Curious collection
03/11/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"DEMOS AND LOST ALBUMS is a curious release that is essential only to the most ardent Toddophiles. The first disc is comprised solely of demos by Todd and/or Utopia. Few of these demos sound significantly different from the officially released versions. However, there is a great remake of DON'T TIE MY HANDS. The demo for ONE WORLD pales in comparison to the official version. Overall, this is great stuff, but you've pretty much heard it all before. The second disc consists of an M. Frog Labat solo album and an unreleased - mostly instumental - Utopia album. Rundgren apparently wrote, produced, and played guitar on the Labat disc. I have no idea why it was released. I read on a Japanese site that Todd was puzzled by its inclusion. It is not very listenable. There are a few cool guitar licks. The DISCO JETS cd is pretty cool. Imagine the second side of INITIATION crossed with Ultralounge and you get the idea. They do a nifty version of the Star Trek theme."
More rarities than wizardry
C. K. Zetterholm | Denver, CO USA | 07/07/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"With so much emphasis on fans finding alternate versions of beloved favorites, it's no wonder that this two-disc set got released. For avid Rundgren followers, this is an opportunity to own some of the rarest jewels that were never released on LPs, from a time of Todd's most creative artistic output. But for the casual Todd Rundgren fan, the reissues of Todd's albums or the greatest hits packages might be more appropriate. And since this only available as a Japanese import, it's price may keep all but the most rabid fans away.
Disc one contains demos from many sources, and many of them are alternate versions to the familiar album tracks. For Utopia fans, you'll hear Todd singing instead of Kasim Sulton on "Umbrella Man" and "Mimi Gets Mad." There are plenty of differences in other songs that will make the Todd Rundgren and Utopia fans happy, and it's fun to wonder how the albums might have sounded with some of these different arrangements.
Disc two contains two albums that were never released commercially. The first album, Jean-Yves "M. Frog" Labat's Froggy Went A Pumpkin!, is ten songs of original music as well as several covers. The covers are interesting - from the Doors' "Hello I Love You" to "96 Tears" (formerly a hit for ? and the Mysterians), and even an old Rundgren tune from the Nazz days, "Magic Me." It has its good and bad, but mostly its value is in its scarcity. After all, how many other "lost" Rundgren albums are out there?
The second album, Disco Jets, has a blend of soft melodies and typical Rundgren studio wizardry. The ten tracks aren't chart-toppers, but for Utopia fans that heard of this long-lost album, it's a chance to listen to an album that was once traded among fans on multi-generation cassette tapes. For many die-hard fans (myself included), this is worth the price of this 2-disc set alone.
The track listing above is not correct. Here's the correct list of tracks:
CD One:
1. Lucky Guy
2. You Cried Wolf
3. Can We Still Be Friends
4. Last Of The New Wave Riders
5. Second Nature
6. The Very Last Time
7. Don't Tie My Hands
8. Umbrella Man
9. One World
10. Attitude
11. Libertine
12. Feet Don't Fail Me Now
13. Hideaway
14. Influenza
15. There Goes Your Baybay
16. Too Much Water - (Dance Version)
17. Mimi Gets Mad
18. Secret Society
19. Wildlife
CD Two:
Froggy Went A Pumpkin!
1. We Are Crazy
2. Hello, I Love You
3. Fransky & Crutch
4. Sara Spiggot
5. Froggy Went A Pumpkin
6. I'm In Between
7. 96 Tears
8. Magic Me
9. Informer Chic
10. Pink Panties & Poison Pen
Disco Jets
11. Disco Jets
12. Cosmic Convoy
13. Time Warp
14. V.H.F.
15. Star Trek
16. Pet Rock
17. Space War
18. Rising Sign
19. Black Hole
20. Spirit Of '76"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1