Todd On Monday : The Walrus Was Todd

I believe "A Walk Down Abbey Road" was the brainchild of Alan Parsons, a successful pop star, but also a staff engineer at EMI Studios, with engineering credits on such records as "Dark Side Of The Moon," and both "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be." It also reeks of inspiration from Ringo Starr and his "All-Starr" tours, born approximately 8 years earlier, where Starkey, our fearless leader, and some carefully chosen super and not so super stars, banded together for a night of hits from each of its members, as well as a sprinkling of Beatles' tunes. In the case of this tour, it was a full set of both.

The tour in 2001 featured Parsons, Todd Rundgren, John Entwistle, David Pack of Ambrosia, as well as band support from Godfrey Townshend (no relation) on guitars and Steve Luongo on drums. It had "phone it in and pick up your check" written all over it. But instead, audience members were treated to 2 plus hours of some great musicians having a genuine blast on stage. At least that's how I remember it.

It's easy to yak all over this, but if you leave your contemptuous snorts at the door, you may actually enjoy yourself, especially such highlights as Ann Wilson's ballsy version of "I'm Down," or hearing Todd's distinctive backing vocals on a handful of Ambrosia hits. (Guilty pleasures for some, genuinely wonderful tunes for me.) As for the Beatles' material, this isn't a set of note for note recreations, and not all of it works. The Fab Faux cornered the market on that. It is a lot of fun though, and Alan Parsons' vocal debut on "Blackbird," while possessing some charm, is closer to Paul Heinreid than Paul McCartney.

Speaking of contemptuous snorts, as most Todd fans know, Mr. Rundgren's caustic wit often rises to the surface when he gets a bit twitchy. For this particular show, which was recorded in Saratoga on June 19, 2001, he is on fire. Hilarious, actually, making some of the banter in-between, just as entertaining. Of course, if you're not a fan of any of these people, y'all have to come back tomorrow now, ya heah!

DISC ONE
magical mystery tour
open my eyes
eye in the sky
crazy on you
my wife
hello it's me
don't answer me
the biggest part of me
how much i feel
bang the drum all day
the real me
games people play
dreamboat annie
barracuda
my generation

DISC TWO
back in the ussr
lady madonna
im down
the fool on the hill
while my guitar gently weeps
here comes the sun
lucy in the sky with diamonds
you've got to hide your love away
everybody's got something to hide...
revolution
day tripper
i want to hold your hand
blackbird
rain
let it be
ticket to ride
hey jude
birthday
golden slumbers/carry that weight
the end

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DISC TWO ZIP