Cheap Trick still wants you to want them - and you will

<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Cheap Trick, "Bang Zoom Crazy... Hello" (Big Machine)</span>

Some classic rock bands limp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the basis of past reputation. On the other hand, Cheap Trick - the hard-charging, melodic rockers from Rockford, Illinois - is racing full speed ahead into the Rock Hall, fueled by its best album in decades.

"Bang Zoom Crazy... Hello" kicks off with a blast of feedback and a classic guitar-bass-and-drum roar on "Heart on the Line," which would make a great concert opener if they ever tire of the traditional "Hello There."

There are at least four potential hit singles on this album: A remake of the '60s Dobie Gray track "The In Crowd," "Long Time No See Ya," the clap-happy "Blood Red Lips" and "No Direction Home."

As they have since the '70s, Cheap Trick infuses their songs with Beatle-esque harmonies, dramatic chord changes and progressions, and guitarist Rick Nielsen's quirky, minimalist solos, all atop a pounding beat that makes these songs easy to listen to and hard to forget. And Nielsen's son Daxx provides a shot of new energy replacing drummer Bun E. Carlos.

This band is a true American original that has thus far not surrendered to age, inertia or hip-hop. Here's hoping they never do.