The Beatles and Todd Rundgren
The Beatles and Todd Rundgren
Last night August 19, 2008, Todd Rundgren hit the Boston area with another All-Star band. Todd's unabashed love of the Fabs shone and he navigated his band through the greatest album in history; Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Todd and your humble correspondent have something in common; we both come from what is called "the Main Line" outside of Philadelphia, PA. He grew up in Lower Merion. I grew up in Ardmore, the next town over. We both became Beatle nuts while there.
Todd Rundgren; where to begin? Todd is, in this correspondent's opinion, the most criminally underated pop musician in history. First a very brief history. After minor gigging with "Woody's Truckstop" in and around Philly and New Jersey, Todd helped form his first power pop band "The Nazz," a heavily Beatles influenced power pop band (right down to the Beatle haircuts and half shadow pictorals). The Nazz released three LPs; Nazz, Nazz-Nazz, Nazz III. Interestingly, the first Nazz LP saw two single releases; "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me." The singles stiffed as did the LPs. Todd left for a solo career and the Nazz folded soon thereafter.
Todd's solo career has been on and off ever since. He released two commercially OK LPs followed up, in 1972, by his Magnum Opus "Something/Anything?" This double-album is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. A one man tour-de-force with Todd playing every instrument on the first three sides and producing the entire album as well as engineering it. Side four on this double album included some of Todd's friends playing with him. Indeed, it appears at #173 on the Rolling Stone list of the greatest albums ever. It spawned Todd's remake of his own song "Hello It's Me" in a more upbeat, pop form which became an international hit along with "I Saw The Light." It was during this time period Todd also created his legendary Production stylings that became much sought after in the pop and pop rock world. He has produced LPs for legions of pop luminaries including Hall & Oats, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, The Tubes, Meatload and many many others.
Todd later formed a band called "Utopia" and release many albums with them. He went back to basics with the release of 1978's "Hermit of Mink Hollow" which spawned the top 40 hit "Can We Still Be Friends." Over the years Todd released a combination of Utopia and solo LPs including 1983's "The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect." Todd has always been considered a maverick in the pop world and this LP's release was to fullfill a contractual obligation, hence the snide title. He spent very little time on it. To fill up the track space he came in one day with a song he himself considered the biggest joke of his career called "Bang the Drum." This song has gone on to become possibly his biggest hit ever, at least from a royalties standpoint considering that many professional sports teams use it at their home games.
This brings us to last night. Joining Todd was Denny Laine on guitar and vocals (Moody Blues/Paul McCartney & Wings), Criss Cross on vocals and guitar (Sailing, New York City), Prairie Prince on drums (The Tubes), Greg Hawkes on keyboard and soundstation (The Cars) and Bo Bice on vocals and guitar (Winner of "American Idol") and finally Jesse Gress on guitar, vocals and conducting. The band was filled out by a second keyboard player, a bass player and a 7 piece horn/string section that included a harpist. The show started out with two solo tunes by Denny Laine. This was followed by two kick ass rock tunes by Bo Bice. Criss Cross did his three soft rock hits and finally Todd came out and performed three songs, two of which I've never seen him do before: "Open My Eyes," "I Saw the Light." Along with "Bang The Drum," the first half of the show was over. All very well played and a number of players would often leave the stage for various songs. Interesting.
The Second Half: This was the Sgt. Pepper show. All in all, very well done. I recently saw the Fab Faux do the exact same thing at Berklee and it was a solemn and dedicated performance and note perfect. Todd, very interestingly, acted out in a few of the tunes and after I got used to it, I rather liked what I saw. It was a completely unique way of approaching the album.
1) Sgt. Pepper Overture: Full band. Hawkes was wearing a tan Shea Jacket, bless him. Todd was wearing a red satin tunic like what was seen on the LP cover. The rest wore weird checker board outfit and funny hat. Powerful and vocally full. Extremely well done.
2) With A Little Help From My Friends: Todd, Cross, Laine all left the stage and Bo Bice sang this one with backing vocals from the bass player and Gress. Bice had trouble remembering the words and even attempted to end the song before the last verse was sung. Bass playing was note perfect and the tune otherwise rocked.
3) Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds: Todd returned dressed like a sun flower. Weird. But the song came off great. With Criss Cross also joining in on the high vocals, it came off very well. There was heavy echo and reverb on this one tune and it worked.
4) Getting Better: Again, Todd took the lead while Criss Cross left. It rocked and sounded almost as good as BeatleTracks does it.
5) Fixing A Hole: Criss Cross returned, Todd left. His incredibly high voice was probably a bit too high for this song but it flowed nicely nontheless.
6) She's Leaving Home: Again, Criss Cross took the lead vocal on this. He put on a bathrobe, held a mug and stared down at the monitor where the lyrics were taped and read verbatim from the lyrice sheet. To give you an idea of how screamingly high this man's voice is; during the part where McCartney sang Sheeeeeeeeeeee in falsetto while Lennon sang phrases in the background like, "We gave her all of our lives," and so on: Cross sang that full voice. He wasn't even remotely near his falsetto. Cross too botched some words but all in all very well done. The real harp and string section added incredible realism to this fine tune.
7) Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite: Todd came back out dressed like a Carnival Barker and really got into it. The two keyboard players were able to competently cover the melange of callipoe sounds, bass was spot on again as were the drums: very well done. Todd had on a fake mustache, fake eyebrows, a top hat and some bizarre clothing. Gesticulating like a crazy person he got it done.
8)Within You, Without You: Denny Laine finally re-emerged to sing this one. Jesse Gress just couldn't make his acoustic guitar work so the droning India sounds continued for awhile while Laine vamped with the audience explaining that he was a neighbor of George's in Esher outside of London. Finally Gress switched guitars. His axe was hooked into a stage synthesizer that made it sound like a Sitar. Prairie Prince handled all of the Indian percussion sounds with a sound pad and I admit, they pulled it off fairly well. As well, the East meets West orchestral sounds and harp stylings played out very well.
9) When I'm Sixty Four: Criss Cross returned to handle this vocal as well with the bathrobe. Well done. The one sax player played clarinet on this tune and it sounded good.
10) Lovely Rita: Went very well. I can't now remember who sang this one.
11) Good Morning, Good Morning: Todd returned dressed in a God forsaken Leisure suit (remember them?), a riculously small attache case, a pork pie hat, fake mustache and eyebrows and sang this with gusto. The sax section covered well. Lennon's aim in this tune was to draw attention to the sterile absurdity of suburban living. Todd's deeply ridiculous costume actually brought this out nicely. He would tip his hat every time they sang "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning." The whole act out nature of Todd's peformance actually grew on me as he did it. Nice Job.
12) Sgt. Pepper Reprise: The whole band came out for this and it obviously cranked. It segued nicely into the finale.
13) A Day In The Life: Criss Cross handled the acoustic guitar duties. Todd sang the lead and it was glorious. The orchestral buildup was easy with the septet orchestret and they ended the song with a thunderous chord. Well done.
Encore: There were about 300 of us in this small theater and we were clamoring for more. The band came out and played "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" back to back. Well done.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Denny Laine's vocals. He's terrific! Who knew?
Biggest Disappointment: Bo Bice's incessant ham handed posing/waving/winking at female fans. It was an utter distraction. He missed continual guitar and vocal cues. The rest of the band would look at him when he was supposed to be doing his vocal/guitar solos while he hammed it up with fans and Todd continually would rush to the mic and sing Bo's parts and play a lead riff when needed.
Final Outcome: Great show by any standard. A splendid time was guaranteed for all and we got it!!!
By John Haberstroh (Bassist for BeatleTracks) Find us at www.beatletracksband.com
Last night August 19, 2008, Todd Rundgren hit the Boston area with another All-Star band. Todd's unabashed love of the Fabs shone and he navigated his band through the greatest album in history; Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Todd and your humble correspondent have something in common; we both come from what is called "the Main Line" outside of Philadelphia, PA. He grew up in Lower Merion. I grew up in Ardmore, the next town over. We both became Beatle nuts while there.
Todd Rundgren; where to begin? Todd is, in this correspondent's opinion, the most criminally underated pop musician in history. First a very brief history. After minor gigging with "Woody's Truckstop" in and around Philly and New Jersey, Todd helped form his first power pop band "The Nazz," a heavily Beatles influenced power pop band (right down to the Beatle haircuts and half shadow pictorals). The Nazz released three LPs; Nazz, Nazz-Nazz, Nazz III. Interestingly, the first Nazz LP saw two single releases; "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me." The singles stiffed as did the LPs. Todd left for a solo career and the Nazz folded soon thereafter.
Todd's solo career has been on and off ever since. He released two commercially OK LPs followed up, in 1972, by his Magnum Opus "Something/Anything?" This double-album is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. A one man tour-de-force with Todd playing every instrument on the first three sides and producing the entire album as well as engineering it. Side four on this double album included some of Todd's friends playing with him. Indeed, it appears at #173 on the Rolling Stone list of the greatest albums ever. It spawned Todd's remake of his own song "Hello It's Me" in a more upbeat, pop form which became an international hit along with "I Saw The Light." It was during this time period Todd also created his legendary Production stylings that became much sought after in the pop and pop rock world. He has produced LPs for legions of pop luminaries including Hall & Oats, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, The Tubes, Meatload and many many others.
Todd later formed a band called "Utopia" and release many albums with them. He went back to basics with the release of 1978's "Hermit of Mink Hollow" which spawned the top 40 hit "Can We Still Be Friends." Over the years Todd released a combination of Utopia and solo LPs including 1983's "The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect." Todd has always been considered a maverick in the pop world and this LP's release was to fullfill a contractual obligation, hence the snide title. He spent very little time on it. To fill up the track space he came in one day with a song he himself considered the biggest joke of his career called "Bang the Drum." This song has gone on to become possibly his biggest hit ever, at least from a royalties standpoint considering that many professional sports teams use it at their home games.
This brings us to last night. Joining Todd was Denny Laine on guitar and vocals (Moody Blues/Paul McCartney & Wings), Criss Cross on vocals and guitar (Sailing, New York City), Prairie Prince on drums (The Tubes), Greg Hawkes on keyboard and soundstation (The Cars) and Bo Bice on vocals and guitar (Winner of "American Idol") and finally Jesse Gress on guitar, vocals and conducting. The band was filled out by a second keyboard player, a bass player and a 7 piece horn/string section that included a harpist. The show started out with two solo tunes by Denny Laine. This was followed by two kick ass rock tunes by Bo Bice. Criss Cross did his three soft rock hits and finally Todd came out and performed three songs, two of which I've never seen him do before: "Open My Eyes," "I Saw the Light." Along with "Bang The Drum," the first half of the show was over. All very well played and a number of players would often leave the stage for various songs. Interesting.
The Second Half: This was the Sgt. Pepper show. All in all, very well done. I recently saw the Fab Faux do the exact same thing at Berklee and it was a solemn and dedicated performance and note perfect. Todd, very interestingly, acted out in a few of the tunes and after I got used to it, I rather liked what I saw. It was a completely unique way of approaching the album.
1) Sgt. Pepper Overture: Full band. Hawkes was wearing a tan Shea Jacket, bless him. Todd was wearing a red satin tunic like what was seen on the LP cover. The rest wore weird checker board outfit and funny hat. Powerful and vocally full. Extremely well done.
2) With A Little Help From My Friends: Todd, Cross, Laine all left the stage and Bo Bice sang this one with backing vocals from the bass player and Gress. Bice had trouble remembering the words and even attempted to end the song before the last verse was sung. Bass playing was note perfect and the tune otherwise rocked.
3) Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds: Todd returned dressed like a sun flower. Weird. But the song came off great. With Criss Cross also joining in on the high vocals, it came off very well. There was heavy echo and reverb on this one tune and it worked.
4) Getting Better: Again, Todd took the lead while Criss Cross left. It rocked and sounded almost as good as BeatleTracks does it.
5) Fixing A Hole: Criss Cross returned, Todd left. His incredibly high voice was probably a bit too high for this song but it flowed nicely nontheless.
6) She's Leaving Home: Again, Criss Cross took the lead vocal on this. He put on a bathrobe, held a mug and stared down at the monitor where the lyrics were taped and read verbatim from the lyrice sheet. To give you an idea of how screamingly high this man's voice is; during the part where McCartney sang Sheeeeeeeeeeee in falsetto while Lennon sang phrases in the background like, "We gave her all of our lives," and so on: Cross sang that full voice. He wasn't even remotely near his falsetto. Cross too botched some words but all in all very well done. The real harp and string section added incredible realism to this fine tune.
7) Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite: Todd came back out dressed like a Carnival Barker and really got into it. The two keyboard players were able to competently cover the melange of callipoe sounds, bass was spot on again as were the drums: very well done. Todd had on a fake mustache, fake eyebrows, a top hat and some bizarre clothing. Gesticulating like a crazy person he got it done.
8)Within You, Without You: Denny Laine finally re-emerged to sing this one. Jesse Gress just couldn't make his acoustic guitar work so the droning India sounds continued for awhile while Laine vamped with the audience explaining that he was a neighbor of George's in Esher outside of London. Finally Gress switched guitars. His axe was hooked into a stage synthesizer that made it sound like a Sitar. Prairie Prince handled all of the Indian percussion sounds with a sound pad and I admit, they pulled it off fairly well. As well, the East meets West orchestral sounds and harp stylings played out very well.
9) When I'm Sixty Four: Criss Cross returned to handle this vocal as well with the bathrobe. Well done. The one sax player played clarinet on this tune and it sounded good.
10) Lovely Rita: Went very well. I can't now remember who sang this one.
11) Good Morning, Good Morning: Todd returned dressed in a God forsaken Leisure suit (remember them?), a riculously small attache case, a pork pie hat, fake mustache and eyebrows and sang this with gusto. The sax section covered well. Lennon's aim in this tune was to draw attention to the sterile absurdity of suburban living. Todd's deeply ridiculous costume actually brought this out nicely. He would tip his hat every time they sang "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning." The whole act out nature of Todd's peformance actually grew on me as he did it. Nice Job.
12) Sgt. Pepper Reprise: The whole band came out for this and it obviously cranked. It segued nicely into the finale.
13) A Day In The Life: Criss Cross handled the acoustic guitar duties. Todd sang the lead and it was glorious. The orchestral buildup was easy with the septet orchestret and they ended the song with a thunderous chord. Well done.
Encore: There were about 300 of us in this small theater and we were clamoring for more. The band came out and played "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" back to back. Well done.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Denny Laine's vocals. He's terrific! Who knew?
Biggest Disappointment: Bo Bice's incessant ham handed posing/waving/winking at female fans. It was an utter distraction. He missed continual guitar and vocal cues. The rest of the band would look at him when he was supposed to be doing his vocal/guitar solos while he hammed it up with fans and Todd continually would rush to the mic and sing Bo's parts and play a lead riff when needed.
Final Outcome: Great show by any standard. A splendid time was guaranteed for all and we got it!!!
By John Haberstroh (Bassist for BeatleTracks) Find us at www.beatletracksband.com
Nice review - thanks. One correction, though - Bo Bice actually sang Getting Better, not Todd. Bo also sang Lovely Rita.
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Thanks for the review - I googled for reviews after seeing this show in Westbury a few nights ago and really enjoying it. I went to see Bo Bice, but came away really impressed with all the guys - especially Todd Rundgren. Wow!
I too liked the costumes once I got used to the idea. Mr Kite was hilarious!
Plus it was great to hear those Beatles tunes played live - I've loved the Beatles for years. Anyway - thanks for the review!
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