"Carnival Game" is a song by American rock band

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen ...

, released in 1997 as the third and final single from their thirteenth studio album ''

''. It was written by Jerry Dale McFadden,

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, inclu ...

, Robert Reynolds,

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

and

Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known for being the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands, including t ...

, and produced by Cheap Trick and Ian Taylor. As with the rest of the ''Cheap Trick'' album, "Carnival Game" was recorded at Pie Studios, Glen Cove, New York, and mixed at Cove City Sound Studios, Glen Cove, New York.

Release

The song was released as a promotional single by Victor in Japan. The B-side, "You Let a Lotta People Down", is an album track on ''Cheap Trick''. The main release was issued in a 3" DJ promo CD with a snap-pack picture sleeve with lyrics. The artwork used featured photographs of each band member with a black background. In addition to this, a one track promotional-only CD was also produced, with a custom photocopied picture insert with all text in Japanese.

Promotion

During 1997, whilst promoting the album, the band performed the song live on the American TV show ''Hard Rock Live''.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Cheap Trick'', Carlo Wolff of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' considered the song to have " ELO-style jauntiness" and described the song as "cute" and "harmony-laden". Steven Mirkin of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' felt that "Say Goodbye" and "Carnival Game" "approach the and'searlier material's heady rush". Jae-Ha Kim of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' commented: "The wah-wah guitars in "Carnival Game" punch up the driving number." He added: "Rick Nielsen's nimble lead guitar work in "Carnival Game" and the shimmery chorus of "Say Goodbye" herald their strengths." Curtis Bonney of the '' San Francisco Weekly'' wrote: "The standout tracks are fairly plentiful: the sugary Beatles-

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

- uh - stylings on "Carnival Game," "Yeah, Yeah," and "You Let a Lot of People Down." Nice chord progressions, nice hooks; you've heard them all, but you haven't, really." Rob Seng of ''

The Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...

'' noted: "Although outside writing help is sometimes a harbinger of trouble, the contributions that the band gets here from the members of

the Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in ...

results in an engaging hook on "Carnival Game"." In a 1997 concert review, Chris Riemenschneider of the '' Austin American-Statesman'' described "Carnival Game" as a "delightful poppy ditties a la " Oh, Candy"."

Track listing

;CD Single (VIDP-30002 - promo) #"Carnival Game" - 3:50 #"You Let a Lotta People Down" - 4:27 ;CD Single (CDS-463 - promo) #"Carnival Game" - 3:49

Personnel

Cheap Trick * Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, producer * Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals, producer * Tom Petersson - 12 string bass guitar, backing vocals, producer * Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion, producer Additional personnel * Ian Taylor - producer, engineer, mixing * Glenn Preston - assistant engineer * George Fullan, Rob Polhemus - 2nd engineer * Bob Ludwig - mastering * Peter F. Baynes - guitar technician * Donna Brainard, Larry Mazer - management * Angela K. Herl, Mike Herl - business management

References

{{authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Cheap Trick songs Songs written by Rick Nielsen Songs written by Robin Zander Songs written by Tom Petersson