A Wizard, A True Star came out the same month as Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Houses Of The Holy and Dark Side Of The Moon. Oh, and John Cale's Paris 1919 and Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure. They don't make months like that anymore.
Also, the worldwide IQ is on a dramatic downward spiral but because of racism concerns in the US. We’re not allowed to talk about IQ anymore. Even though it’s a quiteaccurate assessment of intelligence of all cultures
Fantastic record.... Just for "Zen Archer" , Todd deserves the Eternity. An unbelievable festival of arrangements and production; martial drumbeat , accordion/ synth? , sublime vocal melody, saxophone at the end, and ...and ... those stereophonic arrows.... We can call that ....genius.
Thanks for this AWATS a big fave of mine. Witnessed the AWATS show at Ham Odeon a few years back, it was a piece of theatre with many costume changes for the themes of the different songs. Todd was a showman and entertainer that evening. Some good clips knocking about. Thank you again 😊
Being a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan, this album's "Just One Victory" is a constant reminder of the airplay it received on WMMS before every big (losing) effort.
Preach it, brother!! Todd is brilliant and that record is truly an amazingly beautiful accomplishment. I wish the recording fidelity was up to the same calibre.
Andy, if you haven't listened to his follow-up, Todd (1974), you'll find more to love there as well. Its equally as experimental, but the ideas are given more space and the label told him they weren't going to cram it on one disc, so being formatted as a 2xlp, the mastering sounds better than the tiny-grooved Wizard album.
As someone who first listened to this album in the 70’s, and still has my LP of this album that I bought in the 70s, I find Andy’s description quite fascinating. There’s nothing else like this album.
Thanks, Andy, great comments. This album is an explosion of creativity. On just the first side, Todd introduces, explores, and moves on from, about 5x as many melodic hooks as are in a normal album. The rhythms are constantly changing, and the whole thing keeps you guessing. That sounds like it might be exhausting, but I find it exhilarating.
I was ready to request this on your channel and thanks for featuring this.!. . Todd had the insight for the next big thing in sound production value. Check out Todd's first solo called Runt./ 5 stars
Utopia - Ra is one of the greatest underappreciated prog albums. Sunburst finish, communion with the sun, backwards Brian Wilson vocal harmonies, epic guitar keyboard battles.
Agreed, it's like a smorgasbord of indulgence in prog's most ridiculed excesses, but conceived and executed with such craft and intelligence that it's consistently satisfying and never wearying.
I saw him in the early 80s, where the show was broken into 2 acts. It was great. I have a few promo TR albums, including this one. It is a fantastic listen. 😊
Andy, thank you for that insightful dive into one of my favorite old time. Artist musicians, the great Todd Rundgren. I have been into Todd since some thing anything as well as the album wizards are true star that you cite here and the first two of the of the Utopia albums, Kenny, that you mention his pop writing and compare it to Carole King, I absolutely love this song. I saw the light and I commented on a UA-cam’. I saw the light’- six years ago that this was the greatest pop that Carol King did not write! Laugh out loud thanks for this wonderful overview of Todd and I hope you do more about him. Also, you probably won’t do this but I dedicated a homage song that I wrote about nine months ago Right off the top of my head, Mr. Rundgren and it is now on UA-cam and it’s called -‘ I go listening to Todd ‘end of quotation marks by Jerry Potente, and I HOPEyou check it out[itis total bedroom raw home recording ]- alright,,from your old Kentucky PROG. head fan -all right brother excellent man you really made my night listening to thatalbeit i little belatedly from when you posted it. I just found it tonight Saturday night whatever date this is October 12th or13th 2024 thanks brother. Keep rocking keep jamming. Keep playing that PROG. and FUSIONSTUFF, baby!
My first Rundgren album, and one that's near and dear, is his 1978 live album "Back to the Bars". It's like a greatest hits but live in small clubs (LA, NYC, and Cleveland).
I was in college from 73 - 77. That was the golden age of prog, and this album was definitely in my rotation alongside Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Yes, etc etc.
I first saw Todd sometime around '72-'73 at a tiny club, The Agora, in Columbus Ohio with two hundred people in attendance at most. Todd was solo on piano with recorded sounds filling out the songs. As I recall, Wizard hadn't come out yet, but I remember him doing segments like Zen Archer and the Melody segment. He would pantomime parts like the Zen Archer arrow and, if stoned (which I most certainly was) it became a very psychedelic experience. The magical innocence of Todd in that period always reminds me of the timeless charm of a fairy tale. Gong comes to mind...
The original LP that I bought in the mid 70s had the corners of the sleeve cut to the shape of the design on the cover. If you look at that square version of the sleeve you’ll see in the corners it is just plain colour, that’s where it was cut away.
Nice to see you cover Todd. He's always been overlooked, especially as a guitar player. Been a fan since Jr High in the mid 70's. Going to the recycled record store and finding a Todd album almost guaranteed a new favorite album.
Todd Rundgren’s A cappella has always been a fav. Bizarro record, for some reason I just love it, maybe not all of it. This one is pretty great as well. Thanks
The proggy Todd Rundgren produced War Babies Hall and Oates album is a great one. He gets Hall and Oates out of their comfort zone to produce their most interesting, experimental album.....while retaining their soul pop core.
Andy sparked my interest in this album the other day when he picked it up during his "vinyl quest" video the other day. And now we have a full episode dedicated to it. "Alexa.....play 'A Wizard, a True Star' by Todd Rundgren...." Thanks, Andy.
THANKS FOR THIS! I've been trying to get into Todd for a long time - even read a book about him -, such a fascinating, multi-talented and unique musician. But I never connected with the music.........Listening now to A Wizard/A True Star on Tidal, the soul medley is playing right now. GENIUS. What a great album! No wonder Prince was a fan of Todd.
Massive album side. I'm so glad you're covering this. I heard this only because I drove to a record store in the early 80s and it was playing in the shop, I had to ask what on earth this was, bought it on the spot.
Absolutely love this album, I've got to see him play it live and I listen to it every year on my birthday. Many of my friends also take part in that tradition and will text me pictures of it throughout the day. It absolutely changed my musical world.
Parody or not, I think that "Todd Rundgren's Utopia" (1974) is the best American prog album ever, that would delight any prog fan. And a great review of AWATS! Todd is the best.
Todd in 1970 was the Producer for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band Live LP. Not a bi fan of Utopia but "omethin/Anythin" and "A Wizard? A true Star" are fantastic. The only Hall and Oates record I like was produced by Todd. ,"War Babies
I was in high school in the late 70s when a girl gifted Hermit of Mink Hollow to me. I fell in love with it and went looking for more. A Wizard A True Star was the next album I saw. Fell completely in love with it. Todd and his albums were like my little secret because no one I knew in school knew about him. I read somewhere that Thelonious Monk was a fan of Wizard.
Todd!! One of my all time favourite artists! I've loved - LOVED - Todd since I first saw him live on The Old Grey Whistle Test. He is astoundingly deep yet he can write a pop hook like that *clicks fingers* A couple of things - after some major commercial success with his solo albums but primarily with Something/Anything, Todd could see the future so AWATS was really a very deliberate attempt to sabotage a mainstream pop career. He didn't want that, and he didn't want to churn out hits according to expectations. In that respect he's very similar to our own national treasure Bill Nelson, one of the UK's truly great artists. So AWATS effectively scuppered that pop future for Todd, in the eyes of the industry especially. That left him free to pursue his very personal inclinations, which were being fuelled by his practice of inner work. Utopia was the first fully formed manifestation of that inner work. I love you Andy but I have to vehemently 🤣disagree with you on one point - I don't think the first Utopia album is a parody of anything. It is wholly different to any UK prog that I've heard (apart from the amazing Gentle Giant) in that it is soooooo FUNKY. Funk is an element largely missing from UK prog but which the first Utopia album has in every single groove. That clav section of Utopia Theme! That bass line from Freak Parade! The whole album grooves and the lyrics are an incredible exploration of Todd's spiritual outlook, which has been the core engine of his work since AWATS. I mean, have you clocked the lyrics of Just One Victory? Actually, the original version of that song on AWATS is not my go to version. My go to version is on the second Utopia album, Another Live, which is another exceptional album. Andy, I could talk about Todd for hours. His music changed my life. His lyrics make me weep and never mind that he's a FEROCIOUS guitar player. If you haven't heard Healing, give it ago. Great to watch this!
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 Yes Hermit is a brilliant album. Funnily enough, I really love the live video filmed in japan of the Nearly Human tour. That version of Hawking reduces me to a heap of emo weeping every time. Beautiful. Also, RA is amazing. A.Maz.Ing.
Also, Todd was involved in Engineering/Production at least as far back as *Stage Fright* by The Band. Has been involved as Producer for a number of groups/genres.
Hey, finally some well-deserved props for Todd, which was a long time coming...PLUS, my favorite record of all-time!!! O.K., a tie with "The Lamb"...kind of a Sophie's choice...either one of my kids or one of those records...HA!! I was "initiated" at maybe 15 years old and I'm still not sick of it, and I think it's by far his fans' favorites, too, according to the results of a poll from when Todd was considering doing just one of his records live. I've seen him do the whole record in its entirety TWICE over the years, though, and it was kind of a trip hearing him years later begin with the line "Here we are again, the start of the end"...greatest opening line for any record, in my opinion. Trent Reznor said he listened to it maybe once a month, which means something, no? It's certainly a trip, and it's actually inspired by one (peyote) and it's meant to simulate the feel of it...even the Motown medley has an otherworldly vibe. Yup, I'll say it, it's a "masterpiece", even if Steven Wilson did kind of write it off during one of his Album Years things...I don't watch them, anymore. Still love most of Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree's stuff, though, he's another Todd, someone like that comes around only once every 50 years, maybe. One more note for Andy: You, being a drummer (me two), I assume at some point you'll notice the excellent drumming throughout the record, which in addition to Todd's occasional drumming, which is surprisingly good, is provided by two incredibly tasteful and versatile guys...Kevin Ellman, who played all that great fusion stuff on the premier Utopia record, and interestingly, sounds a bit like Neil Peart at times, only he was around years before Rush, and apparently Peart used to show up at early Utopia shows and watch Kevin. Coincidence?? And a brilliant guy named John Siomos you may have heard of, who eventually moved on to join Peter Frampton's band...and yes, he did that tasteful, powerful drumming that helped Frampton come alive! He always played what was needed, very creative, never showy, but not easy to mimic...I do it regularly (try). Todd later got Willie Wilcox in the band after producing Hall and Oates' very proggy sounding War Babies record (which I love, but them? Not so much) and he used him on Steve Hillage's beautiful, and VERY proggy "L" record. Todd had a tendency to "steal" drummers from bands he produced if he needed them...he's still playing with Prairie Prince from The Tubes. Willie was never as good as the drummers that preceded him, but was adequate, I guess, up until recent reunion gigs (poor Willie). But Prairie's still going strong, I'm seeing him w/ Todd in a couple of weeks, again. You should check out some Tubes stuff, they're amazing. Sorry, enough of that, almost show time. Later.
Amazing album For prog/fusion aficionados unfamiliar with Todd, they should listen to the first Utopia album as an introduction He was on FIRE in the early/mid 70s I’m so happy to see his music featured on your channel
Todd is Godd! (Referencing an 1970s Todd t-shirt that says this) I am a proud owner of the first 18 Todd and Utopia albums, 16 of which I have on Japanese mini-LP CD. One of the others is a MFSL gold CD version of Utopia's "Oops! Wrong Planet", and the other is the regular CD edition of Todd's "Something / Anything." I absolutely love "A Wizard, a True Star"; it's a frazzed out masterpiece. "Todd" is like a little brother version of this record so also highly recommended.
Ok, after ignoring Todd for DECADES, I just watched 20 performance videos of his from the last 50 years...I stand in awe at the body of work-- monmental. Thank you Andy!
Hi Andy, this is a line from France ; I have been a Todd R's fan from the day I bought this album, the year of release, 1973. A musical experience similar to the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud - abundance of musical images, colours, sounds, ideas - (and flavours of St Pepper). As for his band Utopia, just take a listen to the song "Black and white", the live performance... Like yours videos very much ! Michel I.
Brilliant Andy. One of my favourite albums. The CD is not much richer in sound and in fact at least one later album is even longer. I got so frustrated I re-EQed these longer albums which was very rewarding - you hear things otherwise hidden in the mix. Have a listen to Todd the album (double) which carries on the vibe. I wanted to look like him on that cover when it came out. He is so under-rated and always has been. I saw him at Oxford Poly in the 70s - quadraphonic sound system showcasing one of his worst albums 'Ra.' Has your album got the insert? Whether one likes it or not (I like it now but used not to), he produced 'Bat out of Hell' and played all the guitars. In the seventies 'progressive' applied to much more than it does today - I hate the way people today appropriate things from the past e.g. when Soul was relabelled R&B as if it did not already exist. As someone below mentions, no Prince without Todd.
Andy, if there's anything good inside of you I really wanna know. Something......anything! Todd was always making double albums......it's just that some were crammed onto single LP's. His three best albums are all long. Something/Anything, Wizzard and Initiation. A lot of Todd fans don't have too much time for Initiation (1975) but it is just so good. 68 minutes of music. Side B is the amazing Treatise on Cosmic Fire and is 35 minutes long and has to be heard to be believed. Side one is 6 really good and very varied songs.....you just have to get over the exotic production. Not as immediate as the other two but it pays off big....eventually. The soul is there right through these albums.
Been a Todd fan since the 70s n seen him many times. There is an interview of him stating at some point in the early 70s he was influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Andy - so pleased to hear you talk about one of my very favorite artists. Is Bebop Deluxe next? I don’t believe I have heard you speak about Bill Nelson, one of my favorite guitarists and musicians.
I envy you... I wish I could discover it again. If you've never heard any TR music, you're in for an amazing ride if you keep digging into his discography...
It's a great album but there is something about the songwriting on Hermit Of Mink Hollow that absolutely floors me and that album may be even more 'bedroom. Lovely to see you cover Todd.
Todd has always been a talented maverick. My mate is obsessed with him, one time he played me an album where Todd had made all the instrument sounds with his voice only. He’d chopped everything up into samples and made drums, bass, synths etc, all from his vocal samples. I tell you what, it ain’t half bad either. I always tip my hat to artists that aren’t afraid to try new approaches and to hell with what everyone else thinks. Rather that than an artist regurgitating the same old same old all the time.
Jumping the gun here. Mind - boggling. He made me like the Chi Lites! Now I have watched Andy's vid, I have to add that Todd is an Anglophile (important to Andy's definition of prog because of the English aesthetic.) He did a Beatles album of his own before the Rutles!
Finally!! Todd...My second American musical hero...FZ being number one, of course. Thanks for this, Andy. I absolutely love the guy as a writer, guitar player, producer, you name it...allround too smart for his own good whizz kid! 🙂...and what an amazing singer he is!
@@TheeRobertPhoenix Well, there's probably a lot of Zappa you haven't heard then: from Peaches En Regalia to Inca Rhoads, Uncle Remus, Sharleena, The Planet of my Dreams, Watermelon in Easter Hay and so on. He's also the greater composer. But hey, you got your's, I got mine. 🙂
Great album. Thanks for covering it. The influence Laura Nyro's late 60's performance had on Rundgren's writing can't be ignored though. There is a lot of similarity in their chords and vocal approach.
A great, unbiased review of an important alb7m that isn’t yet widely known. Another album you should check out is White Knight, and the song Afterlife, from LIARS
I first came across Todd as the engineer on The Band's Stage Fright which was recorded in Woodstock NY and self-produced. I've wondered since how much input he had in the studio... One of the reasons for the decision to pack so much music into one LP was Todd's conviction that the treble end of music contains far more information than the bass. He was happy to sacrifice more of the low end than most recording artists would have, which allowed for longer album sides than was thought advisable at the time. You do have to crank it up!
Hi, where did you read or hear about TR's "conviction that the treble of music contains far more information than the bass" ? I've been reading and listening about him for 45 years now and never came across this explanation.
@@h.m.7218 Well, given the timespan involved... it was before the internet, so it would probably have been a music paper or magazine interview but I couldn't tell you which (I used to read NME, Sounds, Melody Maker and Zigzag regularly and a few US ones occasionally). Sorry I can't help.
Heavily LSD inspired yet a beautifully soulful lysergic mess nonetheless…so many great classic Todd moments within…even the soul medley holds up though the amazing Zen Archer might still be the highlight for me
Australia's first double album, the prog folk rock The Age of Mouse (1970) by Doug Ashdown has an unusual structure with about 8 one minute musical interludes connecting the songs. In my top 10 favourite albums ever. Also, Australia's 2nd double album, the prog Milesago (1971) by Spectrum also has short connecting tunes and different names for the discs with some weirdness. Also a great record.
I understand what you mean about the nature of progressive rock in the US. As it relates to Brit Prog, Kansas and Styx tend to be a hybrid. In totally agreement that a distinctly American Prog sound can uniquely be found on "A Wizard A True Star." But it didn't really go any further. For a different take, you may want to listen to the more Progressive R and B of "The World is a Ghetto" by War or "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic. I like to think of these as Prog/Soul. They are certainly experimental R and B.
The word genius is often used, but rarely merited - In the world of popular music - Todd Rundgren deserves it. I've seen all the big bands and most of my icons, but his Arena tour gig was the most fun I've ever had.
Very astute comments on this album and Todd. A male Carol King--exactly. A high school buddy of mine lent me this album because he knew I was interested in prog (even tho we didn't call it that back then). We would turn each other on to our musical discoveries--he also lent me Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards album that helped me become a fan of them. For some reason I just never did get into this album. At the time I was so heavy into King Crimson, Yes and ELP--this was just too different from them. A little bit more experimental than what I was used to. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but I never found the the time needed to dedicate to it to give it a good listen and so had to give it back to Sam before I could do that--always intending to one day buy it and have a good listen, but never did. But I always respected Todd as an artist and loved his hit pop songs on Something/Anything. Haven't seen Todd in concert but I did see him play live once. It was around 1983 or so in Dallas, went to a Blue Oyster Cult concert, Fire of Unknown Origin tour, with Rick Derringer opening for them. Todd was playing at another venue, but for one of the BOC's encores he came onstage with them along with Derringer--five guitarists onstage, three from BOC. They played the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues". When the guitar break came in no one knew who was going to do that first solo, so Todd stepped up and did it. He then became sort of a conductor, pointing to the next guy up to play their bit. Out of those five guitarists, to me Todd stood out the most. So ever since then I've considered him one of the best and most under-rated guitarists. Also, the word genius is often overused for people like him. So I don't take it lightly when I say that he is one.
My two favourite Tubes albums are Remote Control and Love Bomb. Rundgren produced them. And you can tell. Especially Love Bomb which was Tubes last album with the original line up and they were already disintegrating and they hated it. But it has tons of pop charm, with each side composed of songs that run into each other. Something about it is a bit like A Wizard just dancier.
He ended them lol Fee wanted to go with Foster again but the group didn't like his demanding style. They had to work hard... Fee said if we had just 1 or 2 more hits we're touring like Styx or REO many years later making a living. Fee's best friend is Richard Marx and they've co-written many songs, so he really has a pop sensibility. You gotta eat...
@@dewdew34 My point of view is that of a fan. I'm not Fee. I understand his pov. But although I love the 2 Foster produced albums, Love Bomb is artistically and creatively speaking superior to both of them.
Good video and thanks for your thought. People that dont understand rock music are ill equipped to review this record. I call it lonely music because I have no contemporaries that would care to sit down and listen to it. Your all alone when you put this one on buddy. Whenever you can package me some psychedelia that doesnt give me a headache (like free jazz) its a winner. The previous double album "something/anything" has so many melodies and ideas that it should have been developed into 3 separate records after some tidying by a producer. Maybe that could be a criticism of Rundgren - that he would have benefitted from a producer with a strong hand? A wizard/star however, really hits the mark and demands your attention because side 1 is so fractured. It is intentionally fractured, much the way our thinking is truncated. His music offers a brief nugget of gold and then tosses it aside for percussion using a type writer or some insane overdub. He employs great horn players (sanborn-Brecker bros) to enhance certain sad feelings, and then thrusts them aside. Its almost how the brain works. A collection of postcards in a file case, each one can come out for a minute, elicit an emotion, only to be tossed back into the file cabinet in our head. To me prog aficionados are on a quest for the holy grail in an artform that was never meant to be holy. Their quest is foolish, particularly if they dismiss this record. I also like 80s utopia. Looking forward to commentary about that era. Give me Bee gees, give me zombies- its only rock and roll.
Todd was certainly eclectic. I loved the Utopia albums up to and including "Ra". It is a shame these albums have not truly been remastered. 5.1 mixes would be amazing. Songs like "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" were actually sped up in order to fit it on a side of vinyl. Sounds much better restored to its original speed. I like some American progressive bands but I agree they are not as good as their British counterparts. Happy the Man is an exception. A great band. Dixie Dregs and the San Francisco bands. Zappa.
Todd is Godd. AWATS to "Initiation" are terrific (yes, including "A treatise on cosmic fire"). "Ra" is a bit more iffy, though starts brilliantly. He can be patchy as he goes on, but albums like "Healing" and "Nearly Human" still sound great. I would recommend avoiding his rap and EDM experiments, however.
I bought this album when i was about 18 and into Zappa Gentle Giant and Jade Warrior along with many others, and it will always have a special place in my collection. Todd has a unique talent for both pop with great melodies and depth of lyrical sensitivity, and the more eclectic styles like AWATS, the only other album he has done that approaches this style to me would be No World Order that is one that i would rank close to this in experimental terms. I would be very interested how you respond to that album in particular. Another great video, thanks.
So Glad you are talking about Todd Rundgren! Love Todd and his work with Utopia! I like Kansas and Styx, a little bit, but I don't think you need to go down that path. Stick with the great stuff! ahha! Thank you!
A Wizard, A True Star came out the same month as Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Houses Of The Holy and Dark Side Of The Moon. Oh, and John Cale's Paris 1919 and Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure. They don't make months like that anymore.
What an insane year for music.
No Pussyfooting
Also, the worldwide IQ is on a dramatic downward spiral but because of racism concerns in the US. We’re not allowed to talk about IQ anymore. Even though it’s a quiteaccurate assessment of intelligence of all cultures
Glad to see you give a nod to Todd. A completely unique project. One of my favorite albums from one of my favorite artists
That soul medley he does on side 2 is sublime!
I was lucky enough to see Todd and his band perform the whole thing at the Hammersmith appollo some years back. Mind blowing. He is a genius
Fantastic record.... Just for "Zen Archer" , Todd deserves the Eternity. An unbelievable festival of arrangements and production; martial drumbeat , accordion/ synth? , sublime vocal melody, saxophone at the end, and ...and ... those stereophonic arrows.... We can call that ....genius.
Todd Rundgren : alltime favorite musician and personal hero.
AWATS : alltime favorite album.
Love all Todds 70’s albums, this one probably being my favourite, it’s extraordinary!
It is bloody brilliant.
Seen Todd live twice & he still sounds great
Thanks for this AWATS a big fave of mine. Witnessed the AWATS show at Ham Odeon a few years back, it was a piece of theatre with many costume changes for the themes of the different songs. Todd was a showman and entertainer that evening. Some good clips knocking about. Thank you again 😊
Was there too with a bunch of fellow french TR fans ! Man, that was something...
Being a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan, this album's "Just One Victory" is a constant reminder of the airplay it received on WMMS before every big (losing) effort.
Preach it, brother!! Todd is brilliant and that record is truly an amazingly beautiful accomplishment. I wish the recording fidelity was up to the same calibre.
This it my absolute favourite! looking forward to the todd rundgren expert talks
Andy, if you haven't listened to his follow-up, Todd (1974), you'll find more to love there as well. Its equally as experimental, but the ideas are given more space and the label told him they weren't going to cram it on one disc, so being formatted as a 2xlp, the mastering sounds better than the tiny-grooved Wizard album.
As someone who first listened to this album in the 70’s, and still has my LP of this album that I bought in the 70s, I find Andy’s description quite fascinating. There’s nothing else like this album.
Thanks, Andy, great comments. This album is an explosion of creativity. On just the first side, Todd introduces, explores, and moves on from, about 5x as many melodic hooks as are in a normal album. The rhythms are constantly changing, and the whole thing keeps you guessing. That sounds like it might be exhausting, but I find it exhilarating.
I was ready to request this on your channel and thanks for featuring this.!. . Todd had the insight for the next big thing in sound production value. Check out Todd's first solo called Runt./ 5 stars
Utopia - Ra is one of the greatest underappreciated prog albums. Sunburst finish, communion with the sun, backwards Brian Wilson vocal harmonies, epic guitar keyboard battles.
Agreed, it's like a smorgasbord of indulgence in prog's most ridiculed excesses, but conceived and executed with such craft and intelligence that it's consistently satisfying and never wearying.
I saw him in the early 80s, where the show was broken into 2 acts. It was great. I have a few promo TR albums, including this one. It is a fantastic listen. 😊
Andy, thank you for that insightful dive into one of my favorite old time. Artist musicians, the great Todd Rundgren. I have been into Todd since some thing anything as well as the album wizards are true star that you cite here and the first two of the of the Utopia albums, Kenny, that you mention his pop writing and compare it to Carole King, I absolutely love this song. I saw the light and I commented on a UA-cam’. I saw the light’- six years ago that this was the greatest pop that Carol King did not write! Laugh out loud thanks for this wonderful overview of Todd and I hope you do more about him. Also, you probably won’t do this but I dedicated a homage song that I wrote about nine months ago Right off the top of my head, Mr. Rundgren and it is now on UA-cam and it’s called -‘ I go listening to Todd ‘end of quotation marks by Jerry Potente, and I HOPEyou check it out[itis total bedroom raw home recording ]- alright,,from your old Kentucky PROG. head fan -all right brother excellent man you really made my night listening to thatalbeit i little belatedly from when you posted it. I just found it tonight Saturday night whatever date this is October 12th or13th 2024 thanks brother. Keep rocking keep jamming. Keep playing that PROG. and FUSIONSTUFF, baby!
‘Funny , not Kenny ! >damn microphone!!!
Brilliant album. "When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Blvd" is one of the highlights for me.
@@oman3809 …and Zen Archer
My first Rundgren album, and one that's near and dear, is his 1978 live album "Back to the Bars". It's like a greatest hits but live in small clubs (LA, NYC, and Cleveland).
I was in college from 73 - 77. That was the golden age of prog, and this album was definitely in my rotation alongside Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Yes, etc etc.
I first saw Todd sometime around '72-'73 at a tiny club, The Agora, in Columbus Ohio with two hundred people in attendance at most. Todd was solo on piano with recorded sounds filling out the songs. As I recall, Wizard hadn't come out yet, but I remember him doing segments like Zen Archer and the Melody segment. He would pantomime parts like the Zen Archer arrow and, if stoned (which I most certainly was) it became a very psychedelic experience. The magical innocence of Todd in that period always reminds me of the timeless charm of a fairy tale. Gong comes to mind...
The original LP that I bought in the mid 70s had the corners of the sleeve cut to the shape of the design on the cover. If you look at that square version of the sleeve you’ll see in the corners it is just plain colour, that’s where it was cut away.
This is one of the most entertaining albums ever made! Full of fun and interest.
Nice to see you cover Todd. He's always been overlooked, especially as a guitar player. Been a fan since Jr High in the mid 70's.
Going to the recycled record store and finding a Todd album almost guaranteed a new favorite album.
Glad to see you doing a video on Todd Rundgren. What a massive talent. He was a huge influence on me as player
Todd Rundgren’s A cappella has always been a fav. Bizarro record, for some reason I just love it, maybe not all of it. This one is pretty great as well. Thanks
The proggy Todd Rundgren produced War Babies Hall and Oates album is a great one. He gets Hall and Oates out of their comfort zone to produce their most interesting, experimental album.....while retaining their soul pop core.
"You're much too soon" with the cascading vocal parts at the end... fantastic !
@@h.m.7218 "Screaming through December" is mad epic bliss
Lots of glistening crystalline sounds on that record
Andy sparked my interest in this album the other day when he picked it up during his "vinyl quest" video the other day. And now we have a full episode dedicated to it.
"Alexa.....play 'A Wizard, a True Star' by Todd Rundgren...."
Thanks, Andy.
"Wait another year, Utopia is here, and there's always more..."
And there's more
Only want to see if you'll give up on me but there's always more
THANKS FOR THIS! I've been trying to get into Todd for a long time - even read a book about him -, such a fascinating, multi-talented and unique musician. But I never connected with the music.........Listening now to A Wizard/A True Star on Tidal, the soul medley is playing right now. GENIUS. What a great album! No wonder Prince was a fan of Todd.
The Soul Medley is exquisite!...and putting Cool Jerk in 7 time took balls!
All I know is "la la la la la la la la la la" means "Cool jerk!"
🤘
Massive album side. I'm so glad you're covering this. I heard this only because I drove to a record store in the early 80s and it was playing in the shop, I had to ask what on earth this was, bought it on the spot.
Todd's a genius. Not a bad album to his name. Hell, the "Bat Out of Hell" guitar solo alone has granted him immortality.
Absolutely love this album, I've got to see him play it live and I listen to it every year on my birthday. Many of my friends also take part in that tradition and will text me pictures of it throughout the day. It absolutely changed my musical world.
Very true. Changed mine 45 years ago.
Parody or not, I think that "Todd Rundgren's Utopia" (1974) is the best American prog album ever, that would delight any prog fan. And a great review of AWATS! Todd is the best.
TR's Utopia is fantastic indeed. I also LOVE the power pop album Oblivion. And POV is also very good.
@@h.m.7218 "Another Live" is brilliant too. To have an expanded edition of that would be a treat.
1982's "Utopia" is a great powerpop album.
@@h.m.7218 On first listen that album had to grow on me but grow it did. Then he followed it up with "Faithful" and the smiles continued.
Who says it's a parody?
@@funx1973 I quite like Deface The Music
Check out Todd's two prior Runt records, very good to understand where he came from and his evolution.
Todd in 1970 was the Producer for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band Live LP. Not a bi fan of Utopia but "omethin/Anythin" and "A Wizard? A true Star" are fantastic. The only Hall and Oates record I like was produced by Todd. ,"War Babies
Saw Todd live last night in a small venue and it was incredible. He's still so very good, go, if you get a chance.
I was in high school in the late 70s when a girl gifted Hermit of Mink Hollow to me. I fell in love with it and went looking for more. A Wizard A True Star was the next album I saw. Fell completely in love with it. Todd and his albums were like my little secret because no one I knew in school knew about him.
I read somewhere that Thelonious Monk was a fan of Wizard.
Never knew of this album, but after this vid I checked it out and was hooked immediately. Thanks!
Todd Rundgren's discography is one of the best musical journeys you'll ever find out there.
Todd!! One of my all time favourite artists! I've loved - LOVED - Todd since I first saw him live on The Old Grey Whistle Test. He is astoundingly deep yet he can write a pop hook like that *clicks fingers*
A couple of things - after some major commercial success with his solo albums but primarily with Something/Anything, Todd could see the future so AWATS was really a very deliberate attempt to sabotage a mainstream pop career. He didn't want that, and he didn't want to churn out hits according to expectations. In that respect he's very similar to our own national treasure Bill Nelson, one of the UK's truly great artists. So AWATS effectively scuppered that pop future for Todd, in the eyes of the industry especially. That left him free to pursue his very personal inclinations, which were being fuelled by his practice of inner work. Utopia was the first fully formed manifestation of that inner work.
I love you Andy but I have to vehemently 🤣disagree with you on one point - I don't think the first Utopia album is a parody of anything. It is wholly different to any UK prog that I've heard (apart from the amazing Gentle Giant) in that it is soooooo FUNKY. Funk is an element largely missing from UK prog but which the first Utopia album has in every single groove. That clav section of Utopia Theme! That bass line from Freak Parade! The whole album grooves and the lyrics are an incredible exploration of Todd's spiritual outlook, which has been the core engine of his work since AWATS. I mean, have you clocked the lyrics of Just One Victory? Actually, the original version of that song on AWATS is not my go to version. My go to version is on the second Utopia album, Another Live, which is another exceptional album.
Andy, I could talk about Todd for hours. His music changed my life. His lyrics make me weep and never mind that he's a FEROCIOUS guitar player.
If you haven't heard Healing, give it ago.
Great to watch this!
"Healing" and "The Hermit of Mink Hollow," incredible albums to add to the collection.
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 Yes Hermit is a brilliant album. Funnily enough, I really love the live video filmed in japan of the Nearly Human tour. That version of Hawking reduces me to a heap of emo weeping every time. Beautiful.
Also, RA is amazing.
A.Maz.Ing.
Oh yes. What an absolutely phenomenal album.
Also, Todd was involved in Engineering/Production at least as far back as *Stage Fright* by The Band. Has been involved as Producer for a number of groups/genres.
Yea I read Levon Helm almost got physical with Todd lol
@@svenjansen2134 He couldn't stand the fact that they were slow if I remember well.
Todd produced albums for:
* New York Dolls
* Grand Funk
^ XTC
* Patti Smith
* Meat Loaf
* The Tubes
* Rick Derringer
* Fanny
& others...
My favorite album from TR! I’m glad you’re covering in Andy. Hope all is well.
Todd has written so many great songs over the years. A very underrated artist. Always prepared to experiment. Glad you're onboard. 😉
Hey, finally some well-deserved props for Todd, which was a long time coming...PLUS, my favorite record of all-time!!! O.K., a tie with "The Lamb"...kind of a Sophie's choice...either one of my kids or one of those records...HA!! I was "initiated" at maybe 15 years old and I'm still not sick of it, and I think it's by far his fans' favorites, too, according to the results of a poll from when Todd was considering doing just one of his records live. I've seen him do the whole record in its entirety TWICE over the years, though, and it was kind of a trip hearing him years later begin with the line "Here we are again, the start of the end"...greatest opening line for any record, in my opinion. Trent Reznor said he listened to it maybe once a month, which means something, no?
It's certainly a trip, and it's actually inspired by one (peyote) and it's meant to simulate the feel of it...even the Motown medley has an otherworldly vibe. Yup, I'll say it, it's a "masterpiece", even if Steven Wilson did kind of write it off during one of his Album Years things...I don't watch them, anymore. Still love most of Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree's stuff, though, he's another Todd, someone like that comes around only once every 50 years, maybe.
One more note for Andy: You, being a drummer (me two), I assume at some point you'll notice the excellent drumming throughout the record, which in addition to Todd's occasional drumming, which is surprisingly good, is provided by two incredibly tasteful and versatile guys...Kevin Ellman, who played all that great fusion stuff on the premier Utopia record, and interestingly, sounds a bit like Neil Peart at times, only he was around years before Rush, and apparently Peart used to show up at early Utopia shows and watch Kevin. Coincidence?? And a brilliant guy named John Siomos you may have heard of, who eventually moved on to join Peter Frampton's band...and yes, he did that tasteful, powerful drumming that helped Frampton come alive! He always played what was needed, very creative, never showy, but not easy to mimic...I do it regularly (try). Todd later got Willie Wilcox in the band after producing Hall and Oates' very proggy sounding War Babies record (which I love, but them? Not so much) and he used him on Steve Hillage's beautiful, and VERY proggy "L" record. Todd had a tendency to "steal" drummers from bands he produced if he needed them...he's still playing with Prairie Prince from The Tubes. Willie was never as good as the drummers that preceded him, but was adequate, I guess, up until recent reunion gigs (poor Willie). But Prairie's still going strong, I'm seeing him w/ Todd in a couple of weeks, again. You should check out some Tubes stuff, they're amazing. Sorry, enough of that, almost show time. Later.
My Favourite Album!!
Amazing album
For prog/fusion aficionados unfamiliar with Todd, they should listen to the first Utopia album as an introduction
He was on FIRE in the early/mid 70s
I’m so happy to see his music featured on your channel
Todd is Godd! (Referencing an 1970s Todd t-shirt that says this) I am a proud owner of the first 18 Todd and Utopia albums, 16 of which I have on Japanese mini-LP CD. One of the others is a MFSL gold CD version of Utopia's "Oops! Wrong Planet", and the other is the regular CD edition of Todd's "Something / Anything." I absolutely love "A Wizard, a True Star"; it's a frazzed out masterpiece. "Todd" is like a little brother version of this record so also highly recommended.
Classic record, I love Todd Rundgren....his next album "Todd" the follow-up is an extension of this one. Very talented artist there.
Ok, after ignoring Todd for DECADES, I just watched 20 performance videos of his from the last 50 years...I stand in awe at the body of work-- monmental. Thank you Andy!
BTW, mahavishnu project connection-- Jesse Gress r.i.p. played with MP and Todd
I was at his Liars show at "Egg" as the DVD says. One of the finest shows I've seen. His Wizard show in Ohio was also great!
I love Todd Rungren and Utopia to. He is such a talented song writer. Musician producer arranger video creator. Fantastic
Had that on vinyl, played it often. Liked the way it changed-up, track to track.
Hi Andy, this is a line from France ; I have been a Todd R's fan from the day I bought this album, the year of release, 1973. A musical experience similar to the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud - abundance of musical images, colours, sounds, ideas - (and flavours of St Pepper).
As for his band Utopia, just take a listen to the song "Black and white", the live performance...
Like yours videos very much ! Michel I.
I've heard it was also associated with or inspired by Da Da art of the great artist Salvador Dali.
Brilliant Andy. One of my favourite albums. The CD is not much richer in sound and in fact at least one later album is even longer. I got so frustrated I re-EQed these longer albums which was very rewarding - you hear things otherwise hidden in the mix. Have a listen to Todd the album (double) which carries on the vibe. I wanted to look like him on that cover when it came out. He is so under-rated and always has been. I saw him at Oxford Poly in the 70s - quadraphonic sound system showcasing one of his worst albums 'Ra.' Has your album got the insert? Whether one likes it or not (I like it now but used not to), he produced 'Bat out of Hell' and played all the guitars. In the seventies 'progressive' applied to much more than it does today - I hate the way people today appropriate things from the past e.g. when Soul was relabelled R&B as if it did not already exist. As someone below mentions, no Prince without Todd.
So happy for your nod to this colonists creative😊 genius!
Glad to see Todd getting respect.
Definitely have to listen.
yes and chek out Todd's first solo called Runt./ 5 stars
Andy, if there's anything good inside of you I really wanna know. Something......anything! Todd was always making double albums......it's just that some were crammed onto single LP's. His three best albums are all long. Something/Anything, Wizzard and Initiation. A lot of Todd fans don't have too much time for Initiation (1975) but it is just so good. 68 minutes of music. Side B is the amazing Treatise on Cosmic Fire and is 35 minutes long and has to be heard to be believed. Side one is 6 really good and very varied songs.....you just have to get over the exotic production. Not as immediate as the other two but it pays off big....eventually. The soul is there right through these albums.
Been a Todd fan since the 70s n seen him many times. There is an interview of him stating at some point in the early 70s he was influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Andy - so pleased to hear you talk about one of my very favorite artists. Is Bebop Deluxe next? I don’t believe I have heard you speak about Bill Nelson, one of my favorite guitarists and musicians.
Great sequel to Todd, w/ King Kong Reggae, killing it!!!
Thanks for turning me on to this record. I listened to it last night. Enjoyed it immensely.
I envy you... I wish I could discover it again. If you've never heard any TR music, you're in for an amazing ride if you keep digging into his discography...
My favorite lyrics from this album: "Earthquake in New York City! Chrysler Building fell in my yard!"
"I gotta get my ass back to Sunset Boulevard."
@@maximusindicusoblivious180 Yep, this song has a split personality. 180 degree difference between "When the $h!t Hits the Fan"& "Sunset Blvd.".
It's a great album but there is something about the songwriting on Hermit Of Mink Hollow that absolutely floors me and that album may be even more 'bedroom. Lovely to see you cover Todd.
Todd has always been a talented maverick. My mate is obsessed with him, one time he played me an album where Todd had made all the instrument sounds with his voice only. He’d chopped everything up into samples and made drums, bass, synths etc, all from his vocal samples. I tell you what, it ain’t half bad either. I always tip my hat to artists that aren’t afraid to try new approaches and to hell with what everyone else thinks. Rather that than an artist regurgitating the same old same old all the time.
Nice to see the Todd on your channel Andy. More please.
A Psychedelic Masterpiece!
Great discovery, thank you Andy!
Jumping the gun here. Mind - boggling. He made me like the Chi Lites! Now I have watched Andy's vid, I have to add that Todd is an Anglophile (important to Andy's definition of prog because of the English aesthetic.) He did a Beatles album of his own before the Rutles!
Rundgren did it again with Utopia - The Icon being over 30 minutes and taking over one side!
Finally!! Todd...My second American musical hero...FZ being number one, of course. Thanks for this, Andy. I absolutely love the guy as a writer, guitar player, producer, you name it...allround too smart for his own good whizz kid! 🙂...and what an amazing singer he is!
Me, personally, I'd reverse that order because Todd has heart. Zappa is all head, above and below the waist.
@@TheeRobertPhoenix Well, there's probably a lot of Zappa you haven't heard then: from Peaches En Regalia to Inca Rhoads, Uncle Remus, Sharleena, The Planet of my Dreams, Watermelon in Easter Hay and so on. He's also the greater composer. But hey, you got your's, I got mine. 🙂
Great album. Thanks for covering it. The influence Laura Nyro's late 60's performance had on Rundgren's writing can't be ignored though. There is a lot of similarity in their chords and vocal approach.
Masterpiece! Must own and spin repeatedly!
A great, unbiased review of an important alb7m that isn’t yet widely known. Another album you should check out is White Knight, and the song Afterlife, from LIARS
Those ones wouldn't be of his taste like it's of ours. The other TR albums he should listen to in my opinion are Todd, Initiation and Healing.
Still one of my favorites
I really enjoyed your take on this amazing album. It is at the top of my list.
I first came across Todd as the engineer on The Band's Stage Fright which was recorded in Woodstock NY and self-produced. I've wondered since how much input he had in the studio...
One of the reasons for the decision to pack so much music into one LP was Todd's conviction that the treble end of music contains far more information than the bass. He was happy to sacrifice more of the low end than most recording artists would have, which allowed for longer album sides than was thought advisable at the time. You do have to crank it up!
Hi, where did you read or hear about TR's "conviction that the treble of music contains far more information than the bass" ? I've been reading and listening about him for 45 years now and never came across this explanation.
@@h.m.7218 Well, given the timespan involved... it was before the internet, so it would probably have been a music paper or magazine interview but I couldn't tell you which (I used to read NME, Sounds, Melody Maker and Zigzag regularly and a few US ones occasionally). Sorry I can't help.
Great detailed review Andy
Heavily LSD inspired yet a beautifully soulful
lysergic mess nonetheless…so many great classic Todd moments within…even the soul medley holds up though the amazing Zen Archer might still be the highlight for me
Australia's first double album, the prog folk rock The Age of Mouse (1970) by Doug Ashdown has an unusual structure with about 8 one minute musical interludes connecting the songs. In my top 10 favourite albums ever. Also, Australia's 2nd double album, the prog Milesago (1971) by Spectrum also has short connecting tunes and different names for the discs with some weirdness. Also a great record.
Awesome video have a great day Andy ❤😊
City in my head ❤
I understand what you mean about the nature of progressive rock in the US. As it relates to Brit Prog, Kansas and Styx tend to be a hybrid. In totally agreement that a distinctly American Prog sound can uniquely be found on "A Wizard A True Star." But it didn't really go any further. For a different take, you may want to listen to the more Progressive R and B of "The World is a Ghetto" by War or "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic. I like to think of these as Prog/Soul. They are certainly experimental R and B.
The word genius is often used, but rarely merited - In the world of popular music - Todd Rundgren deserves it.
I've seen all the big bands and most of my icons, but his Arena tour gig was the most fun I've ever had.
Arena is a fabulous hard rock album
@@guillaumechabason3165 Wouldn't go as far as "fabulous" but it's good indeed and Courage is another TR pop classic.
Initiation is brilliant too. Very esoteric.
Very astute comments on this album and Todd. A male Carol King--exactly. A high school buddy of mine lent me this album because he knew I was interested in prog (even tho we didn't call it that back then). We would turn each other on to our musical discoveries--he also lent me Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards album that helped me become a fan of them. For some reason I just never did get into this album. At the time I was so heavy into King Crimson, Yes and ELP--this was just too different from them. A little bit more experimental than what I was used to. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but I never found the the time needed to dedicate to it to give it a good listen and so had to give it back to Sam before I could do that--always intending to one day buy it and have a good listen, but never did. But I always respected Todd as an artist and loved his hit pop songs on Something/Anything.
Haven't seen Todd in concert but I did see him play live once. It was around 1983 or so in Dallas, went to a Blue Oyster Cult concert, Fire of Unknown Origin tour, with Rick Derringer opening for them. Todd was playing at another venue, but for one of the BOC's encores he came onstage with them along with Derringer--five guitarists onstage, three from BOC. They played the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues". When the guitar break came in no one knew who was going to do that first solo, so Todd stepped up and did it. He then became sort of a conductor, pointing to the next guy up to play their bit. Out of those five guitarists, to me Todd stood out the most. So ever since then I've considered him one of the best and most under-rated guitarists. Also, the word genius is often overused for people like him. So I don't take it lightly when I say that he is one.
Love Todd. Utopia as well.
Really good stuff!
My two favourite Tubes albums are Remote Control and Love Bomb. Rundgren produced them. And you can tell. Especially Love Bomb which was Tubes last album with the original line up and they were already disintegrating and they hated it. But it has tons of pop charm, with each side composed of songs that run into each other. Something about it is a bit like A Wizard just dancier.
Love Bomb : what a fantastic album ! One of my 15 alltime favorites along with AWATS.
Love The Tubes.
@@riffmondo9733 Favorite american rock band along with Steely Dan. And Utopia mark one of course but it didn't last long enough...
He ended them lol Fee wanted to go with Foster again but the group didn't like his demanding style. They had to work hard... Fee said if we had just 1 or 2 more hits we're touring like Styx or REO many years later making a living. Fee's best friend is Richard Marx and they've co-written many songs, so he really has a pop sensibility. You gotta eat...
@@dewdew34 My point of view is that of a fan. I'm not Fee. I understand his pov. But although I love the 2 Foster produced albums, Love Bomb is artistically and creatively speaking superior to both of them.
Huge influence on Prince this album, don't y'all think?
Good video and thanks for your thought. People that dont understand rock music are ill equipped to review this record. I call it lonely music because I have no contemporaries that would care to sit down and listen to it. Your all alone when you put this one on buddy. Whenever you can package me some psychedelia that doesnt give me a headache (like free jazz) its a winner. The previous double album "something/anything" has so many melodies and ideas that it should have been developed into 3 separate records after some tidying by a producer. Maybe that could be a criticism of Rundgren - that he would have benefitted from a producer with a strong hand? A wizard/star however, really hits the mark and demands your attention because side 1 is so fractured. It is intentionally fractured, much the way our thinking is truncated. His music offers a brief nugget of gold and then tosses it aside for percussion using a type writer or some insane overdub. He employs great horn players (sanborn-Brecker bros) to enhance certain sad feelings, and then thrusts them aside. Its almost how the brain works. A collection of postcards in a file case, each one can come out for a minute, elicit an emotion, only to be tossed back into the file cabinet in our head. To me prog aficionados are on a quest for the holy grail in an artform that was never meant to be holy. Their quest is foolish, particularly if they dismiss this record. I also like 80s utopia. Looking forward to commentary about that era. Give me Bee gees, give me zombies- its only rock and roll.
He produced the Dear God song so that’s legend but also bat out of hell and bang on my drum all day in the 90
Bang on the drum was actually released on the Ever Popular artist Effect, a 1982 album.
Todd was certainly eclectic. I loved the Utopia albums up to and including "Ra".
It is a shame these albums have not truly been remastered. 5.1 mixes would be amazing. Songs like "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" were actually sped up in order to fit it on a side of vinyl. Sounds much better restored to its original speed.
I like some American progressive bands but I agree they are not as good as their British counterparts. Happy the Man is an exception. A great band. Dixie Dregs and the San Francisco bands. Zappa.
Amazing recording ,Todd pushed the limits on this one
Todd is Godd. AWATS to "Initiation" are terrific (yes, including "A treatise on cosmic fire"). "Ra" is a bit more iffy, though starts brilliantly. He can be patchy as he goes on, but albums like "Healing" and "Nearly Human" still sound great. I would recommend avoiding his rap and EDM experiments, however.
I bought this album when i was about 18 and into Zappa Gentle Giant and Jade Warrior along with many others, and it will always have a special place in my collection.
Todd has a unique talent for both pop with great melodies and depth of lyrical sensitivity, and the more eclectic styles like AWATS, the only other album he has done that approaches this style to me would be No World Order that is one that i would rank close to this in experimental terms.
I would be very interested how you respond to that album in particular.
Another great video, thanks.
So Glad you are talking about Todd Rundgren! Love Todd and his work with Utopia! I like Kansas and Styx, a little bit, but I don't think you need to go down that path. Stick with the great stuff! ahha! Thank you!
AWATS & Todd Rundgren's Utopia. One a psych masterpiece and one a prog masterpiece. imo he has never bettered these two albums.
Many other great ones though : Ballad, Todd, Something, Healing, Nearly Human, Liars, Hermit...