Passing the Acid Test

Gavin Martin of the Times on saturday hailed the return of rock’s maverick maestro stating that "If the recent comebacks by the 1960s acid heads Brian Wilson and Arthur Lee warranted a cheer, then Todd Rundgren's return to top form deserves a roof-top fanfare" He heralds 'Liars' as his most compelling album since Hermit of Mink Hollow. It "combines the full breadth of his talents, from the soulful symphony of Past to the blunderbuss pomp of the fundamentalist baiting Mammon, with a gleeful cutting-edge sensibility...[and] ... confirms what many of us have long suspected -the prodigal genius of 1970s acid rock has most definitely not left the building".

Johathan Takiff in yesterday's Philadelphia Daily News gave 'Liars' an A- saying "The sarcastic "Happy Anniversary," Philly Soul-flavored "Soul Brother," amusing tale of premature evolution "Stood Up" and metal rock/religious zealot parodying "Mammon" are just some of the pointed pleasures" available to the listener.

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Substack: the new blogging and a new music newsletter

Hello again my old blogger blog. Just checking in to plug the new substack newsletter I'm doing. It is also home to the CTTB Music podcast and its archive too. Why not pay me a visit and sign up for future editions of the newsletter (free)

The Decemberists - 'The Hazards of Love'

Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...

To be honest, I don’t think 2010 will be remembered as a ‘great’ year music-wise, although some good stuff did get released. It was a year when the hip and happening people told me I should be listening to Tame Impala, Gold Panda, Deerhunter, Beach House and others. And, I did. All were perfectly fine, but none really grabbed me, and I can’t help feeling that tame Impala sounded much better in the context of a Soundtrack album than they did on a full album of their own. So leaving those aside, was there one album that stood head and shoulders above all else this year? Not for me. There were several albums that held my attention at different parts of the year but only a few which didn’t fall away, and less still that made last gasp dashes to improve with time. So, what follows are 20 albums I have enjoyed for various reasons during 2010. If I were doing it another week, maybe O Children, She and Him, Warpaint, Pull in Emergency, Thea Gilmore, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Liz Phair may hav...

Todd is God

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