Todd Rundgren Faithful CD

Personnel: Todd Rundgren (vocals, guitar); Roger Powell (keyboards, synthesizer); John Siegler (bass); John Wilcox (drums, percussion).
Todd Rundgren considered 1966 the beginning of his professional musical career, largely because the Nazz formed around that time. As a celebration, he recorded Faithful. Presumably, Faithful celebrates the past and the future by juxtaposing a side of original pop material with a side of covers. Actually, "covers" isn't accurate -- the six oldies that comprise the entirety of side one are re-creations, with Rundgren "faithfully" replicating the sound and feel of the Yardbirds ("Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"), Bob Dylan ("Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine"), Jimi Hendrix ("If Six Was Nine"), the Beach Boys ("Good Vibrations") and the Beatles "("Rain," "Strawberry Fields Forever"). All of this is entertaining, to a certain extent, especially since it's remarkable how close Rundgren comes to duplicating the very feel of the originals. Still, it's hard to see it as much more than a flamboyant throwaway, especially when compared with the glorious second side. For the first time since Something/Anything?, Rundgren allows himself to write and -- more importantly -- record straight-ahead pop songs. Certainly, A Wizard, A True Star, Todd and Initiation had their share of great songs, but they weren't delivered as pop songs; they were telegraphed as art. Here, Rundgren delivers pop and rock songs with ease, letting the melodies glide to the forefront. There are embellishments, of course, but the end result is a lushness that's apparent even on the hard rockers. If Rundgren had made all of Faithful originals, it would have been a pure pop masterpiece. As it stands, it's essential for the faithful -- not only for hardcore Toddheads, but for devoted pop fans as well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The first half of FAITHFUL consists of dead-on, note-perfect recreations of six classic '60s pop tunes: the Yardbirds' freakout "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Rain," Bob Dylan's "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)," and Jimi Hendrix's dreamy "If Six Was Nine."
The second half of this set is made up of Rundgren originals in the style of the preceding batch of covers. (Think of the Rutles, though this pre-dates that loving parody.) Rundgren and the members of his fusion-oriented side project Utopia pull the feat off beautifully. The covers are perfect, and the originals include two of his best tunes, "The Verb 'To Love'" and "Love of the Common Man." Falling for this set depends on whether one thinks this conceit is worthwhile.