Todd Rundgren, Glasgow review: 'surprises in the second half'
This two-hour-plus wild ride encompassed everything from proto metal to sultry soul, writes Fiona Shepherd
Todd Rundgren, Theatre Royal, Glasgow ★★★★
Opportunities to see the prolific yet also enigmatic Todd Rundgren don’t come around very often, hence the rowdy reception from fans on the final date of his latest UK romp. On this occasion, he celebrated the length and breadth of his eclectic career in the company of a superb five-piece band. A walking if not-very-high-kicking advert for the preservative powers of rock’n’roll, Rundgren delivered a two-hour-plus wild ride encompassing everything from proto metal to sultry soul as well as his signature 70s power pop.
The snapping rhythm and rallying rock of Everybody gave away its relatively recent place in his close to 50-year career with the lyric “everybody can't get a twerk from Miley” but from here he plunged back to the 60s, 70s and 80s with the luxury yacht rock of Lost Horizon, the primo garage psych of Open My Eyes, embellished with crunchy guitar and beatific Beach Boys breakdown, and the pop glory of one of his most enduring hits I Saw the Light, complete with bubblegum backing vocals from his band.
It was hard to keep up as he chicaned from the hoary Buffalo Grass to the smooth soul of Sweet via the prog prowl of Black Maria and vaudevillean ska bounce of Down with the Ship (from his most recent album, 2022’s Space Force). But there were more surprises in the second half, not least the timely and timeless three-part harmony a cappella Honest Work, and the addition of Marvin Gaye’s I Want You to his longstanding medley of Curtis Mayfield’s Proud of You and Smokey Robinson’s Ooh Baby Baby.
While Rundgren’s falsetto range is compromised, he was still a persuasive soul crooner - and acoustic balladeer and pomp rocker and purveyor of exquisite MOR pop, as exemplified by his encore hits Can We Still Be Friends, Sweeter Memories and Hello It’s Me.
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