Special One is the fourteenth studio album by the band Cheap Trick. It was released in 2003 to mixed reviews and features the single "Scent of a Woman." It charted for one week, reaching 128 on the album charts.

Special One
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 22, 2003
Recorded2001–2002
StudioVarious studios
GenreRock
Length46:34
LabelBig3
ProducerCheap Trick; Chris Shaw
Cheap Trick chronology
Cheap Trick
(1997)
Special One
(2003)
Rockford
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The A.V. Club(unfavorable)[2]
Chicago Tribune(unfavorable)[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC[4]
KNAC[5]
People(unfavorable)[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Background

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Special One was the first studio album by Cheap Trick in six years. Eleven weeks after the release of their previous studio album Cheap Trick in 1997, the parent company of their record label, Red Ant Records, went bankrupt and it ended the promotion of the album. They formed their own record label, Cheap Trick Unlimited, which released several live albums. In 2001, they started writing songs which they eventually recorded in eight different studios for the 2003 release of Special One. Unlike most of their albums from the late 80s through the mid 90s, this album contained all self-penned material with minor contributions from outside writers. The album was not well received and generally got less than favorable reviews in the music press. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes, "Special One is never embarrassing, the way that some of the group's late-'80s efforts are to their core audience, but it never delivers the goods, either, and it's hard to hear the group strain to reach the idealized heights that their fans believe they once reached effortlessly."

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Scent of a Woman"Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson4:48
2."Too Much"Zander, Nielsen, Petersson4:42
3."Special One"Zander, Nielsen, Petersson, Bun E. Carlos4:16
4."Pop Drone"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson4:43
5."My Obsession"Petersson, Zander, Nielsen, Julian Raymond3:34
6."Words"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson4:53
7."Sorry Boy"Zander, Nielsen, Petersson, Carlos, Steve Albini4:25
8."Best Friend"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson4:16
9."If I Could"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson3:51
10."Low Life in High Heels"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson2:49
11."Hummer"Nielsen, Zander, Petersson4:17
Japanese version
No.TitleLength
12."Special One" (Japanese version; Sung partially in Japanese)4:16

Singles

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All singles were released as promotional singles only to radio stations.

Bonus DVD

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A limited edition of the album was available upon release and included five music videos.

  1. "Say Goodbye" (from Cheap Trick (1997 album))
  2. "Hot Love" (from the Music for Hangovers DVD)
  3. "Hard to Tell" (from the Silver DVD)
  4. "Woke Up with a Monster" (from Woke Up With a Monster)
  5. "He's a Whore" (from Cheap Trick (1977 album))

Personnel

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Cheap Trick

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Technical

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Charts

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Chart (2003) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 75
US Billboard 200[9] 128
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10] 6

References

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  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ The A.V. Club review
  3. ^ Chicago Tribune review
  4. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  5. ^ KNAC review
  6. ^ People review
  7. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 157. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone cheap trick album guide.
  8. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  9. ^ "Cheap Trick Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Cheap Trick Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2024.