Customer Reviews

Sgt. Pepper Live

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great rendition of the Beatle's Sgt. Pepper by Cheap Trick, an absolutely fantastic, and legendary, band in its own right.

This recording does, however, primarily stick closely to the original tunes by the Beatles. In other words, this is not like At Budokan, or even Silver, as there is no extended jamming or riffing off of the Sgt. Pepper originals. Nor is there the imaginative interpretation, crackle, and dynamism that Cheap Trick provided to Day Tripper on its Found All The Parts EP. That being said, the encore medley of Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End is a nice touch that allows Cheap Trick to show off a little more of its own talents, especially the drum solo by Bun E. Also, at times the songs sound a little less bright, or flatter, than the original versions, especially Good Morning Good Morning, but maybe that's just me or it may be the limitations of recording live or my system.

All in all, this is an excellent recording and worth buying if you are a Cheap Trick fan or don't own or are unfamiliar with the original album/songs by the Beatles. In addition, all proceeds from sales of the album go to a great cause, fighting cancer.

Cheap Trick sound absolutely Fabulous. They stay so close to the original but add a little spice that this cd turns out to be Brilliant. Within and Without You, Lovely Rita and The End Jam are Fantastic. This cd rocks! I like it so much Im ordering the dvd version. Check this out. cheers TyT

I agree with the others reviewers regarding this version being true to the original which is not at all a bad thing. Cheap Trick interpretations does have an extra guitar, hard rock edge that gives the recording its unique personality. It is a good adaptation and Cheap Trick sound very credible in their interpretation!! It is a nice addition to the Cheap Trick Catalog and to the Beatles tribute memorabilia!

It's nice, it's a little TOO true to the original record, but without the studio trickery, and with Trick's harder-edged attack making it not a TOTAL clone. It's like those tribute shows at the Bottom Line in NYC, a nice exercise that doesn't add anything to the Beatles canon or to the Trick canon. The orchestra is nice to have, the indian instrumentalists, Ian Ball from Gomez, Joan Osborne...I know her and like her and she sounds great as usual, but why is she on the show and on that song "Lovely Rita"??? Is there like a hidden meaning, a gay underpinning, like of all the songs, why that one??? Made me focus on the lyrics, not that there's anything wrong with that, I always thought Joan was straight...whatever...on the DVD, the band looks cool and that they're enjoying themselves, and Joan looks great...Rob Laufer on "Within You Without You" isn't playing acoustic guitar...he's playing acoustic MANDOCELLO...it's an 8-string guitar lookalike and guitar/mandolin/cello hybrid with a different, unique tone...the credits are wrong.

And, lastly, the medley from "Abbey Road", one of my fave Beatles songs, played during the encore, was awesome...making it not exactly just a "Sgt Pepper" tribute show...but something extra.

The nice touch on the DVD are the interviews...so fun, espesh the interviews...Rick Nielsen is hilarious as usual, Robin is more affable than usual, Bun E is dryly funny as well, and Tom is his smart, fun, prickly self, like always...calling the band an American Dave Clark 5, and saying they're like an American Beatles is wrong and embarrassing, BUT he'd mow Geoff Emerick's lawn in a heartbeat.

True, but Cheap Trick are the closest we will get to the idea that if there was an American Beatles, who would be the closest APPROXIMATION??? And Trick would be it...their latest album, er, called "The Latest" is proof of that.

Keep going...as Rick said, they're too dumb to quit...yay, more music for us, woohoo!!! ;)

An amazing performance in which Zander really shines. Tom plays some amazing bass that Sir Paul would be proud of. I almost took off a star for the guest singers. When you have Zander, why o why o why do you need guest singers?? The purchase is for a good cause and it's worth it to hear the band do this classic. Golden Slumbers is a nice touch at the end. There have been many bands that have built on the legacy of the Beatles. But, none of them can hold a candle to the Trick.

I have always loved how the Beatles influenced so many bands that have come after them, Cheap Trick has always been one of my favorites.
We have been given glimpses of Cheap Trick's uncanny ability to sound like the Beatles and still maintain their own unique essence on Daytripper from "Found All the Parts" EP (now also available on the Sir George Maartin produced "All Shook Up" remastered CD w/Bounus tracks), Magical Mystery Tour from their "Greatest Hits" CD, and Cold Turkey from the "Working Class Hero" Lennon Tribute CD.
Now Cheap Trick has finally done what I had always hoped they would do, an entire Beatles project that is great fun for fans of both bands. Cheap Trick is always great live, and this makes this CD all that much more a pleasuable listening experience. . I have never been a huge fan of the Indian influenced Beatles tunes, and I actually love Within You, Without You from this concert, it's simply great, as is the rest of the show, I will more than likely buy the DVD as well. This will be in my heavy listening rotation for quite a while, along with their newest CD of original songs "The Latest", which I love.
A little FYI on Cheap Trick/Beatles connections, Cheap Trick appears on John Lennon's "wonsaponatime" on I'm Losing You. I made a CD for listening in the car which has all of the tracks I have listed above, and it turned out to sound really great with the extra songs I added.

Yeah, yeah, yeah -- intellectually you'll probably think this is a bit too "Fab Faux", too note-for-note, too obvious, too whatever.

If you quiet your brain down you'll notice your heart splashing around giddily in your chest. This is just plain viscerally FUN to listen to -- it has spirit and life.

All artist proceeds from sales of this release will benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation, so it's a good cause besides.

To borrow a phrase from a different album, "turn off your mind, relax and float downstream". You'll love this one.

I rented this before buying it to just see if it was any good, and WOW its awesome. First off being both a Beatles fan and a Cheap Trick fan, I was not sure if I would like this, but then I watched, more like just listened to it and was amazed at how wonderful a job they did performing these songs, live, nearly note for note as recorded by The Beatles. Also the extra features includes a interview with Cheap Trick which was very informatative and interesting.

I would highly suggest this to any Beatles and Cheap Trick fan.

A really enjoyable performance, wish I had been there. Every song done as it should be, accuracy and enthusiasm combined. Well done guys. Recommended.

I have been a huge Cheap Trick fan for decades. This show looks and sounds great. The guests are great and they truly do capture the essence of the Pepper album while still adding personality.