Customer Reviews

Very Best of

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I owned and loved all of Todd Rundgren's albums until he formed Utopia and stepped off into outer space. I still stand by the two Runt albums, "Something/Anything," "A Wizard a True Star" and (especially) "Todd" as some of the most brilliant, creative pop-rock ever produced. If you like Todd Rundgren, before you buy this best-of, buy all of those. You also might want to get a couple of other winners from a little later in his career, "Faithful" and "Hermit of Mink Hollow." But after all those, you might want to get this, because it's the best way to get great tracks like "Real Man," "Love is the Answer," "Something to Fall Back On," and "Want of a Nail," without having to expose yourself to the maddeningly tedious side of Rundgren's music, his explorations into generic transcendentalism, accompanied by endless screaming guitar and synthesizer solos, with zero evidence of the humor and soul he shows at his best. None of that music is represented here, luckily. You can enjoy "Real Man" without ever having to listen to "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire," and that's the best favor anyone could do for this gifted, but sometimes self-indulgent, artist.

This is a good starter CD for anyone who is learning about Todd's music, but it barely scratches the surface about who Todd is (and thats hard to explain because he kept trying to re-invent himself on every LP during his prime in the 1970's)

Rhino has a few other 1-CD budget comps of Todd's stuff but they are very cheap and skimpy - get this one instead to see if you like him or not. (I think you will!) My only gripe is the liner notes which someone should have re-edited. Todd is very critical and sometimes very negative about his early music (which I adored).

All his well known "hits" are here, but I would have loved to also have had "Sometimes I Dont Know What To Feel", "Time Heals" and the underrated "Parallel Lines" from his last great CD, "Nearly Human".

Pop-oriented as this collection is, it still indicates the wide range of Todd Rundgren's interests...from flat-out rockers ('Very Last Time') to ballads ('Love is the Answer) to soul ('Want of a Nail,' which has some occasional vocals from Bobby Womack.

It also shows off Rundgren's best instrument: His mind, which allows each of these songs to contain passion, sensitivity and intelligence. Listeners who understand that will enjoy this collection, and be tempted to seek out Rundgren's more adventurous experimental work.

THIS IS A GREAT CROSS SECTION OF HIS WORK AND WORTH THE PURCHASE PRICE OF ADMISSION! This will give you a good idea of his genius and creativity.
Let's face it...Todd Rundgren is one of the most unsung hero/genius musicians of the last 40 years. He was uneven in his releases and often spent time producing/promoting and working with other bands/artists while his music went on the back burner.
While I think this is probably the closest you'll come to a good cross section of his music/career, the obvious omission of "Time Heals" and/or some of the other cuts from the album "Healing" leave me thinking that the title of this album is an obvious error and should not be taken seriously.
"Time Heals" was probably the single best piece of music he did during his career. And "Healing" was probably his single best album, far surpassing the classic "Something/Anything" which I grew up with and loved.
I have loved, revered and adored this man from the first time I ever heard any thing of his or anything of anyone elses that he had his finger in. His unfearing exploration of different styles and subject matter in his career shows the genius and versatility he possesses.
If it were up to me... I'd just buy "Something/Anything" and "Healing". You could really call them "The Best Of Todd Rundgren" but, even then you'd 'Always Be Missing Something' like "Bang On The Drum All Day". I am sorely dissappointed in the omission of "Time Heals". Sometimes I think they should actually poll fans to find out what "they" would include in some of these so called "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of" collections as it seems to me that they always leave one, two or three things out that really HAVE to be there for a collection to be labled as such.
I would recommend this as a STARTING POINT to give you some insight into an amazing artist/musician/songwriter/producer/musical genius if you're not all that familiar with his work since it does contain most of his classic offerings!

There is no doubt in my mind that Todd Rundgren, whose career has spanned from late 60s British Invasion/Beatlesque pop, through both the glittery and the singer-songwriter 70s, and then through the 80s new wave and beyond (and now, giving new life to a long defunct band, i.e., the Cars), is a great talent. And one of his sharpest talents has to do with his ability to craft a pure pop tune, that is, to tell a story or to express a basic human sentiment in music, and to do so in a hook filled way. Is it any wonder that so many of his songs are considered classics? Rundgren's been widely covered, by artists as wide ranging as Jules Shear, Robert Palmer, The Isley Brothers (check out their smooth, soulful take on "Hello it's me"), Mitch Easter, Billy Bragg, Joe Walsh, as well as the Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis and Mandy Moore. His song The Want of a Nail is a highlight of the recent indie musical "Camp." I also once heard the band Yo La Tengo do a stellar version of I Saw the Light, accompanied by cello, and it was great.

This, then, offers a fine overview of a multi talented songrwriter-arranger-performer. It contains a number of well known classic American melodic rock tunes, songs which will ring in your ears for hours, or even days, afterward. It sets a standard for what good music might be, in sharp contrast to the plethora of commercial garbage currently on the charts.

As others have suggested in their reviews, there is much more that could have been included. But this is probably meant to be a starting point for checking out Todd Rundgren (not to mention his band Utopia). In that, this CD accomplished its task.

I've been a fan of Todd's since I first heard NAZZ as a teenager but I can certainly understand why many people don't get him or don't care one way or another. He's eclectic, for sure. But there's no one like him. He's pop, rock, fusion and fun. Not every song on here is a gem and some leave me scratching my head as to why it is considered one of his "best" but by the time I get to the song about playing his drum all is forgiven. What he hasn't lost is what I like most about him. His sense of humor and his ability to not take himself or his music too seriously. As greatest hit packages go this one is as good as you can expect for someone as unique as Mr. Rundgren.

A couple years back when I saw "The Very Best of Todd Rundgren" in my sister-in-law's CD collection and idly flipped it over to have a look at the playlist, it really hit me for the first time how many amazing songs this artist has given us. While some of these hits place me squarely and nostalgically into certain specific years (as in, the 70's) of my life, many of them also plug directly into the feelings I live from day to day, now -- whether it be the melancholy of HELLO IT'S ME or CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS or the soaring hopefulness of LOVE IS THE ANSWER. This is catchy pop, yes, but catchy pop of brilliant execution, and often conveying deep meaning. Gem after classic gem, and it's hard to pick a favorite, but for this listener I would have to say I SAW THE LIGHT. For someone who admired Rungren's body of work over the years but never purchased one of his albums, this CD hit me with great impact and has become the most frequently played disk in my machine. Thanks for putting your fans in Utopia, Mr. Rundgren!

Maybe I am too into music and especially Todd Rundgren but I feel that a one cd compilation gives a very false appearance of this artist.

Todd was a true artist. He did not care about the money (although he had to cash in from his production work). He was not a singles artist and he took serious chances on his works. For instance on the album "Initiation", it starts out with the poppy and commercial "Real Man" and then turns into a prog rock, self indulgent excursion.

The songs on this cd are a scattering yet, if limited to a single disc, really does not accurately represent the best from his catalog.

His work is so diverse that, like Frank Zappa, his compilations should be categorized into commercial songs, prog/ virtuostic works, ballads and soul.

Take 2 each from "Something Anything", "A Wizzard a True Star", "Hermit of Mink Hollow" and "Runt" and you would have his true pop chestnuts


Great stuff on this but there are better compilations out there. I feel Something/Anything is better than getting a best of.

For those who are attracted to Todd Rundgren's pop hits, this CD is a winner. There's not a weak song on the collection. It will undoubtedly whet the appetites of pop lovers to further explore Todd's work. (Beware - however! Mr. Rundgren's is truly diverse, and not all of it is a "poppy" as the representation here) Let's hope that Rhino will continue to re-issue more of Todd's great stuff!!!

from beginning to end, this is just one more todd compilation that proves beyond any earthly doubt that todd has the musical sensibilities of mcartney/lennon/elton/bernie/bowie etc. combined. from the songs from 'runt' all the way up to 1988's 'nearly human' it becomes painfully obvious that todd has always been and will always be the most underrated musical genuis of our time. buy this cd to hear what rock and roll's ONLY renaissance man has been up to behind your backs all these years!