Arena - Dark Publications

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Album Description
Recorded in Todd's current home state of Hawaii, 'Arena' is yet another notable addition to Rundgren's remarkable career as a performer, songwriter, and producer. The album showcases his unique songwriting style and sonically captures the essence and energy of arena rock with bombastic, guitar-driven tunes like 'Mountaintop', 'Strike' and 'Mad', while the anthemic song 'Mercenary', transports you to a stadium with its epic chorus, with 'How Do You Like Me Now?' resounding to every seat in the house.

Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Fun, Inspiring Stuff September 30, 2008
20 out of 25 found this review helpful

A wizard, a true star.

Todd Rundgren and his work compose a veritable mosaic of ideal, but unusual virtues which have never ceased to flourish after over forty years. It is important to speak of his "work", and not his "music", because to do so would be to discount an innumerable number of innovations and production wonders. The one-man do-it-yourself album. The first concert broadcast by microwave dish. An album whose sound and "instruments" were borne totally of his voice, and no physical instruments. One of the first music videos on MTV. The first subscription music service online. His production work on Meatloaf's veritable "Bat out of Hell". Hall and Oates' "War Babies."

But let's not also forget the man's music. Starting out in psychedelia with his first successful band, the Nazz, Rundgren moved into no less than Carole King-esque ballads, hard rock, and radio-friendly anthems like his biggest hit, "Hello It's Me." His 1972 album, "Something/Anything" remains his consensus favorite, as well as his most successful. But after 1972, a funny thing happened: Todd refused to settle as the next pop music megastar. He started becoming more and more unconventional in his craft, leading to the much critically acclaimed, but oft-overlooked, "A Wizard, A True Star" in 1973, followed by "Todd" in 1974, and finally "Initiation" in 1975. These albums were marked by a seemingly infinite number of overdubs and production values which reflected a young man who was thoroughly versed in his trade and not even 25. These albums produced memorable numbers like, "A Dream Goes On Forever", "Real Man", and "Just One Victory", but unfortunately, he lost the public along the way. It wasn't until the late 1970s, with "Faithful" and "The Hermit of Mink Hollow" that Rundgren returned to the pop style that made him famous, and the public responded, giving him his highest charted album since "Something/Anything", as well as one of his most enduring tracks, "Can We Still Be Friends." Unfortunately, this success was not to last, and his next "hit" came in 1983---the goofy novelty, "Bang On the Drum", which has endured as a sports arena anthem and endless fodder for parody. But even without the success he had in the 70s, Todd did not slow down his creative engine. "A Capella" followed in 1985, and later "Nearly Human" in 1989 which produced the mainstream rock hit, "The Want of a Nail", which was made famous in the 2003 movie, "Camp." The 1990s brought a nearly total change for Rundgren. He stopped recording for major labels. He saw the future of music in the budding novelty of the Internet almost a half-decade before Napster. He delved in rap, experimented with interactive music CD-ROMs, became one of the first to sell music online, and arguably lost a lot of his cult, including die-hard fans that had stuck with him for decades. It seemed that perhaps Rundgren's genius output was a thing of the past, until 2004's critically acclaimed "Liars", an update of the signature Todd pop sound of the 70s. Featuring instrumentation that is more suited to a rave and dance clubs than AM radio, Rundgren produced an inspiring album which, true to almost everything he's done since the 80s, escaped mainstream attention.

And from this synopsis, we see our dilemma: Rundgren is an usual case of what everyone says a musician should be. After all, he's innovative, endlessly creative, never monotonous, has delved into almost every genre possible, more or less consistent...but not very popular. Yes, he has his enduring jukebox standards, but for Rundgren to truly get his due, the world would have to experience for the first time four decades of sheer genius, the rare music which rewards close listening and never gets seems to get thrown away. And that's, perhaps, where "Arena" comes in.

Sure, you can't substitute thirteen tracks for an anthology that is hundreds of songs and decades in the making. But "Arena" is a reminder of what his cult loves about him, and why anyone who's missed out over the last forty years needs to join now. Listening to "Arena" reminds one of a quality that's missing from a a lot of popular music today---fun. Forget about the fact that the lyrics are not just nonsensical excuses to sing over power rock chords but actually signature Rundgren poetry. Completely discount the variety of musical styles, Todd's amazing voice (which hasn't lost a step since 1968) and
marvelous one-man production which is virtually nonexistent in today's music industry, or what passes for it. Yes, this is definitely pop, but it's inspiring stuff. It has that sing-a-long, fun, accessible quality that is seldom found so consistently on one album. It's not something you forget about after a month. To think that Rundgren did this thankless feat himself, at age 60, with every odd stacked against him, is even more remarkable.

The theme of the album is arena rock, which immediately gets you thinking it is a period piece, an aging rocker refusing to be "stripped" down and returning to that which made him famous. And while that is arguably the case to an extent, we must keep in mind that Rundgren's never done anything quite like this before. Yes, he did have a few tunes that resembled a song here and there back in the day, but he has never delved this close to metal, or drowned his music in so much guitar work.
Nor have his ballads been so heavy, and his drive so forceful. There are a few nods to other bands, but when you're working in this genre, it's hard not to invite some comparisons, even if this album has Rundgren's touch from "Mad" to "Manup."

Todd lets you know what you're getting into from the start with "Mad." Not many artists come to mind who can write a song with "Now, I'm mad", as part of the chorus and not induce endless cringing. Starting out with a clean guitar progression and quickly getting to a chorus laden with heavy distortion, "Mad" is definitely one of the standouts on the album, as it manages to combine ingenious harmonies and melody that still pack a powerful, in-your-face quality. Speaking of powerful, "Mercenary" is perhaps the most intensely furious song Rundgren has ever written, with a distorted vocal, and a chorus whose repeated "How do you like me now" and overlapping riffs makes yet another addition to the signature Rundgren line of incredible classics.

Another part of "Arena" to absolutely love are the basslines, perhaps no more evident than on the AC/DC-nod "Strike", another in-your-face, fast paced rocker with yet another signature-sounding chorus with very familiar words, "are you ready to rumble?", in which no one can sit still while listening. "Panic", and "Manup" also feature the newfound intensity with "Panic" moving so quickly and forceful, you barely knew what hit you.

Yet another highlight is "Mountaintop", intended to accompany "Bang the Drum All Day" as the next generation of Todd sports anthems. You can almost picture a crowd of 80,000 jamming out to this at a football stadium, and it doesn't fail to disappoint with its call and response chorus and forceful beat.

But I mentioned earlier how one of Todd's signature qualities is how he can produce such consistently excellent music in such a variety of genres, and that shows in the two middle tracks on the album, "Courage", and "Weakness." This brings me to another point about this great album: In "Courage", Rundgren has written one of the best songs of his career which rivals anything of the "I Saw The Light" or "A Dream Goes On Forever" variety; it is a great, great song. With a memorable guitar solo, unforgettable melody, deep minor chords, and strong reverberation, "Courage" has another thing missing from a lot of pop music now, a sort of hopeful, self-reflective quality that strongly contrasts with the overdriven nature of the other tunes on the album. This is coupled with "Weakness", a song that one has to listen to repeatedly because it's drawn out over five minutes, but the theme eventually becomes very apparent, and you forget its 3/4 time signature and length.

But not only is the music good, but Todd is actually saying something here. The lyrics seem to continue the anger and reflection that made Liars so memorable. Beneath the bouncy choruses is a very directed, very well-written theme. You would never believe that he's 60, or been through so much commercial disappointment over the years. Of course, Mr. Rundgren always practices what he preaches. This album was recorded, played, mixed, and produced all by himself, and there is not a single creative concession or degradation of any aspect of his music---his unmatched taste for good melody, his unending original basslines and riffs, his signature harmonies, lyrics, and novelties; it's time Todd got his due. The world needs to realize that he did write music after "Bang the Drum", and he's more than just an artist that came and went. This is not just Todd Rundgren reminding us why he has never stopped being a wizard or a true star; it's reminding an industry that has perhaps lost its way as far as accessible, well written pop music, how it's done:

Every song stays with you.

5/5 stars

4 out of 5 stars

Arena Rock October 1, 2008
20 out of 22 found this review helpful

Todd's been floating around in one form or another for the past decade. He's been releasing albums through his own website, remixing his old albums, and even had a short stint as the frontman for The New Cars. He really hasn't put out anything really new since his electro-album Liars in 2004. Arena not only marks his first album in four years but maybe his best in almost two decades. There's a lot of vintage sounds here including his great guitar and keyboards, although it's too clear that his cheap sounding drum kit sabatoges much of the album. Aside from that, there are songs that rock hard with such big sounds that one might wish he'd put Utopia back together to do them. The opener "Mad" echoes "Trapped" from Oops, Wrong Planet. "Afraid" is a lush introspective power ballad with those great harmonies he's known for. "Mercenary" shows no mercy with in your face guitars and Todd's hook chorus of "How do you like me know?!". "Gun", the followup, could be a bookend to Hamburger Hell from his Faithful album or the title track from Oops!. Todd then goes back to his awesome pop relationship songs with great harmonies on "Courage". "Weakness" could be a one of his great soul ballads along the lines of "Only Human" but the distorted fuzzy guitar edge especially in the intro tends to make the song too edgy for what it tries to accomplish. One of the biggest surprises is the masses rallying cry of "Strike" ("Are you ready to rumble? Are you just staying humble?"). Todd's powerchords and vocals taps into his inner AC/DC when he yells "Strike while the iron is hot"! "Today" is a solid techno-track which throws back to Liars. "Bardo" is a slow blues ballad which just doesn't seem to go anywhere, but things immediately pick up with the crowd chanting-struttting "Mountaintop". "Panic" is a fast rocker that still reminds me of something off Oops, and "Manup" is muscially fast rocker that somehow lacks the lyrical power to equal the driving guitars, though Todd still plays great, it's not the closer I would hope for. It's not a masterpiece, but certainly a solid mix of songs and sounds that make Todd's aptly titled ARENA rock a much welcomed addition to the Rundgren discography.

4 out of 5 stars

The most rockin' Todd ever? September 30, 2008
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

That's up to every one of you but I make an arguement for yes. I was lucky enough to hear the songs live before I heard the recorded versions so I knew what to expect to a degree. This disc does not disappoint.

In virtually every song, you hear references to other songs. Some are subtle, some not. Some sound like Todd songs of past, some not. It's a mixed bag. Start with "Mad" for instance and try not to be reminded of Buffalo Grass from One Long Year. "Afraid" has a little Temporary Sanity-like interlude that's hard to ignore. "Mercenery" reminds me of Fascist Christ although I'm not exactly sure why while "Gun" has a ZZ Top kinda thing going.

Things shift gears a bit with "Courage." One of the more subtle songs on the disc but also one of the best. "Weakness" is a mind-blower. Incredibly intense bluesey intro with a Hawking-like chorus that just melts you. Then you get to "Strike." Imagine AC/DC backing up Todd playing one of their songs. That's "Strike" in all of it's fist-pumping glory. "Pissin" is fun although it might take some time to grow on you as it did me. "Today" is the closest sounding song to anything on Liars and in my opinion, the discs best tune. It's a call to action that gets you motivated. "Bardo" is basically Bridge of Sighs 2008. "Mountaintop" is the sports anthem that Todd would like to replace Bang The Drum. "Panic" is the most technically challenging song on the disc according to Todd and in my opinion, the one that sounds closest to a Utopia tune. I could see that song being on Swing to the Right or POV and wouldn't know any better. "Manup" wraps the disc up in nice, straight-forward rock & roll fashion.

At 60, Todd won't generate many/any new fans with this disc. Die-hards like me will probably love it. Middle-of-the-roaders might take to it over time. Regardless of who it appeals to, it's an outstanding disc start to finish. And by the way, see the tour!!! These songs are great live which is really what Todd was going for from the start. At least on the first legs, he played the disc in it's entirity, in order. And I'll see all of you Pittsburghers on 10/10.

5 out of 5 stars

HARD ROCK RELEASE FROM POP MYSTIC October 1, 2008
16 out of 20 found this review helpful

Arena harkens back to the gutsy R&R of Utopia, to the open
heartedness of his 1993 release, "Almost Human," and to the
suggestive hard rock tracks on numerous of his solo albums.
In a way, we can even hear this album coming from as far back
as 1973's "Todd" double lp and the song "Heavy Metal
Kids." But I had a strong feeling that this was coming because
the last album rather de-emphasized guitars and his recent
stint with The New Cars I knew would re-energize him.
2005's "Liars" release, while shimmering with a futuristic
glaze of high-powered pop positivity and what has become
the "Rundgrenesque" (if you will) sense of moral outrage and
fiery social critique, was an album notably lacking in prefrontal
guitar firestorms. Sure, there were solos and some beautiful
backing work, but no song that one could call "guitar-driven"
(a phrase which really means "lots of guitar overdubs.") I
imagine Todd even got some criticism a la "where are the
guitars." He answers this admirably in the song, "Mercenary"
(How Do You Like Me Now?) Here are the guitars.
This is a hard rock album. Period. Although I am no expert,
I can clearly hear influences from Bad Company, ACDC,
Aerosmith and even Boston. I'm sure true hard rock aficionadoes
would have a "spot the influence" field day. To be fair, Todd
was around when these bands were so big they were filling
gargantuan ARENAS with tens of thousands of slavering fans.
Todd's band, Utopia, was a player in this game, charting on the
FM airwaves numerous times, having a vocal squad Freddie
Mercury (the divine bless him) would have had to admire for
sheer genius, and releasing dare I say MAVERICK albums that
to this day are notable for their stance against status quo idiocracy
and religulousness.
ARENA has the crisp production, high quality composition and amazing vocal charts that we've come toexpect from the Wizard. But it IS hard rock and a HEAVY trip. Definitely. You should be able to enjoy electric R&B and classic hard rock to really appreciate this disc.
If you liked "Nearly Human," if you thought "Oops! Wrong Planet"
was cool, if you've been nursing a Utopia jones for some years:
this is the ticket.
While I myself am looking forward to the Todd instrumental
Visionary synthesis excursion to Paradise in 3D sound, this is
certainly one of his most masterful and accessible albums in eons.
While long time fans like myself will always keep track of Todd's work,
don't let that undercut my opinion when I tell you this is high grade pop
craftsmanship coming from a long-time artist who has stayed truer to
his artistic Vision than most of the tunesmiths of his generation and has
stayed current in the music scene, not allowing too much time to pass
between releases. All that said, it IS a pleasure to return with Todd to
this familiar aesthetic and to hear it shimmering and scintillating
the way it was always meant to be. Rock on.

5 out of 5 stars

It's good to be the King! October 5, 2008
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

While some guys go through their mid-life crisis by indulging themselves with a fast, two-door convertible, Todd has had no apparent crisis. In his 40s, Todd simply announced to his fans that he'd found his second wind by releasing an album of the same name. Todd has done it again. In a career that is full of twists and turns, he has taken the logical next turn. Having recently turned 60, Todd Rundgren's new album Arena could alternately have been called Third Wind. At 60, some musicians are content with having found a niche and continuing along that path for the remainder of their career, but not Todd. His fascination with music and its many intricacies is quite obvious to anyone who knows Todd's varied musical catalog. Those of us fortunate enough to have been following his career for many years, have seen Todd evolve and move forward in ways that would make any other musician's head spin. The ultimate irony here is that the new album finds Todd taking a musical step backward while simultaneously moving forward. And the idea works like a charm!

In the late `60s, Todd's band The Nazz had him front and center as a guitar wielding army of one. Showering the musical landscape with guitar licks straight out of the British invasion with a touch of American-based Paul Butterfield Blues Band, teenager Todd made it look easy. Since then his career has included pop music (Something/Anything?, Hermit Of Mink Hollow, Nearly Human, Second Wind), synthesizer rock (Initiation, Todd), guitar extravaganzas (Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Adventures In Utopia), identical recreations of classic Hendrix, Beatles, Bob Dylan and Beach Boys songs (Faithful) and rap (No World Order, The Individualist). However, it would be difficult to generalize these albums into the afore-mentioned categories simply because each has a smattering of other music styles scattered around for good measure. Suffice to say, Todd has shown that he can master any music genre he chooses to delve into, much to the joy of his diehard fan base and much to the confusion of the general population who just don't "get it". We, the lucky few who get it, are rewarded with musical gems at every turn, while at the same time we are left scratching our collectives heads and wondering why the rest of the world just doesn't get it. Here's hoping that this new album will change all of that.

Todd celebrated his 60th birthday by writing, recording and, of course, producing this new album of original music that pulls together the music styles of Jeff Beck, AC/DC, Robin Trower, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, and ZZ Top, with a little bit of Burt Bacharach and Sade thrown in to balance things out. The result is a masterpiece, a journey through rock's finest moments as interpreted by Todd. Catchy guitar hooks and excellent solos abound everywhere on this album. It's amazing how many cool guitar riffs there are on this album. Some musicians would have to wait to release a "best of" album to collect this many brilliant songs. For Todd this is simply par for the course. Infectious melodies draw listeners in and keep us paying attention to every nuance. The catchiest in the bunch is easily "Courage", a song that recalls the album Faithful (Todd's 1976 solo album) and many songs from the pop side of the Utopia catalog. Beautiful harmonies and a guitar solo that could have fallen right out of "I Saw The Light" (from Something/Anything?) or "Love Of The Common Man" (from Faithful). Another new song that stands out is "Weakness" which alternates between two different styles, one employing a nicely distorted guitar sound and the other featuring lush background harmonies and a vocal that reminds me of "The Last Ride" (from his 1974 solo album named Todd).

There are several songs on Arena in which the source inspiration is painfully obvious. One is "Strike", a nod to AC/DC, complete with the signature vocal style that band is best known for. Another song is "Bardo", which recalls Robin Trower's song Bridge Of Sighs.....only Bardo is even better! And then there's the ZZ top inspired "Pissin'" with its twangy guitar riff and Texas-style vocal. This entire album is full of music that brings us back to a place we all know well and yet also takes us somewhere we've never been. Nicely done!

But let us not forget the lyrics. Todd has always had a way with words and although this album does emulate the styles of other bands, it's in the lyrics where Todd reminds us that it is still Todd and not someone else at the controls here. His ability to turn a phrase and make the listener perk up is unrivaled. No one even comes close. There is the soul searching in "Courage" ("Humbly pretending to be brave and strong, inside I'm wondering, what if I'm wrong"), or "Mad" ("Crowded world, how can I find peace of mind, with so many small agendas pushing at me all the time"). There is the call to arms in "Manup" ("Listen to me my friend, what you will not defend, somebody else will end up takin'"), or "Strike" ("Time to strike while the iron is hot") from the AC/DC sound-alike song. I bet AC/DC is smacking their foreheads wondering how they missed using a perfect phrase like that in one of their songs.

This is an album that should be spinning in everyone's CD player. Anyone who has ever liked rock anthems and classic guitar-driven rock music should immediately proceed to checkout and add this to their collection. This is yet another brilliant album by an icon in the music business. And what makes it yet more amazing is that there's no band playing here, it's Todd on all of the instruments, as he has done before on other albums. The difference here (as was on the previous Todd album Liars) is that this album was recorded entirely in Reason, a computer-based recording program. The sound on this album is outstanding, especially the guitars. On some tracks it's obvious the drums are programmed but they sound fine and fit in the context of the track quite well. On other tracks the programmed drums sound more real than a live drummer. His vocals excellent as always and the backing vocal harmonies are superb. Todd has captured the feel and essence of Arena rock, while in the process making us want to jump out of our seats and sing along. After you buy this CD, you might want to complete the experience by going to see Todd and his band on tour. You'll be glad you did.

For more information and tour dates, check out:
http://www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic
and
http://www.trconnection.com/

For an excellent Todd interview (done by Jesse Gress) about the album Arena, pick up the October 2008 issue of Guitar Player magazine. The interview includes guitar tabs done by Jesse for several of the songs on Arena.

For information about Jesse Gress, check out:
http://www.jessegress.com/

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