Cheap Trick - In Color - Steve Albini Sessions -1998 Cd Flac- May 2026

The original album starts with a crowd cheer. Albini deletes it. Instead, you hear Robin Zander count in, "One, two..." followed by the ring of Bun E. Carlos’s snare that sounds like a gunshot. The FLAC reveals the room —you hear the wood creak.

The band hired him to re-record In Color to prove a point: That they were punks before punk went mainstream. That they could be as raw as The Stooges. Albini didn't just produce this; he wired it. Live room, no isolation booths, vintage mics, and a mandate: "Play it like you hate it." The original album starts with a crowd cheer

Rick Nielsen’s guitar solo is sloppy. Not lazy, but aggressive. You can hear him stomp a distortion pedal in the left channel 0.5 seconds before the solo starts. Most producers would edit that out. Albini left it in because "that’s what playing feels like." Carlos’s snare that sounds like a gunshot

Streaming services (Spotify/Apple) use the 2008 "remaster," which brick-walled the dynamics. The Albini session is available on some platforms, but streamed at 256kbps AAC. That they could be as raw as The Stooges

Do you own the original 1998 promo CD? Have you compared the vinyl pressing of this session to the FLAC? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

9/10 for sound quality (Loses one point because the vocals are intentionally too quiet in the mix). Mood: Angry, sweaty, and perfect for a winter garage.