I hope this will not be considered advertising - I have no connection to it at all other than as a viewer. Todd Rundgren is doing a live performance of his classic album “A Wzard/A True Star” in Akron, OH, Chicago, IL , Stamford, CT and London. And there is a live webcast happening that starts at 7 PM EST.
That’s a great album. It’s so idiosyncratic; I really can’t think of many albums from any era that are so bizarre and scattershot.
Yeah, Todd’s made ADD a significant part of his music. His entire career has been driven by his tendency to bore easily. He could have cranked out pretty love songs and had a career as big as Elton John, but didn’t go that route and it’s cost him. I’ve long believed that Todd is one of the few artists who could do a one-man “Behind the Music” episode. “…was poised on the verge of world-wide success, but he decided to appear on ‘The Midnight Special’ in an outfit and make-up that would have embarrassed Bowie. Then Todd…”
If memory serves, the album that came just before AWATS was pretty mainstream and had a top 10 single as well. This is an exceedingly odd fact once you hear AWATS.
By the way, I don’t see the link for a live webcast on the site you linked to. Help?
EDIT: Ohhhh, I see. You have to buy a ticket! I didn’t catch on to that. I thought the $20 was for attending the live performance.
Nope, the live performances are quite a bit more. Had to be to get a large band together and rehearse for a short run of shows. But I saw a sneak preview of the sound check, and it looks like a very professional production, with 5 cameras.
Listening to the CD. Beats the shit out of the LP, which sacrificed quality to fit 30mins? 45mins? 2hrs? on a side, but nothing like hearing it live.
All of which is wasted because I’m feeding a repro old-time radio mono audio from a crappy sound card, but it’s not that much worse than hearing the original on the day it was released, or when it was delivered to DeKalb, IL, and played on a crappy All-in-One stereo.
(laying back) “I’m So Proud” started. Yeah, the original’s better, but it was so unexpected back in the day.
Gonna see the show in Connecticut on the 9th. Sooooo psyched.
Don’t be late. The opening band is great!
One can see an archive replay of the webcast tomorrow, as well as a second live one tomorrow night. Then there will be a different pair of webcasts from Chicago, as well as a DVD being filmed in Stamford, CT.
Who cares who opens? It’s like whatever album was on the turntable when it was delivered.
You kids and your immediate satisfaction. 'Twas a time when everybody didn’t get something at the same microsecond.
In this particular case, you couldn’t be more wrong. You’ll kick yourself if you miss the opener.
I’m quite glad this album is getting some promotion and recognition because it’s definitely one of the outright weirdest musical projects ever undertaken, especially for its time. Bands like Animal Collective would not exist if Todd Rundgren hadn’t paved the way for that kind of music with this album; it’s a very effective mix of experimental noise music interspersed with sparkly pop sounds (You Don’t Have to Camp Around), for instance.
Ironically, I had the vinyl LP of this album (originally bought by my mother when she was a teenager) in my room for about four years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005) along with many other records that used to belong to my parents, but I never listened to it. I just liked the artwork on the cover. It was not until late 2006 that I actually listened to the album - on CD. The CD was given to me (I think) by my mother, who had owned it previously.
I still have the album cover but not the record itself. I have no idea what happened to it.
Among the additional crap included with the LP was the first Patti Smith poem I ever read.
The webcast included an interview with Todd, and he talked fairly extensively about Albert Grossman and the production of the album. He said the postcard to collect names for the poster in the next album, the poem and the die-cut shape on the album cover were all Grossman’s idea and he paid for them, even though it made the album much more expensive. And that Grossman was very supportive of the idea that not every album had to be about hits, that artists should be allowed to get weird every so often.
OH boyoboyoboy. Anybody else going tonight?
Wow. Just got home from the show. That was…epic.