Anthology 1968-85

Singer, songwriter, bandleader, producer, cult figure, gadfly, self-promoting visionary, and techno-geek provocateur for any number of revolutionary musical and home-entertainment breakthroughs--which Todd Rundgren would you anthologize? On this 27-track, double-disc compendium, Rhino has ably distilled Rundgren's restless, often overblown ambitions and playfully obtuse artistic vision into what passes for its original essence. With the exception of the Nazz's emblematic "Open Your Eyes," these songs are culled mostly from the handful of solo albums Rundgren produced during a 15-year span that also saw him produce hit records for everyone from Grand Funk to XTC, as well as front the prog-rock Utopia. What the CD reveals is an artist not only fueled by the Beatles-led Brit invasion of his teens and Bell Records soul of his native Philadelphia, but one whose heartfelt romantic ballads ("I Saw the Light," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference") are so perfectly crafted that they sound like nothing short of outtakes from Carol King's Tapestry. Given his tendency to zig when others anticipated zag, there is a sense of determined exotica at work here, too--one whose most obvious fruits are the Caribbean-tinged radio drive-time staple, "Bang the Drum All Day." If you only know "The Runt" from early hits like "Hello It's Me" and "We Gotta Get You a Woman," you may find this collection to be variously adventurous yet satisfyingly familiar. --Jerry McCulley