Review
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Others had recorded one-man albums before Todd Rundgren, most notably Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, but with Something/Anything? he captured the homemade ambience of McCartney with the visionary feel of Music of My Mind, adding an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan through Jimi Hendrix, plus the crazed zeal of a pioneer. Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album, since each side of the double-record is a concept unto itself. The first is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales Brothers. It gallops through everything — Carole King tributes ("I Saw the Light"), classic ballads ("Hello It's Me," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"), Motown ("Wolfman Jack"), blinding power pop ("Couldn't I Just Tell You"), psychedelic hard rock ("Black Maria"), pure weirdness ("I Went to the Mirror"), blue-eyed soul ("Dust in the Wind"), and scores of brilliant songs that don't fall into any particular style ("Cold Morning Light," "It Takes Two to Tango"). It's an amazing journey that's remarkably unpretentious. Rundgren peppers his writing with self-aware, self-deprecating asides, indulging his bizarre sense of humor with gross-outs ("Piss Aaron") and sheer quirkiness, such as an aural tour of the studio at the beginning of side two. There are a ton of loose ends throughout Something/Anything?, plenty of studio tricks, slight songs (but no filler), snippets of dialogue, and purposely botched beginnings, but all these throwaways simply add context — they're what makes the album into a kaleidoscopic odyssey through the mind of an insanely gifted pop music obsessive.
VIA
MY 2 CENTS; This LP is a classic with everything from super cheese (yet beautiful) love songs, studio hijinks, heavy metal moments, blue eyed soul, a bit of comedy and everything a genius would do left in a room with a complete studio and the talent to play everything. Knowing his limits though the God Todd did have heavy hitters on hand
to break it up. A MUST HAVE!
1 I Saw the Light *****
2 It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
3 Wolfman Jack
4 Cold Morning Light *****
5 It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls)
6 Sweeter Memories *****
7 Intro ***
8 Breathless [instrumental]****
9 The Night the Carousel Burned Down *****
10 Saving Grace
11 Marlene ******
12 Song of the Viking
13 I Went to the Mirror
14 Black Maria *****
15 One More Day (No Word) ******
16 Couldn't I Just Tell You
17 Torch Song
18 Little Red Lights
19 Overture-My Roots: Money (That's What I Want) /Messin' With the Kid
20 Dust in the Wind
21 Piss Aaron
22 Hello It's Me
23 Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
24 You Left Me Sore
25 Slut ******
GET DOWN DISC ONEGET DOWN DISC 2
Review
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Others had recorded one-man albums before Todd Rundgren, most notably Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, but with Something/Anything? he captured the homemade ambience of McCartney with the visionary feel of Music of My Mind, adding an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music from Gilbert & Sullivan through Jimi Hendrix, plus the crazed zeal of a pioneer. Listening to Something/Anything? is a mind-altering trip in itself, no matter how many shamelessly accessible pop songs are scattered throughout the album, since each side of the double-record is a concept unto itself. The first is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded with a full band including the Sales Brothers. It gallops through everything — Carole King tributes ("I Saw the Light"), classic ballads ("Hello It's Me," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference"), Motown ("Wolfman Jack"), blinding power pop ("Couldn't I Just Tell You"), psychedelic hard rock ("Black Maria"), pure weirdness ("I Went to the Mirror"), blue-eyed soul ("Dust in the Wind"), and scores of brilliant songs that don't fall into any particular style ("Cold Morning Light," "It Takes Two to Tango"). It's an amazing journey that's remarkably unpretentious. Rundgren peppers his writing with self-aware, self-deprecating asides, indulging his bizarre sense of humor with gross-outs ("Piss Aaron") and sheer quirkiness, such as an aural tour of the studio at the beginning of side two. There are a ton of loose ends throughout Something/Anything?, plenty of studio tricks, slight songs (but no filler), snippets of dialogue, and purposely botched beginnings, but all these throwaways simply add context — they're what makes the album into a kaleidoscopic odyssey through the mind of an insanely gifted pop music obsessive.
VIA
MY 2 CENTS; This LP is a classic with everything from super cheese (yet beautiful) love songs, studio hijinks, heavy metal moments, blue eyed soul, a bit of comedy and everything a genius would do left in a room with a complete studio and the talent to play everything. Knowing his limits though the God Todd did have heavy hitters on hand
to break it up. A MUST HAVE!
1 I Saw the Light *****
2 It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
3 Wolfman Jack
4 Cold Morning Light *****
5 It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls)
6 Sweeter Memories *****
7 Intro ***
8 Breathless [instrumental]****
9 The Night the Carousel Burned Down *****
10 Saving Grace
11 Marlene ******
12 Song of the Viking
13 I Went to the Mirror
14 Black Maria *****
15 One More Day (No Word) ******
16 Couldn't I Just Tell You
17 Torch Song
18 Little Red Lights
19 Overture-My Roots: Money (That's What I Want) /Messin' With the Kid
20 Dust in the Wind
21 Piss Aaron
22 Hello It's Me
23 Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
24 You Left Me Sore
25 Slut ******
GET DOWN DISC ONE
GET DOWN DISC 2
