Todd Rundgren

[Jurrasic Mark]

I see Todd Rundgren has a new album out "State" , has anyone heard it yet?

Saw him perform "A Wizard, A True Star" at the apollo in hammersmith which was incredible. Any fans?

I think some of his stuff is a bit "meh", but he has had more good albums. Something/Anything, Todd and A Wizard, A True Star are stand out albums.

Also a Utopia fan, having Kasim Sultan on bass helps.

I feel that Todd and Brian have quite a lot in common, both prolific producers and writers. I mean just listen to the first disk of Something/Anything, Todd played every instrument and did every vocal and produced it. Fantastic stuff.

[hypehat]

Todd is one of my favourites - Such a good craftsman and performer. His run up until Todd, a record which doesn't quite hit the weirdness button for me like Wizard does, is impeccable.

His 80's records are no slouches either, unlike several of his peers - Hermit Of Mink Hollow, A Capella and The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect are so strong, and I reckon it's because he's got such command of pop songwriting he knows exactly how to structure, produce and perform a song like Don't Hurt Yourself or Something To Fall Back On (possibly one of my favourites of his entire canon). Also, performing an entire album by sampling your voice = immensely classic, and would drive lesser mortals insane.

I don't much rate the stupid prog stuff like Utopia's early records, that stuff really doesn't grab me at all - in fact, my favourite Utopia thing might be the Beatles spoof Deface The Music, which again, shows just how innately talented Todd is at writing. Best Beatles Pastiche, imo - even better than The Rutles for the lack of sarcasm and sometimes dim jokes.

Todd rules.

[Peter Reum]

I caught him in the late Seventies in Boulder, Colorado, and it was a stunner. The guy is a great performer as well as a studio cat. He is a true musical Renaissance Man.

[Jurrasic Mark]

I agree he had some great songs in the 80's. Love the DVD from one of his live 80's concerts, its fantastic.  He certainly wasn't afraid of trying something new.

The first song of his I ever heard was his version of the Lord Chancellors Nightmare Song on the radio, from then I was hooked.

Deface The Music is like a better Rutles! (Though I do like the Rutles), quite a big prog fan so Utopia is my kind of thing, but prefer his solo efforts by far.

He is one of those people I wish I had seen in his prime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_vlLBYRvoA - All of the parts of this are great. "Proffesor Todd Rundgren"

[Summertime Blooz]

I see Todd Rundgren has a new album out "State" , has anyone heard it yet?

Saw him perform "A Wizard, A True Star" at the apollo in hammersmith which was incredible. Any fans?

I think some of his stuff is a bit "meh", but he has had more good albums. Something/Anything, Todd and A Wizard, A True Star are stand out albums.

Also a Utopia fan, having Kasim Sultan on bass helps.

I feel that Todd and Brian have quite a lot in common, both prolific producers and writers. I mean just listen to the first disk of Something/Anything, Todd played every instrument and did every vocal and produced it. Fantastic stuff.

Love love love Todd Rundgren. I think Something/Anything?, A Wizard, and Todd are 3 of the greatest albums ever made. First saw him in 77 at the Tower Theater in Philly with the 4-man Utopia unit. The new album is done in an electronica/dance vein similar to some of the songs from Liars. It's mostly a very modern sounding record. I like it but it has fans divided. I got a chance to meet him once and he talked about how he might be producing an album for Brian Wilson. That album would turn out to be  Brian Wilson '88- unfortunately Todd didn't get the gig. That could have been crazy good instead of what was released.

[Jurrasic Mark]

Am i the only one who didn't see him in the 70's?? I wasn't born so I have an excuse at least!

Well I think I will pick it up as everything he has done is worth a listen, much like the beach boys catalogue, some things might not be as strong as their best but still significantly better than most.

Wow, that is a Brian album I would love to have heard! Todd + Brian would be an amazing combination. Todd's cover of Good Vibrations is pretty much dead on.

[Dudd]

It took me about a year to warm to Something/Anything, but it's happened and I think I'm obsessed. I've tried A Cappella (which was incredibly impressive), the Utopia Anthology comp (good cheesy power pop - isn't Love in Action just awesome), and Hermit of Mink Hollow (the synths were dated, but the songs were solid), but my absolute favourite has been A Wizard, A True Star - my god, is that a mind-bending listen. Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel is probably my favourite song of his.

[SMiLE-addict]

Something/Anything is one of my favorite albums.

[Rocky Raccoon]

I've seen him twice as part of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band.  Great stage presence, very goofy and eccentric.  Obviously the focus was more on Ringo but he did three songs each both times.  "Hello It's Me," "I Saw the Light," and of course "Bang On the Drum All Day," a must for a Ringo concert.  The second time I saw them, he did the Utopia song "Love is the Answer" instead of Hello It's Me.  Anyways, those are fun shows and Todd's energy adds a lot to them.  I've never seen him on his own but I totally would.  He's written some great songs, "A Dream Goes On Forever" is my personal favorite.

[hapman]

I was browsing an archived (cca 2000) version of Todd's website the other day and guess what I found? An excerpt from his (eventually never released) autobiography about going out with a slightly weird Brian Wilson to a jazz-rock gig in the Troubadour. Obviously, Brian isn't a fan of fusion music. Also some observations about Brian being ahead of his time in terms of "recontextualized" music, whatever that means. Here.

[Dudd]

Excellent find!

Speaking of which, I don't know if you've seen the intro for his site now, but...

[feelsflow]

Judd,  Did you figure out to go deeper into the site?  I've tried many times.  It just seems to be an intro loop.

[alf wiedersehen]

There is no going deeper. It's sort of a joke between us because it's boring, it's terrible, it's long, and it goes nowhere.
His website has been that way for years now. It's one of my favorite things ever.

[feelsflow]

Something/Nothing happened back in 2005 when PatroNet failed.  Todd seems to always be broke (why? - he keeps his catalogue in constant re-release around the world) and doing side jobs, like the dead-end Cars live- I never listen to it except the three new songs, those were good.  I don't like Ringo enough to go to one of his shows no matter who he brings along.  The shows Todd did of Beatles tunes with Joe Jackson is a different story.  Would have loved to see one of those.  Or any of the "Todd plays an album" shows - man those were a tough-to-get ticket.  The DVDs will do.  And I've seen him about twenty-five times, some of which made it to CD.  Liars was very good, and the DVD Liars live was excellent, filmed up in my neck of the woods - the Egg, Albany.  I'll buy anything he wants to throw us on DVD.  I have all his records up to Arena except for Up Against It - heard it, and it's very great, but those sellers wanting over $50 for it used can...shove it.  Some of it is on 2nd Wind - I saw three of the five shows that produced that.  The DVD doesn't show it, but every one of those shows were filmed in there entirety.  He filmed a lot of his shows.  Judd and hypehat mentioned A Cappella.  If you can find the old can't stop running live box-set, there is a great complete show (2CD) from the tour.  He had cameras rolling for the show I saw.  He continues to mine his vault, so maybe we will get more soon.  Some of his films are not in the best of shape, such as the Utopia show in Columbus, Ohio 1980.  The one they put out on VHS from the 1982 tour is still MIA.  That was incredible.

I passed on State (tho I've watched and enjoyed the live album that came with it), Todd's Johnson (a wtf moment), and (re) Production.  Did get the Johnson live CD/DVD - that's excellent.  The first time he's ever played "Kiddie Boy" to my knowledge.  Nice to see him give in and play more of the really old stuff.  I asked him once why he wouldn't play more Nazz or stuff from his first three solo albums.  He said, "It's just so before the flood."

Got the BBC Sessions from last year (3CD/1DVD) - that is very much worth having if you are on the fence about it.

I almost picked a Nazz/Todd record for the Listening thread, but figure I can write about anything I want on this thread.

edit:  Thanks to krabklaw I just caught a spelling mistake.  

[Dudd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItnOpjzMaJw

This is magnificent.


Also trying out Nearly Human right now - it's pretty nice.

[hapman]

His new album, Global, is going to be released in April - a fusion of rock, soul and electronica, according to his label. Sounds like a continuation of State style-wise. Good news, bad news? You decide 

[Summertime Blooz]

His new album, Global, is going to be released in April - a fusion of rock, soul and electronica, according to his label. Sounds like a continuation of State style-wise. Good news, bad news? You decide 

Great news! I'm looking forward to something stronger than State though. Liars proved he is still capable of making a great album.

[Summertime Blooz]

Todd fans: Global and No Pier pressure are both scheduled for release on April 7th. If you got them both at the same time Which would you listen to first? It would be Todd for me.

[hapman]

Todd fans: Global and No Pier pressure are both scheduled for release on April 7th. If you got them both at the same time Which would you listen to first? It would be Todd for me.

Todd for me as well. With a new Brian album, you more or less know what kind of music to expect. With Todd, you never can tell: it could be either one of the best albums of the year, or a total disaster. He's always been an unpredictable guy, but that's why I like him!

[Please delete my account]

Just got my first Rundgren album- Something/Anything. Amazing stuff.

[Summertime Blooz]

Just got my first Rundgren album- Something/Anything. Amazing stuff.

Oh to be discovering Something Anything for the first time. It really doesn't get any better than that. I envy you. There are so many great songs on that album that it doesn't seem fair to  other people that have made albums. Honestly, the only thing that can compare is Pet Sounds, but S/A? is a friggin double album! When I consider his follow-up to this masterpiece, I'm reminded why he's been one of my favorites for 40 years.

[elnombre]

He produced Bat Out Of Hell, and that's good enough for me.

Also 'Hello, It's Me' by The Nazz is one of my favourites.

[Dudd]

Just got my first Rundgren album- Something/Anything. Amazing stuff.

Cool! I don't know why it took me so long to get into that album... I guess the tracklist was overkill. "I Saw the Light" is, to my ears, a totally perfect pop song. Wondeful writing, gorgeous vocals, and I can never get enough of those goshdarn drums.
Are you thinking of trying any more of his soon?

[leggo of my ego]

Something/Nothing happened back in 2005 when PatroNet failed.  Todd seems to always be broke (why? - he keeps his catalogue in constant re-release around the world) and doing side jobs, like the dead-end Cars live- I never listen to it except the three new songs, those were good.  I don't like Ringo enough to go to one of his shows no matter who he brings along.  The shows Todd did of Beatles tunes with Joe Jackson is a different story.  Would have loved to see one of those.  Or any of the "Todd plays an album" shows - man those were a tough-to-get ticket.  The DVDs will do.  And I've seen him about twenty-five times, some of which made it to CD.  Liars was very good, and the DVD Liars live was excellent, filmed up in my neck of the woods - the Egg, Albany.  I'll buy anything he wants to throw us on DVD.  I have all his records up to Arena except for Up Against It - heard it, and it's very great, but those sellers wanting over $50 for it used can...shove it.  Some of it is on 2nd Wind - I saw three of the five shows that produced that.  The DVD doesn't show it, but every one of those shows were filmed in there entirety.  He filmed a lot of his shows.  Judd and hypehat mentioned A Cappella.  If you can find the old can't stop running live box-set, there is a great complete show (2CD) from the tour.  He had cameras rolling for the show I saw.  He continues to mine his vault, so maybe we will get more soon.  Some of his films are not in the best of shape, such as the Utopia show in Columbus, Ohio 1980.  The one they put out on VHS from the 1982 tour is still MIA.  That was incredible.

I passed on State (tho I've watched and enjoyed the live album that came with it), Todd's Johnson (a wtf moment), and (re) Production.  Did get the Johnson live CD/DVD - that's excellent.  The first time he's ever played "Kiddy Boy" to my knowledge.  Nice to see him give in and play more of the really old stuff.  I asked him once why he wouldn't play more Nazz or stuff from his first three solo albums.  He said, "It's just so before the flood."

Got the BBC Sessions from last year (3CD/1DVD) - that is very much worth having if you are on the fence about it.

I almost picked a Nazz/Todd record for the Listening thread, but figure I can write about anything I want on this thread. 

Rundgren prefers to put the first 4 LPs (you cant count "Nazz III" it was just part of a scrapped 2LP Nazz project) he was involved in behind him, yes. He might say they are "before the flood" but his reasons are deeper than that and that's him being dismissive of the subject by making a silly quip and moving on.

I'd say Todd would rather "forget all about it" as the demise of Nazz wasn't a pleasant thing -- Listen to Laura Nyro's "Eli and the 13th Confession" and you get  glimpse of how hung up he was on her and that music. I haven't jotted down "song for song" comparisons but they exist, "Old Time Lovingmaking" pulls heavily from a track on "Eli". You can discover these for yourselves, if you are familiar with the Nazz ballads it will jump right out at you.

Now, I really like those first four LPs and I am glad that he recorded them but the aforementioned Nazz "2", the Fungo Bat double LP would have still sealed their fate as a Rock band if released the way Todd wanted it.  Stewkey must have just been desperate for cash to overdub his vocals over Todd's for the Nazz III LP, those went straight into the cut-out bins too.

As sweet and melodic as Todd's tributes to Nyro were they were not going sell records for Nazz and the other guys knew it and Todd wasn't happy and he left the band, Nazz actually continued and toured for while and maybe Stewkey hoped the release of Nazz III would bolster their popularity but thats just my opinion (like most of the post) .

And this infatuation carried over to the "Runt" LP and somewhat to the following "Ballad of Todd Rundgren" also. I think he is probably embarrassed of the recordings he did in this period of his career. He certainly behaves as this is the case. Maybe he feels a little guilt at breaking up his band? Maybe not and doubtless due to Todd's nature of always evolving that would have happened sooner or later anyway.

I do think its funny in a way that although he wants to put these LPs on a shelf and avoid playing the tracks live they contain musical figures / ideas that Todd would incorporate into his recordings FOR YEARS to come - again you need to be an avid and careful listener to pick up on the details and recognize the repetitions and patterns. So, in reality Todd Rundgren has never left this part of his past completely behind, but he does a very good job of concealing it.

 I sincerely hope someday he might change his mind and open up to performing the music from "Runt" and "Ballad" - I think these are some of his best efforts and the rock n roll songs are as good as the ballads. I could take or leave most of the Nazz songs, some of them would be interesting to hear played live on modern instruments and today's audio quality. What are some Nazz songs you would enjoy to hear Todd play in concert? I think I would get a kick out of:

Open My Eyes, Back of Your Mind, Magic Me & Under the Ice

[Summertime Blooz]

He has performed a few songs in recent years from the early day. At special orchestral concerts  he 's done We Gotta Get You A Woman and Wailing Wall which are on the  second CD of 'State's deluxe edition. When he toured to support 'Todd Rundgren's Johnson' he would do Nazz's 'Kiddie Boy'. 'Open My Eyes' has been in and out of the setlist forever. But, hell yes, if he did a tour of that early material I would be sure to see it if at all possible. I thought I'd mention  Todd's debt to the songwriting of Carole King  in those early years and not just Nyro. Listen to 'Birthday Carol' (a not too subtle pun) and listen for the middle section which is outright homage to King. Of course he also mentions "Laura" (who he was friends with) in 'Baby Let's Swing', his tribute to her.