After the band's original bassist Tom Petersson left in 1980, Pete Comita was hired as a replacement, only to leave the band by 1981. Later, Comita had stated that he co-wrote "I Can't Take It" and that Zander had stolen it from him. In a 2009 interview with guitarist Rick Nielsen, the interviewer asked if Nielsen would comment on the claim that Comita wrote the song. Nielsen replied: "That's the first time I've heard about that. But it wasn't "I Can't Take It". He did write "Reach Out" which was on the Heavy Metal movie soundtrack. But he wrote that song with a guy named Bob James. He originally told us he had written it, but we later found out, he didn't write it." Speaking to Punk Globe in 2012, drummer Bun E. Carlos said: "Pete might of came up with riff. But he didn't write that song, Robin wrote that song. Robin had been working on that song for years!"
Release and promotion
Although Rundgren had advised Epic to release "I Can't Take It" as the album's lead single, the label were less enthusiastic about the song. They had the band record a version of The Motors' "Dancing the Night Away". When that single failed to chart, the label released "I Can't Take It". "I Can't Take It" was released by Epic on 7" vinyl in North America only. The B-side, "You Talk Too Much", also featured on the cassette version of Next Position Please. A promotional version of the single was also issued on 7" vinyl in the US, which featured "I Can't Take It" on both sides of the vinyl. A music video was filmed to promote the single. The band performed the song on the Americanlate night talk showThicke of the Night, hosted by Alan Thicke. They also performed the song on the German TV show Rockpalast, along with numerous other tracks. In 1984, the band performed the song on the showRock Rolls On, along with "I Want You to Want Me". The episode was hosted by Laura Branigan and Chuck Berry. The single failed to chart.
Critical reception
In a review of Next Position Please, Cash Box stated: "Rundgren offers his nimble fingers to mold Cheap Trick into a viable pop force once again, and just judging from the first number - a sensational bass-driven song called "I Can't Take It" that sounds like an outtake from a vintage Beatles' session - he's succeeded admirably." Rolling Stone commented: "A better title for this album would have been 'Next Producer Please', because from the signature harmonies of "I Can't Take It" to the predictable chorus of "Heaven's Falling," it's clear that this album belongs as much to producer Todd Rundgren as to the members of Cheap Trick". AllMusic said: "The bright surfaces with the guitars and keyboards melding so tightly with the vocal harmonies they’re inseparable, produce a sound that is uncannily reminiscent of Oops! Wrong Planet, but Rundgren also helps keep an eye on quality control, letting Robin Zander's terrific "I Can't Take It" open the album". In a review of the 1996 box-set Sex, America, Cheap Trick, Billboard described the song as a "Beatlesque gem". In the 2007 book Shake Some Action: The UltimatePower Pop Guide, author John M. Borack picked the song as one of twenty stand-out tracks from the band's career. He wrote: "This is pure, unfiltered power popfor the masses, with Todd Rundgren's bright 'n' shiny production, giving it a radio-friendly sheen. One of the great, semi-lost Cheap Trick numbers, and one they still perform live."
Cover versions
In 2011, Todd Rundgren released his own version of the song on his 2011 solo albumProduction.
