173 - Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything?
XTC is one of my favorite bands and I'm somewhat connected to the online fandom for XTC. When talking about artists/bands similar to our boys from Swindon, Todd Rundgren frequently comes up as an artist whom XTC fans should also like (same has been said by my fellow Jellyfish fans). With the handful of Todd's songs that I've known, I have agreed. For several decades, Something/Anything? was praised as a great album I should have. But for some reason, I never have given the album a listen. The time has finally come for me to see if my impressions fit the hype I've heard.
Quick primer: Something/Anything? is a double album that is split into four parts. The first side is a collection of radio-ready singles. The second side is Todd getting geeky - from an intro discussing several studio/production mistakes one can find on vinyl (in particular) through experimental instrumentals and odder pop songs. The third side is kinda rocking with more guitar influence. This is all wrapped up in a pseudo-pop opera on the last side. The last side is the only part of the album featuring other performers, the first ¾ of the album was completely written and performed by Todd, alone in a studio doing overdubs.
As one can expect from most double-albums, there are some songs that probably could have been cut out of this. But there are some phenomenal gems on here such as “Couldn't I Just Tell You” which sounds as the basic template of what a power pop song sounds like. This is an album that wants to be accepted, warts and all, into your heart on its own terms but is polite enough to break down the sections to a side of an album so the original listeners could just hear sides 1 and 3 or constantly repeatedly listen to the mini-opera on side 4.
Carole King is a very obvious influence in his songwriting. It's not a nod here and there, Something/Anything? contains several songs that sound as if they could have been created by Carole. But what makes the album so interesting is how diverse this one guy stretches his musical tastes in a single collection of songs. For me, I did find the album a pleasant listen that I may pull up from time to time. Even after a dozen or so listens over the past week or so and despite the love others with similar musical tastes have for Something/Anything?, I haven't felt the pull to own this album.
Songs I Knew I Liked: “I Saw the Light” and “Hello, It's Me”
Songs I Now Like: “The Night the Carousel Burned Down” and “Couldn't I Just Tell You”
Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: “I Went to the Mirror,” “Overture: My Roots” (while I appreciate the old recordings' role in the mini-opera, it isn't a track I would listen to if not intent on hearing the album through from beginning to end), and “Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me” (which sounds like Todd trying to make a Frank Zappa song).