Todd Rundgren

mikey · 8th July 2005

anybody dig him????
Anybody heard any new CD's from him

radiospace · 8th July 2005

I was just trying to hunt down "Princess of the Universe" on iTunes the other day. (Sadly not available). That's my favorite Rundgren number.

Drumsound · 8th July 2005

He's an amazing tallent. I haven't kept track much lately though.

Kyle Ashley · 8th July 2005

I just got a recent CD of his. It's called Liars and appears to be a low budget home studio type of thing. I haven't heard it yet. I'm saving it for next week as I am going on vacation and will be driving several days.

mikey · 8th July 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle Ashley

I just got a recent CD of his. It's called Liars and appears to be a low budget home studio type of thing. I haven't heard it yet. I'm saving it for next week as I am going on vacation and will be driving several days.

Really !! i'd like to pick up that Liars CD

I'll have to hunt it down

spectacular g · 9th July 2005

not so sure about "low budget home studio thing" sound pretty good to me.

sit's rite next to Smile in my changer.

great humor in it, and speaks to the state of our bidness these days.

jfg

mikey · 9th July 2005

wow that would be cool to have Todd as a guest Moderator so we could talk recording with him >>

.Wonder if he's is on the net

...Hey Mr. Todd Rundgren are you out there?

wilcofan · 9th July 2005

I'm a fan. Personal favorite is "Can We Still Be Friends".

I grew up with "Bat Out Of Hell" on 24/7 around the house and much of my production value comes from his style I reckon.

Phil Buckle · 9th July 2005

"Hermet Of Mink Hollow" is in my top 20 albums of all time.
That was the album with "Can We Still Be Friends" on it.
Every track is a winner on that record. Check it out if you can.

mikey · 9th July 2005

I picked up his greatest hits i like the song '' A Dream goes on forever'' adn he does Good Vibrations all by himself i think..Sounds almost like the boys tutt and the only one i know that can do that is Brian

Kyle Ashley · 9th July 2005

Yeah I should have clarified my "low budget" comment. I really based that on the CD insert and cover. Very basic on white paper, very little credit info etc. I can't wait to crank it up and dig in.

mikey · 9th July 2005

I wouldn't doubt it .....i'v got Roger McQuinn's new one most all done on his lap top

natpub · 9th July 2005

A band I was in warmed up for Todd/Utopia a couple times in the 80's, and I have met and talked with him at length probably 10 times in the past, hmm....20 years? I seriously doubt he would remember me though. He has probably met hundreds of thousands of starry-eyed young musicians, and I was pretty much typical.

Todd has produced many uber things (Bat Outta Hell, American Band, The Tubes, etc. ). He is a great composer and inventor, and fantastic performer. He is a very nice man, and I enjoyed talking to him. He is very kind, intelligent in an unusual artistic kinda way.

In the early 80's we had a good talk on side-stage about the state of synthesis when Ray Kurzweil was the big thing. Todd was hype on Fairlight, so he, I, and Roger Powell ended up in quite a row. I had just taken a master class at the time with Zappa, and Ray happened to be at the convention part of the events pushing his early gear. Frank was hype on Kurzwei at the time, and so was I. Funny how things end up, since all of it now is just fluff, and the big debates of the old days become silly in the new.

I think many of Todd's Utopia mixes were caught up in the "treble wars" of the 80's, and his earliest work was perhaps better than some of the later.

A big standout during that period was "A Cappela," which was in itself a moment of genius. If you missed the live tour of it you really missed out.

Another great moment was the album, "Healing," which scared a lot of people off, but I was quite impressed. The SNL performance of Healing reamins a fav of mine.

Todd, like Prince, Zappa, and a few others, is indeed an amazing phenomenon. But he would probly tell us he is just another guy (not God), trying to do his best, like all of us. I bet he is happily waiting to see what we all will come up with next.

As Zappa said, lets "shaddup and get back to work!"

Cheers,

KT

PS, another good story I had was around 1990, Todd came to Austin with a very cool group and my boss at the time, Mark B......y, happened to be a decent friend of Todd's. Very cool show with an amazing rendition of Johnny Jingo at a pretty small club in Austin. I recall meeting Marianne Faithfull and being star-struck!

Another time, I was a stage hand at an Ohio outdoor venue called "Legend Valley, (this was like, hmm...1981?) and Todd was headlining ahead of The Cars, Eddie Monie, and Cheap Trick. Todd came out and jammed on a cover of (I think) "Drive My Car" along with Cheap Trick, and I was hanging with the Cheap Trick crew. I ended up eating a certain new and X-cstatic tiny pill, and sitting at the feet of Todd during the Utopia performance.

Unknown to me, a giant pyro bomb went off right in my face leading up to the finale. I lost my hearing and most my vision for about 10 mins. Shortly after, Todd did the finale encore into the setting sun, singing "Love is the Answer," while we all watched in amazement and irony as the crowd set fire to the ticket boothes way up the hill, and the smoke of anarchy and violence rose into the air.

A friend of mine ran security and protection dogs, and the crowd had gone insane. I personally had to drag several children under age 7 over the fence and into backstage to save them. There were at least 2 super-violent conflicts in the mud that hour, and over 100 people passed out from heat stroke. Sirens and ambulences rang out from every corner.

As I was semi-insane, yet semi-prophetic the entire performance, I continued to sit about 4 feet from Todd's feet on stage, and stare at the entire scene as if from a Sci-Fi movie.

I will never forget watching the entire scene go up in flames, with half the back crowd fighting and pillaging, and the front half waving and hugging, all as Todd sang on, "...Light of the World...Shine on Me...Love is the Answer..." Truly Apopcolyptic.

I often wonder what he saw and how he felt.

**James Lugo** · 9th July 2005

I hung out with him last month in LA after a concert with Joe Jackson and Ethel. He's very cool, one of my students is a close friend so we went back stage and then back to the hotel. He said the only art media that is almost as irrelevent as TV is popular music! lol Go figure... We spent the night having some great laughs. He's in Hawaii and very into the Ukalellia (sp?) I'm a huge Todd fan...

wilcofan · 9th July 2005

Ah, Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson. There's enough one-two punch inspiration to last a few months!

Musiclab · 10th July 2005

He is also a great singer, He made me want to sing. Utopia was a great band with killer vocals

Jules · 10th July 2005

Actually - I have just realised a posssible connection I have to Todd via a groovy in-law in the business, I would LOVE to invite him to be a guest moderator here for a month! So I am going to try to get that person to alert Todd to this post and the sincere invitation!

Todd - please come and hang out with us for a month!

(honk if you want Todd!)

I LOVED The sound of that 1st New York Dolls album! And was tickled to see he has a ProControl like I do in his home studio..

Jules
Gearslutz.com admin

massimo · 10th July 2005

I used to be a dishwasher at Harrods, London, summer 1975. I was seventeen, and a music freak. I spent all my money in concerts, lots of acts I would never get to see back in Italy. That memorable year was Santana with Earth Wind and Fire, Gentle Giant (immense talents), Backdoor, and Todd Rundgren's Utopia at Hammersmith Odeon. Best rock concert in my life, along with Zappa in Rome, 1973 (Roxy and Elsewhere repertoire) and any Gentle Giant concert. The material was his very best in my opinion, with side A of the "Initiation" album being played segued, "Another Live" performed entirely, plus masterpieces like the "Sunset Boulevard/International Feel" medley and his best ballads from the "Something/Anything" and "Todd" albums. What else to say? A criminally underrated genius, his songs have been, and still are, the soundtrack to much of my life. One fantastic album, one which I rarely see mentioned - really one of his best - is "Second wind", 1991 or so. It includes a wonderful track called "If I have to be alone".
With the exception of Todd and some old dinosaurs, I do not listen to rock or pop music anymore at all.
Ciao
Massimo

swankdoc · 10th July 2005

beep.

I cant say I've had any personal contact with him...but have nearly all his albums, including the early Nazz stuff. Have seen him live numerous times.

He was / is most certainly my inspiration for music and recording.

Back to the Bars (double live album) is a great place to start for you who dont have any of his stuff.

natpub · 10th July 2005

Now THAT is NOT the most flattering picture of Todd :-) tutt

swankdoc · 10th July 2005

whadya mean?

Thats the latest and the greatest Todd.

chrisso · 11th July 2005

Another fan here. Since 1974. Long suffering I should add.
How I miss the well crafted songs and unique production. How I hate the forays into prog rock and rock opera.
Funny I would have said his collaborations with The Tubes are a high point, the collaboration with Steinman (and Mr Loaf) a low.
The material which he crafts on his own tends to be classic Todd (IMO).
'Something/Anything', 'A Wizard A True Star', 'Hermit Of Mink Hollow'.
He famously tried to make an XTC album on his own. LOL
Haven't heard the last album, which was definitely done on a budget using home computing, plug-ins and virtual instruments. The live show was one of the worst I've ever witnessed however. Todd eschewing all of his standout songs in favour of a dire 10 minute jam on 'Green Onions', including a lame drum solo (by one of my all time favourite drummers Prairie Prince) and a Derek Smalls-like bass solo by Kasim Sulton.
Did I mention long suffering?

PlugHead · 11th July 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisso

He famously tried to make an XTC album on his own. LOL

Skylarking: heard many a comment that was a tough gig for all, but I really do like the production on that CD, tho Andy P's and Colin's tunes will always shine thru anything, no matter what the production...

A well respected man in my books - loved him doing the music for "PeeWee's Playhouse" - was always worth getting up at the crack of dawn to watch peewee and cowboy curtis and listen to some of Todd's writing... as you can imagine, life was a lot simpler back then (speaking personally!)

Benjy King · 11th July 2005

Word has it that Utopia with Todd, Willie Wilcox, Roger Powell and Kasim Sulton will be doing a short run of shows very soon.

Jules · 11th July 2005

So come on!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

Drumsound · 11th July 2005

HONK HONK HONK

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

HONK HONK HONK

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

HONK HONK HONK

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

HONK HONK HONK

WE WANT TODD AS A GUEST MODERATOR!!!!

mikey · 11th July 2005

TODD TODD TODD TODD todd

Todd Todd todd

M. Leward · 11th July 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by swankdoc

beep.

He was / is most certainly my inspiration for music and recording.

Back to the Bars (double live album) is a great place to start for you who dont have any of his stuff.

Ditto from me Swankdoc. He is most certainly one of my biggest influences in music and recording as well.

A Utopia re-union tour AND Todd as a guest moderator?....Now that would make my Year!

We want Todd!!

massimo · 11th July 2005

I know it's a hard choice but.... someone has to do it!

Great to see several Toddheads resurface!!!
Come on, pick your three favorite Todd/Utopia songs

Here are mine:

Useless begging (Todd)
Sunset Boulevard (A Wizard, a true star)
Initiation (Initiation)

mikey · 11th July 2005

I saw The Light

One World

A Dream goes On Forever

8th July 2005	#1
mikey Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 587 Thread Starter	Todd Rundgren anybody dig him???? Anybody heard any new CD's from him

8th July 2005	#4
Kyle Ashley Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Tampa Bay/Cape Fear NC Posts: 1,029	I just got a recent CD of his. It's called Liars and appears to be a low budget home studio type of thing. I haven't heard it yet. I'm saving it for next week as I am going on vacation and will be driving several days. __________________ Kyle Ashley www.kyleashley.com

9th July 2005	#9
Phil Buckle Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 168	"Hermet Of Mink Hollow" is in my top 20 albums of all time. That was the album with "Can We Still Be Friends" on it. Every track is a winner on that record. Check it out if you can. __________________ _______________________________ http://philbuckle.com/

9th July 2005	#13
natpub More cowbell! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,084 1 Review written	A band I was in warmed up for Todd/Utopia a couple times in the 80's, and I have met and talked with him at length probably 10 times in the past, hmm....20 years? I seriously doubt he would remember me though. He has probably met hundreds of thousands of starry-eyed young musicians, and I was pretty much typical. Todd has produced many uber things (Bat Outta Hell, American Band, The Tubes, etc. ). He is a great composer and inventor, and fantastic performer. He is a very nice man, and I enjoyed talking to him. He is very kind, intelligent in an unusual artistic kinda way. In the early 80's we had a good talk on side-stage about the state of synthesis when Ray Kurzweil was the big thing. Todd was hype on Fairlight, so he, I, and Roger Powell ended up in quite a row. I had just taken a master class at the time with Zappa, and Ray happened to be at the convention part of the events pushing his early gear. Frank was hype on Kurzwei at the time, and so was I. Funny how things end up, since all of it now is just fluff, and the big debates of the old days become silly in the new. I think many of Todd's Utopia mixes were caught up in the "treble wars" of the 80's, and his earliest work was perhaps better than some of the later. A big standout during that period was "A Cappela," which was in itself a moment of genius. If you missed the live tour of it you really missed out. Another great moment was the album, "Healing," which scared a lot of people off, but I was quite impressed. The SNL performance of Healing reamins a fav of mine. Todd, like Prince, Zappa, and a few others, is indeed an amazing phenomenon. But he would probly tell us he is just another guy (not God), trying to do his best, like all of us. I bet he is happily waiting to see what we all will come up with next. As Zappa said, lets "shaddup and get back to work!" Cheers, KT PS, another good story I had was around 1990, Todd came to Austin with a very cool group and my boss at the time, Mark B......y, happened to be a decent friend of Todd's. Very cool show with an amazing rendition of Johnny Jingo at a pretty small club in Austin. I recall meeting Marianne Faithfull and being star-struck! Another time, I was a stage hand at an Ohio outdoor venue called "Legend Valley, (this was like, hmm...1981?) and Todd was headlining ahead of The Cars, Eddie Monie, and Cheap Trick. Todd came out and jammed on a cover of (I think) "Drive My Car" along with Cheap Trick, and I was hanging with the Cheap Trick crew. I ended up eating a certain new and X-cstatic tiny pill, and sitting at the feet of Todd during the Utopia performance. Unknown to me, a giant pyro bomb went off right in my face leading up to the finale. I lost my hearing and most my vision for about 10 mins. Shortly after, Todd did the finale encore into the setting sun, singing "Love is the Answer," while we all watched in amazement and irony as the crowd set fire to the ticket boothes way up the hill, and the smoke of anarchy and violence rose into the air. A friend of mine ran security and protection dogs, and the crowd had gone insane. I personally had to drag several children under age 7 over the fence and into backstage to save them. There were at least 2 super-violent conflicts in the mud that hour, and over 100 people passed out from heat stroke. Sirens and ambulences rang out from every corner. As I was semi-insane, yet semi-prophetic the entire performance, I continued to sit about 4 feet from Todd's feet on stage, and stare at the entire scene as if from a Sci-Fi movie. I will never forget watching the entire scene go up in flames, with half the back crowd fighting and pillaging, and the front half waving and hugging, all as Todd sang on, "...Light of the World...Shine on Me...Love is the Answer..." Truly Apopcolyptic. I often wonder what he saw and how he felt. __________________ Sonic Sorcery Austin, Texas

9th July 2005	#14
James Lugo Moderator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 6,710	I hung out with him last month in LA after a concert with Joe Jackson and Ethel. He's very cool, one of my students is a close friend so we went back stage and then back to the hotel. He said the only art media that is almost as irrelevent as TV is popular music! lol Go figure... We spent the night having some great laughs. He's in Hawaii and very into the Ukalellia (sp?) I'm a huge Todd fan... __________________ Vocal Asylum & Hemispheres Recording - http://www.sslmixingonline.com/ http://www.HemispheresRecording.com - http://www.youtube.com/user/jameslugo Now affiliated with Sound Pure Pro Audio & Guitars / Boutique Amps

8th July 2005	#2
radiospace Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,003	I was just trying to hunt down "Princess of the Universe" on iTunes the other day. (Sadly not available). That's my favorite Rundgren number.

8th July 2005	#3
Drumsound Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Bloomington Il Posts: 5,032	He's an amazing tallent. I haven't kept track much lately though.

9th July 2005	#6
spectacular g Gear addict Join Date: May 2004 Location: Detroit Posts: 454	not so sure about "low budget home studio thing" sound pretty good to me. sit's rite next to Smile in my changer. great humor in it, and speaks to the state of our bidness these days. jfg

9th July 2005	#8
wilcofan Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Dieppe, Canada Posts: 423	I'm a fan. Personal favorite is "Can We Still Be Friends". I grew up with "Bat Out Of Hell" on 24/7 around the house and much of my production value comes from his style I reckon.

10th July 2005	#16
Musiclab Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Elmont NY Posts: 6,030 3 Reviews written	He is also a great singer, He made me want to sing. Utopia was a great band with killer vocals __________________ Lou Gimenez www.musiclabnyc.com

10th July 2005	#17
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: A Yank in London, UK Posts: 17,356 1 Review written	Actually - I have just realised a posssible connection I have to Todd via a groovy in-law in the business, I would LOVE to invite him to be a guest moderator here for a month! So I am going to try to get that person to alert Todd to this post and the sincere invitation! Todd - please come and hang out with us for a month! (honk if you want Todd!) I LOVED The sound of that 1st New York Dolls album! And was tickled to see he has a ProControl like I do in his home studio.. Jules Gearslutz.com admin __________________ Jules Add your reviews to the new reviews area! Gearslutz on Facebook Follow my GS picks on Twitter

10th July 2005	#18
massimo Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Roma, Italy Posts: 410	I used to be a dishwasher at Harrods, London, summer 1975. I was seventeen, and a music freak. I spent all my money in concerts, lots of acts I would never get to see back in Italy. That memorable year was Santana with Earth Wind and Fire, Gentle Giant (immense talents), Backdoor, and Todd Rundgren's Utopia at Hammersmith Odeon. Best rock concert in my life, along with Zappa in Rome, 1973 (Roxy and Elsewhere repertoire) and any Gentle Giant concert. The material was his very best in my opinion, with side A of the "Initiation" album being played segued, "Another Live" performed entirely, plus masterpieces like the "Sunset Boulevard/International Feel" medley and his best ballads from the "Something/Anything" and "Todd" albums. What else to say? A criminally underrated genius, his songs have been, and still are, the soundtrack to much of my life. One fantastic album, one which I rarely see mentioned - really one of his best - is "Second wind", 1991 or so. It includes a wonderful track called "If I have to be alone". With the exception of Todd and some old dinosaurs, I do not listen to rock or pop music anymore at all. Ciao Massimo __________________ - even nostalgia isn't what it used to be -

10th July 2005	#19
swankdoc Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,133	beep. I cant say I've had any personal contact with him...but have nearly all his albums, including the early Nazz stuff. Have seen him live numerous times. He was / is most certainly my inspiration for music and recording. Back to the Bars (double live album) is a great place to start for you who dont have any of his stuff.

11th July 2005	#22
chrisso Gear Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Oz Posts: 15,355	Another fan here. Since 1974. Long suffering I should add. How I miss the well crafted songs and unique production. How I hate the forays into prog rock and rock opera. Funny I would have said his collaborations with The Tubes are a high point, the collaboration with Steinman (and Mr Loaf) a low. The material which he crafts on his own tends to be classic Todd (IMO). 'Something/Anything', 'A Wizard A True Star', 'Hermit Of Mink Hollow'. He famously tried to make an XTC album on his own. LOL Haven't heard the last album, which was definitely done on a budget using home computing, plug-ins and virtual instruments. The live show was one of the worst I've ever witnessed however. Todd eschewing all of his standout songs in favour of a dire 10 minute jam on 'Green Onions', including a lame drum solo (by one of my all time favourite drummers Prairie Prince) and a Derek Smalls-like bass solo by Kasim Sulton. Did I mention long suffering?

11th July 2005	#24
Benjy King Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 368	Word has it that Utopia with Todd, Willie Wilcox, Roger Powell and Kasim Sulton will be doing a short run of shows very soon. __________________ Benjy www.benjyking.com www.myspace.com/benjyking

11th July 2005	#27
mikey Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 587 Thread Starter	TODD TODD TODD TODD todd Todd Todd todd

11th July 2005	#29
massimo Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Roma, Italy Posts: 410	Three fav Todd songs - just three I know it's a hard choice but.... someone has to do it! Great to see several Toddheads resurface!!! Come on, pick your three favorite Todd/Utopia songs Here are mine: Useless begging (Todd) Sunset Boulevard (A Wizard, a true star) Initiation (Initiation)

11th July 2005	#30
mikey Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 587 Thread Starter	I saw The Light One World A Dream goes On Forever

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