TR-i (The Rundgren-index): The Experimental Recordings

No.#2 in a series on the prolific and visionary Todd Rundgren (a.k.a. TR-i), composer, musician, producer, video artist, mad hatter, wizard and true star.

The first installment of The Rundgren-index centered on Todd's earliest recorded output of the late 60's in The Nazz Years. This chapter focuses on Rundgren's experimental and most challenging recordings of the early 70's, largely culled from 3 of his Bearsville Record releases, 'A Wizard, A True Star,' 'Todd' and 'Initiation.' Additional source material comes from a handful of other Rundgren titles that also contain experimental forays including, 'No World Order,' 'A Cappella,' 'Something/Anything?,' 'Healing' and Utopia's, 'Ra.' Rarely following the same road twice, Todd lingered briefly in this phase of his career, demonstrating not only his prowess as an engineer and producer, but also as a budding sound designer, sculpting densely layered pieces that reveal more of themselves with each repeated play. Difficult but rewarding listening, this music mix combines 24 of his compositions that have been reconfigured, resequenced and re-framed into an 80 minute sound collage of one of the most innovative artists of our time, Todd Rundgren.

The Experimental Recordings

1) Born To Synthesize
2) Do Not Attempt To Adjust Your Radio
3) Worldwide Epiphany #1
4) In And Out The Chakras We Go
5) International Feel
6) Never Never Land
7) Tic-Tic-Tic, It Wears Off
8) You Need Your Head
9) Forest of Fire (The 3rd Key)
10) Dog Fight Giggle
11) A Treatise On Cosmic Fire, Pt.1
12) Drunken Blue Rooster
13) The Night The Carousel Burnt Down
14) Worldwide Epiphany #2
15) Just Another Onionhead/DAda Dali
16) When The Shit Hits The Fan/Sunset Boulevard
17) Le Feel Internationale
18) A Treatise On Cosmic Fire, Pt.2
19) Eastern Intrigue (Middle Section)
20) Healing, Pt.2
21) How About A Little Fanfare?
22) I Think You Know
23) The Spark Of Life
24) Worldwide Epiphany #3

According to CryptoRockCode, the mysterious runes that are found running throughout the cover of 'A Wizard, A True Star' translate into several phrases including, "I will be as true to you as I can" and "Tenderness is the secret to love, as far as I can see."

Notes

The original compilation that I'd created for TR-i: The Experimental Recordings was unfortunately lost due to a severe Winter storm that resulted in a power outage. I did not have the opportunity to back-up the final mix before the lights went out, therefore this collage is not as I had originally intended it to be. Fortunately the scratch files were on a separate hard drive, allowing me to attempt a recreation of the original mix within the time frame of my self-imposed deadline. In the interest of Fair Usage, these files are presented as .mp3's, a disservice to the material as they cannot do justice to layered complexity of the soundscapes. In light of this, these files should be played loud for optimum reproduction. Although not what I had first envisioned, The Experimental Recordings is nonetheless a full and fast paced sound collage containing only one discernible moment of silence, appearing midway at roughly 43:40. It's not hard to spot.

As always, should you like what you hear, I would encourage you to further explore Todd's repertoire and support his work by purchasing the recordings you favor. You are also always free to leave a comment for me. Thanks.

One more thing, check out The Todd Rundgren Connection.

To download, click here. Play it loud and annoy your neighbors!