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I always thought of Todd Rundgren as a bit of a genre tourist. But after a bit of thought I realized that being a tourist implies that you have a home to go back to. And the more that I listen to Rundgren's extensive catalog I'm figuring out that that isn't the case with him. No, Rundgren is a genre hobo, a genre transient, an oldtymie genre tramp riding them rails and stopping in whatever town that catches his fancy.

This time it's The Beatles. The cover, obviously, is the first tip-off and from the opening cut "I Just Want To Touch You"s Merseybeat to "Everybody Else Is Wrong"s magical mystery tour, it's all Beatles, all the time. Even though the title might imply it, this isn't parody or satire in the vein of The Rutles. This is a heartfelt "lettre d'amour" to a band he clearly loves. It's played straight, using all the familiar Fab Four touchstones as building blocks. Anyone with a passing knowledge of The Beatles is going to get the references. As far as this kind of thing goes, it's a fun bit of pop and I'm personally thankful that it's not done as a goof as it helps with the replay value.

If someone is looking for something similar to compare it to, this pre-dates XTCs Dukes of Stratosphear by a good 4-5 years, but it's more or less the same kind of deal, with the same sort of quality control in what's in the grooves.