"Don't need no silver linin'...just give me gold."

A few posts ago my colleague David wrote about the latest barrage of CDs by bands from our "Remember when?" days. When I was a kid, I lived, breathed, slept, ate and drank Cheap Trick, so I am completely embarrassed that now, as a responsible adult, it has taken me months to get to their latest. And yes, it's called "The Latest," nudge nudge, wink wink. I will definitely not wait so long the next time because this is a fine album and a strong reminder of why the band held such appeal to me 30 years ago. Ouch - has it really been that long?

The album starts out with the knob turned up to "Weird," with Robin Zander singing solo over a dreamy piano background, "Sleep forever." "Weird" because he seems to be singing someone to sleep: eternal sleep. I always thought the Trick were at their best when they married fullblown creepiness with Zander's disarmingly charming voice and look, so they get off to the right start. This tiny snippet of a song dissolves into a trip on the wayback machine, as the familiar drum riff of "Elo Kiddies" pumps up and morphs into a cover of Slade's "When The Lights Are out." The band clearly had a lot of fun blending the opener from their very first album into this punchy pop song.

"Self-referential" is a term you'll encounter a lot in reviews of "The Latest." Song title "Sick Man of Europe" comes from the name of Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson's old band. "Everybody Knows" throws in a lyrical reference to 80s album "Next Position Please."

I should probably insert a disclaimer here: I think Robin Zander is one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time, so I can hardly write an objective review of this album. Nevertheless, I will say that sometimes, on "The Latest," I wish he would sing more like himself and less like a medium channeling John Lennon. I love John Lennon, believe me, I just love Zander's voice as is and when it pours out of my earbuds in full throttle, I'm a very happy listener. I think he hits a real high on this album's "Everybody Knows." Once again, the song has an overall quality one can only describe as "creepy," with a lyrical trip on a sinking ship, and the vocal style reminds me of "Heaven Tonight." I think it's the best cut on this outing. Other standouts: "Closer, the Ballad of Burt and Linda" cranks the creepiness up way past 11, a psychedelic love ballad about the stars of documentary "Crazy Love." The guy who had thugs throw lye in his ex-girlfriend's face - and then she married him anyway. And people think Midwestern bands are pedestrian?

I'm also loving "Times of Our Lives," "Alive," and "These Days." Really, there's a lot of great stuff here. If "The Latest" and their last album, "Rockford," are any indication, Cheap Trick has a ton of crunchy, sweet, vaguely creepy pop-rock left in them and I hope we're listening for a long time. I'm glad this is "The Latest," but not The Last.