Some classic Todd:

Black Maria with the original version of Utopia.

Utopia

I'll try to dredge up some more. Just noticed no embedding on this, hope that isn't an automatic redlight for YouTube clips.

You can embed it manually

(new window)

Because People in power are Stupid: You can embed it manually


Yeah, but I meant for the submission. You know how Fark embeds YouTube links...

That's not that great of a version of Couldn't I Just Tell You, but I love Kas falling on his ass. For the most part, I like those old Utopia clips with M. Frog Labat in the band better. Todd had an, uh, interesting fashion sensibility back then, didn't he?

Damn. 60?!

I lurves me some Utopia. Sing-ring and the Glass Guitar!

He played on Bat Out Of Hell, which makes him a winner in my book.

/saw Meat Loaf on a cell phone commercial a while back
//thought he was dead

crypticsatellite: I lurves me some Utopia. Sing-ring and the Glass Guitar!

I saw that tour twice. Great fun (70's drugs, right?), but kind of over-the-top in retrospect with that whole "climbing the pyramid/smashing the guitar" deal. Plus, too much Mark II Utopia and not enough Todd (everybody got a showcase in the set). Saw him on the Back To The Bars tour too -- up close and personal! Got a friend who's probably seen him 30-40 times over the years.


Galaxy of Prawns: He played on Bat Out Of Hell, which makes him a winner in my book.

He produced it, didn't he? He's produced a lot of stuff over the years: XTC, Patti Smith, Grand Funk Railroad (!)...


Todd at 20: The Nazz "Open My Eyes." Looks like the bass player's got an EB-O. I've had an EB-3 for years, same thing but with two pick-ups (guitar geek moment, pardon me)

More old stuff:

The Seven Rays

Freedom Fighters

Love of the Common Man

Sunset Boulevard/International Feel with typical dud Rockpalast audience. The ankh guitar... must be around the time of that Ra tour.

Todd produced XTC's Skylarking, so I can't say a bad word about him.

If you haven't heard it....it's summer personified.

Along with a few thousand other people I got to sing on Sons Of 1984. In my case, sing = slur & mumble.

I bought Foghat's first album and Hall & Oates' War Babies album without hearing anything from them because Todd had a hand in them. Both of them still remain favorites.

Sunset Boulevard

todd is a farking genius songwriter/musician/producer.

and "couldn't i just tell you" may be the greatest power-pop song ever written.

I had the Nazz albums back when they were still rare (early 80's) and played the hell out of them!

Oddly enough, Todd's solo career never appealed to me that much. I borrowed a big load of Todd albums and made an anthology of my fave cuts. I think I'm one of the only people on the face of the earth who didn't care for "A Wizard, A True Star".

Best Todd song? "The Wheel" (IMHO)

zappaisfrank:

I had the Nazz albums back when they were still rare (early 80's) and played the hell out of them!

Oddly enough, Todd's solo career never appealed to me that much. I borrowed a big load of Todd albums and made an anthology of my fave cuts. I think I'm one of the only people on the face of the earth who didn't care for "A Wizard, A True Star".

Best Todd song? "The Wheel" (IMHO)


I like Todd's solo stuff fine, it's the Utopia material that I generally wasn't impressed by. Not the earlier Todd Rundgren's Utopia line-up (as on Another Live that "The Wheel" is from, or even earlier), but the later 4-piece band -- most of that seemed like too much "band" and not enough "Todd."

I hate to admit but I really dislike Rundgren.

Always have.

Utopia sounds like some drunk guys in a studio making fun of prog.
"Hey! lets see how corny and over the top we can sound"
Utopia is like Reader's Digest condensed prog-rock to me.

Also,he should be shot for what he did to The New York Doll's first record. He totally missed the boat on that one. His production on that album is wretched. New York Dolls had a kinda MC5 live sound but Rundgren's idea was to make them sound like some 50s boogie-woogie rock and roll band.
Terrible.

DrBenway

I like Todd's solo stuff fine, it's the Utopia material that I generally wasn't impressed by. Not the earlier Todd Rundgren's Utopia line-up (as on Another Live that "The Wheel" is from, or even earlier), but the later 4-piece band -- most of that seemed like too much "band" and not enough "Todd."

Yeah, I tend to skip over the songs Kasim sings. That's the reason I ended up making an anthology from all those albums. There were individual songs I liked instead of entire albums. I liked "Runt" a lot, however.

craigdamage:

Also,he should be shot for what he did to The New York Doll's first record. He totally missed the boat on that one. His production on that album is wretched. New York Dolls had a kinda MC5 live sound but Rundgren's idea was to make them sound like some 50s boogie-woogie rock and roll band.
Terrible.

Huh. Never had a problem with that album. From the live stuff I've seen, I thought it synched up pretty well with what they were about. I don't think I've ever read anything about what the band thought about it, though -- that would be interesting.


zappaisfrank:

Yeah, I tend to skip over the songs Kasim sings. That's the reason I ended up making an anthology from all those albums. There were individual songs I liked instead of entire albums. I liked "Runt" a lot, however.

Same here. There would be some great songs scattered through that stuff, but overall I didn't like it as much. A lot of it sounded kind of corny and cheesy to me.

I had a friend back in Houston in the late 70's, a huge Todd fan. Didn't do any drugs, and I'm not sure if he even drank much at all, either. I asked him once what he thought when A Wizard, A True Star followed on the heels of Something/Anything and he said it scared him to death, it was such a big change of pace after his three previous albums.

In trying to give Bruce Willis and Demi Moore a run for their money, Todd named one of his sons "Rebop." "Thinks they can give weird names to their kids? I'll show them weird!"

Todd produced "Remote Control' for the Tubes but then helped sink their career with the aptly named 'Love Bomb.'

Love 'Skylarking' and 'Hello It's Me." Saw him with Utopia, meh.

JohnCougarMelonhead: In trying to give Bruce Willis and Demi Moore a run for their money, Todd named one of his sons "Rebop." "Thinks they can give weird names to their kids? I'll show them weird!"

Todd produced "Remote Control' for the Tubes but then helped sink their career with the aptly named 'Love Bomb.'

Love 'Skylarking' and 'Hello It's Me." Saw him with Utopia, meh.

Well, in Todd's defense (and I am a huge Tubes nutswinger), the boys didn't give him a lot to work with on Love Bomb. The band was a mess at that point. The album has it's moments though.

One of the greatest albums ever.

Don't have YouTube access at the moment, but check out his performances on Letterman's show during the Nearly Human days: Will Lee dancing with the backup singers on "Want of a Nail" (complete with Bobby Womack goodness) and especially the awesome version of "The Waiting Game."

Many folks were somewhat clueless with the sorta "trashy" sounding early punk-like bands. The New York Doll's first album isn't the only one. "Back in the USA" by MC5 sounds real 50s rock and Roll too.

Nobody knew how to record these early so-called "punk pioneers" at that time.

Don't get me wrong--those are good records but I really don't care for the boogie-woogie piano treatments accompanying the guitar sludge. (this is why MC5's first record was recorded live)

The Stooges lucked out with John Cale at the helm on their first effort. It is a dark and dirty sounding record and fits the music perfectly.

I respect Rundgren and acknowledge his significance but I just don't care for his choices.

Utopia's Fix Your Gaze.

...that is all.

Utopia always struck me as Todd's middle ground between the (truly) solo artist and the producer. They were some guys who could hang and occasionally offer up something on their own, but mainly freed Todd from carrying all the weight. My favorite was the three-sided eponymous Utopia LP. By the time he seriously started using other musicians on his solo albums with Nearly Human, Utopia was past tense.

todd rundgren(and the nazz)ruled, but ive got a utopia bootleg from the first tour that is pretty bad. i dont know if they were always like that live but the albums sure were good. why is 'ra' always the one people say is the best though? half of 'ra' is gheyer than hell(that whole 2nd side, yikes).

zappaisfrank: I think I'm one of the only people on the face of the earth who didn't care for "A Wizard, A True Star".

i bought my coolest frank shirt and my 'wizard a true star' shirt on the same day. im not sure what that means or why i told you that. i guess i can see how someone wouldnt get into it, but jesus i love that record.

mahavishnunj:

todd rundgren(and the nazz)ruled, but ive got a utopia bootleg from the first tour that is pretty bad. i dont know if they were always like that live but the albums sure were good. why is 'ra' always the one people say is the best though? half of 'ra' is gheyer than hell(that whole 2nd side, yikes).


Ra's pretty cheesy -- like I said up-thread, too much Utopia and not enough Todd. And yeah, "yikes" is a pretty good way to sum up side 2. For some people, I think the whole giant pyramid on stage bit stuck in their heads, but among fans of his I know, none of them would consider Ra to be a high point. It kind of surprises me when I hear people who liked it that much.

If memory serves me, the fact that they had no amps on stage for the live shows on that tour was, at the time, thought to be innovative.

Do you have Wizard on CD? How's the mastering? It's great that he crammed so much music onto the original vinyl, but sonically it would break down pretty quickly. I think the one bootleg I have is from around the time of Another Live. Is that what you've got, or is yours a little earlier?

DrBenway: Do you have Wizard on CD? How's the mastering?

HAD. i lost it but i remember it sounding good. im not sure we will ever get a GREAT sounding version, it sounds to me like he bounced tracks beyond belief to get so much stuff crammed into some of those tracks.

the old bootleg i mentioned is titled 'utopia fox theater 73' but it should be titled 'todd rundgren fox theater 73' because i only recognize one utopia song here. heres the setlist:

* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 01 - utopia theme (11-08-73).mp3 9 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 02 - Dont You Ever Learn (11-08-73).mp3 6 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 03 - Hello It's Me (11-08-73).mp3 8 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 04 - sons of 1984 (11-08-73).mp3 4 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 05 - open my eyes (11-08-73).mp3 6 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 06 - Black Maria (11-08-73).mp3 6 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 07 - the last ride (11-08-73).mp3 6 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 08 - slut (11-08-73).mp3 4 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 09 - Couldnt I Just Tell You (11-08-73).mp3 5 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 10 - believe in me (07-01-71).mp3 3 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 11 - it wouldnt have made any difference (07-01-71).mp3 4 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 12 - broke down and busted (07-01-71).mp3 5 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 13 - ooh baby baby (07-01-71).mp3 3 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 14 - be nice to me (07-01-71).mp3 4 Mb
* Todd Rundgren Live @ The Fox Theater - 15 - ballad of denny and jean (07-01-71).mp3 4 Mb

is this where the 'utopia theme' from the first record came from? if thats the case they did some MAJOR post performance editing because theres some significant differences. nothing major but alot of missed notes, out of tune vocals, etc. the rest of the show isnt terrible, but its the worst ive heard todd sing live and they dont do a single song as good as the record versions. some of the vids im seeing in this thread are great though.

DrBenway: I think the one bootleg I have is from around the time of Another Live.

can you believe ive never heard 'another live'?

/im pathetic

mahavishnunj music:

DrBenway: Do you have Wizard on CD? How's the mastering?

HAD. i lost it but i remember it sounding good. im not sure we will ever get a GREAT sounding version, it sounds to me like he bounced tracks beyond belief to get so much stuff crammed into some of those tracks.

That's probably true. Sometimes he doesn't know when to stop. Pity that. Still has to be better than the album.

the old bootleg i mentioned is titled 'utopia fox theater 73' but it should be titled 'todd rundgren fox theater 73' because i only recognize one utopia song here. heres the setlist:

It's probably Utopia (the early version of the band) backing him up on the '73 stuff. I wonder if it's the Sales brothers on the songs from '71? I'm pretty sure this is from before the one I've got, but I haven't looked at in awhile. Need to find it and see.

is this where the 'utopia theme' from the first record came from? if thats the case they did some MAJOR post performance editing because theres some significant differences. nothing major but alot of missed notes, out of tune vocals, etc. the rest of the show isnt terrible, but its the worst ive heard todd sing live and they dont do a single song as good as the record versions. some of the vids im seeing in this thread are great though.

Maybe it's the same show, but it's probably just another one on the same tour. I wouldn't be surprised if they did a lot of post-production/re-recording with it -- that was pretty normal with a lot of live albums back then (didn't the Stones put out a "live" album in the 60's that was just studio recordings with audience tracks added? That was pretty extreme).

Yeah, like I said, I really like the early version of Utopia with M. Frog and Moogy Klingman that's on a couple of those linked videos. Wish I'd seen one of those shows... a friend of mine saw him way back around the time of Runt, I think, and has been a fan ever since. I haven't followed him too closely for quite awhile, though I still like hearing what he's up to.

can you believe ive never heard 'another live'?

/im pathetic

I can't remember for sure, but I think that one didn't sell that well, so it kind of falls between the cracks. Has some interesting stuff on it. Bunch of covers (maybe half of it?) -- something from West Side Story (!) and a cover of "Do Ya," the Jeff Lynne song from when he was in the Move.

I'm a big an of Todd, but I admit his work is uneven at times. Love the "Liars" album, and "Something/Anything", "Runt", "Hermit Of Mink Hollow", and "Wizard" are classics. I like the Utopia "Swing To The Right" album as well.

Production-wise, I've always thought some of his stuff was poorly recorded. Maybe it was the mastering or pressing quality, bit much of it sounds thin and weak.

I think Todd's a fine record producer for other artists. He seems to get out of the way for the most part & let the artist sound like themselves. Some Rundgren-produced LPs I like are James Cotton Blues Band's "Taking Care Of Business", XTC's "Skylarking", and the Tubes' "Remote Control" and "Love Bomb".

Some hate "Love Bomb", but I like it. Side 2 is a killer party-side. The band was already mostly broken up by the time the LP was recorded. Fee only did a few cuts with the rest of the band for that album and then did a solo record that was heavily promoted by Capitol, while the Tubes' LP wasn't. I actually thought Bill Spooner did a great job on taking up the lead vocals on that album, in Fee's absence.

DrBenway: That's probably true. Sometimes he doesn't know when to stop.

i dont know, this is one of the things i love about AWATS! the 'overproduction' i mean. if he had todays technology for that record and we could really hear all that crazy shiat swirling around like he heard it in his head i think it would be even more mindblowing than it already is.

DrBenway: that was pretty normal with a lot of live albums back then (didn't the Stones put out a "live" album in the 60's that was just studio recordings with audience tracks added? That was pretty extreme).

nearly everyone did, which ive always thought is the sleaziest and lamest thing a band could possibly do. king crimson did just the opposite with SABB-its almost entirely live but with the audience noise removed. i never understood that, the actual concert(released as 'the nightwatch')sounds VASTLY superior to SABB. although SABB has 'the mincer' which was an improv from that show that wetton put some weird lyrics and a great vocal melody to afterward in the studio. strange shiat.

I've really been groovin' on Utopia Deface the Music lately. It's frighteningly addictive.