Well, hey, look! It's Todd Rundgren! The man who I know best as a producer, specifically for producing what's one of my top five albums of the entire 1970's: Meat Loaf's BAT OUT OF HELL (can't wait to get to that one)! Not to mention, he also produced the first Sparks album and helped kick off that entire legacy. As it turns out he's also a musician in his own right, too. I mean, this isn't something new I just learned; I was aware of this album for a bit before I heard it for the first time last year... But yeah — he put out an album! Or, rather, four mini-ones. Y'know, the way this album's structured is actually perfect for me. See, ever since I saw this one Polyphonic video where he waxed nostalgic about vinyl, I've been listening to albums exclusively by record sides. Yes, even on streaming; I put in the work to look up beforehand what's on what side and queue 'em that way. I figured it'd be better for me to take albums in smaller chunks and consider them that way rather than tackle 'em all at once — and, yeah, it's worked out great. And this album is built especially well for that: every side is particularly well self-contained, each having its own name and conception. I mean, hell, the track titled "Intro" is seven in, as a kick-off to side two. Really, I can't think of another album that was so perfectly made for me, listening-wise. And in the spirit of this structure, I'm gonna talk about each side on its own. Just like a fellow group member of mine did, 'coz, hey, that's the best way to go, I figure. So, let's kick things off with... SIDE ONE! Sometimes I wonder what "Beatlesque" actually means. After all, The Beatles weren't beholden to just one style: they did beat music, folk, psych, good ol' rock n' roll... Heck, REVOLVER and THE WHITE ALBUM are such genre roulettes in and of themselves. I could begin to guess how "Beatlesque" is supposed to be defined. It might just be something where you know it when you hear it. Y'lnow, the likes of Electric Light Orchestra, early Bee Gees... Oh, and this. 110% this record side. It claims itself to be "A Bouquet Of Ear-Catching Melodies," and by goodness, it is. This is the kind of 70's music I find myself going the wildest for, after, like, Queen and BAT OUT OF HELL. It might just be my favorite side — and maybe that makes me basic, but I'unno. I know what I like, and damn, I like this. SIDE TWO! Here we come to "The Cerebral Side." Just judging a book by its title, I figured it'd be the one I had the hardest time with. I mean, my AuDHD ass has a hard enough time with regular lyrics as it is; you can only imagine how I deal with **cerebral** ones. Lucky for me, I hardly even register lyrics anyway unless I really wanna, so I was able to just take in the music, and... Yeah, it's still really good. I don't like it as much as the first side, 'coz this is fittingly not as poppy, but I still had a great time. Plus, hey, this side has a fun game to play, too: "spot the studio mistakes!" And I didn't play it, but, hey, I imagine it could help take a bit of the edge off the lyrics if you were the kind to pay attention to them. SIDE THREE! Oh, watch out, girlies! This is the side where "The Kid Gets Heavy!" In, like, a topical sense, I mean. I assume — again, I didn't really register them. Luckily, though, in a purely musical sense, this rivals side one in being my favorite. It might even surpass it, to be honest, 'coz while the heaviness mostly comes from the lyrics... Goodness, let's not act like the music itself is any slouch. The opener and closers go **so damn** hard. The ballads feel just so important. And right in the middle — I've heard tell about how "Couldn't I Just Tell You" was a precursor to power pop, and, woof, it's not for nothing, let me tell you. Plus, on all of this — the guitar stuff? **The guitar stuff**? Oh, goodness me. Give it to me all day. SIDE FOUR! Boy, and Side Four is the fun side if you're listening only on streaming. With a name letting you know that "Baby Needs A New Pair Of Snakeskin Boots," this is a pop operetta where the actual plot of the thing is only conveyed through the record's liner notes. Yeah, one of those deals. I went out of my way to go look them up — which isn't very hard, actually; it's just a matter of going to Discogs and squinting at slightly blurry pictures — and... Look, to be 100, they're not entirely important. At least not next to what I figure is the actual hook of this album, 'coz this is where I tell you that this is the only side where Todd didn't play and sing everything himself. Yeah, to this point he was a one-man band — and if that doesn't make everything before now more impressive, I don't know what would. And that's not to put this side down too hard; just because there's other people playing now doesn't mean it doesn't hold its own. It's just... I'unno. This is the record side that felt the longest. Not even the Cerebral felt like it was going on too long, but... I'unno. Let's just say this isn't the side I would revisit first. AND IN CONCLUSION! This is a record that takes you around and back again... But, no, seriously, I feel like the album being presented the way it is is really neat. It's basically telling you to just pick your favorite side(s) and not worry about the rest. In fact, to be honest, there's really no picks here. I mean, across the board this is the closest I've come to hearing something I'd call "classical 70's pop." And, sure, I'm not the hottest on side four, but you might think it's the best thing here. That's the joy of this thing, I figure: finding out which side speaks to you the most. It might be a bit of an investment, but it's certainly worth it. Like, if you think this album is an interminable 90-minute slog, I'd recommend giving this side-by-side approach a shot. Who knows, you might get something out of it. Or anything, anyway. And seriously, when's this randomizer gonna give us BAT OUT OF HELL? I can't overemphasize how much I'm excited to gush about this album, my goodness...