Suddenly and seemingly prolific, Todd Rundgren found himself with another stack of songs recorded all by himself. Sticking with the one-word titles, Global presented another state-of-the-world address, with varying results. But if you’re hoping to hear guitars, you’re out of luck, as it’s entirely electronic, outside the vocals. While “Evrybody” begins with an exhortation for listeners to clap their hands, it’s more a plea for unity of the human race than a mindless singalong. After a synth intro, “Flesh & Blood” is along the same theme, right down to the techno beat, with the phonetically correct lyrics printed in the booklet. “Rise” might as well have been one of his early ‘80s experiments, as it’s right in line with that sound, but without many lyrics. “Holyland” makes up the verbal deficit, with another grand intro, an unfortunate tribal chant, and an unexpected message in the chorus. “Blind” is a slow burner that skewers those who choose religion over science, with a solo by longtime sax man Bobby Strickland. While “Earth Mother” is intended to celebrate female pioneers, the performance borders on parody.
From its single bleating note throughout, “Global Nation” starts in the nightclub and stays there, Autotune and all. “Soothe” would be the album’s big ballad, and ripe for covering by anyone hoping for a hit. In “Terra Firma” he compares himself to Christopher Columbus and astronauts, but still turns it into something of a love song. “Fate” uses the gambling analogy to demonstrate how we’re screwing up the planet, while “Skyscraper” takes the ivory tower metaphor to castigate those who take their wealth for granted. (That doesn’t include estates on Hawaii, apparently. Also, Kasim Sulton is credited, presumably on vocals.) “This Island Earth” sums up the whole album in one song, albeit with fluctuating tempo, and makes one think he could have written just the one song instead of an album full. (The digital version of the album ends with “Technopolis”, something of a Japanese TV theme song, and the only place where a guitar is heard.)
Whether or not Global delivered, fans had another album to devour, provided they didn’t mind paying import prices. Runddans was a collaboration with a pair of Norwegian musicians who were born around the time of the first Utopia album, and indeed, the first several minutes sound like side two of Initiation. “Solus” is some wordless vocalizing over a ticking beat, then “Put Your Arms Around Me” becomes the first thing approaching a pop song, complete with guitar solo. (Another track is indexed and titled for another guitar solo.) Themes come and go, echoes of things like “The Spark Of Life” emerge, and the overall effect is that of a bunch of guys who really like playing in the studio doing exactly that. We even get to hear a phone conversation discussing the work in progress; that too is remixed and treated. Have at it.
Todd Rundgren Global (2015)—2½
Todd Rundgren/Emil Nikolaisen/Hans-Peter Lindstrøm Runddans (2015)—2
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