Something/Anything?

Nothing interesting here at all and stupidly long. Gets 2* as generally it's non-offensive and okay background music

Probably a 2 star album but losing a point for being so long. Nothing really of note here and this goes on for 90 MINUTES??? Definitely not worth your while. Spinal Tap is only 82 minutes. Watch Spinal Tap instead 👍🏾

Good, nothing too amazing

?/? everything and more

This album commits my two biggest fouls in albums on this list; it's far too long and has a skit. The album itself is really good, and I genuinely believe that there is a 40min version of this album that is five star, but the album goes on for 93 mins, too much, too cluttered, too messy. And the other big negative is the content of the last track, I don't want to go too much into it, but I don't think the lyrical content has aged very well. The penultimate track however is great as well as the first 4/5 tracks. I cant give it a 5 but maybe be between a 3 or a 4.

Melodic, diverse, but just ok.

Some songs have pretty cool experimentation, and I wish the album went that route instead. Way too long

Much more something than nothing, but maybe a bit too much of both everything and anything (e.g., studio chatter) to give the highest rating (largely because this probably didn’t have to be a double album). Still, there are 4-5 excellent songs and an equal number of very good ones. Overall, the feel is baroque, with a near overwhelming wave of melodies and hooks and ideas, and near endless filigree, and it's not unpleasant on balance, just exhausting after a time, with a certain sameyness too, given that there is so much of everything on every cut. Clearly less woulda been more, but one senses that TR wouldn't liklely have know where to draw the line. Perhaps it's equally a highly personalized and eccentric masterpiece, and an extended hang with a cool and somewhat goofy (and certainly self-involved) kid who has all the latest toys and isn’t afraid to use them (or show off how much he can do with them).

Boo....didn't like this and I like music from that generation. I feel like this snuck into the list for some ulterior reason.

Wat een saaie bende zeg! Ik zie nu pas dat ik deze belege plaat van deze lapzwans al gedraaid had zelfs. Totaal geen indruk gemaakt.

Lange zit, met soms mooi werk en minder mooi werk.

Sorry Todd, ik kan sommige van je liedjes best waarderen, maar ga hier echt geen anderhalf uur van mijn leven aan besteden. Heb wel nog even doorgeskipt naar het laatste nummer, want daar stond de titel me wel van aan.

Really enjoyed that

better than his next album, but not feeling it

billy joel-ish, sometimes like Queen. i like it

Not my thing at all, but not the worst experience i've had

Starts off with a banger and maintains a light gray and breezy feel all the way through. I think I enjoyed this though there is a lot to get through.

Un Todd en très grande forme qui va passer toquer à notre porte muni de pétards et de claques-doigt fraîchement volés la veille au vieux qui nous les vendait beaucoup trop cher à la kermesse de fin d'année. Il est très certainement mort d'ailleurs.

Todd est vraiment un type incroyable, pas plus tard qu'hier il venait m'apporter un pack de bières en bas de chez moi, me proposant de regarder un bon film. Le problème c'est que dans sa générosité exacerbée, Todd vient nous offrir un album bien trop long. Cela n'enlève néammoins rien à la qualité de l'être humain, puisqu'il une fois l'album terminé, nous nous sommes empressés d'aller faire exploser des pétards sous le balcon de ma voisine avec ce bon vieux Todd.

Todd Rundgren will probably be my most-listened-to artist this year solely because of how many attempts it took me too get through this. Around three really solid songs....... but they're literally the first three of a slog of an album.

Definitely a big and expansive album. There are good songs here, but I’m not huge on the whole product. Some 70s fluff vibes with weaker rhythms and vocals. Impressive for the aspect of him doing (almost) all of it himself, if nothing else. Best song: Couldn’t I Just Tell You or You Left Me Sore

Lite för långt och jag behöver egentligen lyssna igen. Det här skulle kunna vara en fyra

4-

There is a lot of musical skill and good songwriting on this album, although the production is pretty schmaltz. It also verges into the strange quite a few times, apparently Todd Rundgren thinks of this as his cannabis/ritalin album? Audio-wise, I'd throw some shrooms into the mix as well. But between the bland 70s soft rock songs and the weird crunching/popping sounds, there are some great songs here. I had never heard of Todd Rundgren (although I definitely recognized some of the songs) so this was new and I didn't know what to expect. I liked a lot of the songs quite a lot. As an album, it's scattered feeling and far too long. Overall, a pleasant surprise. 4/5

Interesting

70’s soft rock. Not that exciting today, but good decent work

Before today, I'd never heard of Todd Rundgren before. Todd's type of music is pop rock with some psychadelic elements to it. It's like the Eagles crossed with Jefferson Starship. Nice easy listening. Something impressive about this album is that Todd produced it and played all the instruments on 3/4 of this record himself. That takes a lot of talent. Apparently after this album, he focused heavier on the psychadelic elements of his music, but this stuff is super chill. This album would be excellent as background music while doing work or sitting back and enjoying a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning. There are a lot of different things going on with this album. Everything from psychadelic rock to blues rock to pop. Even a few live numbers at the end of the record. Overall, an excellent album today. I enjoyed the genre changes throughout the album. Given the fact that this was a double album clocking in at 1hr 30mins, the constant changing kept it fresh. I will definately listen again! Favourite songs: Wolfman Jack, Slut, Piss Aaron, Messin' With The Kid, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Couldn't I Just Tell You, Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me, I Saw The Light, Cold Morning Light, Black Maria, Hello It's Me, You Left Me Sore Least favourite songs: I Went to the Mirror, Breathless, Marlene, Money (That's What I Want) 4/5

What happens when a talented pop producer does a ton of speed and has full creative freedom? You get a double album full of so many different styles that take inspiration across all corners of music. We got some ballads, power pop, cabaret, country, jam, you name it. Even the interludes are engaging and worthwhile. Now this guy kept churning whatever songs to his mind. And to me, I'm hearing a lot of lame tracks that are decent and impressive, but not particularly engaging. In addition, this makes a very inconsistent record, with completely opposite moods being played in quick succession, akin to some compilation. I do find tons of things I like that display his innovation and skill set in production techniques and songwriting, such as smooth bridges and changes in tempo. "Marlene" is an example of a song that sounds elegant and smooth but underdeveloped. I find it repetitive and the progression doesn't feel satisfying, and this is only further spotlighted by the minimalist boring lyrics. I wouldn't label this as one of the "lame" songs, but of the many that have potential if perfected. Favorites: I Saw the Light, It Takes Two to Tango, Breathless, The Night the Carousel Burned Down, Couldn't I Just Tell You, Little Red Lights, Piss Aron, Hello It's Me

Incredibele variety in sounds and styles, all rendered with a directness and an ear for pop melody that is unwavering. Unfortunately not all of it works for me and the well known songs are well known for a reason and the not so known songs are also unknown for a reason. However you have to admire the shear scope of this project, the depth of Rundgren's musical talent. 3.5 stars

Long album, but packed with good music. Sometimes sounding like Steely Dan, sometimes like Beach Boys and sometimes like early 70s guitar rock. Enjoyed far more than the other Rundgren long album.

This was too long. 70s adult contemporary, precursor to yacht rock. A couple gems. That last song sure didn't age well.

Ik kende deze artiest alleen via de soundtrack van Worst Person in the World, maar hij heeft meer lekkere nummertjes. Alleen een album van 25 nummers is gewoon te lang.

Piss Aaron gets 5 stars.

Pop-rock algo psicodélico. Venga, un 4.

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

Far too long, far too not good. Very little quality to write home about, all the hallmarks of a bad album.

I think this is positively poppy compared to the other album of his that we had? Not as interesting (although with a couple of highlights) and FAR TOO LONG! I don't think I've ever listened to an album much longer than an hour that couldn't have done with being a bit shorter, and at 89 minutes this one doesn't break that streak. The reward for getting to the end is an eye-opening closer called 'Slut', which is exactly as pleasant as you'd expect. It's a bit straight down the line, ballady, and not really good enough to excel in that genre. 2.5.

So dull…so long…

Favourites: • I Saw the Light • I Went to the Mirror • Black Maria

Todd Rundgren, hit machine? No! Todd Rundgren, music maker! This MF sits “Hello It’s Me” at #22 on a 25-track album! But before that are plenty of terrific songs. His sound is unique and he’s one prolific artist. He puts out so much but it never sounds “filler”. Another musician I need to spend more time with.

Jesus fucking christ, Todd.

Thanks Todd, maybe shorten it up TODD

Familiar with a couple of the songs but I always thought a raspy sounding woman was singing. So weird. Anyway, only a couple of songs worth listening to on this album, and those are the hits (I Saw the Light & Hello It's Me).

It's fine, nothing special.

Listening to Something/Anything?, it’s pretty evident that Todd Rundgren is a genius and you should heed the advice he gives on track 7, “Intro”: listen to this record with headphones on and “crank ‘em up”. It’s an exceptionally well produced and enjoyable record, but his follow up, A Wizard, A True Star…That’s my brand of crazy.

Long as hell.

This was really good. It was a pretty fun album, and did not feel like it was 90 minutes long.

I didn't have the willpower to listen to 90 minutes of Todd Rundgren, so I'll give it a 2 and move on.

Just quirky & interesting enough. Hello It's Me is a 70s classic, and some of the stuff here touches on the experimental. I need to give him props for helping other artists (Sparks comes to mind), so this guy is talented. It's just not something I'd reach for. 3.5 stars.

This reminds me too much of the easy listening QM radio stuff I had to listen to growing up.

Was bracing myself for a slog but overall kinda enjoyed it, minus the song about being in love with a minor. Some cringe, but some fun. I liked that it had a game, more albums should have games 3.5/5

Generic and pretty boring

Ugh, that was a struggle. My first contact with Todd Rundgren, hopefully the last one. I didn't like his vocal, and his music was, unfortunately, boring and outdated. Every song was basically a copy of each other bringing nothing interesting to the table. I couldn't make it through whole double album, so probably I missed a more interesting song, but at this point I will take my chances.

Genres: Rock, pop, R&B, psychedelia Formed: Philadelphia in 1967 (solo 1969) Run time: 25 songs, 1 hour, 28 min The third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, and his first double album. The least popular song has 176K plays, whilst the most popular is track 1, “I Saw The Light”, with over 76M plays on Spotify. The album seems to be very bland AOR (adult oriented rock). Boring! I’m all for long albums. I like value for money, but this is torturously long given the quality of material. Listen Again?: No My Rating: **

No thank you.

2.5 too long

So boring. It’s inoffensive innocuous soft rock. I’ve heard the singles many many times on classic rock radio and I’ve never felt compelled to go deeper. Granted, Rundgren does address the issue of his boring formulaic music with his next album, A Wizard A True Star, but I didn’t exactly love that either. It’s fine, this album is just fine. But it’s also cursed now because it features prominently in the first few episodes of And Just Like That, the worst show on television. I won’t take points off for that, but I just can’t think of a worse way for it to try and drive some substantial new royalties from. That show is so not the right fit for it. And it’s not going to get the same renewed interest that Kate Bush got from its genius use in Stranger Things. Sorry Todd, you’re just too basic.

This is one of those albums that's fine, a fun listen even, but I don't understand why it's special enough to be on this list. I suppose that it represents a transitional album from the sound of the 60s to the sound of the 70s, but nothing on here feels all that groundbreaking. It just feels very straightforward. There's nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed this album, but it's hard to analyze something that is competent but unspectacular. He does have some synthesizer stuff on here that is relatively early. Maybe it gets really good on the second disc of the album, but I'm definitely not going to make it there because I have things to do today 3/5

Not sure why, but this album kinda gave me the creeps. 2/5.

Rock

Lotta music on this one. Most of it is good, but a lot

70s adult contemporary album that is as uninteresting as it is long. 2/5

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: I saw the light

This is a lot... Of wasted time. There are actually a few moments of good stuff here. But there is much dad rock and studio fucking around that it gets buried. And I'm starting to understand why ppl don't like double albums. They are great when it's music you like, but painful when it's crap like this.

Oddly enough I enjoyed this one. Weird in all the right ways.

A decent album. It was a combination of yacht rock and some slightly heavier rock tracks. It was very long, I recognized the song Hello its Me. Other than that, I'd never heard anything off this album before. There are lots of parts where it's just talking in the studio, like a live uncut show, it was kind of interesting. Overall it was ok

felt like i'd been listening to this for hours, checked and i was on track 2.

As dusk settles on another summer night I can't help but wonder whether Todd Rundgren has ever made sweet love to a woman. He seems like the kind of dude who wanks into a jam jar and keeps it on the mantlepiece.

Shite

Pretty decent, I'll listen to it again

Viihdytti ja ilahdutti paikoin. Pituus tekee kyllä hallaa - vähempi määrä biisejä pitäisi erityisesti pastissimaiset biisit hauskempina. Yllättäviä juttuja ja taiten tehty. Ei silti anna kauheasti, vedä mukanaan

Paikoin nautinnollista, ja ennen kaikkea ei ärsyttävää (toisin kuin esim. Elvis Costello) Biisimateriaali on toki vähän B-laarista, enkä jää himoitsemaan sen kuulemista uudelleen, mutta pastisseina ja eri tyylilajeja mallintavina kappaleina nämä menettelevät.

No-one needs 1 hour 27 minutes of this. Stop it Todd.

3+/5

9/10. I knew going in that there were some classics on this one, my question was if the songs in between would hold up. In general they did, but a double album is a long time to listen to Todd Rundgren.

I really like this album but this listen through it got a bit long - maybe could’ve been a single album. Still a soft-rock staple imo. 9/10

I knew two songs and wasn’t all that impressed with the rest

Album starts great with I saw the light. A few other good tracks sprinkled but no where near enough to counter the the pretentious noises he made on the rest of the record.

Very cool in places and more good than bad.

So what's 25 track double album basically? One of substance 2 or 3 others the 2 singles are OK. Little red lights is great and some folks are wider than me is a notable track.

Rock clásico con algún toque más sureño y más relajado. Todo un icono en EEUU. Guitarrista con buena voz

Blimey Nora, this album is LONG. I first started listening to it in 1997, and I still don't think I've finished the first disc. I can't say that this music is offensive - it isn't. It's audio wallpaper, mostly. Kind of like the soundtrack to a "Based on real events" TV movie. Some experimental stuff started kicking in around 2005. And that is actually pretty good. It's just surrounded by nearly a decade's worth of beige.

A monster of a double album, comprising 4 distinct sides, all written and recorded by one man. The accurately titled Side One, 'A Bouquet of Ear-catching Melodies', is a 5/5 collection of lovely pop songs. From there each side gets progressively more experimental, culminating in Side Four, called 'Baby Needs a New Pair of Snakeskin Boots (A Pop Operetta)'. Whilst the whole album is enjoyable and the increasing experimentation makes it a more ambitious and interesting record, I'm basically a sucker for lovely, well crafted singer songwriter pop, so more of Side One would have been more to my tastes. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: I Saw the Light Date listened: 11/05/23

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: It’s not bad it’s just not my thing Favourite song: Track 13 - Black Maria

booooorrriiinnnggg what a opening track. what a perfect track. how on earth could he fill the rest of this interminable fucking record with such vacuous repetition

This album is WAY TOOO LONG but i really enjoyed it regardless! Floaty and atmospheric without being directionless. Really pretty songs. Just very pleasantly beautiful.

"it wouldn't have made any difference" is a song I can imagine in a rom-com where both characters are at a the low point of the movie 😂

I was a little nervous about committing to a 90-minute double album, but I found it a quite interesting journey. It helped a lot to follow the album liner notes that gave a different title and feel to each of the four sides. I really enjoyed this.

Another artist on my "I should really get to know their work" list. So, thank you, 1001. It was definitely worth the extended listening time today...too bad that I didn't have enough time to get two rounds in, but I will someday.

If you asked me what 70s pop music sounded like, I'd hand you this. This is a long album and I think there are probably some songs that I could do without but there are also some real gems. I don't think I carry it in my brain all the time as such but when I listen to it, it's clear that "Hello, It's Me" is a genius pop song. I was prepared to be outraged at a track called Slut but even that was catchy and kind of pro-slut it turns out.

This is one of the albums that I always knew about but never listened to. And Todd Rundgren is one of those artists that I knew was more important that the few hits I had heard. I was excited to listen to this double album. I was not disappointed. There was a good deal of variety on this album, and it is even more impressive to think that Todd Rundgren recorded a lot of the songs alone. Really impressive. So much I loved on this.

Un album foisonnant qui veut m'entraîner dans toutes sortes de directions, mais je résiste. Je ne connecte pas vraiment à la voix ni au projet.

Soft rock. Fine.

I was on a light dose of shrooms for this one. It was kinda nice to have the album get more psychedelic as the shrooms kicked in, but it definitely overstayed its welcome. This really didn't need to be an hour and a half long.

Quite delightful. The opening track "I Saw the Light" set a great tone. I appreciated the track where he talks about the "game" he made up in the studio, then plays examples of audio hiss, etc. - nice way to keep it light, even though I can't help but think it was filler to fill out a double album - which is, of course, the primary problem with this album. The problem is twofold - it's gets too long to listen to in a sitting, and it means that songs that shouldn't be included are included. But I really did enjoy it despite that last point, and am slowly becoming a Todd Rundgren fan.

My friend's band in college would do a cover of "I Saw The Light" as one of their signature tunes. That track in particular has a very special place in my heart for that reason, and it's no wonder Todd led with it as a single. There are plenty of other spectacular tunes here as well, but he hadn't refined his manic creative energy yet like he went on to do with "A Wizard, A True Star." I kind of admire his kitchen sink attitude, and it still amazes me how he played the vast majority of the music himself, but yes, it is too long. A classic example of what could have been a brilliant single album that gets bogged down in its own ambition.

Way less interesting to "A Wizard / A True Star", it's fine and competent but just normal rock/pop to me.

So many great albums came out in the 1970s... but this is not one of those. In fact, if you were to take all that was bad about 70s rock - the cheesy soft ballads, the "blue-eyed" soul, the unnecessary saxophones - and distill it into one album, it would be this album. This album smells like stale tobacco and cracked jukebox buttons.

Very. Good album

- (Disclaimer I'm writing this before I listen to it) 1 hr 28 minutes is incredibly unnecessary this album better be godlike - ^after listening I was 100% correct it's way too long - Honestly some decent jams on this thing, but tons of songs that were boring to me as well - "she may be a slut but she looks good to me" is a bar - 2.5 but I'll round up

- 70’s pop for sure (Elton, Joel) - Some catchy tunes in there but far too long - S L U T

Something Beautiful Strong 7

Docked 1 star for length

Cheesy kutnummers

People in the 70s got laid to this? Yeesh.

Some very strong parts, but also some very weak parts. Loved the variation on styles most of all. Thinning this out a bit could make it an easy 4, but not as it is for me.

Chill lite långt dock tbh

Liked this album! Quite an eclectic mix of songs over it’s 90 minutes, and the studio banter makes for a fun atmosphere. Thumbs up from me :)

Dehä va swag, chill, blev aldrig långtråkigt. Bra pop och rätt bra dubbel lp!

Ok, some interesting bits but it didn't really stick out on first listen. Might need another go

Repetitive soft rock

Kannte ich natürlich wieder nicht. Endlich mal wieder ein Album, das dem Anspruch gerecht wird, hörenswert zu sein. Zu recht und nicht nur aus Gründen der Dokumentation in der Liste. Kein Riesenwurf, allerdings.

RIP LIV

First two songs are great (4 star) the rest is indulgent tosh(1 star).

I mean it was a nice album, far too long though. Nice vocals and instrumentals though I'm not particularly a fan of some of the music, sounds a little jokey at times? 6/10.

Couple memorable songs. Mostly nice sound.

Score: 80 Album art: 70 This is like if the Beatles were talented There's a lot to like about this album. The production is good, it flows well and it goes pretty decently fast for a 90 minute album. I like that he doesn't always take himself seriously on some tracks and intro and overture are just joke tracks. Some tracks go pretty hard and I enjoyed those ones the most. I also really liked I went to the mirror and I was it was longer and didn't abruptly end. It's a pretty insane accomplishment for a singer songwriter to do most of this themselves. Sure some tracks aren't as interesting but out of 25 songs there's a good amount of really good and fun ones. Also 3 or 4 songs are just a lot louder than the others for some reason. Other than that and some pacing issues which isn't this albums fault, it wasn't released as 1 single disc, I enjoyed it a lot.

This man self produced this entire album and played all the instruments on almost 3/4 of it. He thanks drugs for helping him. It's as long as a movie with 4 different sides, so it's a little self indulgent but I can respect it. The track 'Intro' is hilarious and a perfect representation of making this record. Now there is a lot of quantity but is there a lot of quality? It has some great tunes and some mid ones. I enjoy his voice and the talent is displayed well. What I like the most is how random and weird it can be. You never know what's coming next. I don't agree with a lot of the low reviews. My ranking is based on the effort and the music itself, there is a little bit of everything. Fave Songs: I Saw the Light, The Night the Carousel Burned Down, I Went to the Mirror, Black Maria, Couldn't I Just Tell You, Hello It's Me

Fajne

Very long album. A couple standouts, and a lot of stuff that is good but not great.

Really liked this one. Kind of radio friendly rock in the vein of Elton John or Billy Joel. A little more mellow than both. But really enjoyable.

Somewhere between ABBA and Queen? Some bangers with spring vibes

This one was unfortunately just not for me. It was also much too long. I do really like the cover art though.

A good album, and I like the concepts behind each side, but there's quite a bit of fat that should've been trimmed from this album (namely the cerebral side and the half-baked story, overture & last two songs of the "operetta side"). It would've made for an even better album, though a more accessible listen too, which Todd wouldn't have gone for. favs: Hello It's Me, Black Maria, I Saw the Light, Couldn't I Just Tell You, Dust in the Wind, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference least favs: I Went to the Mirror, Breathless

awful and obsolete.

It starts pleasant enough, then it gets a little weird, then it overstays its welcome.

I've seen the name a million times, and on pressing play I kind of recognize the voice, but I can't say I know much about Todd Rundgren at all. I am, however, put off by 1 hr 29 mins as a runtime, which is quite frankly bonkers. He's got a good voice. People have been saying this gets weird, where's the weird man?! Okay, now things are getting weird! Maybe gone too far into bizarre. It's still going, and things haven't been that bad, to be honest. It's all a bit AOR middle of the road 70s soft-rock stuff, but then that is what it is. And that's that. Not terrible, but going by what else has been not terrible... 2 / 5 stars.

Too long

Not a big fan

Mikä harmittaa tässä albumissa ihmessejä ihan menevä kokonaisuus on. Voipi sointi sävellys olla yksinkerttasemppaa kun ei tässä nyt.. ehh.... heh... kun ei tässä ole nyt ollut herralla kaverreitta ja livenä pittäis jokaista soitinta pimputtaa sitthen ja kappaalethan esittävä sithen.. Onkos järki immeisellä ennää, kun aevanm olisin luullut se ompi kaksi kättä jokkaisella pallon tallustajalla. Kun ei tallustahja esisiäkhää - kaiken maaihlman apinoistakhee puhun - ,sais artisthia vaikka jalloilla ne ossais soitella.. apinnat.. kun ei järkeä ole.. heh Sinne jalakhoihin vaikka jos vain saisi..laittasi sähkökittarra sais rumpuja paukuttae käsivoemain.. Se ompi semmone taipusa jalkavarvas käsi hommeli niillä se ompi semmonen

st time listening. What am I missing here? I recognize "Hello It's Me" and that's it. This is an almost 90min slog of humdrum 70s pop rock with one uninteresting song after another. A half-day after listening, I can't say I recall a single melody, lyric, or chorus outside of the aforementioned "Hello It's Me." Perfectly fine and inoffensive background music, kind of like how the artwork functions akin to your grandma's wallpaper. Unless I hear something by Todd Rundgren that really blows me away, I'm skeptical about pursuing his works any further. Not a fan.

Big fan of the first couple of tracks, fell off a bit after that for me.

Once again, good for background listening, not my case for explicit listening.

Dragged after a while

The randomness of the daily album is strange, I just listened to Todd's A Wizard/A True Star album the day before this one. However this being a double album- big ouft - I was not looking forward to the slog of such a long listen. This outing by Todd, is much more traditional pop rock and not so much experimental yet each sides of the original records are distinct in their own way with a flow that creates 4 mini albums/EPs. So as an entire album it doesn't feel like I've listened to 1 album, which kept it relatively fresh throughout. Best: I Saw the Light Worst: Marlene

New to me. I knew the name, but this is solid classic 70s-ish rock. Hints of psychedelic music. Poppy. I’m not sure I’d search it out normally, but I like it and I’d listen again.

"let's leave the studio chatter at the beginning of every song, that'll seem really cool!"

The album was long. All over the place, inconsistent and not good. It is probably better than a one but not much.

I got through most of this. Most of it is fine, and sounds like the music of the era. A couple songs are great. A couple songs have, in my opinion, really shoddy drum work. Overall, average.

lepo

Þetta elska ég alveg út í gegn. Þetta er svona... byrjunin á skúturokki, myndi ég segja. Forveri þess. Talsverður Hall & Oates fílingur í þessu, enda var Todd að pródjúsa fyrir H&O um svipað leyti.

While there are snippets of brilliance in here - this album completely suffers from the the too much syndrome - too much album, too much emotion, too much contrition, too much self confidence, indulgence - at times talent and brilliance but the negatives are too much. Self editing might have made a wonderful record but I guess that’s the pitfall of going at it alone with so much ambition. Shame really.

Surprisingly great album. See a lot of influence over later 70s power pop acts (hear a ton of Big Star). Will return to this in the future!! 4/5

I want to become a physicist, discover time travel, and time travel back to 1972 and steal the lunch money of the guys who bought this album.

why so gd longgg

enjoyed it, a bit unusual sound.

Hemtrevligt. Lite som att se ett gammalt McCloudavsnitt. Himla duktigt att göra nästan allt själv.

Knew surprising many songs of this one, some by covers of Mathilde Santing. Liked the covers better,,

An artist whose name is very familiar to me, but I've never happened to listen to any of his music. At least not intentionally. I didn't mind the 70s soft rock / yacht rock, but I can't imagine searching it out in the future.

Didn’t enjoy this at all. Except the “Intro” song was interesting

C'est bien beau

très très belle pochette Todd

Not my cup of tea, na 3 nummers gestopt met luisteren.

Niet opmerkelijk, beetje saai zelfs

There's a track that opens side B called "Intro" and it's just Rundgren talking about different production errors that can be heard, presumably in the middle of a self-induced psychotic break from producing the album for so long. It's funny and easily the most amusing part of the album.

Todd Rundgren is not in my usual list of what I would listen to. "Bang on the Drum All Day" is the only track that I can name from Rundgren, and it's not on Something/Anything. I did recognize "I Saw the Light" and "Hello It's Me", but that's only two songs from a double album. This album sits firmly at 2.5 stars. Almost half of the album is "okay - I guess", but 50% of the album I did not like. There was too much of a 70s soft rock or adult contemporary vibe. This album sounds like it might be friends with Carole King. It took until side 3 before I felt like Rundgren committed to some rock. The track I might come back to is "Couldn't I Just Tell You", which sounded like it was trying to bridge the gap between the early 80s to college station rock a few years down the road. The track sounds like it would fit in on a play list with early REM. I guess I'm rounding on this one.

3.4 - Listening to this record released in 1972 reminds me of Hunter S Thompson’s summation of how the giddy creativity of the 1960 ultimately led to disappointment. “So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill…and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” I hate to criticize this record too much - I appreciate the meticulous instrumentation and the amount of output - but it’s like Todd Rundgren channeled all of the bland, easy listening elements of the 1960s and forgot about the rest. And at over 90 minutes, this is a boring, bloated slog.

Cool at first but got a bit boring

Ok side 1 is kinda bullshit. Side two is a more Steely Dan vibe, just without the goove. It's like someone put music of the era and put it in a blender and then portioned it back out. The really banal hooks are what kill me, see "Saving Grace". Black Maria sucks. This album sucks and it will not leave. This part 4 is like souless Billy Joel and that is saying something.

4.25

Todd Rundgren is definitely an artist who contains multitudes. This is an eclectic album with a lot of different styles on it. Side 1 is particularly strong - a fantastic batch of pop songs with “I Saw the Light” leading the pack. From there, the album is more eclectic and there are a few tracks I could have done without ("Song of the Viking," for example). It starts to feel more like some of the other 60's/70's rock albums we've had on this list, where the artist throws every weird idea they had onto the album. But there’s a lot of good stuff too, including a fair amount of hard rock. The rocker "Black Maria" is a highlight. Man, “Slut” is a weird closing track. Great energy but don’t love those lyrics. 😬 Overall, really enjoyed this one and I’m especially looking forward to revisiting the opening stretch of songs.

Nice diverse album. It starts off strong with arguably the best song as the first one, "I Saw the Light", and then gets a bit weaker as it goes on. Singer has a nice voice that fit really well in this time period. Production is a little hot and cold though- listening to Track 3 "Wolfman Jack" into Track 4 "Cold Morning Light", you can hear a surprisingly audible change in master volume. The record felt a little bit long for me. By the end I was losing a bit of interest. The final track had some interesting lyrics... I found it pretty funny to consider backup singers singing the chorus harmonies "she may be a slut but she looks good to me" like sheesh louish.

As I know of Todd Rundgren as the producer of Bat Out of Hell I had no real idea what to expect. Whatever I expected it wasn't this collection of random pop, influenced by the Beatles, Carole King and Randy Newman (Yes I know that this is anachronistic in part, but it is what it sounds like). Not really worth spending the time on - there are various tolerable songs and few that were just irritating, but way to many for too long with too little to say and almost no originality, As a producer Todd is good, as an artist - average to poor

We’ll crafted songs, but some are way too sappy. A lot of the songs seem to blend together, which makes sense since this album is ridiculously long. Bit of a slog.

Reading some of these reviews, I was wondering if people were listening to the right album, because the album I listened to first was a nice, tight, 43 minutes with only 13 tracks. Then I did some research and found that it's only half the album? The second half was... excessive. Unnecessary. Cut it, it doesn't need to be there. It's not all bad, it just doesn't add all that much. I felt like I would have liked this a lot better if it was broken up into two different albums, keeping the styles separate. Piss Aaron is a work of songwriting genius. Just kidding. What the fuck.

This one a little tough for me to rate. It's just so long and I didn't really feel like going back to listen again. I can say, it was definitely diverse. Some mellow stuff, some weird stuff and some acid trip shit. Recognize a few songs from the radio, but they're the kinda songs I generally skip over. Anyway, liked Wolfman Jack, but nothing else really stood out except for Slut. Just because I am a slut for my wife. At least she pays well. Yo Luke, don't tell mom I said that. I'll give a 2-2.5. I mean nothing too adverse to me, but nothing that made me want to go back and do again

2 Had to piece this one out into two sittings and I’m really glad I did because I very much enjoyed this album. It’s not top 10 material or anything but I had a nice time listening. I was especially entertained by “Intro” which is decidedly not the intro to anything and is pretty funny. This leads me to my primary complaint which is that I don’t know what I’m supposed to take seriously. Is it all of it? None of it? If it’s only some how do I know which ones? Also it’s length. I don’t remember much about the Todd Rundgren album we had but I’m pretty sure I like this one more probably?

1.5 Our previous Rundgren album, A Wizard/A True Star, was a fun musical journey through the audible equivalent of an LSD trip. This one is a bit more of a musical marathon, where you’re out of breath and ready for the finish line by the end. I’m really glad he decided to get a bit more experimental with his follow-up, as this one just feels like safe pop song after lame soft rock song… after safe pop song after lame soft rock song after safe pop song after lame soft rock song. Really don’t think this needed to be 25 tracks, and I think the fact that not one jumped out to me makes it seem like Rundgren was going for quantity over quality. I guess I’ll give him kudos for playing almost all of the instrument tracks on the album, but still, it doesn’t make the listening any more interesting to me. Since I didn’t outright hate any tracks in particular, I was feeling a strong 2 at first, but I ultimately decided to deduct a half point for runtime, as that would most likely deter me from listening again in the future.

This strikes me as an album that has a bit of everything. At first I didn't pay much attention with the first few pop and soul songs, but it started to pick up a bit a few songs in, and the spoken word to the listener and the little game explained in Intro got my attention. After that I was pretty sold. Additionally I'm always a sucker for hearing some behind-the-scenes chatter and banter from the band, like what was in some of the later songs. (Shame Todd didn't name the album "Throw Money" in the end!) Some of the songs were weaker and weirder than others, but overall I liked this one a lot. Varied enough to never get old, despite the 88 minute runtime. Good one! Favourite: Breathless

Gotta admire the ambition of this. Double album of angular but melodic rock that varies over the 4 sides of vinyl. He plays everything on the first 3 sides. The last side is with a band performed live. Its a tad too smooth in the production for my tastes and I know TR backlashed against it saying he didn't want to be a male Carole King. Needs more than one listen. 3, I think

Not the most impressive 70s rock album but with 20 something songs there were a couple that were pretty good. The thing about double albums is if you don’t love the artist it feels like it drags on for a while. The first song of this album is pretty good. It doesn’t pick up much from there. It feels like pretty typical 70s rock pop and this could’ve been a bit shorter. 5.8/10

An ambitious album for sure - and hard to rate on account of that. On one hand, Todd Rundgren has an impressive breadth as an artist. On the other hand, reducing the 25 tracks to the 10 best ones would have resulted in a way better, tighter album. Way too many tracks (in different styles, nonetheless) on this album are well executed, but without much soul. The few buried gems aren't really worth the slog.

I'm not impressed. The only interesting part is that Todd Rundgren switched a lot between genres from song to song and you're not sure what to expect next. The overall experience is lackluster.

listened to before great album

It’s a bit meandering but dang it starts strong. Love Rundgren

Pure auditory excellence

This album seemed to go on forever, maybe it was the edible I had.

This was indeed something..but I would rather listen to anything..else

Classic dad rock upside, plus some weirdness sprinkled in to keep things interesting. I would give this a 3 normally because honestly most of the tracks were kind of forgettable (as in, I don't remember them less than 24 hours later)... HOWEVER Todd is getting a bonus star from me for the track halfway through the album where he reads the recording industry for ABSOLUTE FILTH by highlighting shoddy production values and it's hilarious.

Not vibing with this one, guys.

It sounds like AM radio. Good god double and triple albums are a slog to get through.

pedo lyrics? VITUN HIPPI TIETENKI!!!!!!! rupee selittää jotai paskaa keskellä albumiin (turpa kiinni)Best blues ever written. Most people don't "get" him. I do. NO EN MINÄ... luulee tekevänsä jotain hullua... kuulostaa vaan tylsältä... VITUN HIPPIPASKAT PASKAT!!! TYKKÄÄ TÄSTÄ!!!!!!ok hold up hyvä biisi rn.... noh pari hyvää bluessia nostaa POHJAMUDISTA...mutta biisejä on 25 joten 1.5 hyvää eI RIITÄ älä laita blooppereita albumiin ette te ole ihmisiäq no annetan kaks... black maria

Never heard of Todd Rundgen before this starts out nice pop record. Intro then breaks into the second part of the record, it’s gets a tiny bit more interesting after that, part 3 gets even better. Enjoyed the change up in this album but overall found it a bit long. Glad Iv listened and agree with should be on the list but wouldn’t make my regular rotation, so this just misses out on 4 stars.

Usually interesting, but only sometimes enjoyable. 3/5

Fucking boring soft rock that went forever. 2/5.

I am a fan of Todd and seen him a few times, I just don't like this album. Sounds like he fell in love for the first time and wanted to sing about it

There are some all time great singles on here as well as some good deep cuts. Unfortunately it's also got a lot of mediocre material and is way too long. I thought maybe a 2, but the good stuff is good enough for a 3.

This album feels very reminiscent of it's time. The earlier tracks sound familiar in some way but I found the whole album a struggle.

On first listen this seemed like a frickin' mess. I'm glad I took a peek at the reviews as someone pointed out this album is split into 4 distinct sides, each with its own title, and that helped me make sense of it a little more. The first side definitely seems the most consistent. The need for this to be a double album is questionable at best. Still, quite a lot of it seems like solid pop rock, I guess. Fave track - "Breathless" was fun electronic weirdness. "I Saw The Light" and "Wolfman Jack" were fun. "Black Maria" combined with the title of the side made me think that side was gonna be Black Sabbath-esque, but it turned out to be an outlier....

i dont know if its a three or a high two. i get this double lp is supposed to have moods and sides with different experiences, but it comes off muddy and murky. if youre gonna rock rundgren, fucking rock.

In which Todd Rungdren displays his virtuosity by releasing a quadruple album, each side alone a worthy record and distinct from the others. The first side is undoubtedly the best - I’m going to make some stellar pop records, near parodying Carole King, and in twenty minutes (!) write I Saw the Light, one is the greatest tracks of the era. Second side I’m playing around with form and structure and studio effects; third side I’m making some straight up hard rock power pop classics. Oh and I’m playing all the instruments. Fourth side is live tracks in the studio and some more messing around. The guy is a one man Beatles. A freaking genius. What an achievement. Is this the first Ritalin album?

One of those artists I thought I'd like if I gave them some time, and I was right. A great mixture of lovely ballads and enjoyable weirdness. I Saw The Light pips It wouldn't Have Made Any Difference to the coveted best song trophy.

Didn't really enjoy it. The sounds of the studios bit was fun though.

Rundgren is clearly very talented, and has (as his "Intro" hints) taken great care with this recording. But I have to say, the songs and the arrangements just don't appeal to me. It's "that 70s sound" again...a kind of perfectly crafted soft rock that has lots going on at once, but nothing to hook me in. 2.5 stars.

My introduction to Todd was the purchase of the Nazz single of Hello It’s Me from the discount bin at Grace Bros record bar on Broadway in 1969. I think I prefer the version on this album. Never heard this record before and was only familiar with I Saw The Light, which still gets played on retro radio. Thoroughly enjoyed it - very poppy but so well done, because he’s such a good producer. I think Side 4, which involved using other musicians, is the weakest side. He didn’t need them. Love his vocals & guitar and his ability to create 2 or 3-minute pop masterpieces.

I was rally bored with this album. Very pleasant pop songs, in a soft rock style. Was this about the first album where the artist played all the instruments? Possibly so, which makes it a bit of a landmark with regards to what a single person could accomplish with a multitrack, and set a precedent for artists like Prince. Mind you, others were coming to the same discovery independently (Mike Oldfield must have been recording Tubular Bells almost simultaneously). But the songs and performances frankly bore me, and I suspect they did for Rundgren too, who started being much more experimental following this album. Even the heavier rock songs on this album are kind of bloodless. It reminds me of how Danny Sugarman in 'Wonderland Ave' complains about how the rock (largely) seemed to water down in the early 70s. This album is a case in point.

Something/Anything? (1972) was Todd Rundgren' third album and his first double album. Also in 3/4 of songs he plays all the instruments. Nice album, but not for everyday listening. Good Music for driving, although some parts was long.

It's really quite good. One of those Prince/Dave Grohl type works where it's quite brilliantly the work of one singular multi instrumentalist. However, this is somewhat traditional - if a few years ahead of its competitors. It's when Rundgren embraces his inner weird that he truly becomes a master and one of my favourites.

Needed sleeve notes. And editing down to a single album. And even then it's a 3.

no, nothing mate

sure. thanks.

You suck and this sucks. It drove me up a wall. Stupid double albums.

The pop hits are effective but I don’t like this kind of music

That went downhill fast. I Saw the Light is a great song, but then it's just totally forgettable. Some Folks Is..... is quite a blast, but that's it.

weird and wonderful

Pretty chill. Nice listen

Liked a handful of songs but overall kinda blah!

Again, I think I like it? Not as impressive as the last one and way too long for me to make it all the way through. 2/5 because I lost interest before the end

This was really good psychedelic rock at times, I’d rank it higher if it weren’t for the slower lovey jams that interrupted the pace of this album. Favourite stretch of the album is likely from Song of the Viking to One More Day and the live jams to close it out had good energy. Crazy to see Rundgren has a new release coming out tomorrow 10/14/2022 with Rivers Cuomo making an appearance. Could have been a 4 but I’ll go 3.5

Super awesome. I wish it was a single album so bad. There's so many good songs though.

Yeah alright. Nothing amazing

Pleasant 70’s easy listening. Decent songs, album, and playing, but it won’t stay in my regular rotation.

Best Song: Breathless. Sad to say my favourite track on the album is the one in which he isn't singing. Worst Song: It Takes Two to Tango (This Is For The Girls). That chipper voice is really starting to grate on my by this point in the album, and the dated "boys are from Mars, women are from Venus" lyrical theme isn't helping. Overall: Seems like one happy little drug man's personal project to make an album he loves. I can't really begrudge him for that, because it really does sound like he's having fun. But Jesus, there's some weird shit in here. I'm forced to believe the man has no idea what a viking is. Not to mention a song called "intro" in the middle of the album that's just him fiddling with recording equipment? To paraphrase Hemingway: "Record inebriated, edit sober".

It was okay

noise

some tracks felt really modern but I don't feel anything special for the album overall

Very classic

Interesting album, enjoyed the listen , weird pop from the 70’s

Too long and not very interesting

Such a chill album, can't believe I'd never heard it before.

Certainly can hear how it influenced a lot of music, but just misses the mark for me.

I would be eating this up if I was a virgin looking for songs to burn onto a CD permanent-markered with the title "FUCK JAMS" I Went to the Mirror is pretty good though

nothing to hate, nothing to love

Some catchy tunes and nice melodies but it was very long and there were weird noises!

A cool album. I’m glad I listened to it.

Good double album. Enjoy it and wouldnt throw it away but rare listen

Meh.

Convencional pero también muy atrevido para esa época ¿es su mejor disco?

LOVE love love love - went to my first football game !! we lost … but it was SO FUN regardless <3

09/03/2022 Listened to this one on 09/04 tbhhhh, but!!! I have loved this album since I was in high school, so I was so happy to get it yesterday. This whole album has the feeling of music that would be played at a 70s house party or a party that someone’s parents would have thrown with everyone else’s parents dowsnstairs while they all get drunk off the bar in the house. — Yesterday was a beautiful day. Luke and I went on a date to shiro and i got to shop around. I visited boysville, chica, and crazy. I found an INCREDIBLE hand made quilt at boysville that I’m going to use for my bed now. I really love San Antonio so much

Pop-rock algo psicodélico. Venga, un 4.

"Little Red Lights" is decent

not as bad as expected <3

I recognized the first couple of songs but never thought Todd Rundgren did those songs. I always thought he was better than that. Perhaps we can attribute some of the weenieness to a poor attempt to fit in the psychedelic scene at the time. I had the 1 rating locked and loaded and then side 4 started. There are a few good rockers like Couldn’t I Just Tell You. Rick D also lays down some good ‘ole guitar on Dust … The side 4 goodness comes to a screeching halt with the next hit which is a return to hotdog songs.

"Hello It's Me" is one of my favorite Carole King-esque hits from back in the day. Listening to it now, it's still fresh - I love the interplay between Todd, the trumpet, the horn section, the back-up singers and the drums - I would have never guessed it was THE SAME PERSON doing every part, and producing of course. Amazing! I like that he attributes his prolific song-writing and production to Ritalin and weed. There are some great songs, though a few of the sound similar, which is bound to happen when you record 25 songs in 26 minutes.

I saw the light and Hello it’s me are really great sngles that have stood the test of time and they sound pretty fresh even today. The rest of the album is full of pop ballads and even gasp, show tunes that aren’t as notable, but kudos to him for playing most of the instruments on 3/4 of this double album release.

this was fun as fuck. probably 4 stars close to 5

I've an odd relationship with Todd Rundgren in that I've always got him mixed up with Dolph Lundgren and when I was a kid thought they were one and the same. And tbh I'd probably want to listen to an album by Dolph.

I love the intro in the middle and the bits of dissonance and unexpected winks spaced throughout. Also good sound variety from song to song. Didn’t get through the whole thing but I can hear the shades of brilliance in it.

Haven't listened to any Todd Rundgren before. This albums a lot of fun. Very impressive work him playing the majority/all the instruments. Nothing really stands out or grabs me. My favourite tracks probably are It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference & Black Maria

not sure if this album was supposed to have 25 songs. Bit too much.

Big vibe, never heard of this bloke before but enjoyed the hippy rock. I imagine this mad booffed hella droogs.

First few tracks are good but by the end this is actively annoying.

Well, this is the 2nd Todd Rundgren album on here, and like the first its a VERY long and VERY self-indulgent mess with supposed "funny" parts and very few tunes. General rule: if someone writes, produces and plays pretty much everything on a very long album, it's likely to be mostly poor as there is zero quality control. Between all of this and the other one there could have been a decent EP, nothing more.

This wasn’t just an album, this was an experience. Seems like he was given the keys to a huge studio and he made anything and everything. Some really interesting tracks and some really boring ones too. I want to give it 4 but I probably won’t be revisiting this album anytime soon.

This album is fine, like pretty good, but holy crap is it long. It felt like it was a million years long.

The album name aptly names the process Todd used to choose what tracks to include on his album.

Mostly enjoyable but 'Slut' is a really sour note to end on.

I have "A Wizard A True Star" on vinyl but this is much different. So far kind of easy classic rock. I think Todd Rundgren is pretty eccentric so I'm excited to see how much this strays away from the sound on AWATS. "I Saw The Light" is on classic radio stations all the time I immediately recognized that one. Can't get over the "lightness" of this album so far 4 songs in. My god this album is long! I do like it, but idk if I like enough songs to add this huge giant album to my Spotify. Also unique in that a lot of the chatter was just left in between songs so it has a very informal feel while the music is very polished.

An eclectic little mix of music. Some skits, one song I knew. But as soon as you see a song titled “Slut” it’s off the playlist and into the bin.

Very decent singer songwriter. Easy to listen to

Pretty good, Spotify didn’t have the full double album though so I missed out on some of the songs, especially Hello, It’s Me

&&

Impresive and very colorfull

There's something about Todd Rundgren that's hard to nail down. It's also what makes him a fascinating artist to me. Rundgren is clearly talented. He has a natural ability to create pop music with charming melodies and clever lyrics. His mastery of songcraft seems like something he takes for granted. He knows he could just record "Hello It's Me" a hundred times over and he would have been a huge star. But he doesn't want to do that; clearly that bores him. He has an experimental and somewhat impish inclination underneath it all. Sometimes he just likes to follow that into whatever weird corners it may take him. That's Something/Anything? in a nutshell. It's my contention that all great power pop is a little quirky to outright weird. I imagine a lot of that can be traced to Todd Rundgren in general, and this album in particular. Rundgren comes in strong at the beginning, with infectiously catchy pop hooks and one of the more engaging vocals in pop music. His musicianship is surprisingly nimble, as he negotiates a variety of styles. But there's always a little edge to everything he does. The more accessible stuff is chased with a hodgepodge of random silliness, noise and strange playful diversions that often seem like they're musical in-jokes between Todd Rundgren and, well, himself. Some people will hate that. All that said, on balance, this is a really fun album that's never boring. It has two of the most iconic pop songs of the 70s ("Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light") as well as a number of exceptional deep tracks that are well worth the price of admission. It's an enjoyable listen that's also very forward thinking for its time. Fave Songs: Hello It's Me, Couldn't I Just Tell You, I Saw the Light, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Dust in the Wind, You Left Me Sore, Saving Grace, Torch Song, Marlene, One More Day (No Word), Cold Morning Light, Sweeter Memories, Black Maria, The Night the Carousel Burned Down

Getting tires of saying albums are just 'fine', but here's another one that is just that.

Fascinating that he decided to play all the instruments himself for this record. I remember quite a few of these songs from radio airplay in my youth. They are catchy and very reflective of early 70s pop. He's an excellent songwriter and I like his performances. I say that out of appreciation of the craft and work, not as much from a personal aesthetic preference perspective. I don't find myself listening to and enjoying this style of music so much these days, but I understand it's influence.

nothing

One likes the kaleidoscopic, even messianic, pop here; one senses TR’s urgency and immense commitment and that he wants to share. There is a nearly tangible joy and exuberance in the considerable sprawl; one pictures a boy with the run of a fully stocked toy store, a mad scientist in his expertly equipped lab (see silly Studio Sounds spoken word piece and the much better “Breathless - Instrumental” that follows). TR comes off as a solitary visionary than a tortured artist, and it’s quite good fun, if excessively accessorized, too densely layered and obviously show-offy at times. Sameyness is a fair criticism, especially the over-reliance of keyboard manias (some of it sounding quite harpsichordy). Also, it probably didn’t have to be a double album (“Money” doesn’t feel absolutely necessary, e.g., and the studio chatter adds nothing). But there’s a wealth of quality – if not quite an embarrassment of riches: “Couldn't’ I Just Tell You” and “Dust in the Wind” are excellent, while “I Saw the Light” and “Hello It’s Me” are hits for a reason. “It Wouldn’t Have …” “Cold Morning Light” “Marlene” “Carousel Burned Down” and “You Left Me Sore” are all very solid. “Slut” highlights how sexual perceptions and boundaries have changed. Definitely worth knowing, this one.

4, groovy

Well the title of this album was appropriate. I admit that this album was more or less just background noise today while working, but it did a good job of having tracks throughout that would make me stop and listen. And that is why I am giving this album 4 stars. I enjoyed it and will definitely at some point be going back and listening to it again and maybe check out some of his other work.

Nice and playful, but too long. Wolfman Jack is fantastic tho

Theirs some really solid songs on here, but this album unfortunately falls victim to the “double album padding” syndrome- where the artist def has enough material for a single LP but nowhere near enough to make a double lp. Theirs a lot of forgettable stuff here mixed In with the gold.

A mellow and good quality easy listening album. Crazy that it's 50 years old, as the production quality belies its age.

Bumped up to 4 stars because of the consistent quality throughout a long album

Bangers pretty much top to bottom I saw the light is the biggest banger of them all, the great song of the album Solid 4

Interesting and diverse

The beginning wasn't my type but the Intro is cool and Breathless really made the listening worth it.

Most of this was pedestrian pop-rock. The spoken word interlude where he explains studio recording mistakes was odd and the slut-shaming song is just cringeworthy.

rose-tinted nostalgia beats. like montage music for a period movie. pleasant skits and a variety of styles keep this fresh. borderline 5 but this album left a great afterglow

+I Saw the Light, Intro, Hello It's Me There's a lot of music here clocking in at nearly 90 minutes of audio. Most of it pretty good! It's psychedelic and soulful, among many other things, it seems like there are a lot of genres crossed here. It also never really takes itself too seriously while it's also apparent that care and pride was taken to produce a quality product. There are various outtakes scattered around making it clear that the artists making this album had fun while doing it. A strong start with "I Saw The Light", a feel-good classic. "Wolfman Jack" sounds like it was lifted right out of Motown. "Intro" takes a lighthearted jab at mastering technicians, usually I don't enjoy non-music tracks, but this one was a fun little detour. Some of the tracks are downright funny (Some Folks..., You Left Me Sore). There is a lot to enjoy here!

I was rally bored with this album. Very pleasant pop songs, in a soft rock style. Was this about the first album where the artist played all the instruments? Possibly so, which makes it a bit of a landmark with regards to what a single person could accomplish with a multitrack, and set a precedent for artists like Prince. Mind you, others were coming to the same discovery independently (Mike Oldfield must have been recording Tubular Bells almost simultaneously). But the song sand performances frankly bore me, and I suspect they did for Rundgren too, who started being much more experimental following this album. Even the heavier rock songs on this album are kind of bloodless. It reminds me of how Danny Sugarman in 'Wonderland Ave' complains about how the rock (largely) seemed to water down in the early 70s. This album is a case in point.

I just love Todd Rundgren. Why has he not been in my life before this year..

Noise at times. Unremarkable, but not unpleasant.

Nothing awful about this album. Equally nothing noteworthy. Insanely average.

Crammed full of joyous, catchy tunes. Impossible to dislike, surely?

Some of the songs were bangers and sounded like the 70s. Other songs were extra cringe and sounded like the 70s.

Did know much of his stuff. This was worth the listen

C'est quatre albums en un, les deux derniers dont j'ai pas grand chose à faire mais les deux premiers sont des masterclass avec d'abord plein de lovesongs puis de l'expérimental (breathless)

Starts off strong with some wonderful meta touches (the recording dialogue was amazing), but with the back half being live takes and demos the overall LP feels overstuffed and half-baked. Would be much stronger with most of the second half left on the cutting-room floor

Starts off good but kind of fizzles out.

The term "musical genius" gets thrown around a lot, but in Todd Rundgren's case it is well deserved. You can tell by listening to this double album that this was a particularly fertile period for him, with an explosion of ideas. My only complaint about him is that his music leans a little toward the soft rock side of things. 4 stars.

Not my speed at all.

Something / Anything? is an album that touches on a variety of different sounds. It feels like a sprawling journey, one in which you don't know where you're going but you can sit and enjoy the ride. Overall a really enjoyable listen and one I'll definitely listen to again! Of note is the fact that Spotify and Youtube Music don't carry the full album (both seem to only have the first 13 tracks. Fortunately, there are playlists to be found that contain the full album.

Turns out there's a good reason why I haven't listened to this album before. Not that it's the worst I've listened to from this list (not by a wide margin), but it does reopen the question of "what are so many of the albums on this list doing on this list?" In other words, I find it hard to see what so special about this album.

Let's get the obvious out the way first: this is just too damn long, a common flaw in Todd Rundgren albums. One wishes that he could suppress his brobdingnagian tendencies and just focus on producing one great slab of vinyl rather than two middlers packaged together. However, that's hardly the only flaw present. That feels harsh, and it's not as if the album sounds bad, but the first three sides merge into a bog-standard 70s powerpop/AOR rock that neither offends nor inspires. So paradoxically, we have an overtly ambitious record that tries to play as safe as possible. However, side 4 markedly improves things, being rockier, more awake, and quite a bit funnier. As such, side 4 raises this to a 3-starrer, but that's all it can do.

Three stars, maybe? A landmark album for many but I'm not sure I'm sold on this one. It's sure impressive that Todd Rundgren played almost all the instruments on this album. And there are some choice cuts in it, from "I Saw The Light" to "Wolfmann Jack", not to mention the atmospheric waltz "The Night The Carousel Burned Down" or the awfully good power pop hit "Couldn't I Just Tell You"--here foretelling many later great tracks of a genre that was still in its infancy in 1972 (say hi to The Cars, Weezer and The Posies from me, please). The thing is, those cuts are here mixed with many tracks that often border on muzak or elevator music. And when I say "many", I really mean it, since it's a double LP. Of course, I *do* realize that double albums such as these should be unafraid to explore stylistic u-turns and take risks of some kind to justify their sheer length. But can the human mind stand *so many* meandering laneways that rarely have a proper destination point here? And this in *one single take*, to boot. Case in point: "I Went To The Mirror". After a long pointless dirge, the track starts to get interesting with a bluesy Led-Zeppelin-like riff that gets things a little more animated and lively. But almost immediately, the song fades out, just as we were getting to something. This feeling of an unfinished business pertains to many other parts of this double album. And even when things get a little more interesting, like in the track that follows, "Black Maria", one often can't refrain from comparing the proceedings to other staple acts from the sixties and seventies. Yes, Todd Rundgren can remind you of the Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin or even the Rolling Stones (see also the nice closer "Slut"). But can he be as memorable, charming and evocative as the Fab Four? Can he be as deliriously histrionic and "over the top" as Queen? Can he rock as hard as Jagger and Richards, or Plant, Page, Bonham and Jones? No, he can't, and this for all the examples we've just quoted. As a result, he's stuck in a sort of limbo: he's an excellent and imaginative musician, but he's not a perfect songwriter or performer (his voice is a bit dull at times). And as such, he's doomed to stand below all those rock legends we've just mentioned. Conversely, he's not leftfield or abrasive enough to offer something that would counter this overall "mixed bag" narrative either. He sure tries to be more daring sonically speaking in later tracks such as "Little Red Lights". But it's too little and too late, especially at this point of the second record... Some fans might argue that the chords change are often off-kilter or unexpected. Maybe, but it's the same question as the one we've asked before, is it not? Are those chord changes leading somewhere? Nope, they definitely aren't. Take "Torch Song", for instance. Sure, it's nice and delicate, and it offers thoughtful instrumentation and arrangements. But basically, it's just another interlude. The emotions it tries to convey at first do not feel earned at the end, if only because the latter comes too soon, once again. To put it in a nutshell, I feel like this is a record where technical prowess doesn't always lead to truly *compelling* songwriting. And just like the flowery wallpaper aesthetics of its cover, most of the sounds and melodies displayed in *Something/Anything* appear slightly quaint today, if not downright cheesy sometimes. So I can understand listening to this album once because of its cultural importance, and overall it's been an interesting listen, if not always a pleasant one. But I'm not sure I ever want to play that album again now that I've listened to it. Life's too short to waste it on stuff that doesn't convey genuine emotions to you. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 949 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 23 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 14 (including this one?) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important to me): 15

Wantlist

Ohh, this is who sings all those songs I've heard on 97.1 the Drive

It's kind of a bizarre album. Some good songs here and there. 3/5 Standouts: Hello, It's Me, I Saw The Light, Others: It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference,

10/10 awesome album my favorite side was probably side 2 where he has you play a game to spot all of the recording/mixing flaws throughout the songs it was genius because not only were the songs bangers I enjoyed listening to but I felt more invested because I wanted to dig deeper into the sounds overall super cool album, kinda had Elton John vibes but with more Queen style rock stuff

This is not what I expected from Todd Rundgren - some lovely songs and early power pop! I had to dig on Spotify to find the second LP though.

Ambitious and varied, if a bit overlong.

Some really good songs, some weird songs

3 i guess, it was meh but I can't say it was bad.

3.5/5 goodish, i'll have to relisten

Fantastic production

Loved it!

I like yacht rock but this is too yacht rock for me.

A decent enough album. A bit long. There is good guitar and instrumentals throughout. Some songs pretty mellow where others rock harder. Strange mix. A few classic hits...Hello it's me... Overall ok. Although nothing truly exciting to listen to repeatedly for me.