Didn't Know I Had It

Background

Released as the band's fifth and final single from Woke up with a Monster, the single was released in Europe and not America. It would be the band's last single for Warner Bros. Records. The song was not a commercial success and failed to chart on any national charts.

The song was written by Rick Nielsen and Todd Cerney. Cerney had previously co-wrote two tracks with Nielsen for Cheap Trick; "Let Go" and "Wrong Side of Love" - both of which appeared on the 1988 album Lap of Luxury. It was produced by Ted Templeman who produced the entire Woke up with a Monster album.

During one 1994 live gig, Nielsen introduced the song by stating "Here's a song that we thought was gonna be number one, but we fucked up!"

Release

The single was released in Europe only as a CD single via Warner Bros. Records. The release was made in Germany. The single featured an "Edit Version" of "Didn't Know I Had It" - which cut the main album version by approximately 40 seconds. Two other songs were featured on the single - the Woke up with a Monster album track "Love Me for a Minute", which was written by Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, whilst the other song was the non-lp track "Sabre Dance". The latter track is a rock cover of the Soviet Armenian composer Aram Illich Khachaturian song. On the Japanese edition of the Woke up with a Monster album, "Sabre Dance" was included as the sole bonus track.

The single featured artwork, using a cartoon drawing of a clown wearing a Cheap Trick T-shirt, whilst the background design used a merging color of pink, orange and yellow. The clown logo was created by Mike Mills. The inside black and white photograph of the band is the same photograph seen on the back of the Woke up with a Monster album.

Promotion

No music video was created for the single, although the song became part of the band's live during the album's release. The band played the song at a few concerts in 2001 and 2003, and more frequently during 2010 and 2011. In 1994, both Zander and Nielsen appeared on the Japanese music TV program "AX-Wave", where they performed an acoustic version of the song. This was shot on April 6, 1994, a day after the death of Kurt Cobain, and on the show Nielsen also spoke about him.

On YouTube, unofficial audience recorded footage exists of the band performing the song during a 1994 gig. During 2010-11, the band bought the song back into their live set for various shows. On YouTube, two audience recorded videos exist of the band performing the song live; one on July 17, 2010, at Meadowbrook Pavilion, Gilford, New Hampshire and the other on September 30, 2011, at The Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

Track listing

1. "Didn't Know I Had It (Edit Version)" - 4:13
2. "Love Me for a Minute" - 4:14
3. "Sabre Dance" - 3:58

Critical reception

Dave Connolly of Allmusic reviewed the Woke up with a Monster album, stating "If their power pop is a little over the top, underneath are some very good songs: "Didn't Know I Had It," "Tell Me Everything," "You're All I Wanna Do." So, if you spot Woke Up with a Monster in a bargain bin, don't let it languish alongside Billy Joel's Streetlife Serenade and Asia's Alpha; give it a good home and enjoy these cheap tracks."

In the Newsday issue of September 22, 1994, a concert review written by Ira Robbins spoke of the song, stating "Other than a few cosmetic developments, Cheap Trick hasn't changed at all; ironically, creative stasis has kept the group from moldering. For the set, the band were mixing five selections from the current "Woke Up With a Monster", including the new "Didn't Know I Had It" that have been the group's commercial salvation."

Hartford Courant reviewed the album on April 7, 1994, stating "..."Never Run Out of Love" fills the dreamy-ballad quota and "Didn't Know I Had It" or "Tell Me Everything" the pop ballad. But these guys can do better than that."

Personnel

Additional personnel