Todd Rundgren - King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

The A Capella material could've been better...

Steve Marshall | St. Louis, MO USA | 01/16/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"but the rest is great!This CD is a compilation of three Todd concerts, all recorded for broadcast on the syndicated King Biscuit Flower Hour. The first (and weakest of the three shows) is from Rundgren's A Capella tour in 1985. Starting with an interesting version of "Real Man," Todd and his 10-piece `band' (actually 10 vocalists--there were no instruments on the tour--tapes were used when necessary) played, clapped, and stomped thru a selection of songs from his latest album, and a smattering of hits. The highlight here is the always beautiful "Can We Still Be Friends." With all the people onstage, the vocal arrangement really comes to life."The Last Ride" kicks off the next group of tunes, this time from the 1977 Schaffer Music Festival in New York. Todd wails on the guitar with reckless abandon, and hits all the high vocal parts with ease. After a medley of "Eastern Intrigue" and "Love of the Common Man," Rundgren bursts into the rocker, "Couldn't I Just Tell You." Always a crowd pleaser, this particular rendition is outstanding.The last six tracks are taken from The Bottom Line in '78 (note to the tape traders out there: this is not the same Bottom Line show that circulates). Rundgren's voice is a bit weak on "Real Man" (the high notes are notoriously difficult in a live setting), but aside from that, Todd's in fine form--both vocally and instrumentally. As you'd expect, "Black Maria" is stunning, and the medley of "I'm So Proud," "Ooh Baby Baby," "La La Means I Love You" and "I Saw the Light" is always enjoyable. As a special bonus to those who purchase the CD, you can download 3 more songs that don't appear on the CD ("Honest Work," "Freedom Fighters" and "Born to Synthesize"), plus an interview with Todd from August 2000. If you'd rather not download all this, there's a coupon inside the CD allowing you to get the bonus material on CD. Collectors take note: the bonus CD lists the second track as "The Wheel"--this is incorrect. One other thing I wanted to mention... Yes, all of the tracks from the New York shows are also on the excellent Back to the Bars album--these are not the same performances. To sum things up, this is another great release from the folks at King Biscuit. Whether you're a long-time Todd fan, or just discovering this music, this disc is a sure bet."

Nothing New Here

T. Dickinson | 01/02/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is O.K. but it doesn't offer much that can't be found on other live Todd or Utopia CDs. The Acapella versions of Real Man and the Lost Horizon medley were "different" but I didn't like 'em. I'll take the full band versions every time. The other songs were no better or worse than what can be heard on Back to the Bars. The mix/recording quality is only fair. Additionally, I found the fade-in and fade-out of each song detracted from the feeling of a live event. I would have preferred cross fading one song into the next. If you are looking for some interesting live recordings of Todd, check out the "Somewhere/Anywhere" CD. It has rare live recordings of songs from the first Runt Album, A Utopia version of Open My Eyes, Utopia cover versions of Beatles and Who songs, Etc."

Todd is god

Daniel R. Blue | Peoria, AZ United States | 10/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any one who has seen todd live or wished they had this cd is a link to his past present and future. The raw live music on this cd with such hit,s as hello it,s me i saw the light will always stand the test of time, as this live cd will. this is a must for the real music lover todd is god and a true star as this cd will show it,s a must have"

"A Capella" tour + "Back to the Bars" alternatives

T. Dickinson | Stockbridge, GA USA | 12/22/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording originates from three different concerts which can be divided into two main categories: the first three tracks were taken from the 'A Capella' tour in 1985; and the remainder can be viewed as 'Back to the Bars' alternatives.The 'A Capella' tour cuts are a treat given the unique voice-oriented arrangements that were employed. Song #1 is an a capella version of "Real Man"; #2 is "Lost Horizon" sandwiched around the Marvin Gaye medley, which can be heard with a full backing band on the import "Live in Chicago '91", but here has a saxophone and electronic rhythm track to go along with the voices; and #3 is an effective piano-and-voices arrangement of "Can We Still Be Friends"The remaining concerts date from the same era as 'Back to the Bars' and are taken from two different shows where accompaniments sound like the two lineups used in the earlier live album (there are no credits in the 'Live' booklet) - one being the long time 4-man Utopia roster ('Live' selections 4 through 6), and the other a larger band including a couple of keyboards and an occasional saxophone (cuts 7 through 12). In addition, all of these songs also appear on the 'Bars' release. However, there are enough differences to pique the curiosity of the Todd-head. Two of the tracks on 'Live' were done by the other lineup on 'Bars'. 'Live' has a Utopia version of "The Last Ride" which on 'Bars' had the larger band. This 'Live' version has smoking guitar solos, one replacing the tepid sax on 'Bars' - which itself is nothing like the charged sax on the studio version - and is clearly superior to the low key, disappointing earlier live effort. Alternatively, 'Bars' has Utopia doing "Real Man" whereas 'Live' has the larger band. Again, the Utopia version gets the nod: on 'Bars, this song is more focused and polished. The "Eastern Intrigue" medleys are different. On 'Bars', "Intrigue" segues directly into "Initiation", here it does so with "Love of the Common Man". The lead vocals on "Common Man" curiously sound double tracked, but the fuller effect imparts a sense of energy that is missing on 'Bars'. The versions of "Eastern Intrigue" and "Couldn't I Just Tell You" are comparable, though 'Live' has a superior guitar solo on the latter cut. In general, the 'Live' cuts have a rawer, fuller, more rock and roll sound as compared to the transparent brightness of 'Bars'. In addition, Rundgren's lead guitar is more extroverted, showy, and thus superior on 'Live'. A case in point is "Black Maria", which on 'Live' has a harder, more metallic edge with an improvement on 'Bars' quite good guitar solo. That is not to say that this is a guitar hero album, showcasing Rundgren as a dominating soloist along the lines of Hendrix/Clapton/Beck/et al. There's enough evidence to demonstrate that he could have taken that mantle if he had so desired, but his talents and interests are too varied to fill that niche. Heck, 1/3 of the cuts don't even have a guitar playing on them!Buyers of this CD can download three bonus tracks from King Biscuit's web site: "Born to Synthesize", "Honest Work", and "The Wheel". Also, the disc has "autorun" facility that starts up a program every time I stick it in my computer and begins playing a randomly chosen track...I don't know of a way to turn this off and it is irritating. Bottom line, this is a fine collection of live Rundgren, a must for the Todd completist and a decent sampling for the beginner. Recommended!"

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