The Individualist | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 31, 1995 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 63:26 | |||
Label | Digital Entertainment | |||
Producer | Todd Rundgren | |||
TR-i chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Individualist | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
The Individualist is a 1995 album by Todd Rundgren, under the pseudonym "TR-i". The second of Todd's TR-I projects, following 1993's No World Order , the album saw Rundgren play all instruments during the recording sessions. Rundgren mixes uptempo numbers, studio gimmickry, and his usual ballads on this mid-1990s release.
The Enhanced CD includes interactive "play" with video experiences (on compatible computers) for every song, and listeners can play "Cast the First Stone" as a video game. "Espresso" and "Woman's World" are also interactive videos.
The lyrical content is largely political and spiritual, with Rundgren expressing his outspoken views against conservatism, particularly on "Family Values" with its slams against Dan Quayle. "Tables Will Turn" is a song about social inequity and how inevitably the situation will change. "If Not Now When" expresses anger against those who claim they want positive change but are too apathetic to act. In accordance with the humanism which has always driven Rundgren's lyrics, in "The Ultimate Crime" he sings "the ultimate crime is not to care." The funky track "Espresso (All Jacked Up)" is a catchy song about travel and having fun in life which could well have scored airplay but didn't. "The Individualist" is a laid-back track utilising rapping, as on No World Order as Rundgren reflects on his desire to see the truth of things and not be subjected to other's views of reality. It includes a humorous jab at Prince's name change: "Change my name to some funky fresh dingbat/Like 'the artist formerly known as TR-i'". "Cast the First Stone" is an example of Rundgren's heavier, more raucous electronic style. In it, Rundgren rails against moral hypocrites. It is similar in feel and sentiment to songs such as "Mammon" and "Liars" on his later Liars album but also to "Fascist Christ" from No World Order . In "Beloved Infidel", a plaintive ballad, Rundgren sings sadly of how the "weak are vilified and wicked glorified"; he awaits the return of the beloved infidel, which seems a metaphor for truth, when the 'liberation bell' will be rung. "Temporary Sanity", which has a rapped middle-eight, is a protest against the insanity of the human race's obsessions with wars and vanity.
All songs by Todd Rundgren.
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive art. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s.
Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.
Bearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. Artists included Todd Rundgren, Elizabeth Barraclough, Foghat, Halfnelson/Sparks, Bobby Charles, Randy VanWarmer, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Lazarus, Jesse Winchester, and NRBQ. The label closed in 1984, two years before Grossman's death. Sally Grossman, Albert Grossman’s widow, was running Bearsville Records from 2010 until her death in March 2021, at the age of 81.
Something/Anything? is the third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1972. It was his first double album, and was recorded in late 1971 in Los Angeles, New York City and Bearsville Studios, Woodstock. Three quarters of the album was recorded in the studio with Rundgren playing all instruments and singing all vocals, as well as being the producer. 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 album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released March 2, 1973, on Bearsville Records. It marked a departure from his previous, Something/Anything? (1972), with its lesser reliance on 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 album and second double 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.
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 solely 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.
Healing is Todd Rundgren's ninth studio album, released in 1981. The album's themes are spirituality and the human condition, something Rundgren had touched on many times in earlier works but never with the consistency exhibited here as every track explores a different aspect. The back cover image of the album shows the caduceus and a Qabalistic Tree of Life each overlaid by a treble clef, reflecting Rundgren's linking of his spirituality and music.
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.
Liars is the eighteenth album from Todd Rundgren, released in 2004. After a long period of experimentation with multimedia technology and late 20th century musical genres, Rundgren seemed to once again embrace the eclectic pop sensibilities that made him famous, as on his most well-known album, Something/Anything?. As a result, the album received rave reviews, as many considered it a welcome return to form.
Runt is the self-titled debut album of the band Runt, commercially released September 1970. Runt was a trio consisting of Todd Rundgren, Hunt Sales (drums), and Tony Fox Sales (bass). The entire album was written and produced by Rundgren, formerly of Nazz, and he performed most of the instruments. Many regarded Runt as Rundgren's debut solo album, and later reissues credit the album to Rundgren rather than to the group.
Skylarking is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird (skylark), as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is generally regarded as their finest work.
No World Order is the fourteenth studio album by Todd Rundgren. It was released on July 6, 1993 for the Philips CD-i, making it the first interactive album in history. Its music was heavily influenced by electronica and rap.
A liar is a person who tells lies.
2nd Wind is the thirteenth album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in 1991 on Warner Bros. Records. It reached number 118 on the Billboard 200 album chart. 2nd Wind includes the single "Change Myself" and was Rundgren's final album on a major label until 2004's Liars.
"Bat Out of Hell" is a song written by Jim Steinman, for the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and performed by Meat Loaf. It was released as a single in 1979, and again in 1993.
Individual is a person or any specific object in a group of things.
"Dear God" is a song by the English rock band XTC that was first released as a non-album single with the A-side "Grass". Written by Andy Partridge, the song lyrics grapple with the existence of God and the problem of evil. Partridge was inspired by a series of books with the same title, which Partridge viewed as exploitative of children. The song was originally intended for the album Skylarking, but left off due to concerns from Partridge and Virgin Records. After college radio DJs across America picked up the song, US distributor Geffen Records recalled and re-pressed Skylarking with the track included.
"Hello It's Me" is a song written by American musician Todd Rundgren. It was the first song he wrote, and was recorded by his group Nazz as a slow ballad, released as the B-side of the band's first single, "Open My Eyes", in 1968. A mid-tempo version of "Hello It's Me", recorded for Rundgren's 1972 solo album Something/Anything?, was issued as a single in 1973, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"I Can't Take It" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1983 as the second single from their seventh studio album Next Position Please. The song was written by Robin Zander and produced by Todd Rundgren.