Todd Rundgren Albums (26)
What The Critics Say
If ever a title explained an album's intent, it's Todd Rundgren's Arena, an explicit return to the extravagantly theatrical guitar rock he abandoned, largely out of boredom, some 25 years ago. During that quarter century, Rundgren touched upon almost all of his other obsessions, spending a considerable amount of time fixated upon technology, but deliberately avoided anything resembling Utopia until he stepped in for an absent Ric Ocasek for the 2005 Cars reunion which followed on the heels of Liars, Todd's strongest and poppiest album in years. The New Cars -- as the reunited band was wittily dubbed -- returned Rundgren to arenas and reignited his interest in outsized rock & roll, so he threw himself into a project that gave him an excuse to sing skyscraper hooks and play too much guitar, which is exactly what Arena promises and delivers. Apart from an occasional glimpse of computer-stitched seams, the album is an uncanny recreation of Todd's late-'70s/early-'80s period, occasionally playing like a belated sequel to 1983's The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect. On a pure sonic level, this may be true -- especially when he glides into a glimmering, quietly insistent pop tune like "Courage" -- but the aesthetics are sharply different, as Rundgren never indulges in the impish humor that surfaced continually on Tortured Artist, preferring to stew in the outrage that fueled Liars. Opening with the outright threat "Mad," Arena roils with fear and frustration, manifesting in gnarled knots of guitars and cavernous drumbeats, not to mention staccato successions of blunt, one-word song titles. Just as it did on Liars, this fury ties Arena together but thanks to all the exaggerated gestures, this feels angrier as a whole, which makes it pretty bracing. Rundgren's deliberate dramatics also make the gentler songs seem sweeter, but also make his sardonic jokes and political protests -- which do come hand in hand, as on the soldier-chant chorus of "Gun" -- draw blood. And that may be the most curious thing about Arena: musically, it's an unabashed throwback, having nothing to do with what arena rock is in 2008, but Todd's songs are all about the conflicted, confused present. This seeming paradox doesn't turn Arena into a muddle but instead gives it some invigorating friction that makes the album seem urgent and captivating, if not necessarily vital. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It has been so long since Todd Rundgren has seemed to take his recording career seriously that it's easy to assume that his 2004 album, Liars, would fit right alongside such follies as the awkwardly interactive TR-i or the bossa nova tribute With a Twist, or perhaps that it's merely like the endearingly messy collection of tunes One Long Year. After nearly 15 years of these kinds of releases, it seemed like Rundgren had drifted into the wilderness, where he was more concerned with technology than crafting albums, so it's an utter shock that Liars isn't only a carefully considered, carefully constructed record, but that it's his best pop album in over 20 years. Like any of his best albums, it benefits by having a loose theme or at least an overriding concept that focuses Rundgren. The title makes plain what the theme is, but in case you didn't catch it, Todd spells it out in the liner notes: "All of these songs are about a paucity of truth. At first they may seem to be about other things, but that is just a reflection of how much dishonesty we have accepted in our daily lives." Rundgren is furious about lies, whether they come from the government, religion, family, or entertainment. He's angry that the bright optimistic future he was promised as a kid hasn't arrived, he's angry that all the promises of the '60s have been tattered, he's angry that music he's loved has been cheapened and removed of soul, he's angry and despairing about his country and the world, and that anger has led him to shed some of his musical crutches -- particularly an overindulgence on new technology and a penchant for cuteness -- and deliver a tuneful, visceral, catchy album where even the softer, sweeter songs have heavy themes. Perhaps he decided that the only way his thoughts could be clearly heard is through pop songs both elaborate and simple, but whatever the case, this is the first time he hasn't seemed embarrassed to be writing pop songs since Tortured Artist, but this album has a gravity and urgency that record lacked. He hasn't sounded this engaged or impassioned since The Hermit of Mink Hollow, giving slow, soulful tunes like "Sweet" and "Past" a touchingly bittersweet feel and harder numbers like "Mammon" and "Liar" a visceral, gut-level impact; few angry protest albums have been this catchy. Rundgren has so much to say he lets Liars run long -- longer than A Wizard, a True Star or Todd, actually -- but it's always absorbing and often quite gripping, proof that he not only still retains the ability to surprise, but that he can make an album as provocative and successful as he did during his '70s peak. And that makes Liars one hell of a comeback. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Greatest Hits Live (King Biscuit Flower Hour)'
Release Date 6/24/2003
Tracks 12
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What The Critics Say
The 2003 Todd Rundgren album Greatest Hits Live is a reissue of the 2000 album King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert with the exception of a six-minute interview segment that has been omitted. The album is split into three different sections -- three tracks recorded from 1985 in Chicago, three more from a 1977 show in N.Y.C., and another six tracks from a different N.Y.C. show in 1978. The songs from 1985 were recorded during Rundgren's a cappella phase, featuring such highlights as a moving medley of "Lost Horizon/What's Going On/Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You," as well as a gospel-esque reading of Rundgren's own "Real Man." The other two shows feature him rocking through such highlights as "Love of the Common Man" and another medley, this one consisting of "I'm So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby/La La Means I Love You/I Saw the Light." These late-'70s shows are heavy on Something/Anything? material, running through renditions of "Couldn't I Just Tell You," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," "Black Maria," and his biggest solo hit, "Hello It's Me" (as well as "I Saw the Light" as part of the aforementioned "I'm So Proud" medley). With a solid cross selection of material included, the set is a pretty consistent listen from beginning to end (both sonically and performance-wise). The new album title for this reissue reflects the inclusion of five of Rundgren's 11 singles chart entries, "I Saw the Light," "Couldn't I Just Tell You," "Hello It's Me," "Real Man" (performed twice), and "Can We Still Be Friends." ~ Greg Prato & William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert'
Release Date 9/26/2000
Tracks 12
Label King Biscuit
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What The Critics Say
The Todd Rundgren edition of the never-ending King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Live in Concert series is split into three different sections -- three tracks recorded from 1985 in Chicago, three more from a '77 show in N.Y.C., and another six tracks from a different N.Y.C. show in '78. The songs from '85 were recorded during Rundgren's a cappella phase, featuring such highlights as a moving medley of "Lost Horizon/What's Going On/Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You," as well as a gospel-esque reading of Rundgren's own "Real Man." The other two shows feature him playing alongside Utopia, rocking through such highlights as "Love of the Common Man" and another medley, this one consisting of "I'm So Proud/Ooh Baby Baby/La La Means I Love You/I Saw the Light." Surprisingly, these late-70's shows are heavy on Something/Anything material (the artist usually separated that era of his career while playing with Utopia), running through renditions of "Couldn't I Just Tell You," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," "Black Maria," and his biggest solo hit, "Hello It's Me" (as well as "I Saw the Light" as part of the aforementioned "I'm So Proud" medley). With a solid cross selection of material included, the Rundgren/King Biscuit Flower Hour set is pretty consistent listen from beginning to end (both sonically and performance wise). ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
During the last quarter of the '90s, Todd Rundgren spent much of his time on the Internet, distributing music and previews of his in-progress autobiography through his net service, Patronet. Hence, the appearance of One Long Year, a disc that collects highlights from the Patronet service, plus a couple odds and ends. Technically, it doesn't have a cohesive concept like With a Twist or TR-I, but that's fine, because its patchwork quality is not only charming, it results in a ragged, multifaceted pop charmer reminiscent of 1982's The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect. Like that album, One Long Year boasts a fair share of sparkling pop gems. This time around, it's not quite as pop oriented or tuneful, since there are a re-recording of "Love of the Common Man" and a cut-and-paste instrumental ("Mary and the Holy Ghost") among the rockers, ballads, and pop tunes. This may result in choppy momentum, but diehards are much more likely to appreciate these quirks rather than be alienated by them. They'd be right to accept them, since the gems are things to embrace. "I Hate My Frickin ISP" may be a goofy rant at Internet service providers, but it has a hook and it rocks, just like the cheerfully sleazy "Yer Fast (And I Like It)." It doesn't all drive hard, however, there are sweet moments like "Buffalo Grass" and "The Surf Talks" that give the album an appealing sheen. True, this doesn't really make One Long Year a classic -- even a second-tier Rundgren classic like, say, Tortured Artist -- but it is a highly enjoyable patchwork that illustrates that Rundgren remains a restless musical experimenter and a first-class pop craftsman. And that's enough for anybody that's curious about a new Rundgren album in 2000. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Live in Chicago '91'
Release Date 9/21/1999
Tracks 23
Label Alchemedia
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What The Critics Say
Issued as an archival album eight years after the fact, Live in Chicago '91 finds Todd Rundgren on tour promoting what would turn out to be his final major-label album, 2nd Wind. That album had been released seven months prior to his Chicago concert at the Riviera Theater on August 26, and it had long since slipped off the charts. But that didn't keep Rundgren from performing seven songs from it, along with four songs from its 1989 predecessor, Nearly Human, and another four from 1985's A Cappella. Thus, the bulk of the show represented Rundgren's then-recent output, although, as usual, he found room for such concert favorites as "Real Man," "Love of the Common Man," and "Hello It's Me." Fans will be especially interested in the unusual selections, which include two Utopia numbers, "Secret Society" and "Rock Love"; the "Marvin Gaye Medley" of "What's Going On," "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)," and "I Want You" that Rundgren had been appending to A Cappella's "Lost Horizon" since 1985; the Tubes' "Feel It," which Rundgren had co-written; and, particularly, "Jesse," an unrecorded song on which Rundgren flipped the bird in explicit terms to Jesse Helms, Tipper Gore, and Pope John Paul II before recommending that his listeners register to vote. Although A Cappella, Nearly Human, and 2nd Wind were not among Rundgren's most popular recordings (none of them producing a hit single or crossing number 100 in the charts), the concert demonstrated that they were full of catchy Rundgren songs that deserved a chance to be heard. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'The Individualist'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 10
Label Pony Canyon
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