Faithful

Todd Rundgren

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: April 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032P5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,209 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2008. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant on MANY levels!, March 11, 2005

By	Eric J. Hradecky "ehradecky" (Rockford, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rundgren was on a roll like no other Rocker throughout the entire 70's! While he is still, in my opinion, very relevent in 21st Century music, Something/Anything, Wizard, Todd, Faithful and Hermit (his solo recordings circa 1972/1978)ALL are Five Star records!

The name of this record is a Double Entendre. Most obvious is the reference relating to side one in which Rundgren presents us with an entire side of spot on covers. And again I think there are two meanings here...1) Rundgren pays homage to the music and musicians that have infulenced him and his music and, 2) Todd once again getting to flex his musical muscle and show everyone on the planet, "He don't need no stinkin' band mates!" No producer, Recording Engineer and probably even janitor too!LOL

The second meaning of Faithful, at least for me, is a reference to the tone of the songs on side two. In my opinion "Love of the Common Man," "Cliche" and "The Verb To Love" are three of Rundgren's strongest, and must beautiful, odes to Love. Commitment, FAITHFULness being the cornerstone of Love. Almost THIRTY years later I still CAN NOT listen to "Love of the Common Man" just once. Godd, the guitar riffs, the vocals, the MESSAGE... While Todd mastered the perfect Power Pop tune on "S/A" I think THIS song in all of Todd's canon is my favorite!

While I'm going to stick with my 5 Star rating, I think this record would have been better, NOT without the covers, but WITH more originals. I just wish that Rundgren could have given us a full LP's Worth of (original) Tunes. Because as Wonderful as the covers are, the Todd penned songs are Some of the VERY BEST this master of Rock & Roll ever created!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hey, I actually LIKE the covers, July 16, 2002

By	Joseph Townsend "the rake" (Hattiesburg, Ms. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Todd does not do carbon copies of the covers on this album. Granted, they are carefully accurate versions, but with Todd's own little twists along the way. For me, the result is like being at a concert and hearing the performer go into covers of old favorites that everyone likes, but with that performers own fresh treatment of the song. The keyboards on "Strawberry Fields" are fun to listen to and I love his cover of "Rain", perhaps my all-time favorite of Beatle songs. The Dylan and Hendrix covers are cool, but the very first song (Yardbirds?) is not a song I had heard before, and it hasn't yet grown on me. Of the original songs, I rate "Love of the Common Man" the best, but I still like to hear the live version of this song that Todd combines with "Eastern Intrigue" better from the King Biscuit album. Unlike the other reviewers, however, it is the covers that he does for the first half of the album that makes this worth the purchase price for me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A faithful representation of the artists' range and talent, April 5, 1999

By	Lisa Richards Hone ([e-mail]) (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Todd Rundgren's album, Faithful, offers a brief introduction to some of the artist's most cogent, but less familiar original work. While the cover tunes are fine performances, it's his original work on this album that earns the stars. "Cliche" and "Love of the Common Man" illustrate Todd's mastery of the pop genre, while "Black and White" takes the listener down to the heavy metal end of the spectrum. "The verb,"to Love" showcases the artist's soul roots and esoteric leanings. "Boogies" sounds like a whacked-out Broadway theme song for fast-food employees. However, the golden track on this album -- worth two stars alone in my book -- is the brief but spectacular "When I Pray." Layers of syncopated rhythms, the gospel-inspired lead vocal, Caribbean ju-ju man squeaks, and a joyous, tribal Todd-clone chorus juxtapose an anxiety-laden lyric with a result that still sounds fresh some twenty years after the artist laid each track by hand. "Faithful" offers a highly distilled essence of Todd Rundgren's enduring qualities: an incredible voice, highly capable and versatile musicianship, an intelligent message, and flawless production.