Something/Anything?

Decent

Välillä 4/5 ja välillä 2/5. Oli kyllä vaihtelua. Ihan mielenkiintoinen.

An epic, double LP from Todd Rundgren, that is as much a self-indulgent vanity project, as it is a pop-rock masterpiece from the early 70's. Everyone that has ever listened to classic rock is familiar with, I Saw The Light and Hello It's Me, joyful pop gems that alone give this album classic status. These two songs have been stuck in my head for over 50 years! I've never actually listened to the whole record and to call it sprawling would be an understatement. Spread out through four sides, Rundgren explores all kinds of sounds and noises, as if he threw all his song ideas against the wall to see what would stick. Fortunately, more stuck than fell, but the length of the record began to dilute the quality and it would have been more of a banger (for me, at least) if he stopped at one disc. Still, an essential listen.

1+ Stars (3/15)

Not sure how I missed this! I like it quite a bit.

Artsy rock. Long album, but interesting all through

Ett sömnpiller. Men det är bättre än rap och hiphop.

80s vibe but I like it! Easy listening on a Sunday morning

Props to Todd for recording most of this music single-handedly, but the songs themselves are a bit 'meh'. Four or five tracks piqued my interest (chief among them the unexpectedly great 'I Went to the Mirror'), but four or five out of 25 isn't a great ratio. 2 / 2.5

I found this a bit too "formula". Happy song - Sad song - rocky song - repeat. Feels very generic.

He's got a nice voice. Very 70s. Too long. Love his irreverence, though. Intro was surprising!

A generous 4, way overlong but the highs see it through.

Not bad but Not as good as I expected. Was pretty soft 70’s rock.

Not every song is incredible and it's a bit too long, but there are some great tracks on here. Solid 7-8/10

The main distinction here between this and other 70s rock is that Rundgren mostly did this as a solo musician. Pretty average without that aspect.

Every song sounded like a sitcom theme song.

Very schticky but it works for me. Some of the tunes sound like they're from the mid-60s and some sound almost modern, pretty impressive for a 1972 release.

I actually liked this surprisingly

Very much background music

This album was fine, but a double album was entirely unnecessary. Most of these songs were alike, and they all melded together. I didn't find it unique nor engaging, outside of a few tracks. Bloated listen but not unpalatable. 2.4/5 -> 2/5 I listened to this behemoth again today and feel the same. Just props for him doing this mostly by himself.

Occasionally profoundly, almost obnoxiously irritating, but also brilliant and weird and creative and totally unlike anything before or since. Loved "I Went to the Mirror."

Having listened to a previous album I thought it a bit weird but this album is much better, more commercial in some ways with better known songs especially the opening track. Rundgren is synonymous with the early 70's and this album very much supports that. Pleasant listening overall.

Some nice pop rock album, with some variety. Nothing extreme special but I had fun listening.

I may have needed an album like this as a base. It sometimes gets hard to rate music because it can change based on way too many factors, genre, consistency, artisic merit, lyrical quality, historic value, number of people already doing the same thing, sometimes even the person themselves may be controversial... and I only named the tip of an iceberg! So I feel stuck sometimes, or feel I could have made a mis-judgement. So an album like this is necessary now and then. This album is a perfect three star album! It is "good." It is "solid and well done." It is worth listening to but not essential, it has a couple of great songs and a couple of less memorable ones, it represents a 70's rock vibe without any strings. It is like a movie you saw many years ago, liked, but only bother to watch it if it comes out on TV now and then. In a word, it is a "three."

meh, cheese rock.

I assume this ended at some point... Needs a Mr Steinman and Mr Loaf to carry this kind of thing off.

like every double album, its just too long. outside that its a nice relaxing listen, a little top heavy and a bit of a slog to get through the latter parts. I've never heard of Todd Rundgren before so this was nice to hear something completely new to me.

Love this album (with the exception of the song where he is in love with a 17 year old what the fuck). However the album is too long. A whole bunch of the middle could be trimmed out. Those first 3 songs are heaters though!

This album sounds like a lot of fairly typical 70s ballad-style rock/pop music, but also contains much more on subsequent listening. In fact there is enough variety that I wonder why this collection was arranged into the (double) album as it loses its cohesiveness a bit. That being said, I believe Rundgren is quite groundbreaking as some of this material could fit in many subsequent eras, and it’s quite impressive that he was behind basically the entire arrangements, vocals, instruments, and production. This easy listening is simple enough for background music, but also sophisticated enough to delve into deeper. 4/5

I love Rundgren, but this seems where the aperture of a film is a little too far back and Rundgren thinks it’s a good idea to show the behind the scenes crap. You like all those false starts and trail off in “Think of Me”? The whole album does that. Bleh.

Great album that is timeless! Majority by Todd alone, must listen!!!!!

Found this hard to rate. Most of the album is some decent stuff mixed in with less good.. Saw The Light is a classic and there's some other fun songs like Wolfman Jack and the instrumental. The album has a few too many soft rock ballads that made me kinda bored (examples: Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Marlene). The last side / mini album of the 4 is great and definitely my favourite bit, maybe it's the energy of having a full band that helped revitalise my listen. Overall, plenty of highs, but a slightly disjointed and inconsistent album. I'll go 4 maybe because of the recency bias of the final few tracks being good!

some real bangers on here

Great album, feels like the american Elton John.

Long

Side 1 - First track really good, followed by loads of songs I can imagine playing on Radio 2 on a Sunday in the 90s. Side 2 - Goofy. Kind of sub-par Brian Wilson Side 3 - 70s guitar wankery / more Radio 2 Side 4 - Overture was missing from the link but it is on Spotify. Wasn't really worth it but I guess it tells a story. I have no strong feelings about the rest of it. More guitar wankery.

123/1001

Banger

I really enjoyed this. Todd seems like a fun guy, and is happy to have a giggle at himself. The intro track, which is notably track 7 of the album, points out sound glitches and makes a game of it. The actual music is really pleasant old school pop rock. There are lovely vocal harmonies and nice musical arrangements. This album is long, but never became boring. This was an enjoyable one today, and likely one I’ll remember for a while.

Soft rock radio Playing this sort on repeat World wide moms rejoice

Something/Anything? I’m aware of Todd Rundgren as a singer, songwriter and producer and I’m aware of this album, but I’ve never listened to it. This how you fucking do power pop yacht rock though. Catchy, groovy, infectious, accessible, playful, middle of the road in the best way possible. I love that the sides are all themed. Side 1 is great ‘ear catching melodies’ indeed, and in particular the first 3 songs are pop perfection, from the soft rock I Saw the Light, to the melancholic It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference to the soul pop of Wolfman Jack. Love Sweeter Memories too. Breathless on Side 2 is really interesting, a kind of proto-electronic percussion. Saving Grace is very nice on this side too, and I Went to the Mirror is fantastic, a kind of 3am vibe mashed up with some heavier guitar, presaging the next side. Black Maria is a great bit of psychedelic pop rock, I really like the slightly distant sounding vocals. Couldn’t I Tell You is just great, a superb bit of power pop, it sounds like the Cars or some of those 80s bands, love it. Dust in the Wind is superb, and I like the fact that Side 4 is band performances, it definitely has a different feel to the other sides, although with the same soft rock feel. Hello it’s Me is great for that 70s feel. I like the blue eyed soul of Some Folks is Even Whiter Than Me and the easy feel of You Left Me Sore (even though I presume it’s about an STD). Slut is probably the only misstep on the album, with its slightly problematic lyrics. Some tracks are definitely lightweight compared to others, but I think in a good way, not filler but little amuse bouche between the weightier songs. He’s kind of like a cross between Macca and Harry Nilsson, with a nice amount of the latter’s offbeat wryness. There’s also lots of Macca-esque melodies and the same sense of musical facility, that he just naturally tosses out great melodies and songs with ease. I loved this, even though its 90 minutes it never felt like a slog, there’s a deftness and lightness to it that helps it skip along and its really well sequenced. It sounds great too, that pre digital 70s warmth, depth and clarity. Feel like I’m going to listen to this a lot. Not always keen on giving 5 to albums I have heard for the first time, but this is a super bit of 70s pop. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

1. light - 2 2. difference - 1 3. jack - 1 4. cold - 1 5. tango - 0 6. memoriez - 1 7. intro - 0 8. breathlezz - 0 9. carouzel - 1 10. grace - 1 11. marlene - 1.5 12. viking - 0 13. mirror - 1 14. maria - 1 15. day - 1.5 16. tell you - 1 17. torch - 1.5 18. red lightz - 0 19. overture - 1.5 20. uuind - 1 21. aaron - 0 22. hello - 4 23. folkz - 0 24. zore - 1 25. zlut - 0

solid 70's pop

4 - I think there are so many good songs, but it is wayyyyyy to long. It just doesn't need to be.

I really liked this - a lot of fun. A bit of a hodgepodge of tracks, but in a good way, like Harry Nilsson. Fave Tracks: I Saw The Light, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Intro, Hello It's Me 4.5/5

Just when I thought that I was tired of the album we got some really fun stuff at the end. Still a bit too long.

Early seventies pop rock. Not too bad if that’s what you’re looking for!

Mais um psicodélico que começa bem e depois acaba virando uma passagem enrolada e chata.

I like I Saw the Light, Wolfman Jack, Breathless; I kind of like It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference, Song of the Viking , Couldn’t I Just Tell You; ranked lower for lyric issues

Wow I love how it just kept going

Slut right at the end really threw me for loop on the vibes of this guy. Quite a few jams but quite a few forgettable tracks as well, probably could've been reduced to just a single album. 5/10

I Saw The Light is a great song. Overall everything else is fine but excessive. *insert gif of Jeff Goldblum line from Jurassic Park regarding could/should*

25 songs at 90 minutes is a lot, maybe too much? Unless you’re Stevie Wonder, odds are you can trim some fat from your double album. And there are definitely a few songs that didn’t need to be here. Generally I can see why Todd Rundgren is a go-to producer, there’s a lush fullness to these songs. But too often they’ll veer into lite-rock territory and lose me. In the end, I found myself wishing I could hear Rundgren producing a Nilsson album.

I texted Mark and told him it should be illegal to make me listen to 90 minutes of this. I actually thought it was OK, but not great. Way too long. Why he didn’t just split this into two albums is beyond me.

boring kind of offensive (2 to tango?? slut???????) way too long!!!! i went to the mirror ganz gut

I think this would have been a fine album had it not way overstayed its welcome. By the time I got to the last few of the 25 songs i was so eager for this album to be over.

God created Carole King, and she was good. So he created male Carole King. And he was good

if there's one thing i've taken from this project 34 albums in, it's that phil spector really did change music forever. the production of this (and the earlier born to run) is exactly what i love about pop production. there are not quiet moments on these albums, not truly. or maybe it's more accurate to say every moment in this production style is a busy moment, maximized to the edge of overproduction. would another melody sound good here? how about another instrument? perhaps another harmony? more keys? if the sound is harmonious, it gets included. its hard to get a voice, guitar, bass, and drums to sound magical. its even harder to do what rundgren and springsteen and many others were doing after phil spector unleashed this on the world. Something/Anything is the perfect album to follow up yesterday's Peter Gabriel - So. So will never leave the 80s, it is wholly married to the sound of that decade. Gabriel's wonderful voice and melodies will always be marred to me by a sound that was in fashion until it wasn't. Its synths, sax, and airbrushed dramatics helped define The Sound of the 80's but what about every other decade of music? It's not that there is no place for it but it's so shortsighted in eschewing the timeless for the timely, and often for something to achieve greatness it must be timeless, befitting any era of music. This is what I discovered for myself last year finally giving the great classical composers a true listen. The way they made music wasn't the same but the melodic and harmonic heart of their compositions can last through any era. That's what Rundgren does on Something / Anything? (and the next year, A Wizard / A True Star), it's what Beethoven did on his 5th Symphony, it's what the Beatles and the Beach Boys did, it's what Phil Spector did on all his hits, it's what Phil Elverum did on The Glow Pt. 2, it's what Joanna Newsom continues to do today, it's what Black Country, New Road did in 2022 on Ants From Up There. I'm definitely getting ahead of myself though, after not knowing quite how to express my feelings on So I had to get all that out. I'm not sure S/A and AW/ATS carry the emotional weight that those albums/bands do that make them my all time favorites but these albums absolutely carry the musical weight of the greatest. I don't think I have many words for the actual songs on the album itself. Similar to Songs in the Key of Life, this is just something I instantly knew I would love and I absolutely want to give it more listens. It's length is a little imposing but it's not like its a wasted 90 minutes, it just will take more time to dig through. It kinda does every genre and idea well, in a way that may annoy some who'd rather hear it excel at one thing but I don't mind at all. I enjoyed my constant "damn." moments and really do look forward to hearing this again and again.

I had this idea that Todd Rundrgen was like this Wizzard looking motherfucker who made Psychedelic Prog stuff so the fact that he’s just an average looking bloke, who does do some psychedelic stuff, but also quite a lot of pretty standard 70’s Piano Pop is a bit of a disappointment. It’s a bit like my reaction to how boring The Grateful Dead were, your name is fucking Todd Rundgren, why aren’t you actually singing about Wizards and D&D and all that nerdy shit? Why waste that name on this perfectly average man? And unfortunately, perfectly average is exactly how I feel about this man’s music. It’s fine, some of it is quite good. But there’s a solid hour and a half of it, and none of it sticks out enough to make me want to listen to the album again. Even his voice is average, he sounds exactly like what I picture an all American white Tenor to sound like. I kinda wanted to like this, I love the idea of a long album divided into four thematic sections by side. But I just don’t vibe with this guy’s lack of weirdness. As someone who exudes kind of an oddball energy, I think he should have lent into it, or at least like gotten himself a cape or something

I was extremely intimidated by the 90 minute run time of this album especially after that shitty 60 minute drum and bass album and even more so after seeing that it’s 70s psychedelic rock/pop but all of my fears were allayed. This is the fun kind of 70s psych pop that’s catchy and energetic and while it might’ve still been a little long for me I still had positive feelings toward it by the end. I saw the light and dust in the wind were my favs.

5/5. Progressive in my albums I need to listen to. Yes please! I love the fact that throughout this album, they are separated neatly into categories and it creates a nice flow of listening, like putting on different albums throughout the listening experience. The 3rd side where it "gets heavy" is not that heavy but it is still great listening. It's an awesome album and I am excited to explore more with each listen! Best Song: It Wouldn't Have Made A Difference, Marlene, Little Red Lights, Dust In The Wind

The 70s was rife with double albums that featured a handful of great songs and then a lot of filler, where bands clearly grew big enough to have complete creative control and no one to reign in their less cohesive ideas. This is an exception to that rule. Granted not every song is perfect - Piss Aaron is hardly on par with Couldn’t I Just Tell You - but it’s incredibly diverse and consistent for such a huge project, with fantastic songs and a production masterclass

Some good tracks.

Solid folky early 70's album. Didn't break through for me

Coming off another Todd Rundgren album A Wizard / A True Star two days ago, I was hoping for more out of this album as it has done better than that album by far in listens on Spotify. But it is lacking in character in my opinion. A lot closer to standard soft rock. There were parts I enjoyed but as a whole it came across a little flat.

This album felt like an eternity! I know very little about this dude's music. So little so that the first song "I Saw the Light" I've always just assumed it was Carole King, or Carley Simon or Anne Murray. All I knew was he did that 'I don't wanna work I just wanna bang on my drum all day' song. (Not for me) And that Liv Tyler thought he was her dad until she was 11. I hope this is the only album of his on this list.

Good, but much too long

This is a really impressive album. I groaned when I saw it was a double album, and realising I rated his other album 2/5, but this flew by pretty quickly. There's a real consistency across the whole album, with no real dip in quality. There's plenty of variation too, from soft ballads, to more upbeat rocky numbers, to more soulful ones, and weirder interludes. He makes it all work together. There's an impressive amount of instruments across this, that he apparently all played himself, and does so excellently.

really good! it was a really fun album

I liked this one a lot more than I expected to! It took multiple days to listen and relisten, so I never had a smooth listen from start to finish, but still enjoyed. Loved songs like "Wolfman Jack", "I Went to the Mirror", "Black Maria", and those last few tracks. A fun mix of Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, The Cars self titled album, and maybe Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Could've done with less of the very 70s ballads.

like a mixture of the beatles, elton john, and frank zappa. if i rated it purely as a piece of art i’d probably give it a 5. unfortunately this is still a music review and the music didn’t ALWAYS hit so i’ll have to go with a high 4

Just another crappy 70s album.

Great songwriting and amazing production, it being a double album it does drag a bit at times due to its length but there are enough quality tunes to justify listening all the way through

Legendary. A musical genius, still at it. Plus...50+ year old hit songs!

B- I Saw The Light 3 It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference 3 Wolfman Jack 3 Cold Morning Light 3 It Takes Two To Tango (This Is For The Girls) 3 Sweeter Memories 5 Intro 3 Breathless 3 The Night The Carousel Burned Down 3 Saving Grace 3 Marlene 3 Song Of The Viking 3 I Went To The Mirror 3 Black Maria 3 One More Day (No Word) 3 Couldn't I Just Tell You 3 Torch Song 3 Little Red Lights 3 Overture - My Roots 3 Dust In The Wind 4 Piss Aaron 3 Hello It's Me 4 Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me 3 You Left Me Sore 3 Slut 3 Todd wasn't as good this time around. Sorry munch, my hands are tied.

Mor. Middle of the road. Middle of the middle of the road. In the middle of that.

if you cut this album down to 10-12 tracks, it is a really solid album, instead it is bloated and ruins the quality of some great tracks

What a lovely adventure of an album.

Tbh I didn't finish it because it was so long. I'll have to go back for the second half another day and come back to edit this. It was pretty good. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

I couldn’t connect with this at all. I think I’m too burned out on classic rock to care about 99% of it anymore. However, at times I didn’t mind this and I thought it was a refreshing change from similar albums on this list.

Una canción sale en My Girl, I Saw the Light. Le doy un 4. Aunque igual no me gusta tanto. Es agradable.

Too long

The second part is amazing , the first part is a Little bit too long , really appreciate SOUNDS OF THE STUDIO

It's interesting but gimot kinda long

A whole double album of songs that sound like the guardians of the galaxy soundtrack mixed with some super creative parts. A teir

why is this shit so fucking quiet?!

Una canción sale en My Girl, I Saw the Light. Le doy un 4. Aunque igual no me gusta tanto. Es agradable.

i think i like a wizard a true star a bit more, but this was still fun. pretty squarely a 3.5, could be a 3 or a 4 here. ran a bit long, so i'll give it the lower score. but it's a loving 3 star. 3.5/5

Some nice likable tunes but overall not a great album.

Damnnnn. Out of the gate loving this. extremely my shit. Really nice grooves. Some crazy chords going on here too. Love the layered vocals & harmonies. The drums on this thing are so good. Aw man. I just read he was a Lennon hater. Gonna try my best to get through the rest of the album without my complete Beatles bias.

Starts out fine enough two stars but hits 1 around "I WENT TO THE MIRROR" where it's just random keyboard clumps and muttering. I quit there with over half the album to go.

This sounds so dated, but in the worst possible way. Just listening to how busy these tracks are, with woo woos and soft flutes, a soft pad synth running through it. There's something proggy about the song structures, with some abandoning time signatures altogether. It's gorgeously constructed and well recorded. But the songs are just shit.

this was pretty good but a bit long, i liked his other record but i think this one is better, idk how to describe it to be honest, but i think it was worth the listen

Lots of good tunes on this one, kind of sounded like something a former Beatle would write. There were some weird transitional bits and odd lyrics that weren't really necessary

I've heard a lot of good things about this album, though I did balk at the runtime at first glance. It is really quite long, but the songs consistently run from pretty good to great. There aren't really any outright clunkers on here. 'Something/Anything?' is an achievement, but it might be awhile before I listen to it again in full (at least in one sitting.) Highlights: Wolfman Jack, Cold Morning Light, Sweeter Memories, Breathless, The Night the Carousel Burned Down, I Went to the Mirror, One More Day (No Word), Couldn't I Just Tell You, Dust in the Wind, Hello It's Me, You Left Me Sore

I liked the music but this double album wore on me. I would have been much happier with 45 minutes than 90. Also had some songs I really didn't like such as Piss Aaron and Slut.

So bad

Þristur við fyrstu hlustun, I saw the light mjög gott en svo mistæk rest. En það er þessi þriðja og fjórða hlustun sem leiðir svo margt í ljós, og svo er þessi áttundatugar hljóðheimur svo næs.

Good in parts utterly bizarre in others

Meh

Shite

Easy listening, good background music. But way too long of an album! I can't take that much of one artist at once.

Todd Rundgren does the White Album. This succeeds and fails under those same principles. A bunch of dope awesome tracks, surrounded by some more mediocre work. Not to mention it's colossal run time which means it lacks a bit of identity after all that time. I did thoroughly enjoy it however. Fav songs: - I Saw The Light - Wolfman Jack - Black Maria - Little Red Lights - Hello it's Me + more

Not bad but it feels like when you're in an office meeting that won't end because some nerd won't stop asking questions. Maybe multiple listens would justify its lenght, but for for now it seemed long just for the sake of it.

I did not expect that album to be THAT boring.

This 1h30 thing felt so bland and uninspired. What the hell happened there? Who would want to listen to that for 1h30 straight?

I get Todd Rundgren and Jackson Browne mixed up for no great reason. I didn't know Rundgren wrote I Saw the Light, but I also didn't know the song was called I Saw the Light. This a good album. A solid 3. I didn't listen it to twice (hello, Little Earthquakes). But this is some solid work.

Extraordinary - Rundgren plays almost all the instruments on this bad boy. He covers so much ground, and does it well (largely). And sometimes, he is through the stratosphere - "I Saw The Light" is the apogee of power pop, "Breathless" is superior Yellow Magic Orchestra, "I Went to the Mirror" is delightfully brooding - and just when you might think one power-pop classic isn't enough, "Couldn't I Just Tell You" repeats the trick. I wish I had an ounce of Rundgren's drive, restlessness and creativity.

listened to most of it. i thought it was pretty good. moght come back to listen to the rest of it at some point. probably not but maybe. intro was fun

Iummmm I did end up listnentinf to the whole thing but I may have been a little bit asleep for some of it so can’t promise my rating will be perfect however I enjoyed what I got. The intro was funny and I enjoyed it and then all the tracks were well done in of themselves. I just don’t understand why it was double the length of a normal album

Wonderful album and an all time great.

Skillfully made, but nothing really clicked with me. I wonder how Piss Aaron turned out.

I groaned when I noticed it was a double album, but I ended up enjoying how it was split up quite a bit. I will say the "heavy" side (side three) wasn't as heavy as I was hoping, but the rest of the songs do what they say on the tin. The "Intro" on side two makes me think Todd Rundgren is the type of person to be able to fuck around, and also just knows what the heck he's doing. Call it a 4.5. Favorite tracks: "I Saw The Light", "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference", "The Night The Carousel Burned Down", "I Went To The Mirror", "Piss Aaron", "Slut"

Pretty good. I knew a few tracks from this one, but otherwise am not really familiar with Rundgren. I would probably need to listen a few more times to warm up to it.

Seems like I should be complaining about the length of this one, as I just did for Genesis - Lamb Lies Down, but the songs on here are more varied so I didn't feel the length as much. I like this album a lot. 4/5

I respect Todd Rundgren more than I like his work. His material is a perfect example of that kind of singer-songwriter style from the 70s that is easier to appreciate than to spin. So while there’s some killer stuff here, 90 minutes is just way too much for me. C

If I were slamming down Ritalin, I'd probably make an overly long, somewhat self-indulgent album also. It is impressive, to be sure, that with production help Rundgren recorded the majority of this double LP himself; that said there's plenty of material on here that doesn't qualify as "essential listening," closing track "Slut" included. Still, when it works, it does work, and there's some unique sounds for the time it was released. Favorites: "I Went to the Mirror", "Little Red Lights"

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

Right in the middle

hard one to put my finger on, sort of all over the place. Ranging from solid to fluffy. Several tracks have heard many times before, notably on The Virgin Suicides soundtrack.

Standouts: Hello It's Me, I Saw The Light, Wolfman Jack Others: It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference 3.75

Summery, easy going, have it on my playlist.

Too long, 1:30h

It’s great, I just can’t seem to get the underlying theme. It’s a little too long for what it is, but I can tell he’s extremely talented and the songs are really nice

Unfocused nonsense that went on way WAY WAAAAY too long.

Hlmm listened the whole album but was a bit too long towards the end, not bad but not my thing still 2.5 tho!

Who knew Dolph Lundgren was such a multi-instrumentalist. I didn’t find the music that enjoyable, and by the end of it I actually quite disliked Dolph. I found it very annoying every time he piped up, even if it did offer a slight release from the monotony of the music.

Not great, not awful. Poppy first half got old after one song. Rocky bit was better but still uninspiring. Liked Black Maria, sounded like recent-qotsa. Rock opera was awful, turned off mid way through. Interesting concept, probably great for the time, just doesn't really do a lot for me personally. 2.5*

Rock. good

The music on it is pretty good and entertaining, but it is entirely too long of an album

Some nice ones there but way too long

Very fun and upbeat! Classic

Haven't heard this in decades. I remember having this album and only listening to sides 1 and 4.

I loved the many different elements of this album. The crazy, psychedelic 60s vibe, with some tracks that sounded like that could have been released yesterday. Some proper catchy ear worm instrumentals we well as great story telling lyrics. I'll give it a second listen.

The 70’s man

OMG TODD. Good album! I liked it. Great sounds and it was fun

That was difficult. Imo this is not a good album. Too much shit. If I cut half the songs I still wouldn't like it all that much. A couple of really good songs, a few are ok, but so much shit I just couldn't enjoy myself for a very long time. My respect for Todd Rundgren has dropped a few notches.

An hour and a half is too long for just about any album. That's doubly true when it's as soft and boring as this one. It feels like Toddy knew it was boring, too. He stuck a bunch of weird, out of place interludes in here to try to break up the monotony. And... well, I guess it did that. By making the album even less listenable. It was going to get a middling score for just being so meh but the lyrics are just so often creepy. Like, what's the deal with so many artists from this era fetishizing underage girls? So gross.

Sugar coated pop.

So glad this found the weirdness from Intro onwards, he was starting to lose me a bit with all the love songs. Another example of fortune favouring the patient. I Saw the Light is up there with one of the strongest album openers in history, verging on perfect song territory. I've also dipped a little into his live performances on YouTube a few times, man was wild and probably informs why I was impatient for things to get weird. It all properly kicks off from Song of the Viking eg Black Maria, Some Folks, You Left Me Sore. A rare occasion where the over 1hr run time didn't bother me, would happily have sat with it for longer. Slut is an outrageous closer. Fucking loved this - enough to dive straight into a second listen.

Crap

Awesome album

After the first few tracks I was hooked, I thought this was going to be one of those albums where every track is top quality. Sadly, there were a few lulls where the tracks became stodgy and repetitive, but there were still many more strong tracks than guff. There are so many different styles on this album, I was reminded of The Faces and Motown and everything in between. All in all, I greatly enjoyed it and will listen again.

Me: I want to listen to Elton John. Mom: We have Elton John at home. Elton John at home:

Meh.

boring like it felt like time was moving slower and i was trapped listening to this just desperately wanting to do something else but I signed up for this

A couple of marginal hits in the mix, but the rest is aimless. Barely enough decent material for a single album much less the double release.

not for me, couldn't even finish.

I liked this

01) I Saw the Light - 7,5 02) It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference - 7,0 03) Wolfman Jack - 7,0 04) Cold Morning Light - 7,0 05) It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls) - 7,0 06) Sweeter Memories - 7,0 07) Intro - 1,0 08) Breathless - 5,0 09) The Night the Carousel Burned Down - 6,5 10) Saving Grace - 7,0 11) Marlene - 6,0 12) Song of the Viking - 6,5 13) I Went to the Mirror - 6,0 14) Black Maria - 7,0 15) One More Day (No Word) - 7,0 16) Couldn't I Just Tell You - 6,0 17) Torch Song - 5,5 18) Little Red Lights - 5,5 19) Overture–My Roots - 1,0 20) Dust in the Wind - 7,0 21) Piss Aaron - 6,0 22) Hello It's Me - 7,0 23) Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me - 6,0 24) You Left Me Sore - 6,5 25) Slut - 6,0 TOTAL: 6,04 (60/100) So, 25 tracks and an hour and a half of my life. Was that really necessary? On side one (songs 1 to 6) we can hear unoffensive but not too exciting pop/rock songs of the early 70s. Quite OK. Than side two starts with "Intro". I don't get the purpose of those spoken nonsense, I'm here for the music. "Breathless" is some kind of instrumental that started promising but continued with annoying synthesizers. And than we return to pop/rock or what ever this genre is. At this stage it starts to get a bit boring, and we have 16 more tracks to go! On side three (songs 14-18) I lost any interest and am waiting for the end that surely has to come, right? 7 more songs. Side four... starts with the "Overture" where we have to listen to some other people live records of his favorite songs, or what? Then some more 70s pop-rock. And than the final song called "Slut". And I swear to God I would rather listen to Taylor Swift than this album ever again.

Really fun album with lots of variety. I am ashamed to admit the most memorable song was certainly “Slut.”

Something/Anything by Todd Rundgren is a quintessential example of album-oriented rock, but its length may deter some listeners. While the album has standout tracks, there's a noticeable amount of filler that detracts from its overall impact. Slut stands out musically, but its lyrics may be viewed as problematic through a contemporary lens, despite an attempt to raise issues of double standards. However, Rundgren's warm and versatile voice shines throughout the album, showcasing his undeniable talent as a vocalist. Despite its length and occasional missteps, I have deep respect for Rundgren's contributions to music. Personally, Something/Anything may not be my preferred style, but there's no denying the influence and artistry encapsulated within this album. NUMBER OF BANGERS - 4 STAND OUT TRACK - Dust in the Wind

70's 🤗

Enjoying this album and his annoying the studio intro. Ballads aren’t too corny for me and has a nice amount of rock. One songs lyrics were a bit cringe cos he was dissing all his ex girls

“Before we go any further, I’d like to show you all a game I made up. This game is called Soooounds of the Studio” and I thought my player was playing Hot Chip in the middle of the album. Their version of the game is more fun. Good album by the way.

sweet, funky, interesting but soooo long. too long.

Not my taste in music

interesting, creative, well-done. Not sure I will seek it out for multiple listens.

The 70s produced some of the greatest music ever made. Todd Rundgren was there, too.

1.5hrs? Woof. Impressive that he did all instruments. I recognize I saw the light. Enjoyed: couldn't I just tell you Overall ok, just a lot of genres/styles going on, 2.5* rounded up.

Levy alkoi lupaavasti, mutta aika nopeasti kääntyi "rokahtavaksi" lemmenlaivaksi soundin puolelta. Kuuntelin kerran läpi ja olin onnellinen kun levy loppui.

Ei kyllä nyt jääny erityisesti mieleen. Jos oikein muistan, niin ihan ok kuitenkin. Piti kuunnella muistin virkistykseks hetki lisää, niin olihan se jeekkis musisointia

The "Bouquet of Ear-catching Melodies" (Side 1) hardly has anything catchy imo. "The Cerebral Side" (Side 2) is more inventive and interesting. But as the title suggests, it's more experiemental than listenable. I like it though. In "The Kid Gets Heavy" (Side 3), the music indeed got heavier. But while there are elements of hard rock thrown in, which I enjoyed a lot, its overall vibe is still that of a folky basket. Like you know, those flowers in the cover art. It even ended up with a piano based snoozer. Finally, we get to the part where's there's a baby who "Needs a New Pair of Snakeskin Boots" (Side 4). Here, they went full David Bowie with vaguely experimental parts and an overall generic rock vibe. Overall an interesting yet bulky double album.

Generic and inoffensive I feel like this was definitely a certain type of guy's fuck record in 1972. Nothing in particular to hate nothing in particular I loved

The best Beatles album the four never made

Thought this was decent a third of the way through but it just kept going. Would be a 3* but far too long.

I grew up with Todd Rundgren (quite literally as I spent my youth in Woodstock, Bearsville, and Mink Hollow). I love this album and never tire of it. And I have to say it, Todd is God!

Good

25x nicht mein Ding. Hört sich für mich alles gleich an.

Mad respect for playing all of the instruments on 3/4 of the album, but at the end of the day it is an album that is far too long and should have been pared down to the strong tracks. Competent recording, but in my opinion, after hearing it multiple times, it is not memorable.

Mostly boring, it's not a sound that appeals to me but it was worth it for Slut!

Too long and boring.

4.5/10

Starts out reasonably catchy but pretty soon the songs are boring and then weird and boring. There's a few gems in here but overall I don't find this special enough and it doesn't feel influential enough to be on this list.

carino all'inizio,stile pop rock opera, stavo tra il 2 e 3. Do uno perché estremamente lungo e a fine ascolto ero tediato all'inverosimile

Not sure why likes this stuff? Continental Europe?

Quite enjoyed it but unremarkable

C'est beaucoup mais beaucoup trop long. J'ai enduré 45min de cet album double et je voulais presque mourir tout le long. C'est ennuyeux à mourir.

Lots of good tunes but so fucking long

3.5 Started off in solid male Carole King territory, got a little weird in the middle, and finished off nice and poppy again. 90 minutes is a bit too long but overall pretty fun.

I saw the light is a great song. Holds up 50 years later. Anyway, like lots of albums from the 70s it can drag if youre not in the mood for it, but its a pretty damn good album all things considered. 4/5

I recognize some of these tunes. Rest seem to blend in.

Much better than I expected. Too much soft rock for me to love it though.

Started off rather ordinary before veering towards amusing, interesting, and entertaining.

This was a nice listen - really like the mix of genres incorporated here. Perhaps overstayed its welcome a little bit, but overall a solid body of work.

I Saw The Light Hello It's Me

Som things were silly and funny but in general it's not my genre really

most underrated!

Disco doble que agota, pero que se deja escuchar en pequeñas dosis

Great easy listening like Burt Bacharac

This shit rules! What a ride!

I kinda like this one not really my style more to say but it’s not bad

Absolute grind to get through

boring

Self indulgent crap, it's hard enough to make a good 40min album let alone a 90min one. Slogged through 5 tracks to see another 20+ to come and felt miserable.

Hello it's me is one of my favs from the 70s.

Una canción sale en My Girl, I Saw the Light. Le doy un 4. Aunque igual no me gusta tanto. Es agradable.

Incredible (discaralhasso)

Definitely one of Rundgren's worst LPs. 3 very good songs and about 20+ poor songs to slog through. He's got many great LPs solo and with Utopia why choose this one? 5 stars for 3 songs 1 for the rest.equals 2.

A bit scatterbrain, but thoroughly entertaining.

3/5. It was alright. Too long by half. There was not enough song variety to justify the runtime.

I liked this more than I expected.

It says the album lasted 1.5hrs. Felt like 8.

Too long.

Witzig, nerdig, ein bischen zu weichgespült

With long albums, there tends to be a lack of cohesion, and I feel that to be the case with this album. While the majority of the songs I enjoyed, the lack of cohesion made this album slightly less enjoyable. This album could've been cut down to 18-20 songs and been a solid 8-9/10.

Just good classic singer songwriter tunes. Didn't know the artist at all but enjoyed the album immensely.

For an album released in 1970, it was just a little underwhelming. The music felt like it was meant to be enjoyable (by myself included), and it got most of the way there. There was just something incomplete about nearly every song in this set. All of side 1 was, barring some pretty simplistic arrangements, fantastic. The harmonies were glimmering and it sounded at least five years ahead of its time. As the album progressed, the music seemed to shift into more dramatic, "proggy" territory, but never quite reached the heights of other prog rock giants around the same time. Rundgren's style is a bit indecisive at this point. Black Maria, Hello It's Me, and Slut were some later highlights, but the energy of the album had long since plateaued. I thought I was going crazy. The Wikipedia article showed near-perfect critic reviews, and I couldn't observe that near-perfection. That being said, it's incredibly impressive that every instrument on sides 1, 2, and 3 was played by Rundgren. That's some sick talent.

to be honest, i'm a todd fan. i haven't dived super deep into his greater discography, but this album is one i have loved for a long time, ever since i heard "I Saw the Light" on the radio one time and was mesmerized. i think you have to be a certain type of person to really enjoy todd and i'm that type of person. he is terrific at crafting catchy melodies and doing lots of studio wizardry. he plays most of the album himself! that is never not an impressive accomplishment, especially because YOU CAN'T TELL BY THE PLAYING. to me, this album is sort of like his version of the beatles' white album. is it overly long? yeah. is it a bit uneven? yeah. does it get kinda weird? yeah. and, like the white album, i appreciate how off kilter it is. although, still not my favorite album of his, and definitely not his most off kilter, but still very much up there for me.

Lovely record, shocked I've never heard it before. Like McCartney, Rundgren plays all insturments on 3/4 sides of the album. Only a couple stinkers, but that's expected with a double album. A strong 4 - 8.5

I actually discovered this album sometime about a year and a half ago when researching R. Stevie Moore. I was curious where the new widely know sub genre of 'Lofi' actually came from. I stumbled across this Lofi-folk inspired album that felt just a little ahead for its time. it has nuances of early 1990s experimental without encapsulating the sound of high fidelity equipment like synths So cool to see this album and artist wrap back around!

Felt like generic 70s music that was trying to appeal to every genre of the 70s without really showing anything new or interesting about any one particular genre.

Bingo!

boring as shit

Kind of funky at times. Pleasant. Quirky. Something/Anything? Seems to be having an identity crisis and can’t figure out what it wants At least a few that I’ve heard before 3/5

Heard before. I'm overwhelmed by it all, aaahh. So many tracks. I couldn't really keep track of everything. I think I like the wizard album more. But one thing I like is I Saw The Light and Hello It's Me. These ones have been in my rotation for years. + Sweeter Memories + Breathless + The Night The Carousel Burned Down + Overture

This was a decent listen. I liked the first half better than the second.

some decent tracks, but a lot of them aren't for me dust in the wind (+ others that i didn't write down)

sounded good, needs a relisten!

cool

Somewhat enjoyable over the almost 100 minutes but VERY 70s and USofA. A bit too much for me. Loved the intro of Wolfman Jack and the guitar part in Slut though.

A large, immaculately crafted portrait of the most annoying guy ever. Best songs are the opener, "I Saw The Light" and the Mario Kart instrumental "Breathless" Todd Rundgren already appeared in my project as the producer for NY Dolls, my understanding is that he is a prolific virtuoso musician and producer. This album is actually 4 short albums (1 for each side of a double LP), for me the first two are stronger than the last, with the last side being the most irritating. I listened three times today, and the last three songs got more annoying to me with each listen. There are some bright spots, and it's always impressive to take in something that's almost entirely self produced. He played every instrument for the first 3 sections.

Pro tip: If you're doing a 91 minute long double album, don't put the only decent song at track one. This wasn't awful by any means, and he's got a smashing voice, but it all felt a bit too cheesy for me and I lost interest pretty heavily.

Speaking of albums that feel like they go on forever

not too bad tbh, very long but all right. would never relisten thoughever

I can do without Intro, but at least it's only about a minute. I thought I Went To The Mirror was a bit too mumbly. I thought Little Red Lights is messy, but the guitar solo in the middle is cool. The rest is very good. Why hadn't I heard of this guy before this project?

A little to mellow for me.

"Something/Anything?" is the third album by American musician Todd Rungren and a double album at that. Rock, pop, R&B and pyschedelia. Yep, they're all appropriate. The album is divided into four parts. The first three parts are all Todd. He played all the instruments, sang all the songs and produced it. The last part was recorded live with a band and no overdubs. The album hit #29 in the US and widespread critical acclaim. The album opens up with the first single "I Saw the Light." Piano, guitar, backing vocals. A nice and catchy melody. Easy listening pop at a high level. "I Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" continues the pop. This is slower and pretty much a ballad. All the songs of this first section are winners. I thought the most interesting song of the second section was the instrumental "Breathless." A weird bass. A wah-wah guitar. An organ. The pace picks up. The highlight of the third part is the single "Couldn't I Just Tell You." Acoustic and electric guitars. Urgent vocals. Very melodic. A searing guitar solo. The fourth part with the band was my favorite. "Dust in the Wind" is soulful with the female backing vocals. Rick Derringer on guitar. Mike Brecker killing it on the tenor sax. No, this is not the Kansas song. His big song "Hello It's Me" begins on the third attempt. Smooth. The organ. Horns giving it a jazz feel. Maybe Todd's best vocals on a song. This is quite the one man achievement. The songs are very melodic. Three rock radio staples. I do like Rungren's next album "A Wizard, A True Star" quite a bit. But, this album has to be his pop zenith. An album that needs to be listened to all the way through.

Good last 5 or 4 songs are great

This sounds like the 70s. That's not a compliment.

obviously talented, but I guess 70’s pop just doesn’t hit for me like it once did

Too 1970s for my taste.

It was that one song that sounded like it was definitely in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie or deserved to be, then 84 more minutes… it wasn’t bad, but there was a lot.

This is some yacht rock, but fun. I am really enjoying this - the more rock my songs are great.

SUREMENT MEILLEUR que la note indiquée. mais cetait tellement long comme album, que jai perdu le train

There are folks who swear by this album to the point of it becoming overrated. It's clearly something of a power pop master work, especially with the two timeless hits (both I Saw The Light and Hello It's Me are forever 5's). And there's an album within this that's a 5, but I've long been of the belief that a double album is just too much. Someone should have made Todd trim the fat.

I really liked parts of this and others really fell flat for me. Disc 1, side 1: 5/5 stars This is prime time simp music right here. I Saw the Light comes out swinging with a vibe that screams “I’m going to embarass my kids in front of their friends by having a couple of beers and being super in love with their mom at this barbecue” Disc 1, side 2: 3/5 stars The night the carousel burned down really wasn’t doing it for me? I enjoyed the transition into Saving Grace though. Disc 2, side 1: 2/5 stars Surprisingly, the hardest listen on the album. It was just, dad rock. It was fine. The songs mostly ran together. Disc 2, side 2: 5/5 stars Hell yeah, ended on a high. Overall, going with a 4/5 because while I like the different clearly defined sections, they felt very disconnected? Just release several shorter concept albums if that’s what you are trying to do? A 4 part, 1.5 hour album is hard to give a perfect rating to.

Really wish I could have listened to this on vinyl. I think in order to get the full effect of the four distinct sections you need the physical action of flipping a disc to transition from one to the next. That said, I love some ambitious, high concept nonsense and this was a lot of fun.

I debated a long time on what to give this and here i am giving it a 3

Considering I saw the Light is one of my favorite songs, this album ranks high with me. Very diverse album from an influential artist. It's long-25 songs-but if you want a great overview of Todd Rundgren, start with this album.

This album is the reason why punk had to happen. So pretentious. Ugh.

I only really knew Todd Rungren from that song in the Toyota commercials in the 90s. This was great. I may even bump this up to 5 upon relisten. Wolfman Jack is my standout.

ok

Pretty good but didn’t totally grab me - I’d like this if it were 25% heavier maybe. I was hopeful because I know he has producer credit on a lot of cool albums, but this didn’t interest me enough to dig deeper.

Really easy listening. Fun stuff. 4 of 5

If you're going to make your album 90 fucking minutes long, at least put some song diversity into the mix. No man should be forced to listen to almost 2 hours of straight vanilla 70s rock. "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me" are the only songs I actually enjoyed. Talking about any other song on here is like asking somebody to rank each rice cracker in a pack from worst to best. Boring. Guards, put him in the wood chipper.

Soft rock aint my thing.

Previously rated: A Wizard, A True Star (4/5) ***************************** Like the previous album, it's an eclectic collection with good variety. He's got a great singing voice. This album even has a couple of hit songs. Didn't feel too long for a double album either. My appreciation for his music is growing. Some of it sounds a bit 70s AM easy listening, but I liked that too. Liked the humor too - I caught some of the recording problems he mentioned in Intro :)

Really loved this

Bit boring for me

It was nice. It sounded like the seventies. Super smooth in places.

Tämähän oli jopa ihan vekkulinpaikoitellen! Kannen ja nimen perusteella ajattelin että tää on totaalisen jazzia, mutta olinkin väärässä. 3/5

Ah, sitä hyvää. Todd on kasvanut pieneksi suosikiksi viime vuosina. Kantaa pituutensa mainiosti.

Mietin jo alkupuolella että mitä tästä tulee, mut olikin yllättävän monipuolinen ja kiinnostava platta. En ehkä ihan nelosta antais mut kolmonen nyt ainakin!

Todd plays all the Instruments himself and provides all the voices as well Early 70's POP that would become his signature sound up until today. Great songs like "Hello its Me" and "see the Light" were radio staples on FM for years

Back in the day he was one of those artists we'd all heard of, but none of us had ever much listened to. Don't know why. Sadly, this has left me feeling that we didn't miss out on something. I just don't have the heart to put it in the 1 star bin with all the Rap, Hip Hop & roooooaaaaaaar shite, but in all honesty that's where this belongs.

Good but dragged on

Really good

Listened Before? N Interesting but didn't stand out a ton from other 70s stuff. Added to Library? N Songs added to Playlist: I Saw the Light

Interesting

Some good moments but overall just annoying. What’s with the talking and unnecessary noise elements?

This album started off strong but got pretty weak in the middle, not sure why the intro is song 7 but the album would be better without a few of these songs included. Repeats: I saw the light, it wouldn't have made any difference, Skips: intro, breathless, viking song,

This was a nice surprise, an artist I've heard of but never actually listened to. I recognized the first song when I heard it, but everything else was new to me. There is great variety on here, and a good bit of experimentation with different styles. I like that he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously as well, given the funny voice note about a quarter of the way in. I actually recognised that from "Shake A Fist" by Hot Chip, but never knew it was a sample until now. It's quite a long album, and I maybe could have done without the rock opera bit at the end, bit given I only listened to it once, I could see it growing on me. Everything else on here though was near perfect. This is exactly the type of album I was hoping to find by doing this challenge, unfortunately they are rare! 9/10

This album is really closer to four EPs. Side A is packed with melodic pop and soul inspired songs that owe as much from Motown as they do from the Beach Boys and early 70s soft rock. Side B takes an experimental and impressionist turn that foreshadows what direction Rundgren will take in the future. Side C take a heavier hard rock turn though songs like 'One More Day (No Word)' and 'Torch Song' show his finesse. 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' is a power pop masterpiece. Side D is a self described pop operetta and much of it recorded live giving the side a spontaneous and intimate feel.

incredible. just far too long.

Started off good and there’s some decent stuff on here but it’s a bit of a slog. Could have been a far better, shorter album but it’s padded out with mediocrity

Took my awhile to finish because it’s a long album. Solid album. Each song flowed well into the next. Very relaxing and chill.

really cool songs

Surprisingly good. His voice is nice, the skits are well done. The instrumental is well recorded and you cannot tell that it's 1970s

Made in the generation that saw disco and yacht rock it’s clear that this record by no means hold up. It wears thinner and thinner as the whole thing develops and as a double album only having two memorable tracks just doesn’t work.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Haven't listened to much Todd Rungren, (as a side note, I think he has the most un-rock’n’roll name I’ve yet encountered. Not that that’s a bad thing) but based on this album, he’s a heck of a talent. Will definitely dig in more, both this album and his other work: a lot to digest on this album.

Solid, not that good

One of my all-time favorite albums. “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” is brilliant early power-pop, and the rest is clever and adventurous. This, coupled with his next album (A Wizard / A True Star), define Todd Rundgren for me.

A lot to take in on one listen. Recognized a couple songs, but I feel I’ll need to come back to this.

Pretty decent. Definitely not the worst one on this list... Speaking of this list, as I get closer to the end, should I be worried that there is an extraterrestrial force that will search me out and kill me because I've listened to all the albums? Caveat is that I didn't actually find ALL of the albums as they were conceived. I had to improvise with youtube videos, for example... And I certainly didn't listen to every album all the way through (which, if there's a reason to kill me, that would be it).

Certainly more tolerable than our last Todd Rundgren space exploration album. I Saw the Light and Hello It's Me are officially good, but so much of the rest just sounds like filler with the occasional quirky song that tends to be less so. Given the slog it is to get through a double album of this, it takes a star penalty for not having enough to come back for.

A sprawling , varied and hilarious tour de force.

3.5, a guilty pleasure

Very modern sounding pop-rock album, an in depth listening is required.

A double album of 70's soft rock from the king studio geekwizard of the 70's. Songs are smooth, lushly produced and have great tunes. It's a double but there are no duff tracks on here.

I listened to about half the album and was all in, great stuff. Thought this might be a 5 star. Then I saw how many more songs were left. Fuck me this album is long. Why do people do double albums? I finished it out and there was good stuff in the back half, but this would have been better as two separate albums

Sappy but some bangers. Too king didn’t finish

First bit sounds like every heartwarming family sitcom theme from the 80s. The Intro and studio bits are probably cool for behind the scenes but not my thing. Feels nostalgic if unrecognizable. Definitely prefer first half. Double albums are a slog.

Very impressive how Todd Rundgren basically did about 80% of this album! I have to say, I’m not the biggest fan, but the guy has a knack for good melodies. Maybe I need to dive some more into his catalogue! 7 out of 10

Mostly unremarkable, MOR pop, with occasional moments of jarring weirdness. Nothing wrong with it, but didn't strike me as anything special either.

boooooooo. boring.

Todd Rundgren obviously was feeling confident before starting this as his third album. To play and record all of the tracks and vocals independently for a double album in 1971, or at least 75% of it is one hell of an endeavor. The album is full of intelligent and well written pop songs with the occasional weird bit here or there. It got a bit repetitive by the end of it all, but a good listen

It's another Todd Rundgren album and another surprise. It's not as good as the "A Wizard, A True Star" that I got here before, due to the inconsistency along the album. Still, it's the kind of thing that makes following this list worth it.

I appreciate the ambition of this album and my interest was definitely piqued a few times with some odd studio experiments. I was really tempted to try to like it more. But if I'm being honest this one just isn't for me. Too many 70s soft rock ballads for my taste.

I like only his hits. Otherwise, not my cup of tea.

This got a little samey for me, and could've used an editor.

Some of these songs were pretty good (I liked the vibe of Breathless) but the album was far longer than it needed to be, and the skits seemed unnecessary.

Really cool how it gives you an auditory glimpse into the studio at various times. A handful of really cool moments and I really liked the production, especially if the drums. I think I knew Todd Rundgren’s name maybe, but I def knew “i just wanna bang on the drum all day” (which is not on this album. That song just makes me think of ads for cruise ships. Album was long but that’s okay. Some great moments and a few cringy moments.

Reminds me of 70's classic easy listening rock music, I like

6/10, some of these song could have been left on the editing room floor. Love the general hippie aesthetic.

some of these are great and some of these are boring but the great ones are really great

not quite as interesting and fun as *A Wizard/A True Star*, but it's pretty good. Enjoying Todd’s entries on this list so far, but in terms of “Producer guys’ projects where they’re composing the music” Brian Eno’s easily tops for me, and I’d probably even put Alan Parsons over Todd a lot of the time.

I liked parts of it but did it have to be so fucking long? A lot of the tracks sound like B-sides and there is a good album in here. I get wanting to release a double album but it was a freaking slog to get through. Overall nothing really sounded awful but it just did not need to be so long. Also neat he played all the instruments on most tracks.

This is extraordinary. I don't think i've ever heard this many boring songs in one go.

Boring as fuck.