Todd is God

Todd is 57 today.

"a triumphant celebration of intelligent, contemporary, music delivered with a bold confidence" is how Mike Chapple describes the liverpool gig on the Liverpool Echo's website

Nice to read Martin Townsend in the Express on Sunday reviewing the London gig. He described the gig as "one of those gigs you wished could be televised for the whole nation to enjoy" and a "once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear two of rock's most original voices in harmony" In the words of the Eurythmics 'who am I to disagree'

Todd Rundgren has stepped in as support for the Hall & Oates tour in the US once he finishes his European Dates with Joe jackson and Ethel. Todd replaces Tears for Fears

Maybe the boys had been saving their best for the UK, or maybe that practice has helped but both the Gigs at Leicester DeMontford Hall (Fri 3rd), and London Hammersmith Apollo (Sun 5th) were pretty damn good. Sure, there were mistakes, but if I wanted to listen to perfect renditions of the songs I'd sit at home and play a CD. As in the earlier leg of the tour the role call was Ethel, Joe and then Todd. Ethel's brand of string quartet is perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but these guys can play: - Todd Reynolds and Mary Rowell, violins; Ralph Farris, viola; and the rather sexy Dorothy Lawson, cello are a treat for real music lovers anywhere, playing a mixture of styles with equal verve and skill. I would happily pay just to see these guys in the future. Joe Jackson, who I must confess I lost interest in after his second album, delivered a well balanced set both nights between old 'classics' (stepping Out', 'Is she really going out with him', 'It'...

The Scotsman has an interview with Joe Jackson today ahead of Todd and Joe's Edinburgh date. Explaining the get together Jackson says: "We're both very eclectic, we've both been around for a few years now and done lots of different things. And we've both sometimes been ahead of our time, or at least that's how we'd like to see it!" The Guardian 's Dave Simpson gave the York gig 3/5 but said of Todd "Britons never really 'got' his brash Americana, and those that did must be bewildered to hear long-unaired classics like I Saw the Light tossed off on guitar." I not sure why anyone would be bewildered. Maybe it was just Dave. Or perhaps it was because Todd stopped playing midway through, to hail a bitter-sweet guitar chord. He does however rightly praise just how good Todd, Joe and Ethel sounded combined "By the time they've taken the Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps to places it has never visited, this unlikely coll...

Todd & and man in front's head - London 5th June 2005

Todd, Joe and Ethel - London 5th June 2005

Todd, Joe Jackson and Ethel - London 5th June 2005

I have been a bit lax of late with Todd postings, but with just a day to go before the Leicester Gig, and then the London Gig on Sunday, expect a few more. Over on the TR Connection, the Bristol gig seem to have gone down pretty well, which is good. The feeling form the US leg had certainly been (in the words of Rick Springfield) 'reviews were mixed, the press was unkind'. Bring it on Todd (and Joe/Ethel)

The six-song CD of new and previously unreleased material by Teenage Fanclub, that was given away with Scotland on Sunday is coming popular on ebay and selling for up to £11 The disc featured songs from Teenage Fanclub's new (and as usual very good) album Man-Made plus material recorded at various stages over the past 14 years. Collectors were particularly interested in a cover version of Todd Rundgren's 'I Saw The Light', which was recorded for the movie of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but did not feature on the final soundtrack.

The Orlando Sentinel reviewed the first night of the Todd/Joe tour in Melbourne and said: "After a promising start, the evening moved from the pleasant to the awful. If Ethel and Jackson seemed a tad stiff, they looked positively charismatic compared with Rundgren's uneven performance. Although he delivered a nice acoustic show at House of Blues in recent memory, Rundgren looked unprepared on Wednesday, joking his way through a shoddy set like a schoolboy faking his way through a big presentation." "It has been a night of extraordinary musicality,'' he said, taking a seat behind the piano after a few lackluster songs on acoustic guitar. "But I'd like you to put that out of your minds.'' Indeed the general opinion all round seems to have been that Todd's performance was sloppy (including it seems Mr Rundgren himself to a degree.

The Liverpool Daily Post on Friday (15th) had an interview with Todd about the upcoming UK dates. Speaking about what we can expect in the set list Todd says:"Both Joe and I know we have to satisfy our respective audiences. There will be some new ones but we will showcase some of the older stuff although there"s no set list which we will be sticking to. "It"s fine for the first week of the show but there"s a drudgery that takes over when you know what"s gonna happen that takes the edge of your performance . You can go into auto pilot and lose the mood of the audience. "Plus," he adds drily. "There"s this myth that the so called customer is always right. You know, like, I"ve bought my ticket to hear that particular song so if I don"t hear it I want my f------ money back. I never commit myself to doing any one particular song in any show." What he will teasingly promise the Liverpool audience is that out of the top five ...

Tacoma News Tribune has this great piece on cars mentioning Sue Harp of Tacoma, who owns a 1999 Volkswagon Beetle, which is decorated as a tribute to Todd. Using album art, her husband, Gene Harp, applied the decal-like graphics to the car, and Todd autographed it too. Brilliant.

I decided on a whim over the weekend to purchase Aslyn - "Lemon Love" and I have to agree the review from Shane Harrison that there is indeed "plenty to admire" about this album which is a wonderfully enjoyable pop record which harks back to Todd, Jill Sobule, and Elton. There area couple of slightly ropey tunes but, all in all, a pleasing debut from a young lady who should have a long career ahead.

The latest issue of Mix mentions Todd. "Future Sonics founder/president Marty Garcia's work in the live sound biz started in 1979, when he opened regional sound company Crystal Sound, which would become Crystal-Taylor Sound. Garcia notes that client Todd Rundgren was getting great monitor sound in halls and theaters, but had problems in arena-sized venues; when Rundgren had to sing out over the roar of instruments onstage, vocal fatigue would follow. Crystal Sound's custom wedge-based monitor rig and console sounded so great to Rundgren that the artist bought it and brought Garcia on tour for the next five years to run it — while still developing custom-built transducers into ear pieces. Fast-forward to 1991: Garcia sold Crystal-Taylor Sound and founded Future Sonics. What's in the company's future? Products that will “blend in” with professional and consumer interests. Think MP3s and iPods."

Shane Harrison reviews the debut album from Aslyn - "Lemon Love" in Atlanta Journal-Constitution today (29 March 2005) saying that there is "plenty to admire" about album which packs in the influences, which "Depending on your chronological frame of reference, you'll hear traces of Elton John, Todd Rundgren, the Beatles, Lenny Kravitz or Nelly Furtado in these songs, most of them written by the fetchingly curly-haired Aslyn. And her sweet voice has just enough grit to give the tunes a touch of blue-eyed soul" Todd also got a mention in the New York Times (27th March 2005) - or at least in the letters page where David Vawter of Orchard Lake, Mich. responded to an article called 'Home sweet studio' by saying that "Without taking anything away from Bruce Springsteen's magnificent ''Nebraska,'' the precedent for a home studio providing the atmosphere for a young artist to find his or her sound was set back in 1972, whe...

Rick Reger has a review of the new Eels album - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations - in the Chicago Tribune (22March 2005) calling it the Eels "leanest, most retrained effort to date". He goes on to say "From the bleakly beautiful folk waltz of "I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart" to the Todd Rundgren-ish piano ode "Ugly Love," the CD is a cornucopia of understated treasures"

The Elmira Star-Gazette (17 March 2005) had a Most overlooked artist by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vote and came up with the following: - The Monkees Neil Diamond The Ventures The Sex Pistols Black Sabbath NRBQ The Hollies Todd Rundgren Alice Cooper Iggy & the Stooges

U2, the Pretenders, Buddy Guy, the O'Jays, and Percy Sledge, as well as touring business architect Frank Barsalona and Sire Records head Seymour Stein as non-performers were all inducted into the Rock n Roll Hallof Fame today. Hard to argue with any of them as far as I am concerned. But my one loyal reader J, asks me 'do you think Todd will ever get his rightful spot in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame?' Last year Todd was asked the question and told the Scotsman that it was for guys who were dead or retired; and told the Australian Financial Review that if they put him in, the citation would say "If elected, will not serve". I have to say, if I am honest, I think the dead or retired route is the one that will probably take him in; but it would be good to see it happen before then.