Release Date: 1997
Duration: 34:51
Label: Flashback/Rhino
Catalog Number: R2 72677
Few have worn as many hats in the music industry as Todd Rundgren (b. 6/22/48) -- one of rock 'n' roll's true Renaissance men. From his humble bar-band beginnings and stints as leader of '60s power-pop group the Nazz and progressive rockers Utopia to his work as a solo artist and producer of such diverse acts as XTC and Grand Funk Railroad to the musical techno-visionary that he has become, Rundgren has always marched to the beat of his own drum.
Over 30 years in the music business, Rundgren's commercial success is the result of simple melodic craftsmanship. His most popular single, a 1973 version of the plaintive ballad "Hello It's Me," became a Top 5, 20-week hit after originally charting in 1969-70 when released by the Nazz. His very first single, "We Gotta Get You A Woman," off his debut solo album Runt, became a Top 20 hit, while only a year later, his bouyant pop jangle "I Saw The Light" charted at #16. Rundgren is such an accomplished artist that since 1973 he's been his own producer, singer, and band on the majority of his albums.
This CD features Rundgren's top pop gems, spotlighting the ever-changing tunesmith that he is. From his 1973 [sic] Top 40 cover of The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" to Utopia's beatific early '80s "One World" to the frenetic boom of "Bang The Drum All Day," this compilation highlights the strengths of one of music's most diverse talents.
--Julee Stover
Hello, it's me I've thought about us for a long, long time Maybe I think too much but something's wrong There's something here that doesn't last too long Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine Seeing you Or seeing anything as much as I do you I take for granted that you're always there I take for granted that you just don't care Sometimes I can't help seeing all the way through It's important to me that you know you are free 'Cause I never want to make you change for me Think of me You know that I'd be with you if I could I'll come around to see you once in a while Or if I ever need a reason to smile And spend the night if you think I should
A million old soldiers will fade away But a dream goes on forever I'm left standing here, I've got nothing to say All is silent within my dream A thousand true loves will live and die But a dream lives on forever The days and the years will go streaking by But the time has stopped in my dream We all have our everyday hopes and fears And you'll find no exception in me But that doesn't get me through a sea of tears Over life's biggest tragedy You're so long ago and so far away But my dream lives on forever I guess I believe that I'll see you one day For without it there is no dream You're so far away and so long ago But my dream goes on forever And how much I loved you you'll never know 'Til you join me within my dream
When I was a child I thought as a child I spoke as a child I didn't know better But now I'm a man I look like a man I'm old as a man And I should know better Got my head in the sky And my mind knows what it wants But my body just drags me down And my world is something you can't see But it's still very real to me You can find it in the hole where I keep my soul There it is - way down inside me There's a real man Forget about my body and be a real man I see with my heart I hear with my heart I feel with my heart Sometimes it works better And some so-called friends put me down And they pity me for trying Bad emotions push me around But the vision shines on and on It will shine when we all are gone And I'd like to add a little sparkle while I'm here Light it up - way down inside me There's a real man Forget about bad feelings and be a real man Some men's world is only hate and money Afraid of everything and they laugh at nothing And they only live to criticize You can laugh at me now [ha ha ha] But the time comes to everybody When you must decide When that day finally comes along You might wish you'd been a little more strong Then you'll wake up in the morning cryin' "Oh my God" There it is - way down inside me It's a real man You got to grow up sometime Be a real man Suffer them slings and arrows Be a real man Now be a real man Don't sell yourself for nothing Be a real man Don't take no crap from no one Be a real man Get your trip together Be a real man
One world Whoa, it's our world Yeah, yeah, one world Whoa, it's our world Yeah, yeah When I walk on the street I feel glad I was born Music comes a'ringin' out of every door I see faces I know and they give me a sign We got something between us and it feels all right I see Chrissy the clipper, she colors my hair Nikki and Margaret make the clothes that we wear And there's Gene who runs the club where we dance all night When you live in our world everything's all right Politicians and dictators and the guys with the dough They think they run the world but they just don't know 'Cause down here on the street we got it under control From Berlin to San Francisco, from New York to Tokyo
Please don't look at me that way, I can hardly say what I have to say, There is nothing that I haven't told to you That I didn't believe you knew. I am thinking of another time I could feel you thinking that you were mine, Now I hold out my hands 'til my arms get tired And you wait on the other side. You and me, we're both the same, Don't let me take all the blame, I promise that I will do all it takes to make up for my mistakes. So, I'm trying hard to be the man And it's not a hard thing to understand, For I think that my being would cease to be If you didn't believe in me, If you didn't believe in me.
It was late last night I was feeling something wasn't right There was not another soul in sight Only you, only you So we walked along, though I knew there was something wrong And the feeling hot me oh so strong about you Then you gazed up at me and the answer was plain to see 'Cause I saw the light in your eyes Though we had our fling I just never would suspect a thing 'Til that little bell began to ring in my head In my head But I tried to run, though I knew it wouldn't help me none 'Cause I couldn't ever love no one, or so I said But my feelings for you were just something I never knew 'Til I saw the light in your eyes But I love you best It's not something that I say in jest (ha ha) 'Cause you're different, girl, from all the rest In my eyes And I ran out before but I won't do it anymore Can't you see the light in my eyes
We can't play this game anymore But can we still be friends Things just can't go on like before But can we still be friends We had something to learn Now it's time for the wheel to turn Grains of sand, one by one Before you know it, all gone Let's admit we made a mistake But can we still be friends Heartbreak's never easy to take But can we still be friends It's a strange, sad affair Sometimes seems like we just don't care Don't waste time feeling hurt We've been through hell together Can we still get together sometime You know life will still go on and on and on We awoke from our dream Things are not always what they seem Memories linger on It's like a sweet, sad old song
No catch, no strings None of the usual things I'm happy just to lay and look Let's throw out the book Now we're off the hook And please just be nice to me Won't you be nice to me So tired, so sad So sick of being had By everyone who comes along Would it be so wrong If you played along And please just be nice to me And would it bring you down if I hang around Just be nice to me It's been a long, long time since I felt so fine And I know your love is fine I know what's on your mind but Don't laugh, don't cry Don't make me wonder why You're doing what you're doing now Can't you see somehow It's the wrong time now So please just be nice to me You know I ain't in heat And it would feel real neat If you would just be nice to me Come on think of me
I love the colorful clothes she wears And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair I hear the sound of a gentle word On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air I'm picking up good vibrations She's giving me excitations Good bop bop, good vibrations Bop bop, excitations Good, good, good, good vibrations Close my eyes, she is somehow closer now Softly smile, I know she must be kind When I look in her eyes She comes with me to a blossom world I don't know where but she sends me there Oh my my my, what a sensation Oh my my, what elation Got to keep those loving good vibrations happening with her
I don't want to work I want to bang on the drum all day I don't want to play I just want to bang on the drum all day Ever since I was a tiny boy I don't want no candy I don't need no toy I took a stick and an old coffee can I bang on that thing 'til I got Blisters on my hand because When I get older they think I'm a fool The teacher told me I should stay after school She caught me pounding on the desk with my hands But my licks was so hot I made the teacher wanna dance And that's why Listen to this Every day when I get home from work I feel so frustrated The boss is a jerk And I get my sticks and go out to the shed And I pound on that drum like it was the boss's head Because I can bang that drum Hey, you wanna take a bang at it? I can do this all day
The Todd Rundgren Connection is brought to you by
Roger D. Linder &
Rocemabra Web Services.