With the New Cars debacle fading in his rear view mirror, Todd Rundgren returns
with Arena, his first studio album in four years. Recorded
in Princeville, Hawaii (the singer’s homebase where he and his band played the
album live for a small audience on his birthday), Arena is
a no-bones rocker, rich with crunchy guitar lines, user-friendly riffs and no
nonsense lyrics. When you consider the magnitude of Rundgren’s accomplishments
— from producing world-class artists to writing computer software —
making Arena must have felt like a cataclysmic cakewalk through
a mine field of good intentions. One wrong step, everything blows up, but everyone
lives.
Without a hint of irony, the record blasts off from the get-go with a very
direct, in-your-face song called “Mad.” In these times of war, economic
woes, doom, gloom, deception and widespread distrust of our leaders and authority
figures, the punch and poetry behind “Mad” is something most anyone
can relate to. But don’t worry — Rundgren doesn’t spend his
time pissing and moaning about the affairs of the world (after all, he lives
in paradise). Arena is a spirited hybrid, filled with a dizzying
array of moods and modes — all with one-word titles — to keep you
on the edge of your iPod. “Afraid” and “Today” may be
multi-dimensional pecks on the cheek, but the artillery comes out and the Marshalls
are turned up to 11 on “Mercenary,” “Gun” and “Strike.”
Between dashes of unnerving cacophony and dabs of effectual ingenuity are those
melodic middle of the roadsters that reduce traction and lighten the payload.
Who’d think songs like “Courage” and “Pissin’”
could have such a calming effect. Or that the bluesy intonations of “Bardo”
could so convincingly steer the entire record into an unknown cavern of destitution.
But then Rundgren fuels up the jet and burns rubber on “Mountaintop,”
“Panic” and “Manup.” So many of his peers have repaired
to the cocktail lounge, but Rundgren is hedging his odds by boosting his chops
to an Arena level. In an act of definace, he’s trumping the
naysayers and bean counters who are attempting to transform power pop into legitimate
rock and roll. One listen and it’s easy to see how Todd Rundgren could teach
these punks a lesson or two.
~ Shawn Perry
