With his soaring voice and arena-rock fluency, Todd Rundgren seemed destined for hit-after-hit superstardom when he released his third album, the entirely self-recorded Something/Anything, in 1972.
Looking back, though, it was clear that Rundgren had too many experimental itches to scratch—and the progression of his career has arguably been more satisfying as a result. Sure, he routinely takes erratic turns, and his ventures into electronic music and prog haven't necessarily aged well, but you can't deny that Rundgren has stuck to his guns.
Odd, then, that it's in that very gumption that his music has found new legs today: The blog-adored Dallas product Neon Indian was catapulted to its recent successes on the heels of Rundgren samples that it appropriated into its modern dance sound. If nothing else, consider it a long-awaited stamp of approval for a deserving artist.
Of course, there's more to Rundgren than that. Even these days, at 61 years old, the guy remains quite the force. And when he's on, he sure can wail.
