⚓Like Yacht Rock, but with more octane, more harmonies, infinitely hummable melodies, and some jangly guitars: If power pop had teeth and a Mach 5 motor.
Kasim would love to hear you say that, Dan! As it happens, he and I have been LinkedIn buds for months, and he just chimed in on my link of this article, there: "So great to be included with Mark and Howard. Thanks Brad!" Needless to say, my weekend has been made!
And, your note reflects the love/hate relationship I've had with hit radio for decades! It's all subjective, of course, but it seems like we've always had to tolerate the relatively ponderous dreck pop radio always seemed to uphold, while they ignored so much of the more clever, melodic, and/or well-composed music that was released!
I'm happy you caught this one when it was released, and you're right....I could've lived seeing it creep into the Top Ten!!! Thanks for your kind hat-tip in Kasim's direction!😁👍
Todd is God was spray painted on his semi at a concert I sat 4th row center after a general admission fiasco at a folding chairs in a gym scramble at a small college in NJ. I had become a fan a true fan when my mother gave me a ticket to see solo the first Utopia tour 74 at Radio City from her friend's son who couldn't go. A full 6 piece rollout on a school night barely knowing much more than Dream Goes on Forever which played on an endless loop of music on an Eastern Airlines to Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 flight and of course Hello It's Me. Good pop tunes and radio hits but his wheelhouse was crazy weird endlessly varied shit with guitar god wizardry and INNOVATION 💡 which my high school buddies took as I had gone glam or worse. My clothes changed my mind changed my life changed. Never been so immersed in a "sound." I woke up the other day now almost 67 hearing his endless use of inversions Da dah dah... something he always came back to, something so postive it will lift you up when you're down. Do we have anything something like it today? Charlie Pugh? Nah. Todd was a once in a lifetime one man American Band (Grand Funk!) He was the Nazz. But when he scaled back, fired Moogy Kilngman, co-writer of You Gotta Have Friends w/ Buzzy Linhart another musical God of mine who I also saw live as many times as I saw Todd because each show was its own magic moment (saw Jay Black too even farther back in NJ), and Ralph Shuckett, went 4 piece with the obviously talented Kasim I was almost done. Yeah Bang on a drum... Wheel Turning on that appealing to toddlers live record was my last purchase other than Todd with a Twist lounge failure. With a bad cartoon cover Utopia live was a Judas moment. Kiss without the metal to make it last. But my musical life was changed when at the end of A Wizard a True Star's International Feel he sang "Wait Another Year Utopia is Here" after I had become a fan because of seeing Utopia I realized his influence would follow me to the end. All kinds of little secrets he shared with us with his four perfect records two of them double albums!
AlGrossman said something gross a better man would have said sure no problem. But Kasim would go down as the savior taking the load off Todd so giving props here where props are do is very good stuff. I will revist this song with fresh ears.
Finally I did meet Todd at The NMS for TR-I he signed my program pic and was very nice to me. He was trying to embrace new tech but he had already slayed technology the first go 'round. He's a seeker not a god after all. His commencement speech at Berklee on YouTube is a must see for anyone.
The end of his concerts were always a crescendo of rockers and uplifting ones at that. He had Heavy Metal Kids in there with Sunset Blvd., Do Ya, and Just One Victory sing-along an altered Dah Dah... Dah Dah... a murderers row of high octane tunes you had to be there to believe left you humming and really never left you, without being too sticky. Those records were all flawless up until that Judas moment after the first Utopia Iconic disc City in my head.. live followup disappointment.
Poor Kasim Sultan, he never had a chance with us devoted diehards maybe you've given him a 2nd one.
Wow, thanks, Steve, for all your inspired ink here! So many people will never know the many moods of magic from Todd and his cohorts for over 6 decades! I trust you've read all my Todd pieces here....this one's a good start: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-11-todd-rundgrenlove
A "Keep it Warm" reference.....pretty cool, Mark! I had to look it up...from F&E's next, "Moving Targets"! Thanks for dropping in, Mark, and don't be a stranger....or a strangler, for that matter!😁👍
I only "discovered" their work with Zappa after the fact. In '70, I was 15, and Dad worked in Houston radio, and brought Warner Bros promos home for me! He'd keep the jazz, and gave me the rock! So, I had all the early Zappa, but his records spent less time on my 'table than the Alice, Tull, Neil Young, T. Rex, and others that were more readily "speaking" to me!
Only voraciously reading the rock press of the early '70s did I really discover where Flo & Eddie had been between Turtles and their first Reprise record in '73! I seem to be able to pick out Howard and Mark on "Sharleena"! I'm curious to discover if they went to Frank, or did Frank seek them out to join the Mothers! With the possible exception of Rodney Bingenheimer and Kim Fowley, there were no two people more plugged into the '70s Hollywood "scene" than F&E! So, I think, even by their Mothers tenure, they were outgoing, curious, and gregarious enough to know everybody, and know THEIR everybodys!
You sound like you'd be fun to Tune Tag with, Mark! Root around a couple of the TTs on the site (https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag), if you'd like, and DM me if you're game, and I'll drop some deets on ya!
There are a number of Zappa documentaries and concerts on YT. Also, a great resource for the LA music scene, specifically Laurel Canyon is the wonderful photo book (with narrative) edited and written by Harvey Kubernik.
I must've read a lot of Kubernik (plus, the name's familiar), as I peruse his Wiki page. I regularly read all the mags he wrote for in the '70s: PRM, Crawdaddy, Melody Maker (getting those a week "late" as they'd come by boat from UK, and land at Bellaire News in Houston!). I didn't realize he later got into A&R and producing.
You might find fascinating the first-hand accounts of the '70s Hollywood record biz in the 20 articles (in his own words) we have here by singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor, Stephen Michael Schwartz, who recorded an album for RCA in '74!
He employed a 25-year-old pre-16-Grammy-winner, David Foster, and did '75 sessions with the recently-fired Elton John rhythm section, Dee Murray and Nigel Olssen, and did an impromptu '72 performance for Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell of an original song of his! And, lots more!!
What a great deep dive! I always love how well-researched and structured your posts are. I didn't know the tunes. Rose Marie has an infectious beat, and Set me Free is so original in that it tells a story of despair whilst striking a hopeful vibe. Amazing work!
Mark and Howard's career is certainly something to behold! And, the stories!! I'd love to read Howard's autobio...."revealing" indeed, I'm sure! Todd's entire career, IMO, has been underrated, with his Rock Hall induction just TWO years ago!?! But, you're right, David....his overall work with Utopia is impressive, indeed....just zeroing in on the selflessness to let another's song (Kasim's, in this case) enjoy the spotlight, for a start! And, to successfully straddle the line between solo career and the dynamics of a group for many years is to be lauded, also!
I've always loved "Set Me Free!" Such a great song, should have been a bigger hit!
Kasim would love to hear you say that, Dan! As it happens, he and I have been LinkedIn buds for months, and he just chimed in on my link of this article, there: "So great to be included with Mark and Howard. Thanks Brad!" Needless to say, my weekend has been made!
And, your note reflects the love/hate relationship I've had with hit radio for decades! It's all subjective, of course, but it seems like we've always had to tolerate the relatively ponderous dreck pop radio always seemed to uphold, while they ignored so much of the more clever, melodic, and/or well-composed music that was released!
I'm happy you caught this one when it was released, and you're right....I could've lived seeing it creep into the Top Ten!!! Thanks for your kind hat-tip in Kasim's direction!😁👍
Didn't know that story about "Set Me Free".
And, good on Todd for being selfless enough to dive into the group format, and let others, like Kasim, to stretch their creative muscles!
Todd is God was spray painted on his semi at a concert I sat 4th row center after a general admission fiasco at a folding chairs in a gym scramble at a small college in NJ. I had become a fan a true fan when my mother gave me a ticket to see solo the first Utopia tour 74 at Radio City from her friend's son who couldn't go. A full 6 piece rollout on a school night barely knowing much more than Dream Goes on Forever which played on an endless loop of music on an Eastern Airlines to Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 flight and of course Hello It's Me. Good pop tunes and radio hits but his wheelhouse was crazy weird endlessly varied shit with guitar god wizardry and INNOVATION 💡 which my high school buddies took as I had gone glam or worse. My clothes changed my mind changed my life changed. Never been so immersed in a "sound." I woke up the other day now almost 67 hearing his endless use of inversions Da dah dah... something he always came back to, something so postive it will lift you up when you're down. Do we have anything something like it today? Charlie Pugh? Nah. Todd was a once in a lifetime one man American Band (Grand Funk!) He was the Nazz. But when he scaled back, fired Moogy Kilngman, co-writer of You Gotta Have Friends w/ Buzzy Linhart another musical God of mine who I also saw live as many times as I saw Todd because each show was its own magic moment (saw Jay Black too even farther back in NJ), and Ralph Shuckett, went 4 piece with the obviously talented Kasim I was almost done. Yeah Bang on a drum... Wheel Turning on that appealing to toddlers live record was my last purchase other than Todd with a Twist lounge failure. With a bad cartoon cover Utopia live was a Judas moment. Kiss without the metal to make it last. But my musical life was changed when at the end of A Wizard a True Star's International Feel he sang "Wait Another Year Utopia is Here" after I had become a fan because of seeing Utopia I realized his influence would follow me to the end. All kinds of little secrets he shared with us with his four perfect records two of them double albums!
AlGrossman said something gross a better man would have said sure no problem. But Kasim would go down as the savior taking the load off Todd so giving props here where props are do is very good stuff. I will revist this song with fresh ears.
Finally I did meet Todd at The NMS for TR-I he signed my program pic and was very nice to me. He was trying to embrace new tech but he had already slayed technology the first go 'round. He's a seeker not a god after all. His commencement speech at Berklee on YouTube is a must see for anyone.
The end of his concerts were always a crescendo of rockers and uplifting ones at that. He had Heavy Metal Kids in there with Sunset Blvd., Do Ya, and Just One Victory sing-along an altered Dah Dah... Dah Dah... a murderers row of high octane tunes you had to be there to believe left you humming and really never left you, without being too sticky. Those records were all flawless up until that Judas moment after the first Utopia Iconic disc City in my head.. live followup disappointment.
Poor Kasim Sultan, he never had a chance with us devoted diehards maybe you've given him a 2nd one.
Bravo Brad!!!
Wow, thanks, Steve, for all your inspired ink here! So many people will never know the many moods of magic from Todd and his cohorts for over 6 decades! I trust you've read all my Todd pieces here....this one's a good start: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-11-todd-rundgrenlove
Thanks again!🎶😁👍
“Get The Gipper gets high, he gets looser.”
A "Keep it Warm" reference.....pretty cool, Mark! I had to look it up...from F&E's next, "Moving Targets"! Thanks for dropping in, Mark, and don't be a stranger....or a strangler, for that matter!😁👍
Big Turtles and F&E fan. I especially like their work with Frank Zappa. Check out this gem from *Chunga's Revenge*:
https://youtu.be/FYdXPo7LmEc?si=SnyilofR1ie1OGUS
I only "discovered" their work with Zappa after the fact. In '70, I was 15, and Dad worked in Houston radio, and brought Warner Bros promos home for me! He'd keep the jazz, and gave me the rock! So, I had all the early Zappa, but his records spent less time on my 'table than the Alice, Tull, Neil Young, T. Rex, and others that were more readily "speaking" to me!
Only voraciously reading the rock press of the early '70s did I really discover where Flo & Eddie had been between Turtles and their first Reprise record in '73! I seem to be able to pick out Howard and Mark on "Sharleena"! I'm curious to discover if they went to Frank, or did Frank seek them out to join the Mothers! With the possible exception of Rodney Bingenheimer and Kim Fowley, there were no two people more plugged into the '70s Hollywood "scene" than F&E! So, I think, even by their Mothers tenure, they were outgoing, curious, and gregarious enough to know everybody, and know THEIR everybodys!
Here's one album I had I wish I STILL had....the '75 promo interview LP they shared with Barry Mann, as they interview the great songwriter for his debut RCA album! https://www.discogs.com/release/9010092-Flo-Eddy-Interview-with-Barry-Mann-Flo-Eddy-Interview-With-Barry-Mann
I'm stunned it's only fetching in the $10 range on Discogs!
I had forgotten I had put "Let Me Make Love to You" on a Summer playlist 3 Augusts ago: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/grow-bigger-ears-1-the-audio-autopsy?utm_source=publication-search
You sound like you'd be fun to Tune Tag with, Mark! Root around a couple of the TTs on the site (https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag), if you'd like, and DM me if you're game, and I'll drop some deets on ya!
There are a number of Zappa documentaries and concerts on YT. Also, a great resource for the LA music scene, specifically Laurel Canyon is the wonderful photo book (with narrative) edited and written by Harvey Kubernik.
I must've read a lot of Kubernik (plus, the name's familiar), as I peruse his Wiki page. I regularly read all the mags he wrote for in the '70s: PRM, Crawdaddy, Melody Maker (getting those a week "late" as they'd come by boat from UK, and land at Bellaire News in Houston!). I didn't realize he later got into A&R and producing.
You might find fascinating the first-hand accounts of the '70s Hollywood record biz in the 20 articles (in his own words) we have here by singer/songwriter/guitarist/actor, Stephen Michael Schwartz, who recorded an album for RCA in '74!
He employed a 25-year-old pre-16-Grammy-winner, David Foster, and did '75 sessions with the recently-fired Elton John rhythm section, Dee Murray and Nigel Olssen, and did an impromptu '72 performance for Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell of an original song of his! And, lots more!!
Those are all here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/stephen-michael-schwartz
What a great deep dive! I always love how well-researched and structured your posts are. I didn't know the tunes. Rose Marie has an infectious beat, and Set me Free is so original in that it tells a story of despair whilst striking a hopeful vibe. Amazing work!
Good one, Brad. So much music, so little time!
That's our motto.....the ole SMM, SLT acro! The soundtrack for your weekend! Thanks, Hugh!
I love Kaylan and Volman's work no matter what they name they were recording under. And Kaylan's autobiography is a fantastic and revealing read.
Plus Rundgren's work with Utopia is underrated.
Mark and Howard's career is certainly something to behold! And, the stories!! I'd love to read Howard's autobio...."revealing" indeed, I'm sure! Todd's entire career, IMO, has been underrated, with his Rock Hall induction just TWO years ago!?! But, you're right, David....his overall work with Utopia is impressive, indeed....just zeroing in on the selflessness to let another's song (Kasim's, in this case) enjoy the spotlight, for a start! And, to successfully straddle the line between solo career and the dynamics of a group for many years is to be lauded, also!