If You Want My Love

"If You Want My Love" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1982 as the lead single from their sixth studio album One on One. It was written by guitarist Rick Nielsen and produced by Roy Thomas Baker.[1] It reached number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report chart.[3][4]

This article is about the Cheap Trick song. For other songs of this or a similar name, see If You Want My Love (disambiguation).
"If You Want My Love"
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album One on One
B-side"Four Letter Word"
ReleasedMay 1982[1]
Genre
Length3:35
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Rick Nielsen
Producer(s)Roy Thomas Baker
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"Reach Out"
(1981)		 "If You Want My Love"
(1982)		 "I Want You"
(1982)

The song was the first single release from the band to feature new bassist Jon Brant.[5] A music video was filmed to promote the single, which received regular airing on MTV.[6][7] The single's B-side, "Four Letter Word", was featured as the closing track on One on One, and was written by Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander.[8]

A live version of "If You Want My Love" was performed at the band's 25th anniversary concert in Rockford, Illinois during 1999. The performance saw Brant rejoining Cheap Trick on stage to play bass on the track, along with "She's Tight". The concert was later released in 2001 as Silver. Speaking of the song in an interview featured on the Silver DVD, bassist Tom Petersson stated that it was "the best Beatle song we ever recorded". He, however, was referring to Cheap Trick as a band, as he had not been with the group at the time the track was originally recorded.[9]

The song is used in the films Joe Dirt and Super.[10][11]

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Billboard felt "If You Want My Love" showed the more "romantic side" to the band and commented, "Robin Zander's vocals is anything but timid though, while Rick Nielsen's massed acoustic and electric guitars add widescreen scale."[12] Cash Box wrote, "A dense yet extremely melodic confection, this tune marks somewhat of a return to the more Beatlesque sound which graced the band's earlier LPs."[13]

Critic Robert Christgau described the song as "the most eloquently eclectic Beatle tribute ever recorded".[14] Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone noted it was "easily Cheap Trick's best slow song since 'Take Me I'm Yours' and a stunning example of what this band can do when it forgets about being commercial in these days when heavy metal rules the world."[15] Connelly also commented on the song's "smashing guitar attack" and noted the similarity of the song's middle eight to that of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."[15] Classic Rock History critic Michael Quinn rated it Cheap Trick's 5th best song, saying that it features "a nice harmony between Zander’s voice and Nielsen’s guitar" and also commenting on the resemblance of the middle eight to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".[16] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as Cheap Trick's 9th greatest song, saying that it effectively combines their "eccentric" 1970s style with their more commercial 1980s style.[17]

In a review of the 1996 box set Sex, America, Cheap Trick, Billboard commented: "Cheap Trick never ceased producing the occasional Beatlesque gem, such as "If You Want My Love"..."[18] In the 2007 book Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, a section on Cheap Trick featured reviews on the top 20 stand-out tracks from the band. "If You Want My Love" was included, with the author John M. Borack writing: "Best ballad of the '80s anyone? For sheer Lennon-meets-McCartney-head-on splendor, it's damned hard to top. One of Zander's finest leads ever, punctuated by his oh-so-Paulie 'woooos'."[19]

Track listing

7-inch single

  1. "If You Want My Love" - 3:35
  2. "Four Letter Word" - 3:39

7-inch single (Dutch release)

  1. "If You Want My Love" - 3:06
  2. "Four Letter Word" - 3:41

Personnel

Cheap Trick

Production

  • Roy Thomas Baker – producer
  • Ian Taylor – engineer
  • Paul Klingberg – assistant
  • George Marino – mastering
  • David Michael Kennedy – photographer

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for "If You Want My Love"
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 26
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[21] 57
US Billboard Hot 100 Chart[3] 45
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[22] 11

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for "If You Want My Love"
Chart (1982) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] 14

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Cheap Trick - If You Want My Love / Four Letter Word - Epic - USA - 14-02968". 45cat. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  2. Sheffield, Rob (February 24, 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 1983, the Year Pop Went Crazy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 4, 2023. ...these high rollers roared back in '82-'83 with power-pop gems like "She's Tight," "If You Want My Love," and best of all, "I Can't Take It.
  3. "Cheap Trick - Hot 100 - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives,N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal - Daniel Bukszpan - Google Books. ISBN 9780760742181. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  6. Lawson, Robert (13 November 2017). Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick - Robert Lawson - Google Books. ISBN 9781525512261. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  7. "Silver - Cheap Trick | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  8. "Cheap Trick - One On One at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  9. "Cheap Trick - Silver at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  10. Whitney Z. Gomes (2001-03-06). "Joe Dirt - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  11. Tyler Bates. "Various Artists - Super - Amazon.com Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  12. "Top Single Picks". Billboard. June 5, 1982. p. 67. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  13. "News & Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. June 5, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  14. Christgau, R. "Robert Christgau Cheap Trick". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  15. Connelly, C. (July 8, 1992). "One on One". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  16. Quinn, Michael. "Top 10 Cheap Trick Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  17. Dome, Malcolm (June 28, 2016). "The top 10 best Cheap Trick songs". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  18. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1996-08-10. p. 85. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  19. Borack, J.M. (2007). Shake Some Action - The Ultimate Guide To Power Pop. Not Lame Recording Co. p. 42. ISBN 9780979771408. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Cheap Trick" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  21. "CHEAP TRICK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  22. "Cheap Trick Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  23. "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. January 3, 1983. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.
  24. "Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Report. 28 February 1983. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Imgur.
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