From k2mojo@groovedaddies.com Sun Mar 20 11:54:34 2005
Subject:Re: Utopia DVD's--OT-OT-OT

Norm,
I couldn't get the Amazon link to work so that I could see exactly what you were looking at, but I can still make suggestions.
First, the absolute most comprehensive source for all things Rundgren is TR-Bazaar http://trbazaar.com/. Scott and Carrie are WAY
into this, and in addition to all the official releases they have a lot of non-commercial compilation stuff that you can't get
anywhere else. Plus, they're cool people, so buy from them when you can.
As to what to buy, unfortunately the best (IMO) Utopia line-ups/tours aren't on DVD except for the odd early video clips that are in
some of the compilations. But of the commercially available DVD's I've seen, I can recommend 'Live in Columbus 1980 and 'A
Retrospective 77-84'. The 'Rockpalast' DVD (which is from the RA tour) would be the one to get, but it's technically not for sale.
Regarding CD's, the entire Rundgren/Utopia catalog was remastered & reissued a while back on the UK label 'Castle', and these are
much better then the Rhino Records reissues. Packed with really great liner notes and a better sonic quality, these are the
versions to buy if you're buying a new Rundgren CD. For some reason, the Castle CD's aren't available from TR-Bazaar, but if you're
shopping on eBay, the Castle versions can be visually identified buy a big round black & white sticker on the front, which you can
see a picture of on this CD - eBay Item number: 4710521525.
Here's a link to a bunch of streaming video clips (of dubious quality) that if nothing else are a treat for anybody who didn't get a
chance to see his earlier shows.
http://www.seahaas.com/toddrundgren/videovault.html
I always think it's difficult to recommend specific Rundgren CD's because his body of work is so incredibly diverse and varied,
spanning several different genres, but that doesn't mean I won't. My personal favorites are "A Wizard, A True Star", "Todd", "(Todd
Rundgren's) Utopia", "RA", "Faithful (the 2nd side)", "Nearly Human", and his latest "Liars". Unfortunately, like a lot of deep
artists, the bulk of his best work was not the stuff that sold the most, and anybody who dismisses him because all they ever heard
was "Bang on the Drum" is doing themselves a big disservice.

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com

----- Original Message -----
> anyone recommend? I just ordered "RA" CD. I knew Utopia was great back in the day but never really checked them out!! Link is to
> Amazon.
> Norm