With two stellar albums under his belt, Todd Rundgren really was hitting his stride as not only a singer/songwriter, but also as a musician & producer. So it was without surprise that he was prepared to strike paydirt in some way or other. And with the 1972 double-LP Something/Anything? Todd did just that. If Runt was the equivalent of a Bachelor's Degree in the world of music & The Ballad of Todd Rundgren was a Master's then S/A? is the Ph.D. Todd worked long & laboriously for. Not only is this pop heaven but also a trademark tapestry of sound which takes multiple listens to fully appreciate.
The 1-2-3 punch of "I Saw The Light," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" & "Wolfman Jack" are not only an awesome way to start any album out: they're also power-pop gems on an album chock full of hidden treasure. (Kudos to "Couldn't I Just Tell You" as well.) "Cold Morning Light," "Hello It's Me," "Marlene," "Torch Song" & "Saving Grace" are beauties in the ballad department; "Black Maria," "Little Red Lights" & "Slut" reveal Mr. Rundgren in rock-out mode. "Intro" is Todd giving the ultimate homework lesson in the sounds of the studio: hiss, hum, lousy editing, the tape machine going on the blink among other out-of-line sounds. Of course, he didn't mention other sounds, nuances or effects which abound throughout S/A?: slowed-down instrumentation (as well as vocals: e.g. the intro to "Saving Grace"), instrumentation getting tinkered with electronically - just to cite some examples of Todd's multi-talented personality at work.
What makes S/A? so special is that 75% of the album was done by one man & one man alone. If there was a perfect model for folks like Prince to take to heart as far as one-man bands are concerned, S/A? is one great place to start. Side four - the other 25% of this magnum opus - was captured live in the studio, warts & all; this time around, Todd had the support of whoever showed up to play at the time but (if I should say so) Part Four is just as sweet. Talk about a musician who wasn't afraid to step outside the box: Todd's willingness to explore divergent musical styles like hard rock, pop, soul, R&B, early electronic music (& all this during a time frame of 90 minutes) to this day has never failed to amaze me or any diehard TR fan for that matter. And he still managed to sound like himself in the process.
Something/Anything? really made me a believer in Todd Rundgren, not only because it was one of the more challenging albums ever produced/released way back in 1972. It also showed us why Todd was God back in the day: this is a classic double-album from start to finish, veering effortlessly from one style to another, a showcase for Todd's knack to be diverse as can be in terms of musicianship as well as songcraft.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment