Cheap Trick to release new album April 1; first track "No Direction Home" out now

Rick Nielsen, left, with this writer at the 2016 NAMM
Show in Anaheim last week.

Last week I had the honor of meeting Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen at Winter NAMM in Anaheim, CA, and it's great to see that he and the rest of Cheap Trick are coming back with another album in early spring. Fans of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound quartet can hear the first song from 'Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello' too. Below is the official media release related to Cheap Trick that landed in my inbox during NAMM, and I wanted to play "catch up" and post it here today. Robert Kinsler

Cheap Trick to release lead track "No Direction Home"

Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello

Set for Worldwide Release on April 1, 2016

2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Rock Hall Three For All" U.S. Tour

Kicks Off July 14 with Heart & Joan Jett 

Legendary power-pop collective Cheap Trick set a new course with "No Direction Home," from their upcoming album Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello, due out April 1, their first on Big Machine Records. Pulsating riffs intertwine with the anthemic chorus in this first taste of new music in over five years from the iconic four-piece from Rockford, IL. Fans can pre-order the album beginning March 4 and listen to the first track here.

Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello follows the recent announcement about the band's forthcoming induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The long-awaited news celebrates the pioneering sound that has lead to sales in excess of 20 MILLION and more than 40 international GOLD and PLATINUM certifications for their multi-award winning back catalogue. Cheap Trick's music has also been featured on more than 20 major feature film soundtracks.

Now into their fourth decade of recording, Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello marks Cheap Trick's 17^th studio album and was produced by GRAMMY award-winning producer Julian Raymond. Firmly cemented as one of the most important bands in music history, the quartet will continue their reign as the top progenitors of power-pop through 2016 and beyond with the release of Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello.

Cheap Trick are an indisputable American institution, beloved around the globe since 1974 for their instantly identifiable, hugely influential, brand of pop rock 'n' roll. The band - Robin Zander (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar), Tom Petersson (bass guitar), and Daxx Nielsen (drums) - are truly one-of-a-kind pioneers with an unparalleled streak of certifiably classic tunes such as "Surrender," "I Want You To Want Me" and "Dream Police."

Famous for having played over 5,000 shows in their career, Cheap Trick will hit the road again this summer in support of Bang Zoom Crazy...Hello and to celebrate their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The band will kick off the "Rock Hall Three For All" tour of the US alongside Heart and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, beginning July 14 at the DTE Energy Music Theatre, Michigan. The 30-date tour will culminate at Florida's Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre on September 23. Full Cheap Trick tour dates can be found at cheaptrick.com/tour-dates.