Officially, these sessions were commissioned for a radio promotion or a limited Japanese re-issue campaign (sources vary, which adds to the mystique). The original CD is a digipak or a simple cardboard sleeve—minimalist, often misprinted.
Visually, it looks like a warning label. Audibly, it is an earthquake.
Here is the critical metadata for the FLAC seeker:
Because the original CD is out of print and was never sent to major retailers, the only way to hear this version is via a lossless rip. If you have an MP3, delete it. You need the FLAC to appreciate the dynamic range that Albini fought for. Officially, these sessions were commissioned for a radio
If you are downloading this FLAC, here is what awaits you:
This is the controversial question. Tom Werman’s In Color is a perfect pop record. Steve Albini’s In Color is a perfect rock record.
You do not listen to the Albini sessions for the hits. You listen for the space between the hits. Because the original CD is out of print
Because this CD was never given a proper wide release, the only way to experience this dynamic range is via a lossless rip. A 320kbps MP3 will sound muddy and harsh. A FLAC file (properly ripped with EAC or XLD) will reveal the micro-dynamics: the squeak of the kick drum pedal, the hum of the tube amp, the count-in before the song starts.
In the sprawling, often contradictory history of rock music, few intersections are as fascinatingly volatile as the meeting of Cheap Trick and Steve Albini.
For most fans, the definitive version of In Color—the band’s sophomore 1977 masterpiece—is the one produced by Tom Werman. It is a record that defined power-pop: shimmering 12-string Rickenbackers, layered harmonies, and a radio-friendly polish that gave us “I Want You to Want Me” and “Clock Strikes Ten.” the hum of the tube amp
But buried deep in the digital catacombs of collector circles lies a holy grail for the purist: Cheap Trick – In Color – The Steve Albini Sessions (1998 – CD FLAC).
This is not a remaster. This is not a remix. This is a complete philosophical re-imagining of a classic, filtered through the man who hates reverb, worships distortion, and famously recorded Nirvana’s In Utero.
If you have stumbled upon a FLAC rip of this ultra-rare 1998 CD, you have found the sonic equivalent of a sniperscope: unflinching, dry, and brutally honest.