TODD

"Worlds of tomorrow, life without sorrow. Take it because it's yours, sons of 1984"

Less than a year after the magnificent "A wizard, A true star", Todd Rundgren returned with his second double LP release. If "Wizard.." had shown that Todd was looking to push the boundaries, including delving deeply into prog territories, "Todd" takes a further giant step along that path. Here we have a diverse selection of experimental music, ballads, melodic pop and a host of other style all blended into a fine package. While the album is not as crammed as previous offerings, the side lengths varying between 14 and 18 minutes, there is still well over an hour of top quality material. On the downside, the rather uninspired mug-shot on the sleeve must have put at least a few people off investigating!

The brief instrumental "How about a little fanfare" gets us off to the perfect start, with a burst of distorted speaking and off beat music. "I think you know" offers us a deceptively tasteful light ballad before merging into the experimental "The spark of life". By this time, Todd has discovered the full potential of the synthesiser which he proceeds to exploit on this appealing instrumental. The magnificent 2 minutes of "An Elpee's Worth of Toons" would have fitted right in on side one of "A wizard.." as would the equally brief "A dream goes on forever" which follows. In one of his more bizarre twists, Todd closes the first side with "Lord Chancellor's Nightmare", an odd cover of a Gilbert & Sullivan song from their opera "Lolanthe".

Side two of the album, which is the shortest at just over 14 minutes, contains just three tracks. "Drunken blue rooster" is an onomatopoeic instrumental along the lines of the Stranglers "Waltzinblack". "The last ride" reverts to the more traditional ballad style of Todd, his vocals being passionate against a sympathetic instrumental arrangement including some fine soprano sax. "Everybody's going to heaven/King Kong reggae" begins with a frantic drum laden instrumental burst with Todd eventually adding distorted vocals on top of the already saturated sound.

On side three, Todd moves into heavier areas with the distorted "No 1. Lowest Common Denominator". The song offers an indication of the way he would be thinking for the first Utopia album with screaming lead guitars against a pounding rhythm overlaid with phasing. "Useless begging" is based around a more orthodox pop ballad, but features a fun middle instrumental section. The track segues into the short instrumental "Sidewalk Café" which offers Rundgren the chance to play with his new toy again (i.e. the synthesiser). This in turn becomes the even shorter "Izzat Love?" a quick burst of commercial power pop. The side closes with "Heavy Metal Kids" where Todd gets even heavier hinting at the new wave style he would adopt on later Utopia releases.

"In and out the Chakras we go" which opens the final side, is an odd, unstructured instrumental which gives hints at the way he would go on the second side of his next album "Initiation". "Don't you ever learn" offers the perfect counterpoint, being a delicate piano/organ ballad. The album closes with one of Todd's superlative anthems, "Sons of 1984". The song, which was recorded live in New York and enhanced with overdubs from a San Francisco gig, includes the massed crowd singing on the choruses.

In all, another fine album from this true star. Whether this or the previous album is the more progressive is academic, as both find Todd at his experimental best.

The packaging included a fold out (6 times LP size) lyric sheet on the other side of which was a picture of Todd made up of the names of fans who had returned a postcard contained in the "Wizard" album.

In my teenage days, there was a very special moment every Thursday.

It was the day of the publication of the best known TV magazine in Belgium. Télémoustique (still is today). What for would you ask me? Well, there were four to six pages dedicated to rock music: concert reviews, news and album reviews.

The reviewer at the time was probably the most powerful person in the rock industry in my country. A good review would mean good sales, and vice-versa. This man (Piero Kenroll) had a lot of influence.

His ratings didn't consist of stars but footprints. From one to five (very similar to PA). The first album reviewed with the maximum rating was this one. I have to say that I was quite perplexed since I had no clue at the time of release who was this "Todd". But my trust in the man was quite high (he introduced me to several excellent records, prog or not) that I decided to get this album.

I have to say that I wasn't really on the same level than Piero in terms of appreciation. To be complete, 1974 was my Genesis, Floyd and Yes years. This album was totally different and I remember that I didn't like it very much at the time.

There are some nice melodies here, which is Todd's trademark ("I Think You Know", "A Dream Goes On Forever") but some other parts from side one were quite bizarre to my ears ("How About A Little Fanfare" and "Lord Chancello?") which both open and close the first part of this very short double album.

Most of the good songs are on the conventional Todd's side: he excels in writing good rock ballads, and one of the best is certainly "The Last Ride". The melody works at the first listening and the sax play is just fantastic. The arrangements are superb (but this is another TM of course). Quite a good song for sure.

But the experimental and noisy "Everybody's going To Heaven?" doesn't correspond to this description. I understand that the goal was not to release another ballad album (he did it already earlier on), but this chaotic song was not easy to apprehend (and still isn't).

The beat is huge and the guitar solo is damned good. Some good jamming and performing style. But why was this second part added? "Kink Kong Reggae" is definitely a filler; but since this side was already the shortest one (it clocks at a mere fourteen minutes) it was difficult to make it even shorter I guess?

Another good track featured on this double album (which easily sits now on one CD) is "Lowest Common Denominator". It mixes heavy blues influence, powerful guitar and scary vocals. It sounds very different of the rest of "Todd" but this diversion into other territories is welcome.

The closest relation in terms of research on this album that comes to my mind is "10CC". This opinion is even stronger when you add the vocal harmonies and nice melodies available on "Todd". One of the most poignant one is "Useless Begging" but the short "Izzat Love?" fully corresponds to the description as well.

The third side almost finishes on the same heavy note that it started. Somewhat "Velvet Underground" oriented (guitar & vocals) which is not to dislike me. Excellent guitar and wild beat again. "Heavy Metal Kids" is a solid heavy rock track.

For this album, Todd was surrounded by a myriad of guest artists who certainly gave another angle to his music. I have always believed that it is more challenging to be part of a group instead of being alone on the commands. I think that this aspect was an important factor for this release.

The man offers yet another facet of his musical style with the disjointed "In And Out The Chakras?": space-rocking, crazy, unpredictable and weird but it works (at least for me). Be prepared for some adventure though?

After this wall of sounds, the delicate "Don't You Ever Learn" allows for tenderness again even the loose but soft middle instrumental section is not the best thing I've ever heard. The religious feel of the closing track isn't a big deal either.

This album would have scored four stars if several tracks would have been taken out to form a single album (even a long one, let's say fifty minutes). As such three stars corresponds more to my feel. Sorry Piero...

Okay, I am just shocked that so few people here have reviewed this album. This album is one of the main reasons for Todd Rundgren's inclusion on this site. "Todd" was the follow up to "A Wizard, A True Star", and builds on the trippy music of that album, but has more consistency.

Todd mixes up all of the styles of music he was into at the time, making this a music lovers extravaganza. First, there's a few of those ballads he has always been known for. The most famous of these is A Dream Goes On Forever. I'd swear this song was inspired by Brian Wilson's "Pet Sounds" album. The rhythm in particular has a sound similar to I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.

There is also a few heavy rockers. Heavy Metal Kids is a great one, and became a concert favorite with Todd's solo band as well as Utopia. But the real fun comes from the experimental pieces. Right from the start, How About A Little Fanfare?, the album is a roller coaster ride of bizarre noises made into music and wild studio wizardry.

Plus, there's Todd best Gilbert & Sullivan selection, Lord Chancellor's Nightmare.

It's no surprise that Todd has chosen this album to honor with a new tour.

A double album which marks, for me, the first album in which Todd branches away from the hit-making machine of Runt and Something/Anything, and just preceding his foray into true prog world with his "Utopia" album, this album crosses so many lines, experiments with so many styles and engineering techniques (not all for the best) while still remaining within standard lengths as was thought was limited by the of the vinyl formats of the time. Synthesizer mania, folk-poetry, heavy metal, live concert call and response, and, of course, sappy pop classics are all present along with some pretty awesome vocal and guitar performances. Plus, Todd's lineup of collaborators is pretty impressive--from his future Utopians to the jazz-rock icons in Randy and Michael Brecker. "The last Ride" is one of my most played songs of my life, while the wild and quirky Side One is to this day one of my favorite full-side play through. But, then, so is Side Four ... and Side Two ... not to mention Side Three. Just an amazing album of incredibly diverse entertainment.

This is where Todd Rundgren clicks for me - briefly, before losing me completely. On this double album he takes the power pop ballad style of Something/Anything and the rampant experimentalism of A Wizard. A True Star and attempts to reach a balance point between the two. In the end, I suspect Todd's instincts lie more in the progressive direction than pop, with the end result being just as expansive a stylistic smorgasboard as the preceding album - but this time around, all the different musical ideas are given just enough room to breathe whilst still being kept disciplined enough to prevent them outstaying their welcome individually. As an album, though, it's a slog, with Todd's continued displaying of his studio tricks descending into flashy technical showing-off.

Review Nº 829

Todd Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer, native of Philadelphia, who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He began his professional career in the mid of the 60's, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career. From his early work with the Nazz, Rundgren showed a tremendous melodic gift and an ability to craft a sophisticated sound fused from various genres. While his music ranges from The Beatles influenced pop to Jimi Hendrix inspired rock, he retains a gift for honest setiment, inspiring lyrics and laconic wit throughout his ample body of work. Prificent on no end instruments, Rundgren has frequently displayed his ample chops by performing all vocals and instruments on some of his albums. His adventurous use of synthesizers during the early 70's helped to usher that instrument into widespread use in the music. He has also clearly inspired many artists and bands all over the years.

"Todd" is the fifth studio album of Todd Rundgren and that was released in 1974. The line up on the album is Todd Rundgren (lead and backing vocals, guitars, synthesizers, electric and acoustic pianos, organ, bass, drums, drum machine and percussion), Moogy Klingman (organ, grand piano, electric piano and harpsichord), Ralph Schuckett (clavinet and organ), Buffalo Bill Gelber (bass), John Siegler (bass), John Miller (bass), Kevin Ellman(drums), Wells Kelly (drums), Peter Ponzol (soprano saxophone), Michael Brecker (saxophone), Randy Breker (trumpet) and Barry Rogers (trombone).

"Todd" was an expansion of Todd Rundgren's experimentation on his previous fourth studio album, "A Wizard, A True Star". It showed his growing interest in the synthesizer, and its ability to expand the textures of the rock music. Much of the album is intensely experimental. However, this isn't an album without its share of pop songs. Todd Rundgren also tinkers with the synthesizer heavy progressive sound he would take further with his later prog band Utopia. Perhaps it's less fragmentary than its predecessor, and perhaps less exciting, still all the elements of the predecessor can also be founded here, but the ideas are no longer alluded to, but "through- composed". "Todd" thus has a less homogeneous character, the songs are more isolated, without which Rundgren could now accuse that "Todd" is a mere piecework.

The progressive part of the music has risen significantly on "Todd", but as with so many Todd Rundgren's albums, there are a lot of different genres on "Todd" and so slowly one recognizes a kind of concept behind it. For instance, the obligatory cover version of the "Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song", (which is a super funny ironic and very British interpretation of a composition by the "Light Classics" author duo Gilbert / Sullivan), the fake hard rock cracker " Heavy Metal Kids", the heartbreaking ballad "The Last Ride", the multi-layered, somewhat obscure progressive piece "Don't You Ever Learn?" and the inevitable anthem at the end of the album "Sons Of 1984", all are perfectly examples of that.

Though that side one of "A Wizard, A True Star" is, perhaps, Todd Rundgren's triumph, his follow up, "Todd", is perhaps a better album. First, because it was issued as a double LP and the sound quality is better. Second, for as good as the side one of his previous album, the side two is fairly forgettable. Besides, "Todd" more generously spreads the love across to the entire album. Though, the bulk of the best songs appear on side three, especially "No 1. Lowest Common Denominator", "Izzat Love?" and "Heavy Metal Kids". But, there are still plenty of psych pop triumphs here, notably "I Think You Know", "The Spark Of Life", "Everybody's Going To Heaven / King Kong Reggae" and "Don't You Ever Learn?". But, above all, this is a Todd Rundgren's album, which means there's a decent amount of filler, see "An Elpee's Worth Of Toons", "Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song", and "In And Out The Chakras We Go". People unfamiliar with Rundgren's work might be surprised by how adventurous, and at times, how state of art this album is, in part due to "Something/Anything?", "A Wizard, A True Star" and "Initiation" dominate the discussion of his best album.

Conclusion: This is, for me, a very difficult album to rate. Sometimes it seems to me very prog and others it seems to me very popish. Sometimes it seems to me has great tracks and others it seems to me has AOR songs. Sometimes it seems to me has good original vocals from Todd and others his vocals seem to me vocals from Prince. So, the final result is a kind of a "mixed bag", really. I think the album has shocked many people when it was released and even today. Todd mixes up all of the styles of music he was into at the time, making this music a lover's extravaganza. It's really difficult to listen to this album in only one breath. Still, this album is one of the main reasons why Todd is considered a prog artist. So, despite be an album with so many different styles and a popish feeling at times, for my taste I think it's full of short synth instrumentals and experiments that sometimes work very well. So, 4 stars, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)