Todd Rundgren is one of several well-known musicians who are taking part in the 2022 edition of the “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today: A Tribute to The Beatles” tour, which kicked off last week.
While the 2019 edition of the trek showcased songs from The Beatles’ 1967 self-titled album, aka The White Album, this tour focuses on 1965’s Rubber Soul and 1966’s Revolver.
Todd, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, tells ABC Audio that while he’s a fan of Rubber Soul, Revolver is his very favorite album by the Fab Four.
“When they did Revolver…[they] actually redefin[ed] the [rock] genre,” Rundgren notes, “adding tape loops and backwards guitar solos and things like that, all sorts of studio techniques that nobody had used before.”
Todd says when it came time to choose songs to perform on the trek, he immediately “nabbed” two Revolver tunes that were among The Beatles’ first forays into psychedelia — “She Said, She Said” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
“I said, ‘No one else is doing those but me,'” Rundgren recalls with a laughs. “No one else has taken as many drugs as me in this band, and therefore I qualify.”
Joining Todd on the outing are Christopher Cross, founding Moody Blues and Wings member Denny Laine, Badfinger‘s Joey Molland and former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff. Each artist performs several Beatles tunes, as well as a couple of the best-known tunes from their own careers.
Rundgren says the tour members’ own hits actually “get an equally great response” as the Fab Four songs during the show.
The tour continues tonight in Red Bank, New Jersey, and winds down on March 27 in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit GlassOnyonPR.com for a full list of dates.
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