It's not unusual for a musician to serve time in a cover band before making the big time, but -- with apologies to our flowerpot-hatted friends from Akron -- taking the De-evolutionary path is rather uncommon. That's not stopping the members of Cheap Trick from casting themselves as a de facto version of Beatlemania for a pull-out-the-stops re-creation of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' which they'll stage at the Hollywood Bowl next month.

The Illinoisemakers will be joined by a passel of like-minded Fab Four fans, including Joan Osborne and Aimee Mann -- not to mention the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Maybe we're just being persnickety, but we can't imagine Sgt. Pepper going forward without a star turn from Alice Cooper, who'll always be the Sun King in our book.