Watch Cheap Trick cover the entirety of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
Just about everybody who caught the music bug at some point has an obsession with The Beatles. But American power pop icons Cheap Trick take that obsession and elevate it to a whole other level. Whether it’s covering their songs live, hiring George Martin as their record producer, or even playing with John Lennon on his Double Fantasy album (which guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos did), the love for The Beatles is a major driving force in Cheap Trick.
But a handful of covers wasn’t enough. For two weeks in September of 2009, Cheap Trick decided to cover the entirety of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, from front to back. To do so, the band employed a full orchestra to bring everything from the french horns on ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ to the string swells on ‘A Day in the Life’ to the stage.
It’s funny to hear how the band interpret the classic album. Robin Zander’s iconic wail is perfect for the hard-rocking title track, but he’s also able to get more subdued on quiet numbers like ‘Fixing a Hole’ and ‘She’s Leaving Home’. Rick Neilsen is at his energetic best, whether it’s throwing in the stinging lead guitar lines of ‘Getting Better’ or adding enthusiastic backing vocals throughout the concert.
Tom Petersson has his hands full recreating the bouncing basslines that Paul McCartney created for the album, while Bun E. Carlos is keeping the entire enterprise rock steady with his unflappable imitation of Ringo Starr. Behind them, Cheap Trick employ a solid group of additional players, including ‘One of Us’ singer Joan Osbourne, to help flesh out all the additional sounds that make Sgt. Pepper so unique.
The concerts were a rousing success, but they also represented the end of an era for Cheap Trick. Shortly after the Sgt. Pepper shows, Carlos was replaced on a permanent basis by Nielsen’s son Daxx. While Carlos is still technically a member of the band, he wasn’t played with Cheap Trick since, making the Sgt. Pepper shows some of his final contributions to the band.
Check the full performance of Cheap Trick playing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band down below.
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