Didn't Know I Had It

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"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
"Never Run Out of Love"
(1994)		 "Didn't Know I Had It"
(1994)		 "Cold Turkey"
(1995)

"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)
  1. "Didn't Know I Had It (Edit Version)" - 4:13
  2. "Love Me for a Minute" - 4:14
  3. "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

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  8. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knvKINTY74U
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