Showing posts with label Utopia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utopia. Show all posts

CD Review: Todd Rundgren – State


CD Review: Todd Rundgren – State
MVD Audio/Esoteric Antenna/Cherry Red Records
All Access Rating: C+

Todd Rundgren - State 2013
With mirrored ski goggles on, making him look like a somewhat cracked amateur scientist from the ‘80s, Todd Rundgren returns to the laboratory – or home studio in this case – for more colorful experiments in electronic-pop sound collages on State, his 24th album. 

The protective eyewear he sports on the cover of State is necessary, given the UV radiance flooding from Rundgren’s synthesizers, instruments he buried under the expansive, guitar-based crunch and sharp, giant hooks of 2008’s infectious rock contagion Arena, an underappreciated collection of big-sounding, solid hard-rock bombshells that only served to cement his reputation as a sublimely talented pop innovator.

State is something altogether different. This is the Todd Rundgren of art-rock stylists Utopia, not the lovable, dog-eared Todd Rundgren of The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect. Whimsical and playful, even ridiculously absurd at times, as the silly, squelching, plasticized ‘80s funk of “Angry Bird” so ineffectively illustrates, State is a head-scratcher. Equally capable of delivering moments of pure, transcendent electro-pop ecstasy on “Smoke” – with its muted popcorn beats and blooming keyboards – and “Ping Me” that rival his production work on XTC’s Skylarking and succumbing to utter stagnancy, as it does on the plodding, heavy-lidded “Imagination,” State feels as if it was carelessly thrown together in a rather dated and complacent DIY fashion, especially with regard to its surprisingly uninspired vocal melodies.

And yet, just when it seems that State ought to be written off as an ill-conceived lark, the bright, candy-coated future-shock funk of “Serious” hits the dance floor with a hard, robotic strut, as does the bouncing “Party Liquor,” and State, however briefly, suddenly comes alive with excitement and energy. Too often, though, State seems too laid-back and too dependent on its many textures and moods to create interest, at the expensive of real song craft. At least momentarily, this wizard has lost some of his magic.

-        –  Peter Lindblad

Todd Rundgren's 'State' due out in April


Pop craftsman and producer extraordinaire plots U.S. tour

Todd Rundgren - State 2013
He’s a wizard. He’s a true star, and he’s hitting retirement age, but that doesn’t mean Todd Rundgren has tired of creating pop-rock magic. His new studio album, State, will hit the streets on April 9.

State is Rundgren’s 24th solo album, and this danceable blend of rock, soul, R&B and electronica will be released on the Esoteric Antenna label via Cherry Red. In support of State, Rundgren, who celebrates his 65th birthday in 2013, will embark on an 11-city U.S. tour in May.

In the late ‘60s, Rundgren fronted the psychedelic-pop outfit The Nazz, before leaving in 1969 to go solo and record his debut LP Runt. However, it was 1972’s Something/Anything? that established Rundgren as a sublime talent both as a songwriter and a studio artist, having played every instrument and singing every vocal part on the record, as well as serving as producer. He would go to make other landmark albums such as Todd, The Hermit of Mink Hollow and A Wizard A True Star.

Returning to the group format, Rundgren formed the progressive-rock visionaries Utopia in 1974, recording nine albums with the band. Expanding his horizons, Rundgren also made a name for himself as a producer, twiddling the knobs for classic records by the likes of Patti Smith, The New York Dolls, Cheap Trick, XTC, the Psychedelic Furs and Hall and Oates, although it was Meat Loaf’s mega-hit Bat Out of Hell that cemented his reputation as a studio wunderkind.

In addition, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp’s 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton’s “Up Against It” – the screenplay of which was commissioned by The Beatles for what was to be their third movie. He’s also scored such movies and TV shows as “Dumb and Dumber” and “Pee Wee’s Playhouse,” respectively.

It figures to be a busy year for Rundgren, who will hold his annual musical summer camp, known as Toddstock v6.5, June 17-22 near New Orleans.

Check out the track listing for State below:
1. Imagination
2. Serious
3. In My Mouth
4. Ping Me
5. Angry Bird
6. Smoke
7. Collide-A-Scope
8. Something From Nothing
9. Party Liquor
10. Sir Reality

In support of State, Rundgren’s U.S. tour will hit these hot spots:
May 5 – Woodstock, N.Y., Bearsville Theater
May 8 – Norfolk, Conn., Infinity Hall
May 10 – New York, N.Y., The Gramercy Theatre
May 11 – Philadelphia, Pa., Trocadero Theatre
May 12 – Huntington, N.Y., The Paramount
May 14 – Kent, Ohio, The Kent Stage
May 15 – Pittsburg, Pa., Rex Theater
May 16 – Columbus, Ohio, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
May 18 – Cincinnati, Ohio, Bogart’s
May 19 – Chicago, Ill., Park West
May 20 – Minneapolis, Minn., Varsity Theater