Todd Rundgren – reProduction (2011) – CD review
Todd Rundgren’s follow-up CD to his tribute to Robert Johnson is out this week, titled reProduction. And surprise, surprise, it’s ANOTHER album of covers!! That’s TWO cover albums in a row! wow. this is definitely unusual for Todd. Apparently at this stage in the game, securing proper funding for the recording & distribution of new material is getting difficult for legacy artists like Rundgren. As Rundgren explained in recent interviews, his Robert Johnson tribute album was required by Hi Fi Records in order to get his 2008 album, Arena released. Similarly, reProduction is a result from his participation in Gigatone’s “My Record Fantasy Camp” which allowed fans (willing to shell out the big bucks) to record with Rundgren in a studio.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this CD of remakes but after playing it the last couple weeks, I have to say that it’s a fun listen. but first there are a number of strikes against the new record that fans might have to overlook:
1) like I mentioned earlier, it’s yet another covers album!! the market is currently inundated with them including recent ones by Duncan Sheik, Mickey Thomas (also by the same record label- Gigatone), Kim Wilde, Andrea Corr, etc..
2) the front cover design is just plain bad. blech.
3) it’s on the Gigatone label which just reeks of cheese! their releases include the likes of Dwight Twilley, Mickey Dolenz (of the Monkees!!) and Mickey Thomas (from Starship)
4) and finally, these covers aren’t just straight ahead carbon-copy covers. First of all, these songs are from artists that Rundgren produced in the past, which is fine and dandy. But here’s the twist! Todd took up the challenge of performing them in a techno/dance/pop style. yeah, that’s right, a total novelty record!!
Long time fans should get the joke. Rundgren has always included novelty songs on his albums i.e. “Emperor of the Highway”, “An Elpee’s Worth of Tunes” and “Onomatopoeia”. Hell, he even released a full-on Beatles spoof with his band Utopia titled “Deface the Music” which essentially sabotaged the band’s popularity back in early eighties but that’s a whole ‘nother can ‘o worms so don’t get me started on that.
Anyway, if you can get past all those hurdles, Rundgren’s new interpretations aren’t all that bad. The new arrangements and sound palette aren’t that far removed from what Rundgren did on his 2004 Liars album. You can definitely hear synth patches that he’s regularly used in the past so the album is not a total *180* that some might think. And after the last two guitar-based albums (Arena, TR’s Johnson), it’s nice to hear his signature Todd chord/tone-clusters that he usually does on keyboard-centric songs. So if you can recall Rundgren techno-flavored tracks like “Truth” or “Wondering” (both from the album Liars) or even something like “Chant” (from 1983′s Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect), you can get a sense of what the new album sounds like.
Overall, reProduction is full of addictive ear candy. Todd built interesting arrangements around easily digestible hooks. Just take a listen to the Daft Punk-esque chorus of “Tell Me Your Dreams”. It’ll definitely linger around in your head a long while after the CD’s done playing. Also, Rundgren sings enthusiastically all throughout the record. As a matter of fact, I can picture him laughing his ass off while constructing these songs on his little MacBook. shit, an artist having a blast making a record?? hell, I’m all for that!
and yes, there’s liberal use of the autotune/melodyne vocal effects here but it’s all good since it’s simply part of the genre Todd is spoofing here.
The only misstep that I’d like to mention is “I Can’t Take it”. Todd’s remake is pretty much a sped-up version of the original but with a clunky drum machine. Not a complete makeover like some of the other tracks. Since it’s more of a power pop flavored arrangement, Rundgren should have overdubbed live drums (perhaps he ran out of time during his Record Fantasy Camp sessions at the Track Shack back in January) instead of leaving in the canned drums. It just sounds stilted and awkward as is. Definitely a missed opportunity.
RetroGrade: B
personal favorites include: “Nothing to Lose”, “Walk Like a Man” (love Rundgren’s vocals on this one), “Personality Crisis” (sounds like Rundgren’s take on Lady Gaga), “Tell Me Your Dreams” and “Out of My Mind” (even catchier than the original).
Todd Rundgren
reProduction
released: September 2011
record label: Gigatone
TrackList:
1 Prime Time (originally by The Tubes)
2 Dancing Barefoot (originally by Patti Smith)
3 Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (originally by MeatLoaf)
4 Chasing Your Ghost (originally by What is This?)
5 Love My Way (originally by Psychedelic Furs)
6 Personality Crisis (originally by New York Dolls)
7 Is It a Star? (originally by Hall & Oates)
8 Tell Me Your Dreams (originally by Jill Sobule)
9 Take It All (originally by Badfinger)
10 I Can’t Take It (originally by Cheap Trick)
11 Dear God (originally by XTC)
12 Out of My Mind (originally by Bourgeois Tagg)
13 Everything (originally by Rick Derringer)
14 Walk Like a Man (originally by Grand Funk Railroad)
15 Nothing To Lose (originally by Hunter aka Dragon)
Gotta ask what's so "just plain bad. blech." about the micro-sperm cover design...
BillBricker nothing personal Bill. You've done some great work for Todd over the years. But the cover for reproductions does nothing for me. From what I understand, you didn't have a lot of time to put the cover together so I'm sure if you had more time, it would have come out differently. But alas, it is what it is. No biggie. It's just one man's opinion.
My latest conversation: winners of Queen's Days of Our Lives blu-ray/DVD
There is nobody like Todd, and anyone who has ever been moved by his work understands what I mean. Even at his absolute worst he's better than 90% of what's out there. This CD is no exception. Todd has talents that elevate everything he touches -- his voice, his knowledge of harmony, his producing chops, his instrumental and computer skills, his sense of humor, his fearlessness -- all are as good as it gets. I agree with you that Todd has his tongue in his cheek a lot of the time here, but he's too much of a perfectionist to just release trash as the final product. By the way, I don't think of this as a "cover" album, although technically these are covers. The point is that Todd produced all these songs, and now he's re-producing them. Many (unenlightened) people think of Todd as a producer first, and indeed, he would go down in pop music history as a producer even if he'd never released an album of his own. This project was a clever idea and I love its execution.
I know I know. I sound like a whore for Todd and I suppose I am. But unlike a whore, I'm not getting paid -- except that when I listen to Todd's music I feel like I'm paid back in spades.
My first thoughts on [re-Productions] were fairly apathetic, but having listened to it solidly for a few days I'm hooked! If Todd were never to write another song his immense body of (outstanding) performance, production and pioneering efforts in a range of musical styles and genres should cement his place in Rock Royalty. The original Love My Way is one of my top 5 all time songs....Todd's take could never match it, but his version has a haunting, beguiling quality --Dance meets Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence comes to my mind! Take It All is beautifully done, and all in all the album is a real pleasure to listen to, whatever the reasons or motives behind the recording.I tend to look upon the album as being further evidence of a true genius at work.. AWATS it is not, nor Something/Anything, and yes, I could go on, but quintessential Todd it most definitely is and for this and any other (small?) mercies to come we should be eternally grateful. I long ago gave up questioning why Todd gets away with things others might well be pilloried for, but he can and does, and long may it continue!!
Having been a fan for 40 years now I'm starting to believe the man just gets better and sharped as steel. Yes it ain't old Todd. It's OLD Todd. It's got rhythm. I'm a fan of "Liar" and consider it on the creative level of "Initiation". This CD is as worthy of owning as "Liars". No there will never be another "Runt" but this CD is great. I'm not just saying that because my artwork is in the fold out either.
PEACE.
...it shall be revealed.
what? no mention of "Take It All"?? it's the highlight of the CD IMO.
and yes, got it from the ToddStore. just look them up on facebook.
why does TR even bother with a record label anyway? a label nowadays ain't gonna get him on the radio or expose him to a mass audience. he should just release his stuff on his own. he's got a faithful fanbase. just put CDs out via his "ToddStore". ain't rocket science.
I have to be the bad guy here, and say that this album is not only unnecessary, but downright poor.
I've been a die-hard Todd fan for over 30 years, and this album is a proverbial "last straw". Hell, I was less than enthusiastic about TR's "Nearly Human", wherein his admiration for 60's / 70's R&B came to feeble fruition in his work, but I found a reason to get excited again w/ "No World Order". This highly-maligned "rap" effort from Todd featured something that his 2 prior releases had lacked; that famous TR experemental side. In my learned opinion, NWO was Todd's last truly innovative effort. That's nearly 20 years ago.
Arena, while not stunning, at least managed to deliver a welcomed return to the hooks that TR is famous for. Honestly, had Todd bothered to upload the rhythm tracks to his bandmates, so they might record some real stuff over them, Arena might have been great. Alas, an album that tries to champion the "arena rock" feel doesn't get off the ground when there's cheezy synth bass and nary a drum fill on the record. Todd HAS to work in his attic, and that's his fault.
On topic, "(re)production" continues TR's trend toward electronica, but not in a good way. My big problem w/ "Liars" wasn't the music; that was capable and attractive. It was his lazy lyrics. They were, frankly, wince-worthy. It really seemed that he was not in a good place, poetically. On "(re)production", the problem seems reversed, because those lyrics were written long ago. Here, it's TR's ever-present urge to re-arrange everything that does him in. Many of these songs had teriffic melodies, and hence became very popular (with good reason). In Todd's trembling hands, these melodies go right out the window, to the point where they're barely covers any longer! This would be a great, creative move, if Todd still had a handle on good hook-writing, but I have to admit that these new arrangements are careless, and as forgettable as they can be.
I saw Todd tour the Todd / Healing albums, earlier this year, and it was the best thing I've ever seen him do. That's after a good dozen of his shows that I've seen since the early 80's. His voice is much clearer than it's been in the 90's.
I'll always love Todd, warts and all, but I can't condone every mis-fart the guy delivers. Experimentation is great, but deliver the results of a successful experiment, not a failed one.
I tend to agree. Just listened to a few tunes on Spotify and started getting indigestion from all of the cheese. Something within me suggests that he really didn't take this album seriously and carelessly tossed this out. Even for Electronica, the sounds on this album are weak — not up to what I consider Todd Rundgren standards. Anyone can turn this kind of stuff out today.
As a longtime fan, I find myself listening to Todd Rundgren recordings pretty frequently. But yes, the power of the melodies and hooks have been rendered inert. This is the guy who gave us "A Treatise On Cosmic Fire" along with other musical gems such as "Time Heals", "Change Myself" and "Real Man".
No doubt that Todd feels he's got nothing left to prove, so we may have to do a eulogy (unfortunately) for Experimental Todd. Rest in peace.
sad that a musical genius like Rundgren would have to resort to FANTASY CAMPS, autotuned covers, beatles tribute bands and lame ass record companies (like gigatone + Hi Fi Records)!
>it’s on the Gigatone label which just reeks of cheese! >their releases include the likes of Dwight Twilley
F**k you mentioning the name Dwight Twilley in the same sentence as the word cheese.
@dabl I like cheese....
Reproduction is a fabulous, fun album! It has so many cool effects and LOTS of energy! The material used to make the album is top shelf! love, love, LOVE IT!
[...] in the US and Japan – plus he released TWO albums this year : Todd Rundgren’s Johnson and reProduction and he’s currently in europe finishing up his greatest hits tour as well as two special shows [...]