m a t t

The Ballad of Todd Rundgren eschews much of the musical experimentation of Rundgren's debut and is essentially a straight-ahead pop album. But it's a superlative pop album and, in my opinion, one of the best titles in Rundgren's large catalog. I love the cover art — it's a photo of Todd sitting at a piano with a noose tied around his neck. Perhaps this is meant to convey Rundgren's angst at being forced to write the hooky pop songs that he seemed to make so effortlessly; I don't know. What I do know is that, despite the ease with which these tunes go down, Rundgren's keen intelligence is still in evidence, both in terms of keeping the pop songs from meandering into formula and in terms of lending an occasional sardonic edge to the lyrics. The album has no weak tracks, by my estimates, and is home to some of Rundgren's best songs. Contrary to my normal preferences, it's the slower pieces — but for a couple of exceptions — that stand out the most to me. I think "The Ballad (Denny and Jean)" and "A Long Time, A Long Way to Go" are powerfully moving and the latter superbly displays Rundgren's roots as an admirer of Philadelphia soul. "Wailing Wall" is fantastic as well, although I can't shake the notion that, despite its apparent sincerity, there may be something of an in-joke at work here. The wistful "Boat On the Charles" unexpectedly ends as a suicide note and it must rank along with "Hello It's Me" as among Rundgren's greatest down-tempo tunes. The non-ballads may not form the heart and soul of the album, but a few of them distinguish themselves as being excellent. The opener, "Long Flowing Robe," is an unbelievably catchy piece of loser fantasy with a walloping hook of a chorus. "Chain Letter" is cheeky and self-aware, the lyrics serving principally to express what part of the song is being sung ("Now I'm in the middle and I just don't know / If I'll make it any further if the words don't flow / When you live in silence any sound is dear / But for those who don't, take heart because the end is near.") and it has an extended finale that reminds me of "Hey Jude." But, frankly, I think Rundgren is a better songwriter than Paul McCartney and I think "Chain Letter" is the better song. More of Rundgren's twisted sense of humor is displayed on the excellent "Parole," a hard-rocking tune about a philandering parolee caught by his woman ("I know that it might make you happy / To fill my body full of holes / But you know it ain't easy being on / Parole with you baby."). In addition to being humorous, it's one of the few places on this album that Rundgren features his electric guitar. After The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, Rundgren spent much of the rest of the 1970s making music that was more technically and instrumentally ambitious. Yet I think the songs on this album are so good that their relative simplicity is a non-issue. This was also the last album for which his backup band, Runt, shared credit (interestingly, Runt alumni Hunt and Tony Sales resurfaced in David Bowie's Tin Machine nearly two decades later). If you like smart 1970s pop, you really should try to get a copy of this excellent album, especially if you've already heard and liked the follow-up Something/Anything. review by Matt P. — 8-14-05 —