Say Goodbye (Cheap Trick song)

"Say Goodbye"
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album Cheap Trick
B-side "Yeah Yeah"
Released 1997
Format CD Single
Genre Rock, Power Pop
Length 3:34 (album version)
3:30 (Cheap Rock mix)
Label Red Ant Entertainment
Writer(s) Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson
Producer(s) Cheap Trick, Ian Taylor
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"Cold Turkey"
(1995)		 "Say Goodbye"
(1997)		 "Baby No More"
(1997)
Alternative Cover
Australian/Japanese cover of "Say Goodbye"

"Say Goodbye" is a single by American rock band Cheap Trick, released as the leading single[1] from their 1997 self-titled album Cheap Trick. The song was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson.[2]

The single was released on CD Single in America, Australia and Japan. The Australian release was through Shock Records[3] whilst the Japanese version was released on a 3 inch CD in a snap-pack design.[4] A one-track American promo CD single was also released. For the American single, the a-side was titled "Say Goodbye (Cheap Rock Mix)".

The b-side "Yeah Yeah" was featured on the same album, written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson.[2]

Both tracks were produced by Cheap Trick and producer/engineer Ian Taylor, who produced the entire "Cheap Trick" album.[2] Taylor had previously engineered the band's "One on One" LP in 1982[5] and produced a handful of other tracks in 1983 including the single "Dancing the Night Away" for the Next Position Please LP[6] as well as the contributions that the band recorded for the 1983 Sean S. Cunningham comedy film "Spring Break".[7]

Background

The album, named after the band's original 1977 eponymous debut, the album featured a similar stripped-down sound to what they had used 20 years earlier, with the single reflecting it. The album, released under Red Ant Entertainment was the band's first appearance on a non-major record label. Red Ant's parent company Alliance Entertainment Corporation declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy three weeks after the album's release, causing both the single and album to flop in America.

The single was Cheap Trick's last appearance on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as any other American charts such as the Mainstream Rock chart. The song peaked at #119 on the Billboard and #39 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[8]

The song peaked at #13 in Canada,[9] where for the Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1997 in that country, "Say Goodbye" peaked at #88.[10]

A music video was created for the song,[11] which later featured on a bonus DVD which came with certain editions of the band's 2003 album "Special One".[12]

The song was performed live on the American TV show Hard Rock Live in 1997.[13] The band also performed the previous hits "Dream Police", "Surrender", "I Want You to Want Me" and the 1997 single "Carnival Game".[14]

Track listing

CD Single (American release)
  1. "Say Goodbye (Cheap Rock Mix)" - 3:30
  2. "Yeah Yeah" (LP Edit) - 3:12
CD Single (American promo)
  1. "Say Goodbye (Cheap Rock Mix)" - 3:30
CD Single (Australian release)
  1. "Say Goodbye" (Album Version) - 3:34
  2. "Yeah Yeah" (LP Edit) - 3:12
3-Inch CD Single (Japanese release)
  1. "Say Goodbye" (Cheap Rock Mix) - 3:30
  2. "Yeah Yeah" (Album Version) - 3:14

Critical reception

In a review for the single, including the b-side, Allmusic.com gave three out of five stars, writing "Two first-class tunes from Cheap Trick's artistically-pleasing but ultimately ill-fated revival. Say Goodbye delivers an irksome send-off which quotes Dylan and the Beatles. The back side "Yeah Yeah" pilfers Trick's own One on One (Ian Taylor again on board) and is a strong and snarly album cut, not filler. Both come from the '97 self-titled Red Ant (guitarist Nielsen calls it "Dead Ant") record, a fine bout of natural power pop with an overlaying world-weary Harvest Moon attitude. The import adds live '95 versions of Voices and Surrender."[15]

In the review for the album "Cheap Trick", allmusic.com wrote "Not everything on the album is first-rate and a couple of songs are simply pleasant, but there are more terrific moments - "Hard to Tell," "You Let a Lotta People Down," "Say Goodbye," "It All Comes Back to You" - than there have been on any Cheap Trick record in years."[16]

Rolling Stone magazine spoke of the b-side in a review of the album "Yet the dark heart and barbed-guitar snag of this Cheap Trick sneak up on you: the white-knuckle creep of "You Let a Lotta People Down," Robin Zander's shredded-Lennon bellow in "Yeah Yeah."[17]

Chart performance

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canadian Singles Chart[9] 13
Japanese Singles Chart (Tokyo)[18][19] 32
US Billboard Hot 100 Chart[8] 119
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[8] 39

Personnel

Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Say Goodbye (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  3. ↑ Australia release
  4. ↑ "Cheap Trick Say Goodbye Japan Promo 3" CD SINGLE (123597)". Eil.com. 1998-10-13. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  5. ↑ "Cheap Trick - One On One at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Next Position Please at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  7. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Spring Break (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1983-03-11. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Cheap Trick". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  10. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  11. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Say Goodbye". YouTube. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  12. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Special One (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  13. ↑ "Cheap Trick - Say Goodbye - from Hard Rock Live". YouTube. 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  14. ↑ "cheap trick hard rock live". YouTube. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  15. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/say-goodbye-r314002
  16. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (1997-04-29). "Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  17. ↑ David Fricke (1997-12-25). "Cheap Trick | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  18. ↑ "J-WAVE WEBSITE : TOKIO HOT100". J-wave.co.jp. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  19. ↑ "Song artist 616 - Cheap Trick". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2012-03-11.

External links