Woke Up with a Monster (song)

"Woke Up with a Monster" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1994 as the lead single from their twelfth studio album Woke Up with a Monster. It was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, and produced by Ted Templeman.[1] The song was released by Warner Bros. Records as a promotional-only single in the United States, aimed at generating radio play. It reached No. 16 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and remained on the chart for six weeks.[2]

For the Cheap Trick album, see Woke Up with a Monster.
"Woke Up with a Monster"
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album Woke Up with a Monster
Released1994
GenreHard rock, power pop
Length3:58
LabelWarner Bros. Records
Songwriter(s)Rick Nielsen
Robin Zander
Tom Petersson
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"Magical Mystery Tour"
(1991)		 "Woke Up with a Monster"
(1994)		 "You're All I Wanna Do"
(1994)

A music video was released to promote the single.[3][4] On April 4, 1994, the band performed the song live on David Letterman's The Late Show to promote the album.[5]

Background

Speaking to Prime Choice magazine in 1994, Petersson spoke about the song's creation: "We get a lot of reaction to [it]; people just find it irritating... some people just love it. That was one of the songs that came kind of naturally to us. We thought it was a good groove - we were kind of fucking around with it at soundcheck and stuff - we didn't try to be weird or try to do anything. It was one of the easier songs that came together. It sort of evolved naturally." When speaking of the label's decision to release the song as the album's lead single, Petersson added: "I'm glad that they will do things like that, release that song as opposed to something a little more obvious, or a safer song."[6]

Critical reception

Tom Sinclair of Rolling Stone said of the album: "Most distressing is the paucity of humor, once a Cheap Trick hallmark. Are we really supposed to wring our hands over the title track's melodramatic portrait of a marriage on the rocks?"[7] Dave Connolly of AllMusic recommended the song by labelling it an AMG Pick Track and felt that the "elaborate production" complimented the melody.[8] In the 2003 book The Encyclöpedia öf Heavy Metal, author Daniel Bukszpan described the song as "unbelievably irritating".[9]

Track listing
CD single (US promo)
  1. "Woke Up with a Monster" - 4:52

Chart performance
Chart (1994) Peak
position
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[2] 16

Personnel
Cheap Trick
Additional personnel
  • Ted Templeman - producer
  • Joanie Parker - production coordinator
  • Lenny Waronker - executive producer
  • Jeff Hendrickson - engineer
  • George Marino - mastering
  • Dave Wilmer - guitar technician
  • Chuck Elias - drum technician

References
  1. "Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  2. Billboard. "Cheap Trick Woke Up With A Monster Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  3. "Woke Up With A Monster - Cheap Trick". YouTube. 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-04-09. pp. 1–50. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  5. "Cheap Trick - "Woke Up With A Monster"". YouTube. 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. "Prime-Choice.com - Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick". prime-choice.com. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  7. Tom Sinclair (1994-06-02). "Woke Up With a Monster | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  8. Dave Connolly (1994-03-22). "Woke Up with a Monster - Cheap Trick | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  9. Bukszpan, D.; Dio, R.J. (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 9780760742181. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
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