Customer Reviews

Todd Rundgren - Live in Japan

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the definitive Todd Rundgren DVD! Less self-indulgent than "Ever Popular Tortured Artist", less dated than "Utopia Retrospective", & less uneven than "Desktop Collection", "Live in Japan" has the best set-list of any of his solo or Utopia concert DVD's & sound that far exceeds any of the Utopia DVD releases. It's Todd at the height of his powers, emphasizing tracks from his very best late-period CD, the sadly out-of-print "Nearly Human" - though he does plenty of the hits, too (including a solid rendition of "Hello, It's Me"). I am thrilled that Image Entertainment dug this out of Rhino's vaults - it's a great concert from rock's most underrated artist (and a perfect Introduction to Todd for the uninitiated)!

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This 1990 concert was part of the tour to promote "Nearly Human," and thus highlights songs from one of Todd's most melodic and interesting albums, with a solid non-Utopian band (additional guitarist, keyboards, bass, drums, sax, trumpet, and backing vocalists). The greater number of personnel allows for more diverse arrangements, and no edge has been sacrificed. The songs drive hard, and include a number of other standards such as "Love of the Common Man", "Real Man," and "Love In Action." It's also -funny- here and there...

What may also surprise you is the lighting -- there is greater variation in the lighting than I've seen in the Utopia DVD's currently available.

With this old show finally available on DVD, can "An Evening With Utopia" be far behind?

Outstanding music, great concert. I love the vocals, the backround music, Todd's unconventional crew, including the three fine dancing babes (backround vocals) in the tight dresses. The performance seemed geared for the Japanese audience, a bit restrained, but Todd and company are at their very best.
Outstanding songs include all material presented, most notably "Real Man", "Parallel Lines", "Want of a Nail", "Can We Still Be Friends" and " Mated". This is exceptional stuff from my favorite rock and roller of all time, Todd Rundgren, who is in my estimation, a genius.
Even my country-western geared wife, who believes a little of Todd goes along way, and has attended a Todd concert with me gave his performance in this DVD a thumbs-up. The Todd concert she attended with me was at very small venue at Blaine, WA, June 2000, which was unbelievable, I got right up against the stage, rocked out, and after the show I was fortunate enough to meet the Wizard himself!
This is a must own DVD, and along with the {} spent on two tickets to see Todd in Blaine, Washington, it's the best () I ever spent!

Todd is a master crafter of catchy songs, an innovative musician/engineer, and his unmistakable voice (full, thick and soothing) is a treat to hear. On this DVD, most of the songs from "Nearly Human" and other favorites are captured live. The band consists of guitar, bass, drums, two keyboardists, sax, trumpet, percussion, three female backing vocals and Todd. If you want to see Todd jam you may be disappointed since he only plays lead on "Unloved Children", solo acoustic guitar on "Love of the Common Man", and electric guitar on "Love in Action". On this tour, he focused on singing and let his incredibly tight band provide the music.

The video is clear; the editing, tastefully done, shows the enthusiasm of the musicians. Audio choices are DD 5.1 and stereo. Both sound great, but the stereo mix sounds tighter and better defined. No extras or bonus features are provided but with an intense performance like this you don't miss them.

This video, "Live in Japan" (approx. 99 min.), filled with 17 songs, is fun for the true Todd-lover. I've just watched it for the first time, and am about to watch it again. This video features Todd with a fun back-up band complete with horns, and 3 female singers. Todd plays guitar in, I believe, only three songs, but electrifies the crowd throughout the show with his "right-on" vocals and outgoing stage presence. The concert includes many songs from the "Nearly Human" album, as well as some classics such as "Real Man", "Love in Action", and "Can We Still Be Friends". The true Todd "Geminist" personna is evident in the extended version of "I Love My Life". Although I own quite a bit of Todd on audio and have seen him in concert many times, this is the first video of his I've seen. As a true Todd lover, I thought it was alot of fun!

Even though the video quality isn't exactly perfect, this is a terrific concert to listen to and watch. Nearly 20 songs in just over 90 minutes, and worth every minute. His band features former members of The Tubes and Bourgeois Tagg, bands for whom Todd has served as producer over the years. The normally staid Japanese audience goes wild for Todd at this show, and so will you. I can't believe this concert was never released on CD -- it is THAT GOOD! I found this video in a cut-out bin at Camelot Music in 1992 and I only had to pay $7.00 for it. Best 7 bucks I ever spent!

VERY GOOD AUDIO-VIDEO, GREAT SONG SELECTION. TODD IS AT HIS BEST IN THIS OLDER VIDEO. HE HAS A FULL BAND, AND BACKUP VOCALISTS, AS COMPARED TO JUST HIM, A BASS & DRUMMER, IN LIVE IN SAN FRAN. STAY AWAY FROM THAT ONE IT STINKS. LIAR IS ALSO VERY GOOD IF YOU LIKE THE LIAR CD YOU WILL LIKE THE LIAR DVD. BUT AS A VERY LONG TIME TODD FAN SINCE HE BEGAN WITH NAZZ, THIS IS REALLY VERY GOOD. HIS BAND IS GREAT, HIS VOICE IS AT ITS BEST. HE PLAYS VERY LITTLE GUITAR ON THIS DVD, AND LIAR. BUT THE GUITAR PLAYER IS EXCELLENT. LIVE IN JAPAN IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY.

Todd Rundgren's a brilliant composer, arranger, singer producer and musician who's moved effortlessly through many musical identities over the years. Psychedelic rocker, blue eyed soulman, composer and one man band, art rocker, brooding introspective genius and most recently sort of a rock & roll Andrew Lloyd Webber(his mid 90's Broadway rock musical unfortunately never got off the ground). It's from this rock meets broadway phase that the Almost Human album emerged and Live in Japan documents the accompanying tour. Since it's Todd the songs are tight and well arranged and his band is first rate. The material is mostly drawn from the Almost Human album with a few hits thrown in and even a few moments when Todd and Band really rock(on Love in Action and Rock Love)but there's just not enough rockin' for my tastes in this polished but restrained performance. The really brilliant ones like Todd, Bowie and Neil Young change styles and go through phases and that's what makes them interesting. Problem is, some phases you like more than others. When it comes to Todd I'll just have to wait for the next one...

Just Todd and his 12 string doing "Love Of The Common Man" was worth the price of this DVD.

He truely is a Wizard, a True Star.

If you like the Todd album "Nearly Human", you'll like this DVD. Almost all of the songs performed are from it. Good visual and audio quality.