Album Review

Mike DeGagne [allmusic.com]

Standing on the Edge's only highlight comes from the silvery-sounding ''Tonight It's You,'' which peaked just outside the Top 40 at number 44 in the fall of 1985. Like 1983's Next Position Please, Standing on the Edge finds the band without any pizzazz or rock & roll exuberance. The tracks are dull and colorless, with only the single sporting any signs of enthusiasm from any of the band's members. Sleepers like ''This Time Around,'' ''How About You,'' and the ridiculous ''Wild Wild Women'' are subpar considering what Cheap Trick's capabilities are. Both Zander and Nielsen lack the cohesion that they usually have, and the writing comes off as weak and disregarded. Although Todd Rundgren tried his hardest to get 1983's Next Position Please off the ground, Cheap Trick opted for producer Jack Douglas this time around, whose efforts fared quite the same. It wasn't until 1988's Lap of Luxury that Cheap Trick was finally back on track, scoring their first number one hit with the dreamy-sounding ballad ''The Flame.''