Todd Rundgren – Faithful (Rhino Reserve)
Solid set of covers and originals, back in print
Todd Rundgren’s long and winding career can largely be divided into two parts: The first, 1970-72, he perfected pop songwriting in making music for other people. The second, much longer period, 1973-present day, Rundgren began making music for himself. There are so many crazy twists and turns along the way, all while the artist follows his muse. Every once in a while, Rundgren comes back to pure song craft – and Faithful is one of those examples.
The album cover to his seventh solo outing is meant as an homage to the Beatles’ White Album, giving a hint to what lies inside. Side one is Rundgren’s “faithful” recreations of six classic rock songs, all dating from 1966. Side two sees him return to writing pure, unabashed pop songs on six originals. Unlike some of his previous albums, here Rundgren is joined by several musicians, including his bandmates in Utopia.
Side one opens with the Yardbirds’ cover, “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago.” Although they never really capture the rawness of the original, the searing guitars are really good.
“Good Vibrations” is the real stunner: “faithful” is an understatement. Somehow, he manages (without the aid of any digital Tom Foolery, I might add) to directly copy the original, intricate Brian Wilson production. No one is going to mistake his singing for the Beach Boys – but the entire track is a bold move. And, it paid off, with this version hitting the Top 40 charts.
Of the two Beatles’ songs, “Rain” is pretty straightforward, and really isn’t too far of a departure from what Utopia would end up sounding like in its second incarnation. “Strawberry Fields Forever” does a good job of aping the original arrangement, but it lacks the eerie quality of the Beatles’ verion.
The other two covers, “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)” by Dylan, and “If 6 Was 9” by Hendrix are interesting curios, especially when Rundgren tries to sing like Bob, but neither are remarkable.
Side two is where things really take off. “Black and White” is a heavy rocker with searing lead guitar work from Todd, while “Love of the Common Man” is his most pure pop composition since Something/Anything. “When I Pray” has a sing a long chorus, while the 12-string guitar of “Cliche” is another highlight.
All of that leads up to “The Verb ‘To Love’” – a 7-minute, magnum opus exploration on that famous, four-letter word. It’s Todd at his most confessional – something only hinted at in his last few albums. Its lush arrangement, with synth, strings, and background vocals, is one of Rundgren’s greatest accomplishments on record. Even the final, goofy track, “Boogies (Hamburger Hell),” works.
The 180-gram vinyl was cut at the Mastering Lab by Matthew Lutthans and sounds nice and quiet. The biggest difference from my original copy is the low end – you can really hear the punch in the kick drum on “Happenings” and the fullness of the bass guitar on “Rain.” Also, the acoustic songs on side two on my original seem a little brittle – here, tracks like “Cliche’” and “Love of the Common Man,” seem more even and warm.
One final note – the lettering on the album cover is raised (as was the original White Album). My original isn’t that way, so nice touch there.
The covers are fun and the originals are some of his best. Faithful is surprisingly good. —Tony Peters