| Faithful | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1976 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:04 | |||
| Label | Bearsville Rhino | |||
| Producer | Todd Rundgren | |||
| Todd Rundgren chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Faithful | ||||
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2024) |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (Not rated) [3] |
Faithful is the seventh studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in May 1976 on Bearsville Records.
Rundgren explained the motivation of the first side as treating rock music like European classical music, where a piece is always performed in the same way. Rundgren is backed on the album by the other three members of Utopia: Roger Powell on keyboards, John Siegler on bass, and John Wilcox on drums.
The first side is dedicated to "faithful" re-recordings of songs from 1966, while side two contains original songs inspired by music of that time period. Critic Robert Christgau called the second side Rundgren's "clearest and most interesting set of songs since Something/Anything? ". [4]
The closing song, "Boogies (Hamburger Hell)", opens with a reference to restaurant chain Beefsteak Charlie's, which former Utopia drummer Kevin Ellman was operating along with his family at the time.
The album was released in May 1976 with virtually no advertising, as Bearsville president Paul Fishkin believed that Rundgren fans would purchase it based solely on word of mouth.[ citation needed ] The Rundgren original "Love of the Common Man" and his cover of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" were released as singles, the latter peaking at number 34 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The album peaked at number 54 on the Billboard album chart.
All songs on Side 2 written by Todd Rundgren.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (Jeff Beck, Jim McCarty, Jimmy Page, Keith Relf) | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Good Vibrations" (Brian Wilson, Mike Love) | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Rain" (Lennon–McCartney) | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" (Bob Dylan) | 3:24 |
| 5. | "If Six Was Nine" (Jimi Hendrix) | 4:55 |
| 6. | "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Lennon–McCartney) | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Black and White" | 4:42 |
| 8. | "Love of the Common Man" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "When I Pray" | 2:58 |
| 10. | "Cliché" | 4:00 |
| 11. | "The Verb 'To Love'" | 7:25 |
| 12. | "Boogies (Hamburger Hell)" | 5:00 |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Billboard Pop Albums [5] | 54 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "Good Vibrations" | Canada RPM Singles Chart | 28 |
| 1976 | "Good Vibrations" | Billboard Pop Singles [6] | 34 |
| 1976 | "Good Vibrations" | Billboard Adult Contemporary [6] | 32 |
Something/Anything? is the third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1972. It was Rundgren's first album released under his own name, following two records credited to the quasi-group project Runt, and was also his first double album. It was recorded in late 1971 in Los Angeles, New York City and Bearsville Studios, Woodstock. The album is divided into four sections focused on different stylistic themes; the first three parts were recorded in the studio with Rundgren playing all instruments and singing all vocals in addition to producing. The final quarter contained a number of tracks recorded live in the studio without any overdubs, save for a short snippet of archive recordings from the 1960s.
A Wizard, a True Star is the fourth studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released on March 2, 1973, by Bearsville Records. It marked a departure from his previous album, Something/Anything? (1972), featuring fewer straightforward pop songs, a development he attributed to his experimentation with psychedelic drugs and his realization of "what music and sound were like in my internal environment, and how different that was from the music I had been making."
Todd is the fifth studio album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1974 on Bearsville Records. It is the follow-up to the previous year's A Wizard, a True Star and features a comparatively heavier reliance on guitar playing and synthesizers. About half of the tracks were performed by Rundgren alone, with the other half recorded with varying configurations of musicians. In the US, the album peaked at number 54, while lead single "A Dream Goes On Forever" reached number 69.
Initiation is the sixth album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released May 23, 1975 on Bearsville Records. With this album, Rundgren fully embraced the synthesized prog sound he had begun exploring in more depth in his work with his band Utopia. However, unlike Utopia, in which Rundgren had limited himself to playing guitar, much of the synthesizers on Initiation were played and programmed by Rundgren himself.
Hermit of Mink Hollow is the eighth album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released May 1978 on Bearsville Records. All of the instruments and vocals were performed by Rundgren. He intended the songs on the album to be performed on piano with minimal arrangements, apart from the bass, drums and voices, and for the material to showcase his newly refined singing ability.
Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren is the second album by American singer-songwriter/musician Todd Rundgren, released in 1971. Like its predecessor, Runt, this album was credited to Rundgren's group Runt, despite Rundgren handling most of the musicianship and production himself.
Utopia was an American rock band formed in 1973 by Todd Rundgren. During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Most of the members in this early incarnation also played on Rundgren's solo albums of the period up to 1975. By 1976, the group was known simply as Utopia and featured a stable quartet of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell and John "Willie" Wilcox. This version of the group gradually abandoned progressive rock for more straightforward rock and pop.
Nearly Human is a 1989 album by the rock musician Todd Rundgren, released by Warner Bros. Records. It was his first release in four years, although he had been active as a producer in the intervening years. Many of the album's songs deal with loss, self-doubt, jealousy and spiritual recovery. It was also the first collaboration between Rundgren and Michele Gray, a singer and ex-model who helped to organize the sessions. Gray sang backing vocals, both on the record and on subsequent tours, and the pair later married.
Swing to the Right is the sixth studio album by Utopia. It followed the Beatles parody-homage Deface the Music. Swing to the Right moves into hard-edged commentary on corporate raiders, warmongers, political villains, and despicable music industry moguls. There is little in the way of progressive rock on this album, which is limited to its title track.
Roger Powell is an American musician, programmer, and magazine columnist best known for his membership with the rock band Utopia.
Back to the Bars is a live album by rock musician Todd Rundgren, which was released as a double LP in 1978.
Another Live is a live album by the progressive rock band Utopia. It was recorded in August 1975 and released in 1975 on Bearsville.
Utopia is the second of two self-titled albums by the rock group Utopia. It was released in 1982. It was also their only album for Network Records.
Ra is the second studio album and third release by Utopia on Bearsville Records, released in 1977. Band leader Todd Rundgren planned on releasing the LP in 1976 on his own label, Ethereal Records, as the new four-piece line up was not signed to Bearsville. Replete with an elaborate $250,000 stage show featuring a 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) pyramid and golden sphinx which took 18 months of prep, Ra was Rundgren's most ambitious live undertaking.
Adventures in Utopia is the fourth studio album by Utopia.
Todd Rundgren's Utopia is the debut album by the American rock band Utopia, released on October 4, 1974 on Bearsville Records. The band was formed in 1973 by musician, songwriter, and producer Todd Rundgren who decided to expand his musical style by moving from pop-oriented rock towards progressive rock. He assembled a six-piece group that featured three keyboardists and toured as a live act. Most of the album was recorded in the studio except "Utopia", the opening track, which was recorded live in concert April 25th, 1974.
Oops! Wrong Planet is the third studio album by American rock band Utopia. It delivers a markedly trimmed down, pop-oriented direction for the band following the progressively influenced previous album, Ra.
Oblivion is an album by the rock group Utopia, released in January 1984.
POV is the ninth and final studio album by the rock group Utopia, released in January 1985. It peaked at #161 on the Billboard 200 charts. Except for a live 1992 reunion album, this was the last album released by Utopia, and Rundgren's final studio work under the Utopia banner.
Disco Jets is a tongue in cheek project organized and recorded by Todd Rundgren and Utopia shortly after recording Rundgren's Faithful LP and including most of the musicians from those sessions. It's an instrumental recording humorously parodying 1976's US Bicentennial celebrations, disco music, science fiction films and the CB radio fads. It was released in 2001, 25 years after its recording, as part of the Todd Archive Series Vol. 4 – "Todd Rundgren Demos and Lost Albums" 2-CD set on Rhino Entertainment/Crown Japan. It was reissued in 2012 as a standalone CD import on Esoteric Recordings and in 2015 on Cherry Red. It was also released as a limited edition vinyl that was manufactured exclusively by Cherry Red for Record Store Day, only appearing in record shops from Saturday 16 April.
