Todd Rundgren
An Evening With Todd Rundgren: Live at the Ridgefield
(Cleopatra Records)
There might very well be a reason why the moniker “Todd is God†has been saddled on songwriter/producer/multi-media pioneer/singer/guitarist Todd Rundgren. The fact that the man is an American icon and all around genius is one that pretty much no one can dispute. He also has a wealth of tunes from which to choose when he plays live and Rundgren does so on his latest release, An Evening With Todd Rundgren: Live at  the Ridgefield. Pretty much all of the expected Todd Rundgren hits are here, including “I Saw the Light,†“Love of the Common Man,†“Bang the Drum All Day,†“Love in Action†and a  beautiful “Can We Still be Friends” that uses the studied and perfectly placed playing and singing of Rundgren’s band on this run of dates (John Ferenzik is on keyboards and sings backing vocals, Jesse Gress sings and plays guitar, drummer Prairie Prince mans the skins, and the extraordinary Kasim Sulton plays bass and sings). Then there are tunes like the rocker “Buffalo Grass,†“Lost Horizon†and the bluesy “Black Maria†that make this collection so special. Yes, Rundgren’s voice sounds a little rough at the beginning of this show, but he manages some really good performances of the tunes as the concert progresses and when he chooses to wail on guitar, he does it like so few others. An Evening With Todd Rundgren: Live at the Ridgefield is a great live collection from a master, playing with equally as masterful musicians.
