Cheap Trick Spices Up 'Pepper' Tribute

The prospect was intriguing to say the least: Cheap Trick, a band which combines Beatlesque melodies with arena-volume power rock, taking on the Fab Four's most ornately crafted album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

The result, as presented Friday night before a sold-out Ruth Eckerd Hall audience, was at worst solidly entertaining, often astounding and sometimes disorienting.

Disorienting in a good way, mostly. Because this is music not meant to be performed live. So watching Cheap Trick toss off "Fixing a Hole" or "Good Morning Good Morning" like it ain't no thang simply defied 40 years of accepted rock wisdom.

"We spent three days trying to make this look easy," Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen told the crowd after the last notes of "A Day in the Life" faded. That they did, with a little help from their friends guitarist Bill Lloyd, keyboardist Phil "Magic" Christian and a collection of horns and strings called the Florida Rock Symphony.

The hardest part may have been restraining themselves. Cheap Trick seldom lets its love of melody prevent it from rocking full-bore, which would have run roughshod over the "Pepper's" material. Still, there were times, such as on "Lovely Rita," that one might have wished for Cheap Trick to shed the reins and just rock for a chorus or two.

Still, just getting this material down for live performance was a feat in itself, and the band pulled it off with an admirable balance between respect for the material and being itself.

Singer Robin Zander was the star of the show and rightfully so. His performance of "She's Leaving Home," was breath-taking in its beauty and control. He moved confidently between the vocals of John Lennon and those of Paul McCartney (and Ringo Starr on "With a Little Help From My Friends") showing the influence of the Beatles' singers but never stooping to imitation.

The performance peaked with the final "Pepper's" number, "A Day in the Life." Drummer Bun E. Carlos masterfully recreated the controlled tension of Starr's fills, while Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson gave the song a looser, harder rock feel than the rest of the numbers.

The magic continued with the encore, the "Abbey Road" finale of "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight" and "The End," which left the crowd screaming well after the house lights rose.

The sole misstep in the "Pepper's" performance was "Within You Without You." The orchestra, augmented by Indian musicians on sitar and tabla, gave the song an expert reading. The vocals, however, by special guest Donovan, sounded under-rehearsed, to say the least.

Donovan's brief earlier set featured his own tunes, including "Catch the Wind" and "Sunshine Superman" as well as Lennon's "Dear Prudence" and McCartney's "Blackbird." Donovan told the crowd that he taught both Beatles the finger-picking guitar style used in those songs.