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Anteater · 04-12-2010, 03:19 PM

Todd Rundgren– Something/Anything? (1972)

"Can't You See The Light In My Eyes?"

Side One:
1. I Saw the Light (2:56)
2. It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference (3:50)
3. Wolfman Jack (2:54)
4. Cold Morning Light (3:55)
5. It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls) (2:41)
6. Sweeter Memories (3:36)

Side Two:
1. Intro (1:11)
2. Breathless (3:15)
3. The Night the Carousel Burned Down (4:29)
4. Saving Grace (4:12)
5. Marlene (3:54)
6. Song of the Viking (2:35)
7. I Went to the Mirror (4:05)

Side Three
1. Black Maria (5:20)
2. One More Day (No Word) (3:43)
3. Couldn't I Just Tell You (3:34)
4. Torch Song (2:52)
5. Little Red Lights (4:53)

Side Four:
1. Overture-My Roots: Money (That's What I Want) / Messin' with the Kid (2:29)
2. Dust in the Wind (3:49)
3. Piss Aaron (3:26)
4. Hello It's Me (4:42)
5. Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me (3:56)
6. You Left Me Sore (3:13)
7. Slut (4:03)

In 1972, there was something wrong with you as a musician if you weren't doing something A. extremely marketable or B. something extremely epic and pretentious.

Somewhere between these two extremes lay one Todd Rundgren, who at the ripe old age of 24 almost singlehandedly produced, sang, arranged and did all the instrumentation on this mammoth of a record, while accompanied by a band on the last seven songs. The result is one hell of a snazzy record, a thick brick in the foundation of genres as far ranging as power pop and heavy metal to the Brit. pop/alt. rock of the 90's.

Despite the density of music present though, there is a surprising absence of overt filler, instrumentals aside. Each part of this four-sider touches base with a different approach to Rundgren's songwriting, from the oddly soulful pop of Side A to the more cerebral experimentation of Side C. Although known for hits such as the Carol King-influenced 'I Saw The Light' and summery 'Hello It's Me', the highlights are numerous: 'Couldn't I Just Tell You' is jangly power pop at its best, 'Little Red Lights' flares bright with West Coast psych. riffage, and even the jazzy funk of Motown rears up with 'Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me'.

And hence we come to Rundgren's main strength: long running length aside, one would find it hard to deny that the diversity of styles on Something/Anything? is remarkable. The fact he did most of it on his own makes it even moreso.

Hence, from a variety of perspectives, this is a one of a kind work. Today you won't find many pop musicians who'd have the balls to pull something of this caliber: audiences simply don't have the attention span anymore even if all the individual track lengths are short.

So everyone, don't be a douchebag and feel put off by the massive track list: there's a lot of great songs here. What I've mentioned before is merely the tip of the iceberg.

The world is full of albums worth investing your time into: few will reward such effort as well as this one.