By the time he recorded the eponymous Todd in 1973, Todd Rundgren had charted with such evergreen hits as “Hello It's Me," “I Saw the Light" and “We Gotta Get You a Woman," and had also been dubbed “Rock's Renaissance Man" by Rolling Stone after releasing studio masterpieces Something/Anything? and A Wizard, A True Star. Todd was a departure; the iconoclastic artist included pop ballads alongside medleys, anthems, and prog rock. The album is universally heralded as one of Rundgren's best, often compared to Electric Ladyland and Pet Sounds.
In 2010, 37 years after its original release—Rundgren performed Todd live in its entirety for the first time ever, as part a special limited six-date sold-out tour (the Healing album was also performed, which will be a subsequent stand-alone live DVD/CD release).
The September 14 date at Philadelphia's Keswick Theater, in Rundgren's hometown, was videotaped and is being released as both a live DVD by S'More Entertainment and a live audio CD by sibling RockBeat Records.
Joining him onstage were Utopia's Kasim Sulton (bass), The Cars' Greg Hawkes (keyboards), The Tubes' Prairie Prince (drums), Guitar Player Magazine's editor Jesse Gress (guitar), Bobby Strickland (sax) and a full choir. Both the DVD and CD will hit retail on February 14, 2012.
In addition to the musical performance, multiple Emmy Award-winning television personality and sportscaster Roy Firestone, whose knowledge of Rundgren's work is encyclopedic, was enlisted to conduct an extensive in-depth conversation with Rundgren onstage, which will also be packaged with the DVD.
From pop classic “A Dream Goes on Forever" to rocker “Heavy Metal Kids," from the anthemic “Sons of 1984" to the explosive Blue Eyed Soul of “The Last Ride," from the industry satire “An Elpee's Worth of Toons" to the Gilbert & Sullivan homage “The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song," Todd is a masterful example of Rundgren's broad musical palette.
A Wizard, A True Star, the title of Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo album, aptly sums up the contributions of this multi-faceted artist to state-of-the-art music. As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist, and, most recently, interactive artist (re-designated TR-i), Rundgren has made a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front The Nazz before pursuing a solo career, and forming Utopia, combining technical virtuosity and creative passion to create music that, for millions, defined the term “progressive rock."
Rundgren's myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meatloaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall and Oates. Rounding out his reputation as rock's Renaissance Man, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp's 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It (the screenplay commissioned by the Beatles for what was meant to have been their third motion picture). He also composed the score for several features including Dumb & Dumber as well as for a number of television series, including Pee-wee's Playhouse and Crime Story.
Early last year Rundgren performed his iconic 1973 album A Wizard, A True Star in concert in its entirety for the first time ever, and recently did the same with a double bill: Todd and Healing. His latest two studio albums are Todd Rundgren's Johnson, a collection of classic Robert Johnson songs, and reProduction, covers of songs Todd has produced for other artists.
S'more Entertainment, Inc. are proud purveyors of classic TV, cult films, long-form music and unique special interest programming, and Rockbeat Records is a new audio label dedicated to the release of enhanced CDs and vinyl and the creation of reissues and compilations on a variety of music genres.
SONS OF 1984
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