Todd Rundgren - The 70's Collection (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Todd Rundgren 70's Collection offers 117 tracks digitally remastered in 96 kHz, 24bit. Todd Rundgren may be known as an overindulgent pop singer and producer – but he's also got a fantastic talent for a good little pop song, and his 70s albums are littered with gems that often get lost amidst the shuffle of more overblown numbers. This collection includes following albums: Runt (1970), Runt: The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren (1971), Something/Anything? (1972), A Wizard, A True Star (1973), Todd (1974), Initiation (1975), Faithful (1976), Hermit Of Mink Hollow (1978).

Reluctant to start a full-fledged solo career after leaving the Nazz, Todd Rundgren formed Runt, a band that was a front for what was in effect a solo project. Such isolationism lends Runt its unique atmosphere – it is the insular work of a fiercely talented artist finally given the opportunity to pursue his off-kilter musical vision. From the moment the slow, bluesy psychedelic grind of "Broke Down and Busted" starts the album, it's apparent that Rundgren could never have made Runt with the Nazz – and that's before the introspective ballads or the willfully strange stuff kicks in. Throughout the record, Rundgren reveals himself as a gifted synthesist, blending all manners of musical styles and quirks into a distinctive signature sound. He's as interested in sound as he is in song and while he would later pursue these tendencies to extremes, Runt finds him learning how to create an effective sound with the studio, which may be the reason why the album runs the gamut from hard rockers like "Who's That Man?" to ballads like "Once Burned." Although these songs are instantly appealing, the album really gets interesting when he reaches between those two extremes, whether it's in the classic pop medley "Baby Let's Swing," the bizarrely tongue-in-cheek "I'm in the Clique," or the equally impish "We Gotta Get You a Woman," which gave Rundgren his first hit. All the details buried within these songs – not only in the deceptively direct productions, but within the writing itself – confirm Rundgren's exceptional skill at songcraft. He occasionally slips on Runt, delivering tracks that rely on production instead of a blend of studiocraft and songcraft, but it remains a thoroughly impressive debut and one of his finest pop records.

Tracklist:

01 - Broke Down And Busted
02 - Believe In Me
03 - We Gotta Get You A Woman
04 - Who's That Man
05 - Once Burned
06 - Devil's Bite
07 - I'm In The Clique
08 - There Are No Words
09 - Baby Let's Swing / The Last Thing You Said / Don't Tie My Hands
10 - Birthday Carol

Upon its release, Rolling Stone called The Ballad of Todd Rundgren "the best album Paul McCartney" never made, and even if the album doesn't sound particularly McCartney-esque, it does share the homespun, melodic charm of the best of his early albums. Arguably, it's better than Paul's solo work, since it is focused and subtle, never drawing attention to Rundgren's considerable skills as a writer and producer. He tones down the hard rock and his impish wit, lending the album a sense of direction missing on Runt. That's not to say he abandoned his sense of humor – as if the cover shot of Rundgren sitting at a piano with a noose around his neck left any doubt. This time around, it takes some careful listening to hear the jokes, such as the opening Floyd Cramer piano lick on "Range War." On such clever in-jokes as "Chain Letter," as well as ballads like "Hope I'm Around," the artist reveals himself as an exceptional craftsman and songsmith. In fact, Ballad is considerably more song-oriented than its predecessor, with very little of the jams and instrumental sections that occasionally bogged down Runt. Here, even propulsive pop tunes such as "Bleeding" and "Long Flowing Robe," along with the hard rocker "Parole," are as much about the song as the performance, which is probably appropriate for an album called The Ballad of Todd Rundgren. Another thing about that title – it may be a joke, but the album inarguably offers a glimpse into Rundgren's inner world through a combination of introspective ballads, off-hand jokes, musical virtuosity, outright weirdness, and unabashed showmanship. And that's the charm of The Ballad – it's the slyly sardonic masterwork of a loner who may be sensitive, but is certainly not shy.

Tracklist:

01 - Long Flowing Robe
02 - The Ballad (Denny And Jean)
03 - Bleeding
04 - Wailing Wall
05 - The Range War
06 - Chain Letter
07 - A Long Time, A Long Way To Go
08 - Boat On The Charles
09 - Be Nice To Me
10 - Hope I'm Around
11 - Parole
12 - Remember Me

After two albums, Todd Rundgren had one hit and a burgeoning cult following, plus growing respect as a hitmaking record producer. There's no question he was busy, but as it turns out, all this work only scratched the surface of his ambition. He had decided to abandon the Runt pretense and recorded a full double album by himself (save for one side). Others had recorded one-man albums before, most notably Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, but Rundgren – without borrowing musically from either artist – captured the homemade ambience of McCartney with the visionary feel of Music of My Mind, adding an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan through Jimi Hendrix, plus the crazed zeal of a pioneer. Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many instantly memorable, shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album. Each side of the double album is a concept onto itself. The first side is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales brothers. It gallops through everything – Carole King tributes ("I Saw the Light"), classic ballads ("Hello It's Me," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"), Motown ("Wolfman Jack"), blinding power pop ("Couldn't I Just Tell You"), psychedelic hard rock ("Black Maria"), pure weirdness ("I Went to the Mirror"), blue-eyed soul ("Dust in the Wind"), and scores of brilliant songs that don't fall into any particular style ("Cold Morning Light," "It Takes Two to Tango"). It's an amazing journey that's remarkably unpretentious. He may have contributed self-penned liner notes, but Rundgren peppers his writing with self-aware, self-deprecating asides, and he also indulges his bizarre sense of humor with gross-outs ("Piss Aaron") and sheer quirkiness, such as an aural tour of the studio at the beginning of side two. Something/Anything? has a ton of loose ends throughout: plenty of studio tricks, slight songs (but no filler), snippets of dialogue, and purposely botched beginnings, but all these throwaways simply add context – they're what makes the album into a kaleidoscopic odyssey through the mind of an insanely gifted pop music obsessive. Rundgren occasionally touched on the sheer brilliance of Something/Anything? in his later work, but this extraordinary double album is the one time where his classicist songcraft and messy genius converged to create an utterly unique, glorious record.

Tracklist:

01 - I Saw The Light
02 - It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
03 - Wolfman Jack
04 - Cold Morning Light
05 - It Takes Two To Tango (This Is For The Girls)
06 - Sweeter Memories
07 - Intro
08 - Breathless
09 - The Night The Carousel Burned Down
10 - Saving Grace
11 - Marlene
12 - Song Of The Viking
13 - I Went To The Mirror
14 - Black Maria
15 - One More Day (One Word)
16 - Couldn't I Just Tell You
17 - Torch Song
18 - Little Red Lights
19 - Overture - My Roots: Money (That's What I Want) / Messin' With The Kid
20 - Dust In The Wind
21 - Piss Aaron
22 - Hello It's Me
23 - Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
24 - You Left Me Sore
25 - Slut

Something/Anything? proved that Todd Rundgren could write a pop classic as gracefully as any of his peers, but buried beneath the surface were signs that he would never be satisfied as merely a pop singer/songwriter. A close listen to the album reveals the eccentricities and restless spirit that surges to the forefront on its follow-up, A Wizard, A True Star. Anyone expecting the third record of Something/Anything?, filled with variations on "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me," will be shocked by A Wizard. As much a mind-f*ck as an album, A Wizard, A True Star rarely breaks down to full-fledged songs, especially on the first side, where songs and melodies float in and out of a hazy post-psychedelic mist. Stylistically, there may not be much new – he touched on so many different bases on Something/Anything? that it's hard to expand to new territory – but it's all synthesized and assembled in fresh, strange ways. Often, it's a jarring, disturbing listen, especially since Rundgren's humor has turned bizarre and insular. It truly takes a concerted effort on the part of the listener to unravel the record, since Rundgren makes no concessions – not only does the soul medley jerk in unpredictable ways, but the anthemic closer, "Just One Victory," is layered with so many overdubs that it's hard to hear its moving melody unless you pay attention. And that's the key to understanding A Wizard, A True Star – it's one of those rare rock albums that demands full attention and, depending on your own vantage, it may even reward such close listening.

Tracklist:

01 - International Feel
02 - Never Never Land
03 - Tic Tic Tic It Wears Off
04 - You Need Your Head
05 - Rock And Roll Pussy
06 - Dogfight Giggle
07 - You Don't Have To Camp Around
08 - Flamingo
09 - Zen Archer
10 - Just Another Onionhead / DaDa Dali
11 - When The Shit Hits The Fan / Sunset Blvd
12 - Le Feel Internacionale
13 - Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel
14 - Does Anybody Love You?
15 - Medley: I'm So Proud / Ooh Baby Baby / La La Means I Love You / Cool Jerk
16 - Hungry For Love
17 - I Don't Want To Tie You Down
18 - Is It My Name?
19 - Just One Victory

1974's TODD was a departure for Todd Rundgren. After a series of one-man-band albums highlighted by the classic SOMETHING/ANYTHING?, he'd allowed a few other musicians onto this effort's immediate predecessor, A WIZARD A TRUE STAR. TODD goes one step further here by incorporating a full band, and the difference between this and Rundgren's streamlined, early records is startling. The songs are lushly orchestrated, with a full Philly-soul-styled horn section led by the legendary Brecker brothers on several tracks. The double-album length gave Rundgren the license he needed to stretch out compositionally and instrumentally.

Tracklist:

01 - How About A Little Fanfare?
02 - I Think You Know
03 - The Spark Of Life
04 - An Elpee's Worth Of Toons
05 - A Dream Goes On Forever
06 - Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song
07 - Drunken Blue Rooster
08 - The Last Ride
09 - Everybody's Going To Heaven / King Kong Reggae
10 - No. 1 Lowest Common Denominator
11 - Useless Begging
12 - Sidewalk Cafe
13 - Izzat Love?
14 - Heavy Metal Kids
15 - In And Out The Chakras We Go (Formerly: Shaft Goes To Outer Space)
16 - Don't You Ever Learn?
17 - Sons Of 1984

Returning to solo recording almost immediately after forming Utopia, Todd Rundgren continued with the synth-heavy prog rock he pioneered with Todd Rundgren's Utopia on Initiation. The differences immediately resonate with "Real Man," a terrific song that encapsulates not only his newfound fondness for electronics, but also his burgeoning spirituality and his knack for pop craft. "Real Man" is so good, it's tempting to believe that the remainder of Initiation will follow in the same direction, resulting in an inspired, truly progressive fusion of classic Rundgren and synthesizers. As soon as the second track, an a cappella vocoder opus called "Born to Synthesize," it's clear that Rundgren has no intention of following that path, choosing to push the limits of synth technology and recorded music instead of constructing an album. Initiation suffers accordingly. At times, particularly on the first, song-oriented side, it is pretty intriguing, but too often, the results are simply frustrating because it doesn't go anywhere. That's particularly true with "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire," a half-hour "suite" that comprises all of side two and doesn't really go anywhere, despite hitting many stops along the way. It's enough to erase the memory of "Real Man," "Eastern Intrigue" and "Initiation," the moments where it all comes together on the first half of the record, but another spin of the first side reveals that Rundgren could have made Initiation something special if he had the discipline.

Tracklist:

01 - Real Man
02 - Born To Synthesize
03 - The Death Of Rock And Roll
04 - Eastern Intrigue
05 - Initiation
06 - Fair Warning
07 - A Treatise On Cosmic Fire Part 1
08 - A Treatise On Cosmic Fire Part 2
09 - A Treatise On Cosmic Fire Part 3
10 - A Treatise On Cosmic Fire Part 4

Todd Rundgren considered 1966 the beginning of his professional musical career, largely because the Nazz formed around that time. As a celebration, he recorded Faithful. Presumably, Faithful celebrates the past and the future by juxtaposing a side of original pop material with a side of covers. Actually, "covers" isn't accurate – the six oldies that comprise the entirety of side one are re-creations, with Rundgren "faithfully" replicating the sound and feel of the Yardbirds ("Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"), Bob Dylan ("Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine"), Jimi Hendrix ("If Six Was Nine"), the Beach Boys ("Good Vibrations") and the Beatles "("Rain," "Strawberry Fields Forever"). All of this is entertaining, to a certain extent, especially since it's remarkable how close Rundgren comes to duplicating the very feel of the originals. Still, it's hard to see it as much more than a flamboyant throwaway, especially when compared with the glorious second side. For the first time since Something/Anything?, Rundgren allows himself to write and – more importantly – record straight-ahead pop songs. Certainly, A Wizard, A True Star, Todd and Initiation had their share of great songs, but they weren't delivered as pop songs; they were telegraphed as art. Here, Rundgren delivers pop and rock songs with ease, letting the melodies glide to the forefront. There are embellishments, of course, but the end result is a lushness that's apparent even on the hard rockers. If Rundgren had made all of Faithful originals, it would have been a pure pop masterpiece. As it stands, it's essential for the faithful – not only for hardcore Toddheads, but for devoted pop fans as well.

Tracklist:

01 - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
02 - Good Vibrations
03 - Rain
04 - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
05 - If Six Was Nine
06 - Strawberry Fields Forever
07 - Black And White
08 - Love Of The Common Man
09 - When I Pray
10 - Cliché
11 - The Verb "To Love"
12 - Boogies (Hamburger Hell)

Over the course of 1977, Todd Rundgren moved Utopia toward a more pop-oriented direction, winding up with the slick mainstream arena rock of Oops! Wrong Planet. With that in mind, it makes sense that The Hermit of Mink Hollow – his first full-fledged solo album since Initiation, if you discount the half-cover/half-original Faithful – finds Rundgren in his pop craftsman persona. The difference is, he's heartbroken. His relationship with Bebe Buell collapsed during 1977 and it's clear that the separation has pained him, since pain and melancholy underpin the album, whether it's on ballads ("Can We Still Be Friends") or on apparently joyous revelries, like "All the Children Sing." That said, this is a Rundgren solo album and he has not abandoned his trademarks, which means that the lush ballads are paired with novelties ("Onomatopoeia," which sounds exactly how you hope it does), ersatz soul ("You Cried Wolf"), and pure pop ("Hurting for You"). Hermit is also the first record Rundgren recorded completely alone since Something/Anything? Where that record sounded like the inner workings of a madman, with each song providing no indication what the next would sound like, Hermit is more cohesive. It also feels less brilliant, even if it is, in many ways, nearly as excellent as Rundgren's masterwork, mainly because it doesn't have such a wide scope. Still, the reason The Hermit of Mink Hollow is such a milestone in Rundgren's career is because it's a small album, filled with details, and easily the most emotional record he made.

Tracklist:

01 - All The Children Sing
02 - Can We Still Be Friends?
03 - Hurting For You
04 - Too Far Gone
05 - Onomatopoeia
06 - Determination
07 - Bread
08 - Bag Lady
09 - You Cried Wolf
10 - Lucky Guy
11 - Out Of Control
12 - Fade Away


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