Sometimes I Don't Know What to Poll: ILM Artist Poll #107 - Todd Rundgren - RESULTS

Interesting that I was the only first place vote for The Dolls s/t.

I like that record better than the Grand Funk Railroad album, but I feel he did more for them than the Dolls, so I ranked it higher in this list.

Full list of productions -- apologies as I didn't put the #1s in the spreadsheet but just belt-and-suspender'd counting them when putting together the results:

XTC - Skylarking 502
New York Dolls - New York Dolls 281
Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now 269
Hall & Oates - War Babies 256
Patti Smith Group - Wave 227
Badfinger - Straight Up 225
Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell 148
Cheap Trick - Next Position Please 138
Sparks/Halfnelson - Sparks/Halfnelson 119
Steve Hillage - L 110
The Band - Stage Fright 106
Grand Funk Railroad - We're An American Band 104
The Tubes - Remote Control 94
The Pursuit of Happiness - Love Junk 59
New York Dolls - Cause I Sez So 56
Laura Nyro - Mother’s Spiritual 56
Jill Sobule - Things Here Are Different 45
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard/A True Star 40
The Lords of the New Church - Killer Lords 33
Bourgeois Tagg - Yoyo 33
Utopia - Oblivion 30
The Lords Of The New Church - Is Nothing Sacred? 28
Badfinger - Ass 28
Bad Religion - The New America 28
Tom Robinson Band - TRB Two 26
Utopia - Deface the Music 24
The Pursuit of Happiness - One-Sided Story 22
Shaun Cassidy - Wasp 22

Who's up for some albums?

Albums!

*raises hand*

Ok, quickly, before we pivot to that -- a word that Skylarking ...

Like a lot of voters, Skylarking was my #1 but it also kind of reminds me that Todd's production "style" isn't really a style (nothing else in his catalogue really sounds like it) so much as an approach. He clearly goes in to these sessions with the goal of getting the record done -- you can see why he was in high demand as a producer for so long: he got records finished on time and on budget. He had a knack for getting bands on the charts who hadn't gotten there before or in a very long time -- Psych Furs, XTC, Meat Loaf, maybe even Badfinger, who didn't really have a solid record start-to-finish until Straight Up. It doesn't always work -- clearly, he couldn't get Laura Nyro to work quickly and as much as I like the Cheap Trick record he did (including "Heaven's Falling" which he wrote), the album stiffed.

But in general, Todd pushed artists to do something a little different than they had done to that point. Not only does that seem to run counter to the whole "just get the record done on time" mandate he was under, but from what I can tell, even when it created a little tension in the studio, it resulted in a better record that the artist tended to look back fondly on. And it allowed him to work with an incredibly diverse collection of talent that almost defies categorization.

Anyway, that's Todd's legacy as a producer in my book -- and yet another reason I love him, even when he's producing records by artists I don't care for.

(ABOUT Skylarking, that is ...)

Ok, onto albums!

Part 2: Albums
17 ballots

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Swing_To_The_Right.jpg
#20 - 45 points - 2 votes
Utopia - Swing to the Right (1982)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61iMR12CloL._SX522_.jpg
#19 - 50 points - 2 votes
Utopia - Disco Jets (rec. 1976, rel. 2012)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/Nazz_Nazz.jpg
#18 - 64 points - 2 votes - 1 first place vote
Nazz - Nazz Nazz (1969)

Haven't heard any of these three! I'll comment later tonight.

Glad I helped #20 and #19 to chart. Politics and goofing around. Always room for a bit of both.

wow wonder who voted Nazz Nazz #1

I completely forgot about that Disco Jets album but it's pretty entertaining. definitely one of those 'way better than it looks' sorta albums

Swing to the Right is solid!

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5929ad0f9d034d5c69bf42d9/1:1/w_320/76185d18.jpg
#17 - 72 points - 3 votes
Todd Rundgren/Emil Nikolaisen/Hans-Peter Lindstrøm - Runddans (2015)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/Nazz_%28Nazz_album_-_cover_art%29.png
#16 - 87 points - 3 votes
Nazz - Nazz (1968)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91KrePNESOL._SX522_.jpg
#15 - 91 points - 3 votes - 1 first place vote
Todd Rundgren - Nearly Human (1989)  

I figured Nearly Human might be higher - it might be my favourite 1980s Rundgren album. Parallel Lines is very good.

Runddans probably one that would be higher if anyone heard it. it kind of got buried behind Global, which was much less interesting.

I expected to vote for Runddans but when I went back to it I found it to be pretty unfocused. I couldn’t argue it’s better than the best of Todd’s 70s and 80s output. There was a marvellous remix EP that the label spun off Runddans featuring The Boredoms’ EYE, Tim Gane & Sean O’Hagan, and Erol Alkan - but it didn’t feel right voting for any of those in Tracks either: a step too far removed from Todd.

that's part of the charm imo - it's like an updated and more interesting version of "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire". it's only got a few real memorable bits (the "put your arms around me" part, the wanked-up guitar solo, and that glitched out phone conversation) but I always have a blast listening to it

Co-sign. I loved Runndans -- in particular how after, like, 12 or 13 minutes, just as it achieves this cosmic perfection with the ecstatic guitar solo he throws the thing into a blender and chops it up to smithereens before moving on to something else. It's like this perfect metaphor for his career.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31V6BREYPBL.jpg
#14 - 93 points - 4 votes
Utopia - Adventures in Utopia (1979)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ca/Toddrundgren_liars.jpg
#13 - 97 points - 3 votes
Todd Rundgren - Liars (2004)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71QuHlagT9L._SX522_.jpg
#12 - 104 points - 4 votes
Todd Rundgren's Utopia - Todd Rundgren's Utopia (1974)

I am on record about Liars -- it was my #2, which felt right to me as I really like probably all but two of the tracks on it (and enjoy those fine anyway). I also think it is easily the best of his Todd-in-a-Box all computer productions.

Adventures is, like, the polar opposite of Runddans - it couldn’t be more focused, even if that focus is on airplay and arena tours. Comfort food from first to last.

Voted for TR’s Utopia as well. At one point, every song was on the long list for my Tracks ballot, although I rowed back in the end.

Adventures in Utopia was supposedly the soundtrack to an imaginary TV show -- Kasim Sulton said they were thinking of having a cartoon series and that Todd had a script he'd written he was pitching to people, with them as computer scientists and "fabulous gadgets."

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qjcVauQkL.jpg
#11 - 122 points - 5 votes
Todd Rundgren - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect (1983)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41iTox0bq2L.jpg
#10 - 132 points - 5 votes
Todd Rundgren - A Cappella (1985)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Initiation_todd_rundgren.jpg
#9 - 158 points - 6 votes
Todd Rundgren - Initiation (1975)

Initiation 2 lowww

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Healing_todd_rundgren.jpg
#8 - 252 points - 9 votes
Todd Rundgren - Healing (1981)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Rundgren_Runt_Cover.jpg
#7 - 279 points - 10 votes
Runt - Runt (1970)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Faithful_todd.jpg
#6 - 289 points - 12 votes
Todd Rundgren - Faithful (1976)

It just hit me that we're doing a top 20 albums countdown for a single artist.

(Only did a tracks ballot myself. I am a comparative dilettante.)

Yep – I thought about how many to roll out but given the diversity of the ballots and massiveness of his output, 20 felt very doable.

Yeah, zero shade intended tbc. Just marvelling at the immensity and diversity of his catalogue.

I'm not sure I ever listened to all of Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect and had always been a bit wary. However, after I listened to Runt. The Ballad on Spotify, the player went straight to "Influenza" and I was surprised by how likeable it was.

I like Initiation and the first Utopia a lot - they were well-represented on my ballot.

Here’s what I’m thinking:

Leave the last four albums for tomorrow, so anyone who wants to catch up tonight can and still not miss all the fun. Then, the first half of the tracks rollout tomorrow after that finishes and then the rest of the tracks for early-ish Friday.

How does that sound, fellow Todd-ites?

Assuming there isn't some huge upset in the top 5, I voted for every album in the top 10 except for Faithful and A Capella, both of which have one song I love and a lot of stuff whose appeal is more hypothetical than musical. I am, however, pleased that the top 10 countdown includes an album with a song where the singer gets his jaw nailed open by an ogre, which I believe is a first-time occurrence in an ILM poll.

the yardbirds cover on faithful is AWESOME. the others are completely unnecessary but really well executed and enjoyable to me. i have nothing bad to say about side two, that's a solid block of quality todd there, imo.

I've always thought there was something radical about an established artist releasing an album (well, half an album) consisting of by-the-numbers cover versions. Like, no matter how experienced you are you can always gain something by attempting to see through somebody else's eyes. But yeah, maybe more fruitful to the artist than the listener.

its definitely cool in a "he can do everything your favorite band can do" way. every song he covers there was known for being an intricate studio production, I imagine some of the original artists wondered how he did it. on the other hand they're so close to the originals I can't imagine why anyone would want to listen to it more than once. the second side is really great though - "Love of the Common Man" is kind of the perfect power pop song. iirc Utopia is the backing band there so it kind of foreshadows stuff like Oops! Wrong Planet

It's typically perverse that what could have been his return-to-pop album gets diluted by the 60s covers stunt. Still, there's something out-of-focus or laboured about side two of Faithful as well, although I know it's a favourite of many.

Like he's run so many marathons over the previous three years, he's out of practice with sprinting.

I was flipping through The Book of Rock Lists from 1981, and Todd places on both the "Worst Teeth" and "Tallest Rock Star" lists. He walked by me at a record store once, and I doubt he's over six foot. I haven't seen his teeth, however.

before you get too far along…a few notes on the records above that I have most bought in the past several years, many years after my todd period…

1. the Myers book revealed to me the existence of Disco Jets, which I got in 2017… I cannot stress to anyone who's participated in NTI's poll who have not listened to do so post haste! It is delightful…the CB radio craze! Bicentennial mania! Light disco! But also you see that Todd was aware of Blow by Blow and Wired and probly lots of fusion…

2. When I went to the Utopia show in 2018, they did "rock Love" which I was absolutely floored by…how could I have never known about this song, our hero's bid for DOR immortality? Cuz I had digested Oops, TR's Utopia and the late 80s Rhino GH by 1991 and pretty much thought that was gonna be it for me and Utopia.

So I got Adventures in 2018, concluded that its better than Oops, and was then reminded of Myer's passage as to how Todd designed each song to be a rearranged version of a big corporate rock hit. "the Very Last time" (which I never liked) is indeed modeled on "More than a Feeling," but I can't quite get a fix what the others are supposed to be: is "Rock Love" based on "I was Made for Lovin' You"? Have no idea for "Shot in the Dark" or "You Make Me Crazy" (these two are the best Kasim and Willie that be) although Myers hears the Cars in the latter, and Fleetwood Mac in "Set me Free" (which I don't like).

In any case, it is curious that after Ra oddly seemed to persist with prog past like 75 and after Oops had no prog opuses, they put two on this record, "Caravan" and the "road to Utopia." What was the commercial consideration as such? Like, going for that Rush money?

But after he destroyed this record's momentum with Deface, it didn't matter that he was like "OK, we're gonna do new wave now!" "No, we're gonna do Mutt lange-ish shit now!" He was a rock figure who wanted to top his biggest soft rock successes and who had a huge role in one of the biggest rock records of the late 70s, and so one wouldn't blame him for saying "I can do this just as well as Journey/Styx/Boston or Devo/Oingo Boingo or indeed the Tubes…" but it just didn't take… I love that he tried so many different guises for Utopia, mind…

well he does have horse teeth…or he did…he like Roger Waters has become much better looking past like 55 than his peak years as a badly dressed, ungainly rock guy bedding the likes of Bebe Buell, Karen Darvin and god knows how many incredibly beautiful women of the 1970s… you also cannot overlook how an uncomplimentary reference in those book of rock lists reflects the extent to which Dave Marsh dislikes an artist, how poorly they compare to bruce springsteen (the above mentioned Darvin, the mother of todd's two eldest sons, both minor league ball players, was previously sprisngteen's chick")…