Todd Rundgren - Arena
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Free Music Notes for Arena
Free Music Review: Maybe the best Todd ever!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was lucky enough to see Todd Rundgren live in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on June 26, 2008 in a small amphitheater along the Fox River. I was able to stand within 10 feet of him while he and his road band performed this entire album for (I think) the first time for a live audience, since it had not yet been released.
I attended the concert (on my birthday) hoping to hear some great old Todd Rundgren music, but what I saw and heard was an energetic performance of new, intense guitar-driven material. I'm not sure if Todd had a sore throat, but his vocal delivery was extremely harsh that night. Frankly, I left that concert with mixed feelings about the material. There were only about three or four songs that I thought were worthy of a second listen.
Well, I got "Arena" in the mail from Amazon yesterday, and just finished listening to it. In all honesty, I was blown away by this album. It is intense material delivered in an intense fashion by an outstanding artist. There is not one track that is not exceptional. Other reviews have alluded to the similarity of some of the song styles to those of other artists, such as AC/DC, Robin Trower and ZZ Top. While this may be true, these songs easily stand on their own merit. I'm not sure why I didn't feel the same way about the music at the concert, but sometimes a second listen provides a better feel for the music.
I have been a TR fan since the early '70s, and could be considered a "core" fan. This is, in my humble opinion, one of his best works. It is already one of my favorites.
Free Music Review: The Incredible Genius of Mr. TR1
Hit: 5 Stars
Straight from an old Todd fan (my first Todd concert was with the original Utopia back in 1973) - buy this CD! It is incredible in the sense that few care to, or are capable of making music of this quality anymore. Todd has remained true to the musical spirit that inspired us all back in those days and continues to do so today. He is pushing 60 years old and still sounds as fresh and alive as he did when he first took us to Utopia. So don't you ever learn? Apparently the masses don't. As we watch rock and roll die the doors are once again opened to the "Arena". So take it in and enjoy! I don't like comparing one CD (album) to another because each of Todd's work offers something very different from the last. All worth hearing again and again. "Liars" was one of the most brilliant of all his work and really put the truth on the map in his own difinitive lyrics. It was also sonically perfect, futuristic and rich in sound. "Arena" is somewhat a return to the Todd era post "Initiation". The kind of stuff that brought us that updated and streamlined Utopia ala "RA", "OOPs Wrong Planet", "Adventures in Utopia", "Swing To The Right", "Oblivion" and "POV". But as always it offers something new that you can't quite put your finger on. That is what has kept me listening as a fan all these years. His guitar work also stands out on this CD and it is great to hear him cutting lose on the strings a little more often. There is only one Todd. So if you have half a brain you won't hesitate to lay down your ten bucks for this great music.Free Music Review: A Golden Era, Just One More Time
Hit: 5 Stars
Let's take a walk down memory lane....back to the days when FM radio was king, that album sales started at platinum status and world tours were nothing unless they were in arenas and huge stadiums.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Todd Rundgren blasts back into the past for some fun and laughs, but also delivers an amazingly solid album. There is the off-beat, but very pointed, social commentary - Mad, Gun, Panic - but it's the war waged with the gamut of emotions - Afraid, Courage - that shows there is more to the mix than some heavy rock riffs.
Strike brings Rundgren's hilarity into a neat package, as one can picture jaw-dropping pyrotechnics above as the stage spins around on some swift hydraulic gadgetry while he belts out, "Time to strike while the iron is hot," to a stadium packed with adoring fans who can't wait to get to the merchandise tables to buy tour hats and T-shirts.
Arena rock may be mostly a museum piece, but Rundgren shows it doesn't have to languish on Classic Rock radio formats and the now slightly less than impressive stadium tours of minor league ballparks. Or, Rundgren just may be saying that there may be Sweeter Memories from the golden era of rock.
Free Music Review: TODD RAWKS!
Hit: 5 Stars
You might think that at sixty, an artist would be doing easy listening versions of his hits (a la Sting's orchestral versions of Police songs), have become a greatest hits act (like Styx or Foreigner), or simply retired.
Not Todd Rundgren. He started out the year producing a New York Dolls album, celebrated his birthday by inviting an army of fans to his home in Hawaii, and recorded a new album of fist-raising rock songs that capture the essence and energy of arena rock with bombastic, guitar-driven tunes with sing along choruses. Tracks like 'Mountaintop', 'Strike','Mad', and the anthemic 'Mercenary', transport you to a stadium venue.
While I grew to love "Liars," the last studio effort, there was a noticable lack of guitars that is more than made up for here-catchy guitar hooks and excellent solos abound everywhere on this album.
Todd also wears his influences on his sleeve, with obvious nods to AC/DC and Robin Trower, although the obligatory ballad, "Courage," is all Todd.
This is a good albums for hard rock fans as well as a must-have for Todd fans.
Free Music Review: superb
Hit: 5 Stars
This release is incredible on a number of levels. Recorded on a laptop Mac, no amps, minimal hardware interfaces, mixed on headphones, all in just a few weeks.
For those complaining about the mix: Get a quality set of headphones [Sony MDR 7506 or Beyerdynamic DT 770]and run your EQ flat. Sure, the vocals are a bit more distant than we're accustomed to but this material would come off as preachy if they were more forward in the mix. LISTEN for the vocals and they will crystallize between your ears.
I'm not sure if it was intended but this is the most trippy production I've heard in decades. ONLY Todd has the vision and TALENT to pull this off. The "psychoacoustic" phenomena [purposely or unintentionally] engineered into this CD are fantastic beyond description.
Make up your own mind about the material. Music is a smorgasbord for the senses.
Overall, ARENA is an audio oasis in the current xeric wasteland of audio crap that passes for creativity and music nowadays.
Thank you Todd.