ROCK MOMENT – Cheap Trick “I Can’t Take It’
Cheap Trick’s “I Can’t Take It” may not have become a major chart hit, but it has earned a reputation as one of the band’s great overlooked power-pop songs. Released in 1983, it opened the album Next Position Please with ringing guitars, layered harmonies and an instantly memorable chorus.
Unlike most Cheap Trick songs from that era, “I Can’t Take It” was written by lead singer Robin Zander rather than guitarist and primary songwriter Rick Nielsen. Zander’s composition captured everything fans loved about the group: Beatles-inspired melodies, crunchy guitars and lyrics filled with romantic frustration. The title sounds like an expression of desperation, but the upbeat arrangement makes the song feel exciting instead of defeated.
The track was produced by Todd Rundgren, whose background made him a natural choice for Cheap Trick. Rundgren understood the same mixture of British Invasion pop, hard rock and studio experimentation that had always influenced the band. Next Position Please was recorded at Rundgren’s Utopia Sound studio in New York and featured Jon Brant on bass alongside Zander, Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos.
Rundgren gave “I Can’t Take It” a glossy, radio-friendly finish. The guitars and keyboards blend closely with the vocal harmonies, creating a polished sound that was different from the raw attack heard on Cheap Trick at Budokan. Cash Box praised the song as a sensational, bass-driven track that sounded like something from a vintage Beatles recording. Years later, Billboard described it as a “Beatlesque gem.”
Rundgren reportedly believed “I Can’t Take It” should have been the album’s first single. Instead, Epic Records initially chose Cheap Trick’s cover of the Motors’ “Dancing the Night Away.” “I Can’t Take It” was eventually released as the second single in November 1983, backed with “You Talk Too Much.” Although it failed to reach the Billboard pop chart, it received rock-radio airplay and reached No. 39 on the Radio & Records AOR chart.
The song was also supported by a wonderfully strange music video directed by Mark Rezyka. The director later explained that he wanted to create an extremely surreal video, and the finished clip—with its exaggerated visuals and offbeat humor—received medium rotation on MTV.
Despite its lack of mainstream chart success, “I Can’t Take It” survived. Cheap Trick continued performing it in concert and featured it during television appearances, including Thicke of the Night and Germany’s Rockpalast. Rundgren even recorded his own version for his 2011 album (re)Production.
Today, “I Can’t Take It” is remembered as a nearly perfect example of Cheap Trick’s power-pop formula: loud guitars, bright harmonies, romantic tension and a chorus that should have been a much bigger hit.
