What were you saying?
This hasn't dated all that well, mainly because it was such a product of the technology of its time. Despite the title, on half of these songs Todd actually sang into an Emulator, a vocal-processing device capable of distorting the human voice into different pitches and attacks -- which is why you hear drums on this thing. It's actually Todd going "puh!" and then fingering it on a keyboard. So it sounds a little more antiquated now than it did in 1985.But the 4 stars come from -- yup, you guessed it -- the songwriting. Out of all the just-missed hits of his career, and there are many, "Something To Fall Back On" might be the most tragically gypped. It should have ripped up the charts in 1985. The technology was hip then, the hook was insanely great, and it came out in the summer when everybody should have been required to adopt it over their car stereos. It didn't work. We as a nation should feel very, very ashamed.
As far as the other stuff, Todd got socially conscious on "Johnee Jingo" (which, along with four other songs here, is truly and really a cappella with no Emulator) and did a damn good Marvin Gaye simulation on "Lost Horizon." It's more of an interesting experiment than a great pop record, but it's definitely an impressive feat that mixes both.
Decent, but be cautious
This album is actually more in the 3 1/2 - 4 star range, but I noticed several overzealous Todd-heads (I'm one, too) were rating this album very highly, and it honestly just doesn't have very much that could appeal to anyone outside of Todd's cult. The songs are relatively consistant (not as good as the Hermit of Mink Hollow, but a lot more interesting than rubbish like No World Order) and the production and tonal palette are impressive given that all sounds are generated by Todd's voice and body. However, the a capella nature of this album is entirely irrelevant to the music - these songs would have been just as interesting without this bizarre arrangement. This sometimes leaves behind the feeling that it's all a big gimmick and that Rundgren is just showing off his production chops (which are, by the way, quite impressive). Other than this, the only other complaint is that the 80s digital crispness of the recording, delays, reverbs, etc. haven't dated very well. This is a minor problem, however, and anyone who has already purchased Todd's major albums (Something/Anything; A Wizard, A True Star; Runt; The Ballad of Todd Rundgren; The Hermit of Mink Hollow; and Faithless) would probably find enjoyment in this collection of songs. However, be advised to proceed with caution and full understanding of what this collection contains.
Reminder of when music was fun!
Todd Rundgren seems like one of those guys who, like Prince or Billy Corgan, started out as a kid making eclectic, weird, wonderful music in his basement or something. It's almost like Rundgren is the perfect blend of scientist and engineer, or a master cinematographer who directs his own movie; he's creative and technically phenomenal at the same time.
This album has that sort of duality in spades. Beautiful songs like "Pretending To Care" could have been recorded with standard instrumentation (and indeed, there's a pretty good cover by Jennifer Warnes on her "The Hunter" album), but Rundgren seems almost bored by the idea; he seems to be making music for himself.
Though that can lead to some odd or indulgent passages, this album proves that such creativity is infinitely more exciting than the by-the-numbers production of most of today's albums. Listening to this album again (I had lost my vinyl copy years ago) reminded me of a time when music was a lot more fun.
Back when Todd was a Genius...
When I put on "Liars" a few weeks ago, I listened to the first four songs, then got incredibly bored. I took it off and put this CD on the box. Why doesn't Todd experiment like this anymore? "Something to Fall Back On" was the hit that never was, and nothing since that record has come even close to matching the mastery of this pop gem (except maybe "Where Does The Time Go?", which was recorded around the same time as Acapella.) Try it -- you'll like it.
Todd's Most Vocal Album To Date
Here is something fun to do: Play "Something/Anything" and right after that play " A Capella" just to hear how extremely different each album is from the other. In fact this is by far the strangest Todd Rundgren album that is out there. Almost each and every sound you hear on this album is his voice. I think Todd released this album to tick off Bearsville Records. Bearsville wasn't supporting Utopia and was pressing Todd for another solo release, so Todd coughed up A Capella with very strange(but kinda cool) songs like "Johnee Jingo", "Hodja", "Something To Fall Back On", and the somewhat creepy "Lockjaw". A cappella is a unique album in the rundgren collection, but I had to give four stars just because it is so darn weird.
