This session was never officially released by a major label—a true holy grail for power-pop fanatics. 📦 Shipping & Payment Fast, tracked shipping worldwide ✈️ Secure packaging to ensure no cracked jewel cases 🛡️ DM for pricing and bundle deals!

During the 1998 sessions, Albini tracked Cheap Trick essentially live in the studio.

Choosing Steve Albini as the engineer for the re-recording project was a stroke of genius. Albini was the antithesis of the 1970s major-label producer. Operating out of his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Albini eschewed modern digital tricks, heavily compressed trends, and artificial vocal tuning. His philosophy focused on capturing the natural acoustics of a room, the physical thud of a drum kit, and the visceral roar of a guitar amplifier.

. They wanted to capture the raw, aggressive energy of their live sound that Albini was famous for The Sessions and "Release" Status

Fans and critics were split in expected ways: purists who love the original production’s sheen found the Albini sessions too raw; others praised the clarity and honesty Albini brought. Regardless, the sessions sparked conversations about authenticity and production aesthetics in rock music. They demonstrated that revisiting classic material through a different production lens can yield revelations about performance, arrangement, and emotional content.

There is an irony here. The title of the album is In Color , but Albini’s mixes are arguably in "Black and White." They are stark, contrast-heavy, and raw.

, the full sessions primarily exist as high-quality leaks and unauthorized bootleg releases. Essential Release Details

Revisiting In Color with Albini wasn’t about improving the original record — the 1977 release is beloved for good reasons — it was a form of archaeological interpretation. The sessions illuminate how arrangements, performances, and small production choices alter an album’s personality. Fans get to hear the raw kinetic energy of the songs without decades of perceived studio gloss, and newcomers can appreciate the songwriting stripped down to its structural bones.

In 1977, Cheap Trick released In Color , their second studio album. While it contained timeless classics like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Clock Strikes Ten," the band was notoriously unhappy with the production. Producer Tom Werman opted for a polished, radio-friendly sonic palette that stripped away the ferocious, heavy distortion of the band's live shows.

Steve Albini, famous for his work on Nirvana’s In Utero and Pixies’ Surfer Rosa , was the perfect antithesis to 1970s arena-rock production. Albini’s philosophy was simple: capture the room, don't trigger the drums, and let the amplifiers roar.

The tapes were, for a long time, the only way to hear a "hard" version of In Color songs like "Southern Girls," "Clock Strikes Ten," and "I Want You to Want Me."

The band re-recorded the album because they were unhappy with the "polished" production of the original 1977 release produced by Tom Werman. They wanted a raw, heavier sound that matched their live performances, which Albini's signature dry, muscular engineering provided. Despite rumors from band members over the years, a finished official product has never materialized.