One of my essential Todd solo albums, "The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren" is less experimental and more accessible than Rundgren's debut. Although the solo debut had a pretty solid single in "We Got To Get You A Woman," this follow-up may be his mellowest and most straightforward production.
Musically very solid, it's stuffed with wispy, richly harmonized piano ballads that tread so close to Carole King's Tapestry it's downright distracting ("A Long Time, A Long Way To Go"; "Hope I'm Around"; the awesomely tuneful "The Ballad (Denny And Jean)" and "Be Nice To Me"). He also dabbles in other genres, with a clever, gently waltzing cowboy sendup ("The Range War") and the haunting, jazzy open spaces of "Boat On The Charles" (where he plays both vibes and sax).
Rundgren's melodies have never been more ornate, and there are a few mid-tempo rock 'n' rollers mixed in with the ballads.
And don't forget the SUPER 8 DEBUT ALBUMS Blog Hop coming Monday (have you signed up yet?)
TODDFAN DISCMAN ~
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Alright, I'm able to see all of the text now.
I shut my PC completely down and then brought it up again about 30 minutes later and now... it'z all good.
Maybe it wasn't Blogger that was buggy; maybe it was ME!
I should borrow this album from you again sometime and give it a second listen.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Oh, and incidentally...
ReplyDeleteI see you have changed the text style for this post. What are you using here? Verdana? That's what I use and this looks similar.
Much, much easier on the eyes, Brother. More spacious and clear. Good move!
I vote for: "Keep It".
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal Americ-- oh, you know the gig!
It was Blogger-for some reason the text was colored black even though the default is white.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately,they also changed the font. I have no idea what they used....