So….here is another candidate for “My Final Playlist”. This one is from Todd Rundgren….have I mentioned that he deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame???
I don’t think I need to do a lot of explaining about why this song is under consideration, give it a listen and I think you will understand. It has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it on Todd’s second solo album, Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren in 1971.
Short and to the point………as always let me know what you think?
The year was 1972 and Todd Rundgren had to be feeling that it was now or never. He had put out three albums as part of a group called Nazz and two solo albums. All of his work was well received by critics but none of it had any significant commercial success. Todd wanted a lot of things but most of all he wanted success! Fortunately for him he had used his time with Nazz and with his first two solo albums to hone his songwriting chops and, maybe more importantly, to become a studio wizard. Armed with these skills Todd went into the studio to create his double album masterpiece that would become Something/Anything. The first three sides were all Todd…..no really they were all Todd. All of the songs, all of the instruments, all of the vocals and all of the production was Todd. Let’s listen to a few cuts from these first three sides (the notes are from the Todd’s liner notes that I copied from my copy of the album)……
Side 1: A bouquet of ear-catching melodies.
If there is a single on the album, this is it, so I put it first like at Motown.
I really don’t know what this song is about. It was sort of an accident.
Side 2: This is the cerebral side.
My first movie score. Unfortunately there is no movie to go with it.
Side 3; The kid gets heavy.
The hits just keep on coming
These are just a few of the gems on the first three sides of Something/Anything but some of the best was yet to come on side 4 where Todd had the support of a great crew of musicians and background vocalist. Let’s listen to a couple of the side 4 tracks.
That last one is a killer, maybe Todd’s best ever, and if that was the only song he ever wrote he would deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you agree, please go back to the my last post and use the link I provided to sign the petition to get Todd nominated!
So…to be fair I need to tell you that Todd has a very strange sense of humor that sometimes comes out in his music. Let me give you one example from Something/Anything……
Written in the feverish grip of the dreaded “d’oyle carte,” a chronic disease dating back to my youth. Dedicated to Miss Patti Lee Smith.
So there you have it….Todd set out to make a masterpiece and that is exactly what he did. Hello Its Me became his most successful single topping at #5 on the charts. In 2003 Rolling Stone ranked Something/Anythng #173 in their list of the best albums of all time. Todd continues to make music to this day with varying degrees of success but he has never approached the level of consistent quality that he exhibited on Something/Anything. Todd has also had huge success as a producer for groups including New York Dolls, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, and Meat Loaf to name just a few. He is indeed A Wizard and A True Star!
The full album is provided below. Give it a listen and as always let me know what you think.
In my opinion, Todd Rungren is a pop genius but unfortunately he is a virtual unknown to most folks today. With today’s long song Tuesday post I am beginning a two post effort to get him the recognition that he deserves. Our long song offering today is Todd’s homage to Philly Soul, in the form of a medley of I’m So Proud, Ooh Baby Baby, La La Means I Love You, and Cool Jerk. Let’s listen….
This medley was from Todd’s fourth album, A Wizard, A True Star (1973). (Note: I said he was a genius, I never claimed he was modest.)
Later this week we will feature Todd’s third album, Something/Anything, as our album of the week. That album is Todd’s masterpiece and it is something to look forward to if you haven’t heard it before. After listening to it, I hope you will agree with me that the term genius definitely applies to Todd! I can’t believe that he is not yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! If you want to help, go to the following site and sign the petition to get him inducted:
http://www.petitiononline.com/toddrund/petition.html
Before I sign off today let me leave you with a couple of additional tracks from A Wizard, A True Star.
If you like what you hear, the entire A Wizard, A True Star album is provided below.
Yes I am a huge Neil Young fan but if you read this blog you have probably figured that out by now. Today’s cool concert chatter is a great Neil Young boot from a 1974 performance at the Bottom Line. Both Neil and the audience appeared to be in very talkative moods. As a lead in to singing Motion Pictures, Neil tells two great stories: one about why he quit performing Southern Man and a second one about how to make “honey slides”. Let’s listen……..
The website thrasherswheat.org offers a few further details about the Southern Man story that Neil tells in the video.
The song “Southern Man” was at the center of an unfortunate event on the 1973 tour and has been recounted by Neil in concert. The incident ocurred on March 31, 1973 in Oakland, CA. During the performance of “Southern Man”, an excited fan approached the stage dancing and having a good time. A security guard approached the fan and proceeded to “beat the crap out of him” and have him removed. Young stopped playing the song, left the stage, and abruptly canceled the rest of the performance. Young believed that the assault flew directly in the face of the song’s message of tolerance and diversity and was sickened by the attack. A final irony of the Oakland “Southern Man” performance was that the officer was black and the beaten fan was white.
The honey slides that Neil talked about seem to have been the band’s preferred drug during the recording of On The Beach and based on Rusty Kershaw’s liner notes for the album it must have been some powerful shit.
Not to speak of the fun we had. We laughed so hard we all had bruised ribs. On revolution blues, I turned into a python then an aligator, I was crawling like one making noises like one.
Plus I was eating up the carpet and mike stands and such and in the meanwhile I started to crawl up towards Neil, which is pretty spooky.
The life of a rock star! Stay tuned for future editions of Cool Concert Chatter. As always, let me know what you think.
In the States this is Labor Day Weekend and most of us get a holiday on Monday. So……. this week we honor working men and women that make this county what is today by focusing on songs about the life of working class people. I hope you enjoy these songs.
As always, let me know what you think and let me know what your favorite “working” songs are.
Millworker – James Taylor
Factory – Bruce Springsteen
Story Behind Factory – Bruce Springsteen
Working at the Carwash Blues – Jim Croce
16 Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford
Take This Job and Shove It – Johnny Paycheck
Today’s headline from the Huffington Post
Even Fox News called him out on the speech!
Here are the details…..
And now a musical message from Mittallica….enjoy 🙂
Up first in the “My Final Playlist” series of posts is a song from Jimmy Buffet.
Years ago I read a book about Steve Jobs titled “The Journey Is The Reward.” That title (which I later learned was from an old Chinese proverb) really made an impression on me and has shaped the way that I look at life. In my opinion, life is not about the wealth that we accumulate, the fame that we achieve, or the things that we buy along the way. Life is all about the journey and the people that we meet (and help) along the way.
With this philosophy in mind, there is no better metaphor for life than a cruise which makes today’s song is a strong contender for “My Final Playlist.” When I sail into that final port, I want everyone to know that although the cruise is ending it has been lovely and I wouldn’t change a thing.
As always….let me know what you think.
Following up on Friday’s post where we discussed crazy Republican explanations for events like Hurricane Isaac, I would like to introduce the legal term for such events, Force Majeure. In simple terms Force Majeure means events that are beyond human control. In even more simple terms that my Republican friends can understand…..Shit Happens.
While we are on the topic of Force Majeure, I need to point out that it is also the name of a 1979 Tangerine Dream album. I am particularly fond of the title track of that album and have selected it as my long song Tuesday offering for this week. The song takes a while to get started and transitions through several different themes so be patient and I think you will be rewarded at the end.
As always, let me know what you think.
Dedicated to the Republicans as they prepare to start their convention in Tampa this week.
Thanks Todd Snider!
Just saw the following headline on Huffington Post. This is truly a sad day………..
Neil was a Navy Veteran, flying combat missions during the Korean. He was also a test pilot and a veteran of both a Gemini and an Apollo NASA spaceflight. He will always be remembered as the first man to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Many of you were probably not around to watch the Apollo 11 mission as it happened. If you are interested in the details, I encourage you to watch the following six part CBS documentary based on the actual live coverage of the mission by Walter Cronkite. For what its worth, Walter was the best damn news anchor of all time (RIP Walter!).
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Finally….I offer up Anchors Aweigh, the Navy song, in tribute to Neil’s amazing service to the US.
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 