All text and photos by Joe Mock
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Here are my 30 favorite Todd Rundgren songs, along with links to various forms of performances of those songs:
30. Utopia Theme (1974) An appropriate first song on my countdown. It was the opening cut on 1974’s Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, when Todd took a turn toward progressive rock. In true prog-rock style, the vocals don’t start until after the seven-minute mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYWR-jF7Mek
29. We Gotta Get You A Woman (1970) Todd’s first bonafide hit single, it hit #20 on the Billboard Singles Chart in 1970. It might not stack up well with his later work, but it convinced him to keep making records, which I consider a blessing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtvpPtnYM8Q
28. Heavy Metal Kids (1974) The phrase “heavy metal kids” has appeared often in literature and music, but the song with this name appeared on the LP Todd in ’74. Penned by Todd, of course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNtVygq0Ip0
27. The Last Ride (1974) This is one of dozens of Todd-written songs that could’ve been a huge pop hit had it been recorded by a mainstream pop singer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGKl8g8tBp8
26. Love In Action (1977) From 1977’s Utopia album Oops! Wrong Planet. The word “love” appears in lots of Todd titles — in fact, four times in this list of 30 tunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWtBXVY6rU
25. Party Liquor (2013) From the State album. It is a rollicking good time, and is a hoot in his live shows in recent years, as this YouTube video attests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq9uYEsmbMU
24. Change Myself (1991) This beautiful and pensive song starts Todd’s 2nd Wind LP, which (along with Healing) is his most introspective album. And word has it that Todd made this music video himself — which is pretty mind blowing considering the primitive technology available in 1991: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mH8PaWbi1E
23. God Said (2004) I’m not fond of the theology of the lyrics, but it’s a song of earnest questioning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhKSmSKGExA
22. It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference (1972) Really shows off Todd’s songwriting skills. Another one that might’ve been a pop classic had another singer released it as a single — as evidenced by this video of Todd and Daryl Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prOYxFPoKSM
21. Love of the Common Man (1983) More great songwriting and another track about love. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN2264jZjro
20. International Feel (1973) When Todd released the album called A Wizard/A True Star (AWATS to us true Todd fans) in ’73, I really don’t think anything like it had been done before. The use of unusual sound effects and instrumentation coupled with each song running into the next created something astonishing. This song kicks the LP off. And this is a funky video to accompany the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMjOGh72i2s
19. Sometimes I Don’t Know What To Feel (1973) Another memorable cut from AWATS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XHvCoGCX_E
18. Another Life (1976) The cut that appeared on the album Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Another Live was, of course, recorded live. It was in August 1975, and this song is a miracle of arrangement, harmonies, counter melodies and very rudimentary synthesizers. And it could be the very definition of progressive rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGm0f-_MVBg
17. Love Science (1991) A jazzy, funky masterpiece from 2nd Wind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kc7J8xdIQA
16. Bang the Drum All Day (1981) One of Todd’s most recognizable songs, although it fell short of the Top 40 Singles Chart. It’s been covered by other artists many times, and it’s catchy as all get-out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf2N08-THQA
15. Sons of 1984 (1974) Todd has written and recorded a number of memorable anthems, and this one is a dandy. The chorus sticks in your head for hours after you hear it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8NvG-bYjts
14. Compassion (1981) A beautiful song on a wonderful album (Healing — more about it at #12). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWsN8pevlHY
13. Rise (2015) In the last decade or two, Todd has recorded a number of call-to-action songs, like this one. The second verse and chorus say, “We don’t need an excess of caution. Doing nothing is not an option. Time’s ticking away, time keeps ticking away. If we don’t rise, then we will fall.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKbCZTJ0kwY
12. Healing (1981) The album of the same name saw Todd play all the instruments and provide all the vocals. I absolutely wore out my cassette of this LP, making it the Todd album I’ve played more than any other over the years. And this 20-minute masterpiece from it has it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr2XMOVm9ZM
11. Can We Still Be Friends (1978) It hit #29 on the Billboard singles chart. It’s a brilliant composition with fantastic harmonies, from the awesome Hermit of Mink Hollow album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_oBXzLNmw
10. Couldn’t I Just Tell You (1972) A perfect example of the pop-song composer that Todd could’ve have been if he wouldn’t have emphasized performing and recording instead. Any number of pop stars could’ve had a massive hit with this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdlOcYRjCJM
9. I Saw the Light (1972) What a great pop song, showing Todd’s songwriting talent early on. And it was a hit, peaking at #16 on the Singles chart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5zPHZ3i_FU
8. Come (2017) It shows he’s still relevant and thought-provoking even as he approaches age 70. It kicks off White Knight, his 27th studio album. It’s usually the first song on his recent live dates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzcPk2bvYs8
7. Hello It’s Me (1969 and 1972) Todd’s first band was Nazz, and a brooding version of this song was on their first album. He decided to give it more of a pop feel on ’72’s Something/Anything, and the result was a top-five hit, becoming his signature song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWfFILdvp3k
6. Second Wind (1991) Crazy chord progression and fascinating lyrics in this anthem about refusing to grow old. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-y9XWIwvkE
5. Buffalo Grass (1999) Inventive metaphor about how a girl you want to get rid of keeps popping back up — just like weeds. This big favorite live is can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head catchy. And I love the “global girls” he tours with these days (see one in the photo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXsHxxD0dQQ
4. Real Man (1975) If I had an anthem in the ’70s, it was this song. I loved it. From the progressive masterpiece Initiation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-X_M1oXXKY
3. Love Is The Answer (1977) The most famous version of this song was the top-ten hit by England Dan and John Ford Coley in 1979 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdxpxX4mjfI), but it was written by Todd and first appeared as the final cut on the Utopia LP Oops! Wrong Planet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSOaLugmdSY
2. Dream Goes On Forever (1974) To me, this tremendous little composition is the perfect song: it has incredible feeling; it tells a story; and it gives you an emotional gut punch at the end (“How much I love you you’ll never know ’til you join me within my dream.”). In my mind, it cemented Todd’s brilliance as a songwriter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtV_VP-gvjA
1. Just One Victory (1973) It was the closing song on A Wizard/A True Star, and it has closed hundreds of his live sets over the past four-plus decades. And a couple of years ago, I was in Progressive Field in Cleveland long after the Indians had won a game. As I was making notes about the ballpark, this song came on the PA system. As it echoed around the empty stadium following the home team’s win, I realized that this anthem about wanting a victory is one of the great songs of all time. Here’s a clip from a recent show. It was Todd’s closing number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOiclYswwnw And here’s a version from the TV show Midnight Special in 1978: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsmc0Dx9bWs