Didn't Know I Had It
"Didn't Know I Had It" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Cheap Trick | ||||
from the album Woke up with a Monster | ||||
B-side |
Love Me for a Minute Sabre Dance | |||
Released | 1994 | |||
Format | CD | |||
Genre | Rock, Power Pop | |||
Length |
4:13 (edit version) 4:54 (album version) | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||
Writer(s) | Rick Nielsen, Todd Cerney | |||
Producer(s) | Ted Templeman | |||
Cheap Trick singles chronology | ||||
|
"Didn't Know I Had It" is a single by American rock band Cheap Trick, released as the fifth and final single from their 1994 album Woke Up with a Monster.[1]
Background
Released as the band's fifth and final single from Woke up with a Monster, the single was released in Europe and not America. It would be the band's last single for Warner Bros. Records.[2] The song was not a commercial success and failed to chart on any national charts.
The song was written by Rick Nielsen and Todd Cerney. Cerney had previously co-wrote two tracks with Nielsen for Cheap Trick; "Let Go" and "Wrong Side of Love" - both of which appeared on the 1988 album Lap of Luxury.[3] It was produced by Ted Templeman who produced the entire Woke up with a Monster album.[1]
During one 1994 live gig, Nielsen introduced the song by stating "Here's a song that we thought was gonna be number one, but we fucked up!"[4]
Release
The single was released in Europe only as a CD single via Warner Bros. Records. The release was made in Germany. The single featured an "Edit Version" of "Didn't Know I Had It" - which cut the main album version by approximately 40 seconds. Two other songs were featured on the single - the Woke up with a Monster album track "Love Me for a Minute", which was written by Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, whilst the other song was the non-lp track "Sabre Dance". The latter track is a rock cover of the Soviet Armenian composer Aram Illich Khachaturian song. On the Japanese edition of the Woke up with a Monster album, "Sabre Dance" was included as the sole bonus track.[5]
The single featured artwork, using a cartoon drawing of a clown wearing a Cheap Trick T-shirt, whilst the background design used a merging color of pink, orange and yellow. The clown logo was created by Mike Mills.[6] The inside black and white photograph of the band is the same photograph seen on the back of the Woke up with a Monster album.[6]
Promotion
No music video was created for the single, although the song became part of the band's live during the album's release. The band played the song at a few concerts in 2001 and 2003, and more frequently during 2010 and 2011.[7] In 1994, both Zander and Nielsen appeared on the Japanese music TV program "AX-Wave", where they performed an acoustic version of the song. This was shot on April 6, 1994, a day after the death of Kurt Cobain, and on the show Nielsen also spoke about him.[8]
On YouTube, unofficial audience recorded footage exists of the band performing the song during a 1994 gig.[4] During 2010-11, the band bought the song back into their live set for various shows. On YouTube, two audience recorded videos exist of the band performing the song live; one on July 17, 2010, at Meadowbrook Pavilion, Gilford, New Hampshire[9] and the other on September 30, 2011, at The Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts.[10]
Track listing
- CD Single (9362-41584-2)
- "Didn't Know I Had It (Edit Version)" - 4:13
- "Love Me for a Minute" - 4:14
- "Sabre Dance" - 3:58
Critical reception
Dave Connolly of Allmusic reviewed the Woke up with a Monster album, stating "If their power pop is a little over the top, underneath are some very good songs: "Didn't Know I Had It," "Tell Me Everything," "You're All I Wanna Do." So, if you spot Woke Up with a Monster in a bargain bin, don't let it languish alongside Billy Joel's Streetlife Serenade and Asia's Alpha; give it a good home and enjoy these cheap tracks."[11]
In the Newsday issue of September 22, 1994, a concert review written by Ira Robbins spoke of the song, stating "Other than a few cosmetic developments, Cheap Trick hasn't changed at all; ironically, creative stasis has kept the group from moldering. For the set, the band were mixing five selections from the current "Woke Up With a Monster", including the new "Didn't Know I Had It" that have been the group's commercial salvation."[12]
Hartford Courant reviewed the album on April 7, 1994, stating "..."Never Run Out of Love" fills the dreamy-ballad quota and "Didn't Know I Had It" or "Tell Me Everything" the pop ballad. But these guys can do better than that."[13]
Personnel
- Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Tom Petersson - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion, producer
Additional personnel
- Ted Templeman - Producer
- Joanie Parker - Production Coordinator
- Lenny Waronker - Executive Producer
- Jeff Hendrickson - Engineer
- Dave Edmunds - Arranger on "Sabre Dance"
- Mark Seliger - Photography
- Mike Mills - Clown Logo
- Jeri Heiden - Design
- Bino Espinoza - Assistant Engineer
- Judy Kirschner - Assistant Engineer
- Kenji Nakai - Assistant Engineer
- Kimm James - Assistant Engineer
- Scott Blockland - Assistant Engineer
- Ulrich Wild - Assistant Engineer
- George Marino - Mastering
- Dave Wilmer - Guitar Technician
- Chuck Elias - Drum Technician
- Ken Adamany - Management
- Mike Herl - Coordinator Management
- Roberta Petersen - A&R Direction
- Writers of "Didn't Know I Had It" - Rick Nielsen, Todd Cerney
- Writers of "Love Me for a Minute" - Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson
- Writer of "Sabre Dance" - Aram Illich Khachaturian
References
- 1 2 "Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Cheap Trick Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Cheap Trick - Lap Of Luxury (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- 1 2 YouTube (2009-06-26). "Cheap Trick - Didn't Know I Had It - 94". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Cheap Trick Woke Up With A Monster Japan Promo CD album (CDLP) (554639)". Eil.com. 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- 1 2 "Images for Cheap Trick - Didn't Know I Had It". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Didn't Know I Had It by Cheap Trick Song Statistics". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knvKINTY74U
- ↑ YouTube (2010-07-18). "Cheap Trick - Didn't know I had it (till I threw it away)". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ YouTube (2011-09-30). "Cheap Trick / I Didn't Know I Had It (till I threw it away)". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ Connolly, Dave (1994-03-22). "Woke Up with a Monster - Cheap Trick : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Newsday - The Long Island and New York City News Source". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1994-09-22. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ↑ "Proquest - Courant.com". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1994-04-07. Retrieved 2013-03-03.