FAITHFUL

The "Faithful" in the title obviously refers to the faithful rendition of the covers songs on the first half of the album. Todd Rundgren, along with three members of Utopia, Roger Powell, John Siegler and Willie Wilcox, play some fine, but very close to the original versions of songs by The Yardbirds, The Beach Boys, The Beatles (twice), Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. The songs are good, but the really interesting stuff is on the second side.

If the entire album was made up of original material as good as the second half of this album, the rating would be much higher. Black And White is one of my favorites of Todd's hard rock songs. With lyrics put together from a bunch of cliches (despite there being another song on the album side called Cliche), this song is a rousing feast for the ears.

Love Of The Common Man is one of Todd's nice pop ballads. Filled with Rundgren's maximumist production, there is lots to hear in the mix. When I Pray a calypso styled song, while not bad, is the weakest track on the album. Cliche takes us back to interesting pop.

The Meaning Of The Verb "To Love" has to be Todd's finest slow ballad ever. A crowd pleasing song used in concerts for years to come, this piece turns into some great lounge music, thanks to excellent piano work by Powell. And Boogies (Hamburger Hell) ends the album with some great foot stomping music.