The State of Todd

State

Todd Rundgren

2013

Relax. I know I just reviewed a Todd Rundgren album in February.  And I know Rundgren has been a niche artist with a modest (but fervent) fan base since the 80s. But here we are a few months down the road with a brand new Todd Rundgren release on our hands. You don’t expect me to sit back and ignore it do you? Anyway, who’s around to stop me?

The initial rap on State, Todd’s first release for the Esoteric Antenna label, and first collection of new material since his Arena album in 2008, has been, well…consistently inconsistent. In fact, I’ve seen opinions that describe the record as being everything from surprisingly modern to hopelessly dated.  After spending a week or so with the disk, I’d have to say that both camps have a point. Allow this diplomatic, middle child to explain.

With cover art that features our Todd photographed in a muted red/black duotone, eyes fixed forward and shielded with oversized welding goggles, I first expected State to sound like a more soulful version of Nine Inch Nail’s industrial 90’s grunge.  Thankfully, it does not.  But like many recent Rundgren releases, State fully embraces digital recording software, samples and virtual instruments.  The setup is probably very similar to what an artist like Kanye West might use and as a result, Todd certainly succeeded in giving State a current sound.

Yet, despite the modern production and absence of traditional acoustic and electric instruments, when you start to listen more closely to the songs, State, isn’t a huge departure from other, latter period Rundgren releases, like Liars, Arena and reProduction. Yes, it uses modern tools. And yes, it is built with samples, beats and virtual instruments, but it is still very easy to recognize the “man behind the curtain” as Todd.

That is to say, regardless of the sandbox he decides to play in, Rundgren has always had a knack for imprinting his distinct, irrepressible and highly recognizable “sound” on his recordings.  State is no exception.  You can hear it in the rich, complex chords he selects for gorgeous R&B ballads like “Ping Me” and “Something from Nothing” and in the dissonance of more experimental compositions like “Imagination.”  But it’s Todd’s voice and ability to infuse his songs with credible emotion — often by pushing his vocals to the farthest limits of his range — that defines this record and the vast majority of Rundgren’s recorded output.

So while Rundgren’s work has always contained unifying elements, what always seems to be in flux is the context and with State, the point is to redefine the process. The first clue is the inside front cover photo, featuring Todd’s simple digital workspace, cast in a dim yellow light. The shot is a clever callback to the inside cover shot of his hit album from 1972, Something/Anything, which shows Todd with his back to the camera in the middle of a more traditional, analogue studio setup, in a similarly dim yellow lighting. It’s a not-so-subtle comment on the way music production has changed and an open embrace of new technology.

As you listen to the record and start to notice the complexity of the bass, keyboard and percussion tracks programmed for these compositions, you begin to realize that the digital work environment is anything but a crutch or shortcut as some purists are quick to suggest.  In practice, it was probably much more work for Rundgren to painstakingly write, program and engineer these productions than it would have been to hire a few studio pros to just play the songs.

That said, the tools and technology at hand allow Rundgren to create some of the most intricately imagined arrangements in his extensive catalog.  Like characters in a play, the instrumental elements in the songs evolve over time and interact with each other suggesting a complex and carefully orchestrated musical dialogue. This music wasn’t recorded digitally for cost or convenience.  It’s all about experimentation within a wider set of sonic possibilities, and searching within yourself to find something new that may have been there all along.

Like you, I sometimes wish Rundgren’s muse would inspire him to take a stab at creating something as simple and song oriented as his earlier Runt and Ballad of Todd Rundgren records, but for an artist like Rundgren, I think all creative roads lead forward.  The lyrics to the opening composition, “Imagination,” spell that out in no uncertain terms when Rundgren sings:

“What is hell?  The same old smell

The same old situation

No imagination”

In the end, perhaps what’s most surprising about State is that it’s not all that surprising.  State winds up sounding exactly as it should — like a collection of engaging, carefully constructed, pop and R&B songs, written and performed by Todd Rundgren, a gifted artist with plenty of gas left in the tank.  Perhaps this was an overt attempt at mainstream relevance (which it is unlikely to achieve) or like many other albums in Rundgren’s catalog, another opportunity for Todd to scratch that perpetual “itch in his brain.”  Either way, if you are willing to relax, put aside your expectations and listen, State may surprise you.  Then before you know it,  you’ll stop wishing this record was anything other than exactly what it is.

And so ends my review of State and begins a brief discussion of the second CD in the deluxe edition of State now shipping on Amazon, a live concert CD recorded with Metropole Orchestra in Amsterdam last November.  In true Todd Rundgren style, this disk offers listeners an experience that could reasonably be described as the exact opposite of State.  Recorded with dozens of musicians, playing the most traditional of acoustic instruments,  this is a long way from the “one man in a room with computers” approach of State.  In some ways the set reminds me of concert I once saw on a whim in Denver, wherein Burt Bacharach performed his hits with the local orchestra.  Running through a career spanning collection of both hits and obscurities,  this could be Todd showcasing his ability to work however he chooses — alone or with a band; with virtual instruments or with violins, trumpets and oboes.  Or it could be Todd playing “careful what you wish for” and finally offering his fans a Dickensian vision of what might have happened if he actually took their advice in the 70s and tried to keep pumping out the am radio hits.   Then again, it could be Todd proving that he never really did stop writing pop hits.  He just kept looking for new and unexpected ways to present them.

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