jon Brion covered "Voices" on his 2001 debut album Meaningless.{{cite web|title=Meaningless|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/meaningless-r528969|author=Damas, J.|website=Allmusic|access-date=2010-12-10}}

The song is featured in the How I Met Your Mother episode "The Pineapple Incident" where Ted has a hangover and Ted, Marshall, Lily and Barney have to find out the entire story by telling it from their point of view. The song is played when Ted gets drunk and calls Robin and plays the song on the jukebox and starts singing it until he falls over. Earlier in the episode, the show uses the guitar solo from the song during a sequence when Ted had passed out.

The song Jon Brion covered version is later used again in the show, in the episode "Band or DJ?" when Ted remembers how hurt he was during his life (reminiscing scenes seen in previous seasons of the show).

{{Reflist}}

{{Cheap Trick}}

Category:1979 singles

Category:Cheap Trick songs

Category:Songs written by Rick Nielsen

Category:Epic Records singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Tom Werman

Category:1979 songs