It believe it was she that was with Todd during the home invasion incident.
― The Ballad of Mel Cooley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:23 (three years ago) link
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.
I never knew this but I always got the impression from both that and the '82 s/t that they were just trying to reverse-engineer a radio hit. it all reminds me a bit of library music...there's kind of a cynicism to it. when people point out that "Hammer in my Heart" sounds like Devo it's like yeah...it sounds like 1982 Devo, when they were kind of parodying themselves
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:31 (three years ago) link
Yeah, this is an interesting thread. Faithful is perhaps the less calculating side of this, in that I think it's a meditation on faithfulness to your inspirations and fans (which are also an inspiration).
One of the things that always struck me about those songs on the first side is how despite the often slavish recreations of the originals there are things about them that diverge from the originals in peculiar, surprising or possibly careless ways. For instance, for all the consideration that went into the arrangement of "Good Vibrations" the chords on the bridge are wrong, or at least different. Or the funky clavinet on Happenings. As a listening experience, it's a weird combination of being tossed off and super detail-oriented.
It's not such a great leap to see what he did on this album as a distillation of what he was doing throughout his career -- using other people's styles as jumping off points for his own forays. Sometimes, it's really on-the-nose -- name checking Laura Nyro or re-writing "Eleanor Rigby." But once he got to Utopia, he seemed to consciously use this skill to try and further their commercial fortunes.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:43 (three years ago) link
Ok! Let's move on to the top five albums ...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Hermit_of_mink_hallow.jpg#5 - 381 points - 13 votes - 1 first place voteTodd Rundgren - Hermit of Mink Hollow (1978)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/Todd_1974.jpg #4 - 401 points - 13 votes - 2 first place votesTodd Rundgren - Todd (1974)
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:45 (three years ago) link
Todd was my #1, BTW. It's got everything I like from him: tunes, humor, synthesizer experimentation. It's also extremely easy to listen to.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:53 (three years ago) link
yeah I think it kind of gets slept on - it has a reputation as being the strung-out, bloated version of Wizard, but it's proggier, more exploratory, and really only just a few minutes longer.
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 14:57 (three years ago) link
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71bkTtw5GRL._SL1380_.jpg #3 - 439 points - 15 votesTodd Rundgren - Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (1971)
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:07 (three years ago) link
(yikes, sorry about the size of that image)
think your thread title may have influenced people
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:09 (three years ago) link
So Number one is going to be a tie?
― The Ballad of Mel Cooley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:10 (three years ago) link
Oh wait
todd is fucking incredible
― brimstead, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:30 (three years ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/Somethinganythingcover.jpg#2 - 548 points - 16 votes - 4 first place votesTodd Rundgren - Something/Anything? (1972)
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:31 (three years ago) link
And the obvious winner ...
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71D5X9oprAL._SL1067_.jpg#1 - 666 points - 17 votesTodd Rundgren - Todd Rundgren's Johnson (2011)
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:32 (three years ago) link
clearly The New Cars' It's Alive! was robbed
― ufo, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:34 (three years ago) link
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Rundgren_wizard.png #1 - 619 points - 17 votes - 8 first place votesTodd Rundgren - A Wizard, a True Star (1973)
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:36 (three years ago) link
Interestingly, AWATS was also the only record to make all 17 ballots that were submitted.
Full list:
A Wizard, a True Star 619 Something/Anything? 548 Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren 439 Todd 401 Hermit of Mink Hollow 381 Faithful 289 Runt 279 Healing 252 Initiation 158 A Cappella 132 The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect 122 Todd Rundgren's Utopia 104 Liars 97 Adventures in Utopia 93 Nearly Human 91 Nazz 87 Runddans 72 Nazz Nazz 64 Disco Jets 50 Swing to the Right 45 Oops! Wrong Planet 45 Live At Hammersmith Odeon ‘75 33 2nd Wind 28 With A Twist 25 POV 25 Utopia 24 Oblivion 24 Another Live 23 The Individualist 22
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:37 (three years ago) link
synergy — DJ Trouble is playing "Love Is the Answer" on WFMU right now.
― Motoroller Scampotron (WmC), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:44 (three years ago) link
was I the only vote for The Individualist
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:48 (three years ago) link
Todd should have saved the title 2nd Wind for his album of Billy Joel remakes.
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:50 (three years ago) link
Lol
― The Ballad of Mel Cooley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:55 (three years ago) link
As the clock chimes 12, it is time to move on to tracks!
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 15:59 (three years ago) link
Part 1: Tracks21 ballots
#50 - 54 points - 5 votesTodd Rundgren - "Tiny Demons" - from Healing, 1981https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXu2-l2RRcE
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:00 (three years ago) link
#49 - 55 points - 5 votesTodd Rundgren - "The Night the Carousel Burned Down" - from Something/Anything?, 1972
#48 - 59 points - 4 votesTodd Rundgren - "When the Shit Hits the Fan / Sunset Blvd." - from A Wizard, a True Star, 1973
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.
As a musician and instructor, it seems like an incredible exercise. As a listener, I've never felt the need to revisit it. "Love of the Common Man" was my #1 track, though.
Voted for "When the Shit..." as well. Love that one.
And yeah, Wizard would def be my top album.
― Running Wild in the 21st Century (Sund4r), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:04 (three years ago) link
Todd Rundgren - "When the Shit Hits the Fan / Sunset Blvd." - from A Wizard, a True Star, 1973
oh man this is way too low
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:06 (three years ago) link
#47 - 59 points - 4 votesTodd Rundgren - "You Cried Wolf" - from Hermit of Mink Hollow, 1978
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:25 (three years ago) link
#46 - 63 points - 4 votesTodd Rundgren - "Time Heals" - from Healing, 1981
#45 - 63 points - 5 votes Todd Rundgren - "Hurting For You" - from Hermit of Mink Hollow, 1978
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:26 (three years ago) link
I adore "Hurting For You" -- I love the bgd vox on this ... the way they intermesh with the electric piano and dry drum sound is perfection.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:28 (three years ago) link
#44 - 69 points - 5 votesTodd Rundgren - "Slut" - from Something/Anything?, 1972
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:33 (three years ago) link
(voters, please note the number of points this track got)
https://www.nj.com/resizer/eCiYsthFiNMY_GohuZuZ4DJHLZw=/450x0/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/advancelocal/SZQUINZPTVG4TIXXAZINYXB6TY.jpeg
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:35 (three years ago) link
nice
― J. Sam, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:42 (three years ago) link
time heals is so fucking classicSometimes I don’t know how to feel is MY JAMCarousel is fabulous, trippy
― brimstead, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
lol wait it was When The Shit that placed. FUCKING CLASSIC!
It was near the bottom of my ballot. Hooky, rocking tune. Not sure if the lyrics should be read as misogynist/demeaning or pro-sex/anti-slut-shaming, or how it came off 50 years ago.xps
― Running Wild in the 21st Century (Sund4r), Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
spectacular synth solo in that one, it’s like the return of the flamingo from earlier
― brimstead, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:48 (three years ago) link
(When the shit hits the fan)
I don’t even f/w the last side of SA these days
#43 - 70 points - 3 votesUtopia - "Crybaby" - from Oblivion, 1983
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:00 (three years ago) link
#42 - 73 points - 4 votesTodd Rundgren - "Is It My Name?" - from A Wizard, a True Star, 1973
#41 - 77 points - 6 votesTodd Rundgren - "All the Children Sing" - from Hermit of Mink Hollow, 1978
"All the Children Sing" and "Turn Me On" by the Tubes (form roughly the same period) have a great high-school-musical quality to them.
― henry s, Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link
I didn't vote for "Is It My Name?" but the rawness of tracks like that on AWATS is a big draw to that record. Hammersmith Odeon '75 is really the closest he ever came to that sound again.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:07 (three years ago) link
Two from my list in this in this first 10, but these are all fine except "Crybaby".
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 25 March 2021 17:12 (three years ago) link