My Amazon Reviews: Todd Rundgren “The Definitive Rock Collection”

Name Your Price, A Ticket To Paradise...
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Trying to boil Todd Rundgren's prolific output down to two CD's basically means nobody will ever be completely satisfied. That holds true for this "Definitive Rock Collection." While it tries mightily to give Todd's music a fair shake, I will still say that there's songs that I wished were here. But that hardly matters, as everything here is good to great. Not a dud in the set.

Todd has a little bit of everything. Classic pop songwriting ("Hello It's Me"), soul bred from his life in Philadelphia ("The Want of a Nail" with soul legend Bobby Womack), and harder rock (mainly with Utopia, represented here by "Hammer In My Heart"). There was even the prog-rock that some albums ("Ra" or "Something/Anything") reached for that is sadly not represented here. You do get many songs here that should have been hits (probably because of Bearsville Record's notoriously chintzy promotional tactics) like "Time Heals" or "Real Man." Same with Utopia, who were cheated out of a hit when England Dan and John Ford Coley covered "Love Is The Answer." However, this being the first Rundgren anthology that includes choice Utopia songs does give this set an edge over others. We can also add that the re-mastering is excellent and begs the question of why there haven't been deluxe editions of some of Todd's best (Come on Rhino, you already have the catalog).

I have some personal faves here, like "Compassion," "Love In Action" and "Change Myself." You get the hits themselves, "Hello It's Me," "We Gotta Get You a Woman," "I Saw The Light" and "Can We Still Be Friends" but not Todd's top 40 remake of "Good Vibrations" from "Faithful." The almost hits "Bang On The Drum All Day" (which has become something of a radio staple since), "A Dream Goes On Forever" and "The Verb To Love." Then there are the unsung heroes like the terrific Utopia songs, "Cry Baby," and "Love In Action" or Todd's "All The Children Sing."

As I noted previously, there are those who will nit-pick that "The Definitive Rock Collection" miss a whole batch of prime Todd (like skipping The Nazz's "Open My Eyes") but for a primer for Rundgren and Utopia, you'll have a tough time finding better short of your own playlist.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Danny Wilson "The Best Of Danny Wilson"

Say 10 Hail Marys
3 Out Of 5 Stars

For a band that only recorded two proper albums, Danny Wilson (a trio as opposed to a single person, their name came from a Frank Sinatra movie), this "Best Of" holds together very well. Combining the best from their debut "Meet Danny Wilson" and the less well received "Be Bop Moptop," you get the best songs from each album.

American audiences will likely recall the signature hit, "Mary's Prayer." The remaining 10 songs showcase the band's sophisticated mixture of immaculate production and pop-craft, taking obvious inspiration from middle-period Steely Dan and following the trail of fellow travelers Prefab Sprout. Lead singer and songwriter Gary Clark has a pretty good blue-eyed soul voice, and the lyrics twist and turn in an enigmatic way (again, teasing out that Steely Dan influence). There's the moody "Broken China" - here in a live version - and the peppier "The Second Summer Of Love" from "Be Bop."

The only problem is that "Mary's Prayer" set such a high benchmark for the band that it became impossible to replicate the success afterwards. There are a couple of B-Sides here, including a chipper take on the standard, "Get Happy." Given the intricacies of their debut and the fact that "The Best of Danny Wilson" is a mere 11 songs, a couple more from the debut would have made this a more satisfying collection. Given that you can still find "Mary's Prayer" on the debut and any number of 80's compilations, I can only recommend this to the most ardent fans.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Fitz and The Tantrums "More Than Just a Dream"

Pitching for the Tantrums
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Possessed with a duo of knock out lead vocalists, Fitz and The Tantrums are the latest band to wear there 80's retro heart on their collective sleeves. But where amny of these retor bands are obsessed with laptops and old Roland synths, Fitz and Company push in a more soul-oriented direction. It moves them a notch above their contemporaries, thanks to bandleader Michael "Fitz" Fitzpatrick and soul belter Noelle Scaggs, When the two of them start mixing it up as they do on "Break The Walls" and the neo-soul of "6AM," "More Then Just a Dream" sounds like few other bands out there.

There's also, as earlier described, a few 80's ringers, and they both happen to be the singles. "Out Of My League" and "Spark" mark their wannabe new waver turf with a big pile of hooks, but they're pedestrian to when the band gets to cooking. They have another secret weapon in multi-instrumentalist James King, who wields a wicked sax on a few of the songs ("6AM," and "The Walker" and is, in my opinion, underutilized here.

From what I understand, Fitz and The Tantrums also have a killer live show, and if they'd up more of the soulful content in their song performances on record, they'd have a killer CD. Still, the songcraft here is first rate, and even the name of the band is a throwback. "More Than Just A Dream" snaps and crackles and comes in on the short end of derivative...lose the too common production and they will be dynamite.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Adele "19"

Portrait of The Artist as a Young Woman
4 Out Of 5 Stars

A natural born vocal talent, Adele debuted with a fully realized album that, despite being titled "19," is a much wiser and mature sounding album. From the first gently picked guitar that drizzles under the opening "Daydreamer" to the torchy closer "Hometwon Glory," Adele captivates you with a voice that carries a tradition of classic belters, including the likes of Dusty Springfield, to the modern Brit-Soul of Amy Winehouse.

But that is where comparisons end. There are few folks who can take songs and just outright own them, the way Adele handles Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love," or sell the songs she's written herself, like the tinkling of "First Love." Her voice is a soaring instrument unto itself, which means that the songs that work the best are the ones with the barebones arrangements. Yet given a full production number, she carries herself just fine, as she does on the international hit "Chasing Pavements." In fact, the only time things get wonky on "19" is when a more modern pop style is employed on "Tired." She's got enough charisma and chops to be able to dispense with the too busy sound of it.

Given that Adele matured into a serious force of nature when "21" appeared two years later, "19" was just the sampler. Still, as a debut album, "19" captures and folds you up in its warmth and sheer skill as a singer and songwriter. Classic pop doesn't come much finer than this.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Rascals "Time Peace; The Rascals' Greatest Hits"

Time and place.
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Craftily mixing the best of the British Invasion energy to Blue Eyed Soul, The Rascals ran up a string of terrific hit singles in the 60's and early seventies. "Time Peace" mixes those singles with a few choice album selections (many of them covers) to prove that vocalist Eddie Brigati, keyboardist/vocalist Felix Cavaliere, guitarist Gene Cornish, and drummer Dino Danelli were more than just a singles act, even if their albums were frequently spotty affairs. After all, who can't resist the infectious joy of "Good Lovin'" or the relaxed flow of "Groovin'?"

You'll also find the singles "You Better Run" (later a hit for Pat Benatar) and "How Can I Be Sure" (covered by of all improbable people, David Cassidy), but misses one of their most important singles of their career, "People Got To Be Free." Some of the earlier singles ("I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" being a major offender) are of a primitive recording quality and labor under dated production effects (switching the vocals from stereo left to stereo right in "Mustang Sally"), but this was the mid-sixties. Forgive those things and you have a document of The Rascals that holds together better than most bands of the same period.