Todd

Editorial and customer reviews.

Similar items.

Buy this item New from Amazon.com.

Buy this item Used from Amazon.com.

Artists: Todd Rundgren.

Lowest new price: $6.97.

Lowest used price: $5.96.

42 customer reviews.  4.5 out of 5 stars.

with his two previous albums todd had done 'pop'("something/anything") and psychedelic brainstorm ("a wizard, a true star"). for me the 'todd' album beats those as he achieves a mixture of both styles but with a depth that showed what they call 'artistic maturity.'

i heard the album in 1975 and was immediately smitten by it's strange beauty.

lucious melodies ("useless begging"), pop gems ("a dream goes on forever"), various acid noodles ("drunken blue rooster") and gonzoid rock ("#1 lowest common denominator") make for a demanding but transcendental visit into the mind of todd in '74.

it certainly has little of the so-called 'easy' side of todd (ie.'i saw the light').it's visionary,dramatic,bold,romantic and nuts.

this dream is magic.

I'm not a professional reviewer and I'm not good with written word. I do want to say something about this album and, thusly, something about Todd.
When I was 19, back in the early 70's, I lost my mom at an early age and then, had a very unfortunate experience with a young man who was my first real relationship. I was left very bereft and raw emotionally. I ended up having a nervous breakdown and having a very confused father who didn't know what to do with me. I was put in a ward at a local hospital...fortunately, we were allowed to bring a few LP's with us and to use their stereo system. I took David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust", Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and this LP by Todd, called simply "Todd". I admit, I completely hogged the stereo and played this LP over and over til I drove everyone nuttier than they already were, but, it, along with the other 2 LP's, helped heal my soul more than the old fart shrink who treated me ever could. As a matter of fact, playing these LP's is about the only thing that stays vividly in my memories from that whole experience. I'd be a Todd fan way before then, but after that, I was completely besotted.

"Wait another year, utopia is here, and there's more . . ."

This album/CD is Todd Rundgren at his best. Although I first discovered Todd through his catchy 1973 pop single "Hello It's Me" (Something/Anything?), which I still can't get out of my head, it wasn't until his 1973 release of A Wizard, A True Star that I became a true Todd fan for life. But his self-titled 1974 album a year later was my real initiation into the true artistic genius of Todd. Experimenting with heavy synth progressive sounds, Todd took A Wizard, A True Star one step further. On the album, he covers everything from a Gilbert & Sullivan show tune ("Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song") to the Hendrix-like "I Think You Know" and "No 1. Lowest Common Denominator," to the pre-punk rock "Everybody's Going to Heaven/King Kong Reggae," to the pure pop sounds of "A Dream Goes on Forever" and "Useless Begging," to the visionary Todd anthem, "Sons of 1984." I had never heard anything like this album before, and I haven't heard anything like this since. Arguably, this album is Todd's finest hour, though it will probably bewilder the uninitiated.

Todd's mind-blowing set list includes:

1. How About A Little Fanfare?
2. I Think You Know
3. The Spark Of Life
4. An Elpee's Worth Of Toons
5. A Dream Goes On Forever
6. Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song
7. Drunken Blue Rooster
8. The Last Ride
9. Everybody's Going To Heaven/King Kong Reggae
10. Number 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

G. Merritt

Just add Windowpane & Headphones & You're Off!!!

At least that's the way it was for me when this masterpiece came out that year.

"You'd had to been there to truly understand though I suppose".

Glad I was...
'nuff said.

In the year 3000 (sorry, Conan), most of the human race will still be struggling to acquire the sort of imagination that Todd had in 1974. I am gratified to see so many positive reviews here. It is hard to add anything meaningful to them, except that I take exception to all the grousing about "Chakras" ... it is a stroke of genius, like every other track.

Listening to this record reminds me of how sad it is that we've entered the era of singles downloads. Just the hits, please ... anything my friends are already listening to. Much of the material here simply would not make sense outside the context of the entire record. How can a concept album like this ever be made again?

Can't take the green hair or the lack of uniformity or the surprise in every single track or the oddness of this amazing flight to another universe? Then step to the back of the elevator, where your little comfort zone won't be violated.

Five stars doesn't even begin to rate this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2004-2006 TicTap.com | An Amazon.com Associate | Give us feedback