http://www.musicomh.com/albums/todd-rundgren-2_0908.htm
The question any reviewer must apply to a new Todd Rundgren album is simple: is this Good Todd or Bad Todd? The Todd who created pop masterpieces such as Nazz's Open My Eyes and the solo albums Something/Anything? and Hermit Of Mink Hollow, or the Todd who has dabbled in everything from overblown prog rock, bossa nova, show tunes and rapping during his lengthy and erratic career.
Following on from the rather good Liars, a melodic pop album with politically charged lyrics that sank like a stone in the UK, Rundgren returns with his new magnum opus. The promise of a return to a stadium rock sound rings alarm bells: surely, what the world needs now is not another Utopia record?
Music fans can rest easy. What we have here is by no stretch of the imagination a masterpiece, but a solid, guitar heavy rock album that confirms Rundgren's creative fires are still burning as he celebrates his 60th birthday. Thirteen short tracks banish any fears that Todd is indulging any of his more eccentric musical fetishes - hell, even the song titles are snappy one liners.
The album opens with a bang courtesy of the first single Mad. A pretty guitar flourish leads into a driving rock song with Rundgren screaming lines such as "This is more than upset/It's as enraged as I get/And you ain't seen me mad yet/And now I'm mad". As a statement of intent it does not get much better than this, and after the restrained pop charms of Afraid the album kicks into overdrive with Mercenary and Gun, which are as close to heavy metal as Rundgren will probably ever get.
A change of pace is apparent on Courage and Weakness, with the sweet harmonies and the acoustic/electric interplay evoking memories of the pop wunderkind of the early 70s, even if the latter track is a dead ringer for Black Maria from Something/Anything?
The second half of the album repeats this mix and match formula. Rundgren does his best Bon Scott impression on the hard rocking Strike, before scaling back for the obligatory novelty track Pissin, although quite what we are make of the line "Now your dick is in the mayonnaise" is anyone's guess. Today is one of the few tracks to include a substantial keyboard part, while the album's longest cut Bardo features rather dated progressive flourishes before launching into a terrific burst of feedback at the close.
Saving the best to last, the final three tracks drive the album home in some style. Mountaintop is tailor made for live performance with its massed guitars and super catchy "higher higher" refrain in the chorus. Panic is classic Rundgren with its whip smart time changes and vocal hooks, and the closing Manup is a shiny stadium rocker that manages to squeeze in a big guitar solo but does not outstay its welcome.Although there are some who may wish Arena was recorded with a band rather than Rundgren's ususal Protools set-up, which occasionally restrains the more powerful rock tracks, the songwriting continues the rich vein of form that was evident on Liars. For those wishing to hear the album performed by a full rock band, Rundgren is coming to these shores later in the year.- Nic Oliver
The "almost" official blog for everything Todd Rundgren Related........................................................................................................................................................................... Please visit the sister facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Ma4utopia?ref=hl
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
PREORDER ARENA IN THE USA AMAZON
HERE IS THE LINK TO PREORDER ARENA FROM AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/Arena-Todd-Rundgren/dp/B001EZ6OLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1220662783&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Arena-Todd-Rundgren/dp/B001EZ6OLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1220662783&sr=1-1
VIDEO: Neil Hamburger "Jug Town" WITH PRAIRE PRINCE AND ATOM ELLIS
Neil Hamburger performs "Jug Town" from his new "Country Winners" album (Drag City Records), in this classy new music video starring Neil and his "Too-Good-For-Neil-Hamburger-Band", featuring legendary drummer Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Jefferson Starship), guitarist Dave Gleason (Dave Gleason's Wasted Days), and bass player Atom Ellis (Dieselhed, The New Cars). Shot in Norco, California, at the Saddle Sore Saloon. www.dragcity.com www.americasfunnyman.com
UPDATE : Arena cd packaging
the front cover is the cover we all know. the cover opens up and on the inside the words to all the songs cover 4 pages worth that fold out. The back part of the folded pages has a scene that depicts a ancient stone wall with cd credits photoshopped on it giving the feeling of a epitath to a person who recently died. The stone wall has a mound of dirt and rock with bunches of wild flowers placed on top of the mound. the scene depicts a memorial to a fallen hero. i will post the picture in the near future when we get closer to the cd release.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
ARENA REVIEW COOKING VINYL
Todd Rundgren - Arena (Cooking Vinyl)
UK release date: 29 September 2008
The question any reviewer must apply to a new Todd Rundgren album is
simple: is this Good Todd or Bad Todd? The Todd who created pop
masterpieces such as Nazz's Open My Eyes and the solo albums
Something/Anything? and Hermit Of Mink Hollow, or the Todd who has
dabbled in everything from overblown prog rock, bossa nova, show
tunes and rapping during his lengthy and erratic career.
Following on from the rather good Liars, a melodic pop album with
politically charged lyrics that sank like a stone in the UK, Rundgren
returns with his new magnum opus. The promise of a return to a
stadium rock sound rings alarm bells: surely, what the world needs
now is not another Utopia record?
Music fans can rest easy. What we have here is by no stretch of the
imagination a masterpiece, but a solid, guitar heavy rock album that
confirms Rundgren's creative fires are still burning as he celebrates
his 60th birthday. Thirteen short tracks banish any fears that Todd
is indulging any of his more eccentric musical fetishes - hell, even
the song titles are snappy one liners.
The album opens with a bang courtesy of the first single Mad. A
pretty guitar flourish leads into a driving rock song with Rundgren
screaming lines such as "This is more than upset/It's as enraged as I
get/And you ain't seen me mad yet/And now I'm mad". As a statement of
intent it does not get much better than this, and after the
restrained pop charms of Afraid the album kicks into overdrive with
Mercenary and Gun, which are as close to heavy metal as Rundgren will
probably ever get.
A change of pace is apparent on Courage and Weakness, with the sweet
harmonies and the acoustic/electric interplay evoking memories of the
pop wunderkind of the early 70s, even if the latter track is a dead
ringer for Black Maria from Something/Anything?
The second half of the album repeats this mix and match formula.
Rundgren does his best Bon Scott impression on the hard rocking
Strike, before scaling back for the obligatory novelty track Pissin,
although quite what we are make of the line "Now your dick is in the
mayonnaise" is anyone's guess. Today is one of the few tracks to
include a substantial keyboard part, while the album's longest cut
Bardo features rather dated progressive flourishes before launching
into a terrific burst of feedback at the close.
Saving the best to last, the final three tracks drive the album home
in some style. Mountaintop is tailor made for live performance with
its massed guitars and super catchy "higher higher" refrain in the
chorus. Panic is classic Rundgren with its whip smart time changes
and vocal hooks, and the closing Manup is a shiny stadium rocker that
manages to squeeze in a big guitar solo but does not outstay its
welcome.
Although there are some who may wish Arena was recorded with a band
rather than Rundgren's ususal Protools set-up, which occasionally
restrains the more powerful rock tracks, the songwriting continues
the rich vein of form that was evident on Liars. For those wishing to
hear the album performed by a full rock band, Rundgren is coming to
these shores later in the year.
- Nic Oliver
http://www.musicomh.com/albums/todd-rundgren-2_0908.htm#
UK release date: 29 September 2008
The question any reviewer must apply to a new Todd Rundgren album is
simple: is this Good Todd or Bad Todd? The Todd who created pop
masterpieces such as Nazz's Open My Eyes and the solo albums
Something/Anything? and Hermit Of Mink Hollow, or the Todd who has
dabbled in everything from overblown prog rock, bossa nova, show
tunes and rapping during his lengthy and erratic career.
Following on from the rather good Liars, a melodic pop album with
politically charged lyrics that sank like a stone in the UK, Rundgren
returns with his new magnum opus. The promise of a return to a
stadium rock sound rings alarm bells: surely, what the world needs
now is not another Utopia record?
Music fans can rest easy. What we have here is by no stretch of the
imagination a masterpiece, but a solid, guitar heavy rock album that
confirms Rundgren's creative fires are still burning as he celebrates
his 60th birthday. Thirteen short tracks banish any fears that Todd
is indulging any of his more eccentric musical fetishes - hell, even
the song titles are snappy one liners.
The album opens with a bang courtesy of the first single Mad. A
pretty guitar flourish leads into a driving rock song with Rundgren
screaming lines such as "This is more than upset/It's as enraged as I
get/And you ain't seen me mad yet/And now I'm mad". As a statement of
intent it does not get much better than this, and after the
restrained pop charms of Afraid the album kicks into overdrive with
Mercenary and Gun, which are as close to heavy metal as Rundgren will
probably ever get.
A change of pace is apparent on Courage and Weakness, with the sweet
harmonies and the acoustic/electric interplay evoking memories of the
pop wunderkind of the early 70s, even if the latter track is a dead
ringer for Black Maria from Something/Anything?
The second half of the album repeats this mix and match formula.
Rundgren does his best Bon Scott impression on the hard rocking
Strike, before scaling back for the obligatory novelty track Pissin,
although quite what we are make of the line "Now your dick is in the
mayonnaise" is anyone's guess. Today is one of the few tracks to
include a substantial keyboard part, while the album's longest cut
Bardo features rather dated progressive flourishes before launching
into a terrific burst of feedback at the close.
Saving the best to last, the final three tracks drive the album home
in some style. Mountaintop is tailor made for live performance with
its massed guitars and super catchy "higher higher" refrain in the
chorus. Panic is classic Rundgren with its whip smart time changes
and vocal hooks, and the closing Manup is a shiny stadium rocker that
manages to squeeze in a big guitar solo but does not outstay its
welcome.
Although there are some who may wish Arena was recorded with a band
rather than Rundgren's ususal Protools set-up, which occasionally
restrains the more powerful rock tracks, the songwriting continues
the rich vein of form that was evident on Liars. For those wishing to
hear the album performed by a full rock band, Rundgren is coming to
these shores later in the year.
- Nic Oliver
http://www.musicomh.com/albums/todd-rundgren-2_0908.htm#
2ND NEW SONG FROM ARENA CD AVAILABLE
POSSIBLY SOMETIME TODAY, A NEW SONG FROM TODDS ARENA CD WILL BE AVAILABLE ON HIS MYSPACE SITE. Possibly Strike OR Mountaintop.
http://www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic
http://www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
new show added
on dec 19 todd will be playing a small hall on long island in bayshore the name of the venue is ymca boulton center few tickets are still available
http://www.boultoncenter.org/
http://www.boultoncenter.org/
VIDEOS: more sgt pepper clips
the benefit of mr kite...Todd Rundgren performs @ The Brady Theatre Tulsa Oklahoma 8/28/08
upped by philsapdrum2112
a day in the life....Sgt Pepper tribute in Westbury, NY
upped by deefender13
upped by philsapdrum2112
a day in the life....Sgt Pepper tribute in Westbury, NY
upped by deefender13
ARTICLE : Vail CO, A true guitar hero comes to Beaver Creek 7/12/08
Musical innovator Todd Rundgren rocks out tonight in the first of two summer shows
Andy StonehouseVail, CO, Colorado
Andy StonehouseVail, CO, Colorado
july 12.08
Those of you old enough to remember the phrase “Todd is God” no doubt already have tickets for a rare Beaver Creek occurrence: Two separate appearances by 100 percent verifiable rock legend Todd Rundgren, in the same summer.
Like some strange kind of double-header eclipse, the storied performer, producer, technological innovator and all-around world-class guitar hero — from the age when that meant actual skills on a stringed instrument, not the video game — will be seen at the Vilar Center both this weekend and again Aug. 27.
Sunday night’s largely sold-out show features Rundgren and his band performing both the hits and an entirely brand-new set of material from his upcoming CD, “Arena;” August’s appearance will be as part of an all-star tour (including Foreigner’s Lou Gramm, ’70s staples Christopher Cross and Denny Laine, and “American Idol” alumni Bo Bice), doing a tribute to the Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”“Yes, it’s all a little weird … I guess they must be ravenous for me up in Beaver Creek,” Rundgren said, laughing, during a recent phone interview. “I have a friend who produced ‘A Walk Down Abbey Road’ [a 2001 Beatles tribute featuring himself and guests such as Ann Wilson, Alan Parsons and John Entwistle] and … well, the second show’s going to be another permutation of that idea.”
‘People went totally mental’
Those who catch him this weekend will experience an all-Rundgren set, however. When we spoke to him a few days into this summer’s tour, he says fans were beginning to warm up to the new stuff, as well.
“We started in Oshkosh and due to technical problems, we didn’t even get to finish the show — I think most of the crowd was waiting to hear the Old 97s. But when we played at the House of Blues in Cleveland, people went totally mental.”
From his days with the late ’60s pop-rock sensation Nazz to his prominent years as a ’70s solo artist (even those born after 1980 will recognize Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me” as a staple of AM Gold radio), Rundgren’s impact on the music industry has been indisputable.
As a producer, his credits are also impressive, ranging from Meat Loaf’s best-selling “Bat Out of Hell,” the New York Dolls, XTC and more recent work for bands such as Bad Religion.
If you go ...
Who: Todd Rundgren performsWhere: Vilar Performing Arts Center, Beaver CreekWhen: Today, 8 p.m.Cost: $55, tickets are still available. More information: Call 970-845-TIXS or visit www.vilarcenter.org.
Rock star dividends
His insistence on doing things his own way, from the days of the prog rock-y Utopia to his many strange and inventive experiments with video and computer technology, hasn’t quite yielded the rock star dividends he’d hoped to produce.As a result, Rundgren admits that all-star revues such as the upcoming Beatles show (not to mention his recent involvement as a member of the reunited and partially-reinvented Cars) do help to keep the wolves from the door, as it were.“Really, I’ve survived mostly by playing live.
Performing with the New Cars was great but we’d planned a whole second tour and then (original Cars member) Elliot Easton broke his collarbone and we had to cancel everything, and we ended up owing a lot of money to everyone, including Live Nation.
It was a fun experience, though, and it did open up my horizons — here was a band that was so radio friendly, we’d be into our eighth song of the night and still everyone in the audience would be singing along — there was a lot of power in all of that familiar material.”
Not that Rundgren’s own five-decade-spanning career hasn’t produced its own share of iconic material. Rundgren says his own stuff has just taken a bit of a back seat for the last decade, having moved to the Hawaiian island of Kauai 12 years ago. “I had been going there since I was in my 20s and I always thought that maybe, later in life, I’d want to live there when I retired. The retirement part hasn’t quite happened, but living there is much more isolated, so I always have to make arrangements to call other musicians to come down and work with me.”
Guitar warrior?
Typical to his earlier work, including recordings such as 1972’s classic “Something/Everything” and 1978’s “Hermit of Mink Hollow,” Rundgren ended up recording the bulk of his new CD by himself (no worries, however: Sunday’s performance does feature a full band, including his longtime friend, the former Tubes drummer, Prairie Prince).
And in keeping with the self-admittedly odd photo that accompanies the new disc (Rundgren says it’s a take on the recent movie “300,” with him fighting off the hordes with his guitar and cymbal), the new CD is… well, as he says, “almost a bit anti-Obama.”“Unfortunately, all of this hope stuff is a bunch of s---. You’ve got to work hard and make sacrifices, but simply hoping that someone like George Bush was going to go away was not going to work. Hanging your hat on hope doesn’t do the trick — so the message of the new record is that I’m looking for other pragmatists. Really, more than anything, I’m hoping that the hooks work and that people like it.”
Rundgren also remains deeply involved in the technological aspect of music and video production, although much of what he helped pioneer has now been taken for granted for many decades. He saw the promise of music videos years before MTV went on the air, and helped introduce everything from live interactive concerts to the first interactive music CD to the musical world.He also created Patronet, the world’s first online pay-for-use music source, years before Napster and iTunes.
That project has been stymied by newer technology (“we were about to re-launch and Windows Vista came along and screwed up us and a lot of other software manufacturers”) but, as always, Rundgren keeps rolling along, although he plays down his reputation as being a wizard of innovation.“I’m one of those victims of ‘early adoption syndrome’ … I play around with a lot of things that even I don’t end up adopting.
For years, I didn’t use synthesizer sequencers — a lot of the music made with them really turned me off — and I didn’t get into them until way after Depeche Mode became popular. So I’m not always on the cutting edge.”
Andy Stonehouse is a freelance writer for the Vail Daily. E-mail comments about this article to cschnell@vaildaily.com.
TODD RUNDGREN ANNOUNCES HE WANTS TO RUN THE COUNTRY
CLICK ON LINK TO SEE FIRST COMMERCIAL FOR TODDS RUN FOR PRESIDENThttp://www.inews3.com/topstory.php?id=544f44447c52554e444752454e
--------------------------------------------------
below is the original AD for his presidency when he was to young to actually run
Monday, September 1, 2008
Photo: private show in Vegas this weekend
CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGEthanks for the photo Doug.
http://www.photobucket.com/trvegas check out fans pictures here
Bo Bice what happens in vegas stays in vegas UPDATE
first reports is that Bo had 3 signed Sgt Pepper posters stolen out of the dressing room and decided to have a serious melt down over it. From what i hear he was not very professional about it.
UPDATE....see comments for more information
UPDATE....see comments for more information
VIDEO: sgt pepper.. bo bice fan shot wolf trap
posted on youtube by Bo Bice fan sjwBO
while my guitar gently weeps
strawberry fields
im gone
a little help from my friends
while my guitar gently weeps
strawberry fields
im gone
a little help from my friends
INTERVIEWS: rocks backstage
SOMEONE AT THE ToddRundgren-GroknRollUtopia@yahoogroups.com FORUM, POSTED THESE LINKS.... SORRY I DIDNT SEE YOUR NAME ALONG WITH THE POST..
Free this week from Rock's Backpages:
Todd Rundgren
Ben Edmonds encounters Todd Rundgren (Creem, 1972)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=3955
Alan Betrock hears Todd on Todd, and more (Phonograph Record, 1974)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=3737
Snowbound in Woodstock, Paul Morley hangs out with Todd, Al Aronowitz
and Albert Grossman (NME, 1982)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=7629
Mat Snow talks interactivity with Todd Rundgren (Mojo, 1994)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5376
Rob Steen revisits Something/Anything? with Todd (unpublished, 2001)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=4848
Free this week from Rock's Backpages:
Todd Rundgren
Ben Edmonds encounters Todd Rundgren (Creem, 1972)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=3955
Alan Betrock hears Todd on Todd, and more (Phonograph Record, 1974)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=3737
Snowbound in Woodstock, Paul Morley hangs out with Todd, Al Aronowitz
and Albert Grossman (NME, 1982)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=7629
Mat Snow talks interactivity with Todd Rundgren (Mojo, 1994)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=5376
Rob Steen revisits Something/Anything? with Todd (unpublished, 2001)
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=4848
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Bo Bice update What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.....
its seems that at the Las Vegas leg of the Sgt Pepper tour something happened that people now have a different opinion of BO Bice.
what happens in vegas stay in vegas...
what happens in vegas stay in vegas...
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