The last time there was a Todd Rundgren album on the list (Something/Anything?) I referred to him as a cross between Carole King and Frank Zappa. Here he leans more into the Zappa side of his composition, not least because of a lot of experimentation with drugs.
Side One, especially, is in the Zappa direction. Although there are some full-length tracks (Zen Archer, When The Shit Hits The Fan), most are 1-2 minute fragments including the musique concrete (i.e. a bunch of noises) track Dogfight Giggle. Unlike Zappa, however, Rundgren doesn’t feel the need to wink at the audience – hey, look, I’m being clever and weird. So tracks such as Just Another Onionhead or Rock And Roll Pussy, although satirical and Dadaist at the same time, are also played relatively straight, whereas Zappa would have put on a silly voice just to make you realise he was goofing around.
Side Two is more straightforward, including a medley of R&B tracks that is probably the most disjointed medley ever – Rundgren doesn’t bother in the slightest to blend changes between tempo and key, he crashes the musical gears without a care in the world – this is his album, you have to just come along for the ride.
And, as before, it really is his album, playing all instruments and producing the album, but there are credits for other musicians, especially Mark “Moogy” Klingman on keyboards, and a sizeable horns section.
I’ve mentioned before about how double albums tend to be about 25% filler and exist due to the physical constraints of vinyl – with 65 minutes of good material you either cut out about 20 minutes to one album, or pad it out to two. Well, Rundgren chooses here to take 55 minutes of material and squeeze it onto single album, pushing the physical limits of vinyl to its limits. It doesn’t affect me, listening, to an electronic version, but the groove of the album was apparently so narrow that it could affect sound quality.
There are no singles from this album – nothing really fits the radio-friendly length – but I think it was more interesting than the previous Rundgren offering.
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