Let Go (Cheap Trick song)

"Let Go"
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album Lap of Luxury
B-side"I Know What I Want (Live)"
ReleasedAugust 1988[1]
GenreRock, power pop
Length4:27
LabelEpic Records
Songwriter(s)Rick Nielsen, Todd Cerney
Producer(s)Richie Zito
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"Ghost Town"
(1988) 		"Let Go"
(1988) 		"Never Had a Lot to Lose"
(1989)

"Let Go" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1988 as the fourth single from their tenth studio album Lap of Luxury. It was written by guitarist Rick Nielsen and Todd Cerney, and produced by Richie Zito.[2]

As a single, "Let Go" was released on 7" vinyl in Australia only. The B-side, "I Know What I Want", is a live recording, recorded during 1979 at Daytona Beach, Florida.[1] In the US, the song reached No. 35 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.[3]

Critical reception

Upon release, Ira Robbins of Rolling Stone called the song "first-rate, a tough-talking put-down with a honking horn bridge and a guitar hook that is reminiscent of the Beatles' 'If I Needed Someone.'"[4] Robbins also wrote for Trouser Press that "Let Go" gets Lap of Luxury off to a "fine start."[5] Music writers Mike Hayes and Ken Sharp compare the song's riff to another Beatles' song, saying that "Let Go"'s riff combines that of "Day Tripper" with the riff of Cheap Trick's own song "I Don't Love Here Anymore."[6] Hayes and Sharp credit the song with "a catchy chorus, understated piano work and an unexpected sax break."[6]

Track listing

7" single
  1. "Let Go" - 4:27
  2. "I Know What I Want (Live)" -

Chart performance

Chart (1988) Peak
position
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[3] 35

Personnel

Cheap Trick

Additional personnel

  • Richie Zito - producer
  • Phil Kaffel - engineer, mixer
  • Jim Champagne, Bernard Frings, Mike Tacci, Bob Vogt, Toby Wright - second engineers

References

  1. ^ a b "Cheap Trick - Let Go / I Know What I Want (Live) - Epic - Australia - 652954 7". 45cat. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  2. ^ "Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  3. ^ a b "Cheap Trick Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  4. ^ Robbins, Ira (1988-06-02). "Lap Of Luxury | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  5. ^ Robbins, Ira. "Cheap Trick". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  6. ^ a b Hayes, M.; Sharp, K. (1998). Reputation Is a Fragile Thing. Poptastic. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-9662081-0-8.