Todd Rundgren - where to start?
 

Well, due to constant comparisons between TR and my favourite recording artist, I picked up Something/Anything this week, and I was blown away! My immediate reaction was something like: "oh my god, not only do I need to hear everything this guy's ever recorded, but I can't believe I haven't been listening to him before now!"
Any recommendations of which albums I should pick up next? Thanks in advance. :)

It's hard to narrow it down, but here's three that I like:

Back to the Bars (live)
- just a great live set, circa 1979

Hermit of Mink Hollow
- very slick and poppy, but a personal favorite

With a Twist
- Ok, maybe not an essential, but here Todd redoes his own material with a bossa nova slant

He tends to change his sound slightly every few years, so you may find that pockets of releases sound similar, and then there will suddenly be a moderate departure in his approach, which he'll stick with for a while until he changes again.

I'm not that enamored of his recent material, but he really knows how to craft a pop song

Yeah, I read the description for this one on Allmusic. I think I'll have to check it out, if only for the remake of I Saw The Light. :up:

I'd go with Wizard, A True Star.

IMO, avoid the Utopia stuff like the plague.

It has split a lot of Todd-is-God-aphiles into two camps: love it or hate it.

Me, I like it. Your mileage may vary.

Back to the Bars
Oops! Wrong Planet
Redux 92: Live in Japan
Nearly Human
No World Order
Adventures in Utopia
Hermit of Mink Hollow

...and his latest effort "Liars". I saw Todd recently touring this album he was back in fine form.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...416-Trsolo.jpg

Re: Todd Rundgren - where to start?
 

Well, you took my answer already. I bought a "best of" cd of his a couple years ago and found that ALL my favorite tracks were from Something/Anything. I bought it and love it.

I guess, like you, I'll just have to sit back and listen to other's advice on where to go from here.

I completely disagree! I'm betting you will (at least) love Adventures In Utopia. -smile-

Runt
Ballad of Todd Rundgren
Hermit of Mink Hollow
Wizard a True Star
Faithful

Thanks, all. Based on recommendations here and elsewhere, I've decided to pick up the following:

The Hermit Of Mink Hollow
The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren
A Wizard, A True Star
Nearly Human

and digesting them over the next little bit. Then I'll see where that takes me.

I'll give it a try. I had given up on Utopia at that point, having disliked all their albums up to then.

:up: Great choices! Have fun.