The Latest is the sixteenth studio album by the American power pop

Power pop

Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 band Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...

. The album was produced by Cheap Trick, Julian Raymond and Howard Willing and was released on June 23, 2009. The album was issued on standard CD as well as limited pressings of vinyl

LP album

The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

 and 8-Track tapes. The album was released to retailers on July 21, 2009. "The Latest" debuted at number 78 on Billboard's Top 200 Charts.

A video for the cover of Slade

Slade

Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...

's "When The Lights Are Out" has been released. The song was released exclusively through iTunes Australia in November, 2008. The video is also available for viewing via the band's YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 page. A video was also made for "Sick Man of Europe".

Track listing

1. "Sleep Forever" - 1:37
2. "When The Lights Are Out" (Slade
   Slade
   Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
   
    cover) - 3:26
3. "Miss Tomorrow" - 4:11
4. "Sick Man of Europe" - 2:08
5. "These Days" - 2:44
6. "Miracle" - 3:47
7. "Everyday You Make Me Crazy" - 1:17
8. "California Girl" - 2:47
9. "Everybody Knows" - 4:16
10. "Alive" - 3:36
11. "Times of Our Lives" - 3:59
12. "Closer, The Ballad of Burt and Linda" - 3:00
13. "Smile" - 4:12

Trivia

"Sleep Forever" was written in memory of a friend who died.

"Miss Tomorrow" was a B-side from Robin Zander's eponymous 1993 solo album.

"Everyday You Make Me Crazy" was originally written by the band as a Pepsi

Pepsi

Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...

 jingle.

"Alive" is a re-worked version of "What's In It For You", an outtake from the band's previous album Rockford.

Sick Man of Europe was one of the band names used by Nielsen and Petersson in the early 1970s.

Chart performance

Chart (2009)	Peak position	Total weeks
U.S. Billboard 200	78	1
U.S. Independent Albums Chart	14	1
U.S. Rock Albums Chart	36	1

Personnel

• Robin Zander
  Robin Zander
  Robin Wayne Zander is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick.-Early life:Zander was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, the fourth of five children; he has two older brothers, and older and younger sisters....
  
  : lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Rick Nielsen
  Rick Nielsen
  -External links:* * *...
  
  : lead guitar, background vocals
• Tom Petersson
  Tom Petersson
  Tom Petersson is an American musician, best known as the bassist and sometime guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick.-Career:...
  
  : bass, background vocals
• Bun E. Carlos
  Bun E. Carlos
  Bun E. Carlos, born Brad Carlson, June 12, 1951, is the primary drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He is the band's chief setlister and archivist, and maintains recordings of all the band's shows, some of which have been released under the name 'Bun E's Bootlegs'.Carlos is left-handed, but...
  
  : drums

Additional musicians

• Julian Raymond: arrangements, additional musician
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr: keyboards
• Bon Harris
  Bon Harris
  Bon Harris is an English composer, producer, singer/song writer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is a founding member of the quintessential British EBM group Nitzer Ebb, programming Nitzer Ebb's signature sound...
  
  : programming
• George Doering: acoustic guitar
• Luis Conte
  Luis Conte
  Luis Conte is a Cuban percussionist.-Early years:As a child in Cuba, Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since....
  
  : programming
• Bennett Salvay: orchestration
• Jason Falkner
  Jason Falkner
  Jason Falkner is an American pop and rock musician. Active since the late 1980s, he has performed with several bands. In addition to releasing several albums as a solo artist, he is a prolific session musician and producer who has contributed to dozens of other recordings by other bands and...
  
  : additional musician
• Todd Youth
  Todd Youth
  -Biography:Youth grew up in New York and started playing as young as 12 years old in several New York City hardcore bands. He made his playing debut with Agnostic Front in 1983 but did not play on any recordings. Youth also appeared for New York City act Warzone until around 1986...
  
  : additional musician