New Cheap Trick album shows they're far from 'All Washed Up'

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These are dark days for classic rock.The creators of some of the most transcendent and popular music ever made have largely fallen off the charts — or simply fallen.Eddie Van Halen, whose two-handed tapping made him a generational talent, died of cancer in 2020.

Gregg Allman, the soulful voice behind “Whipping Post” and “Midnight Rider,” passed away in 2017, three years after his eponymous band called it quits.The Beach Boys’ brilliant Brian Wilson died last year, as did Sly Stone and Ozzy Osbourne.Even for those still standing, these are anything but the good old days.

Don’t expect to see an original member during this summer’s Lynyrd Skynyrd tour.That’s because all of them are dead.

Paul McCartney still sells out stadiums and mesmerizes audiences with his charm, charisma and the deepest songbook in pop, but at 83, his voice is more strain than sweetness.As Mick Jagger once sang, “Time waits for no one.” That’s true even for the mighty Rolling Stones, who in 2021 lost drummer Charlie Watts.And then there’s Cheap Trick.

The legendary purveyors of Beatlesque power-pop with a hard edge, Rockford, Illinois’ finest features three original members: golden-voiced Robin Zander, 73; Tom Petersson, 75, a pioneer of the 12-string bass guitar; and wacky lead guitarist Rick Nielsen, 77, writer or co-writer of some of the band’s biggest hits, including “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender” and “Dream Police.” They’re joined by drummer Daxx Nielsen, Rick Nielsen’s son who ably replaced the seemingly irreplaceable Bun E.Carlos in 2010.

Cheap Trick’s most recent albums rock, and the band’s live shows continue to sizzle, recalling 1978’s iconic “At Budokan.”“We have the same basic music tastes and kind of grew up together,” bassist Petersson said.“It just works.”Indeed, it does.

Just listen to “All Washed Up,” the band’s vi...