Cadogan Hall, London
The 78-year-old has astonishing range but gets bogged down in middling rock, though later delivers some gorgeous acoustic songs – and a slinky Marvin Gaye cover
Todd Rundgren is a confusing man. After his tune-packed 1972 album Something/Anything? drew comparisons to Carole King and Brian Wilson, he took a pharmacopoeia of psychedelics and made a vexing masterpiece, A Wizard, a True Star, with no singles at all. He’s produced classic albums by Meat Loaf and the New York Dolls but he’s also released a record of nothing but vocals (A Cappella) and the world’s first interactive album (No World Order). Counting only the artists who appeared on his last two albums, his fans include Trent Reznor, Robyn and the Lemon Twigs. He called his memoir The Individualist.
Rundgren certainly looks the part. With his Addams Family hair, tinted goggles and limber dance moves, he could be a goth raver. Everything he says sounds teasingly sarcastic, even when he’s thanking the audience for spending their “discretionary income” on a ticket. He says the curfew means he can’t tell stories about the songs but it would have been worth sacrificing a couple of his two-hour show’s stodgier numbers to hear them.