Todd Rundgren: C or D

Healing is amazing all around, one of the best albums still readily available in the bargain bin and my favorite of his after Wizard (or maybe just my favorite).

But yeah it does sound ahead of its time by a few years

Was surprised to find a copy for two bucks a while back, but I got the reissue anyway because it was cheap and had the 7 inch, which I think is essential. Plus the clear/blue vinyl looks pretty.

This years RSD will have a reissue of Liars, which I think is his best album since. Pretty similar to Healing too.

this dude just announced a show this summer in my small town. a 450-seat theater that sounds great. should i go see him?

you should, though don't expect to hear any of the classics, when I saw him it was nearly all 21st Century stuff. who knows though he changes it up a lot so maybe he is touring the classics now

If he wanted to do Liars all the way through I'd be up for that show.

fuck, yes

I just realized he’s playing in early May in Boston. Just got tickets.

I watched a couple recent live videos of his within the last six months or so and I remember thinking that the vocals sounded pretty capital r ruff but hopefully he was having an off night…he also fell flat on his face at the end of one of the tracks which was just hard to see tbh. He did spring right back up though…

Vocally or physically? Yikes

I saw him about 5 or 6 years ago, he sounded great. Dude tours a lot though so idk how he sounds night to night

Yeah I saw him 6 years ago and he mostly played new stuff I didn’t recognize. He did a medley of hits, iirc and closed with “one world” (which fucking rocked). He also played “secret society” for some reason??

Also saw the live Wizard show he did in SF in 08 or so, completely brilliant and perfect, insane amount of costume changes despite no gaps in between songs, spectacular performance, the band nailed it (kasim, prairie, young Todd clone)

Only other time I saw him was on the Arena tour and I don’t remember him playing anything before 2000 besides… “number one lowest common denominator” or something? rocked but idk kinda boring tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro9g_ZZ88xk

This is the one I was thinking of…I just browsed some other stuff from 2023 where he sounded better though (I had to be sure) so I doubt this is the usual Todd experience.

its definitely not he never tripped over a speaker any of the times I saw him

#Runt4Prez

Was wondering why he was playing Sugar Land, but then looked it up and he was opening for Daryl Hall at The Smart Centre (Todd's second time playing the venue: he opened for Yes there in 2017).

Terrific looking setlist for that '23 show:

Real Man
Love of the Common Man
It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
We Gotta Get You a Woman
Buffalo Grass
I Saw the Light
Black Maria
Unloved Children
Hello It's Me (Nazz song)
Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel
I'm So Proud (The Impressions cover)
Ooo Baby Baby (The Miracles cover)
I Want You (Marvin Gaye cover)
The Want of a Nail

Imagine being an old person in 1973 who dozed off during Carson and who suddenly woke up during this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGcqnb0LFTw

My favourite live clips from that moment are British glam bands on Top of the Pops, but that one's right up there too. He seems so aware of how ridiculous he looks--if CHiPS had done a glam episode, that's about what their costume department would have come up with--and delivers the song beautifully anyway.

well im an old person now but i saw this on the old grey whistle test when i was 17 and i thought it was a bit silly (and i was right)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgJRtI3CUdk

smash the glass guitar todd!

kinda wish Utopia's prog phase lasted a bit longer I mean "Communion with the Sun" is so fucking good

smash the glass guitar frogsbs!

going to see him tonight!

Folks: it was good

Did he do Weezer hash pipe?

no but he did the song he did with Mr. Weezer

anyway for those who are curious - vocally he was pretty good, a bit weak at first but I think he was just saving himself for the 2nd half where he did a lot more challenging stuff. not gonna spoil the setlist but he did a few absolute showstoppers which would immediately be followed by TR-i stuff, which I thought was hilarious. I mean hey, it worked, in fact I think all his post-Nearly Human material comes off way better live than on the record