Todd Rundgren: Before he was Banging on the Drum, there was Something/Anything

The first record I've chosen to share with you for an Album Listening Experience is Todd Rundgren's 1972 release Something/Anything. The combination of music, album art, and read along material is just the sort of album that fits the premise of this blog.


This double LP was actually Rundgren's 3rd solo album and showed him to be a force as a song writer, musician, and producer. On three of the four sides of music, Todd wrote all the songs, played every instrument, and was responsible for every sound the listener heard as the producer in the studio.. At the ripe age of 24,Rundgren was already the wizard and true star that he declared himself to be on his next album one year later.

First, the music: Todd separated the music by themes call side 1 "a bouquet of ear catching melodies". Side 2 is "the cerebral side". Side 3: "the kid gets heavy". Finally, side 4 is "Baby gets a new pair of snakeskin boots (a pop operetta)". Hello It's Me from side 4 is the highest charting single from Rundgren's career (#5 of Billboard) but there are plenty of other great pop melodies to choose from on the 4 sides including I Saw the Light, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Sweeter Memories, Marlene, and One More Day. The guy could write a hit anytime of his choosing.

Side 3 is my favorite side of the album. Todd does get heavy and shows off his 6 string chops on songs like Black Maria and Little Red Lights. My favorite song on the album as well as my favorite Todd song (and among my all-time favorite songs) is Couldn't I Just Tell You. It features a great intro riff that shows up throughout the song, multi layered acoustic and electric guitars, and a soaring lead guitar break. Turn this one up loud to get the full effect!

Side 4?...This side is an interesting listen. Let's just say that with song titles like Piss Aaron, Slut, and You Left Me Sore, these aren't exactly radio friendly. That's not to say that they aren't fun and quite listenable.

Of course, the experience isn't complete without the album itself. Despite Todd's apparent ego, the front cover just features colorful flowers and he reserves the back cover for his picture. Open up the book style cover and there's Todd in the studio shot from behind, his Gibson SG strapped on and his arms triumphantly outstretched, his fingers give the peace sign (or is it V for victory?) Included in one of the record sleeves is a four page fold-out section with lyrics and the various credits including the guest musicians used for side 4...perfect for following along with as you listen to the 86+ minutes of music contained on the record.

Double albums are often full of self-indulgent filler material that bogs down the whole effort. give this one a chance. Todd uses his talent in all aspects of making music on this one and really delivered. Therre will be more to share about Todd Rundgren and his music on these pages in the near future.

Hi Everybody...Let's see how this goes...

So anyhow, I'm a guy in my mid 50's who remembers watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964. I got my first stereo somewhere in my mid teens. I started to move away from listening to Mom and Dad's Montovani and Percy Faith orchestra records sometime between that Beatle's experience and getting my stereo when I expanded my collection through the old "your first record is $1 and receive 11 more free" order from the Columbia record club probably somewhere around 1968. In that bunch (a rip-off actually becuase I got only about 2 of the albums I actually selected on the form) were some albums that started expanding my listening experience. As I finished high school and went away to college, I had maybe 20-25 albums and much of it fairly tame rock. That collection grew exponentially during my 4 years in college. Those college years opened up that world of music...as well as a few others ;-)... to me. Listening to music became a social experience for me and many others during that time. The music playing on the stereo while having a beer...or other things...or at parties or while playing cards was not background. It was part of and important to the occasion.

I remember buying that new record, placing it on the turntable, placing the needle on the vinyl, then sitting down and pouring over that album cover while listening to what was coming out of the speakers. The album art, the instrumental and songwriting credits, the lyrics, all of that information made the songs more alive.

The world of music with videos and digital downloads has virually eliminated the experience that I have described above. The impact of album art is minimized by how it is reproduced for a CD. Digital downloads center on songs. While you can download albums, the vast majority of those downloads are individual songs. There is no continuity the the music listening experience today.

What I'd like to do with this blog, going forward, is to bring back some of that experience by discussing some of the great albums I have loved over the years and why I think they are great. I'll stray away from that from time to time. Stay tuned, when I'm done here, hopefully I'll have converts to the ALBUM LISTENING EXPERIENCE