The Hermit of

Mink Hollow

Todd Rundgren The Hermit Of Mink Hollow

Todd Rundgren: The Hermit Of Mink Hollow

Though Todd Rundgren has written better, more original and memorable songs than those on 1978's The Hermit Of Mink Hollow, I believe it to be, with 1985's A Capella to be his equally most consistent set, bristling with energy from the very first few bars of the opening track, All The Children Sing:

"...All across a thousand miles of burning sand
Looking for an answer from a holy man
And this is what he told me with the wave of his hand
He said: 'A bell in your head will ring'..."

All The Children Sing

...and continues right through to the very end, with the Eternal Human consciousness of Fade Away:

"...The sea will rise
The mountains fall
The Earth will turn itself
Upside down
But we have seen it all before
And we will always be around

And in a hundred million years
When the planet disappears
You and I will stay
And watch the world
Fade away..."

Fade Away

These two quality songs top and tail a truly memorable album of synthesizer-based pop with forays into:

a broken heart, Can We Still Be Friends, Hurting For You & You Cried Wolf
infatuation, Onomatopoeia
attacking the excesses of nihilistic punk rock, Don't You Break Down On Me
Rundgren's professional crisis, Too Far Gone &
poverty, Bread & Bag Lady

...with the latter being inspired by a moped trip that Todd had taken through parts of The Third World, including seeing Poverty at first-hand. For the first time a more realistic, less idealised version of Humanity starts to appear on Todd's songs e.g. Bread, an urgent ballad-rocker:

"...I hear the cries of children at night
I watch their faces grow sallow with hunger
Who draws the line between what's wrong and right?
And when I ask what my life's been for
It's all been for nothing

Save your regrets for the dead
But for the living
Give them Love
Give them bread..."

Bread

Todd Rundgren & The Hello People: Bread

These harder insights provided Rundgren's songs with a clout they didn't have before, as you can see in Bag Lady:

"...Like a fly batters itself against a window
Time and again and again it senselessly blunders

Up and down the streets of West Broadway
The Bag Lady wanders...

...and after Todd details her pitiful life, we hear his journalistic observation:

...One day it gets a bit too cold
Maybe a bit too wet
Maybe a little too lonely

Lifelessly she lies
Amidst her bag world
But maybe she's only...
...Only...sleeping..."

Bag Lady

And if a slice of real life seems to have tempered Rundgren's Aquarian optimism, then a broken heart also helped to get his creative juices going again. His on-again/off-again romance with lover for a fair chunk of the 70s, Bebe Buell, (Liv Tyler's mom) was immortalised in the hit-single Can We Still Be Friends

Todd Rundgren: Can We Still Be Friends

...and the equally good Hurting For You:

"...Yesterday I just saw the one you left behind
Yesterday Sad but I can't deny he was
Hurting for you
Finished before it started
It's the only thing left to do
Cause the last of the broken-hearted
Is hurting for you..."

Hurting For You

Bebe Buell's tell-all autobiography

"...If, like me, your boyfriend is a huge Todd Rundgren fan, you're not going to be able to skim this book and look at the pictures because he's going to want to discuss it in detail. So be warned..." Amazon reviewer Patrisia M. Zorn "13 Blackbirds"

"...She really conveys the uber-fem existence, floating serendipitously along the power trails of mega-daddies. Of course, I had to envy her charmed fortune. No bimbo, she knew the score and her place in it..." Amazon reviewer Calliope Harmony

"...If you don't like to read about sex with rock stars, don't buy the book...I was speed-reading my way through the book, flipping pages like crazy. I loved the parts with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, and Elvis Costello. Juicy, juicy. Buy the book when you can spend an entire weekend reading it because you won't want to put it down..." Amazon reviewer Jean Marlene

Rundgren's last word on the failed romance was the derivative You Cried Wolf, the weakest song on the album (but with some good grunt vocals and a reasonably neat sax solo from the Toddster).

Rundgren had managed to irritate a fair number of critics through his erratic and often over-indulgent ways e.g. Initiation and some of his Utopia projects, which resulted in him having to do some serious thinking about his future, in Too Far Gone

"...Think of your friends and neighbors
Suffering through your lamest years
You must owe them something
Spare them your strange behavior

Haven't you finished playing?
Get down to business soon
Because your lean years are coming
June now...but come December

...I'm too far gone..."

Too Far Gone

While much of The Hermit Of Mink Hollow, like the cover photo, is dark, Todd let us know that all wasn't not bad chez-Rundgren and that there was time for at least one comedic ditty, Onomatopoeia:

".....Onomatopoeia
Every time I see ya
My senses tell me 'hubba'
And I just can't disagree-a
I get a feeling somewhere
That I can't describe..."

...while the second verse starts with the wonderfully corny word-play:

".....Onomatopoeia
In proximity-ya
Rearrange my brain
In a strange cacophany-a..."

Onomatopoeia

...soon followed by a minute of silly onomatopoeiac sound effects. Great stuff that only Todd could get away with.

The Hermit Of Mink Hollow, has, over almost 30 years, turned out to be one of my most played albums...and it sells itself. The songs are very strong and while the production has dated, the album is still very listenable. It's truly deserving of its reasonably well-known monicker, "The Snap & Crackle of Perfect Pop". Todd, if you ever read this, thanks, thanks a million.

Todd Rundgren: The Hermit of Mink Hollow

"...The best record, all around, by Todd Rundgren. Everyone who hears it loves it - whether or not they're a Todd fan..." Amazon reviewer B Mistele

"...If I could own only one of Todd's solo works...this would be it. This breathtaking album highlights what Todd does best...sing and write great songs...It's hard to believe this was recorded in 1978 but killer music has no expiration date and this still blows away most modern pop/rock groups. If you have never heard Todd, this would be a good choice to start your journey with one of America's most talented artists..." Amazon reviewer Willie B

"...How can an album save your life?...Well, not to get too deep here, I was going through a lot of crap, as you do sometimes, and...Todd was going through some troubled times...(delivering) an album that works on many layers:

regret
passion
sorrow
determination
maybe even redemption

I related to what Todd was saying I guess...and it will always be one of my favourites..." Amazon.co.uk reviewer mikey

Beautifully crafted pop songs...Can We Still Be Friends, Fade Away, Hurting For You, You Cried Wolf are just sublime. 29 years on it still sounds great. The man is an icon. Shame the media and radio choose to ignore him in favour of lesser talents such as Bowie, Springsteen, Sting (yawn) Amazon.co.uk reviewer Mr. John L. Dyble

With the mega-success of the double LIVE album Frampton Comes Alive and the critical praise heaped on Hermit, Todd's record label suggested he record a double LIVE album of his own.

The result, Back To The Bars, is a party atmosphere recording with a band consisting of Utopia members, past and present, famous friends dropping by, Todd's distinctive stage banter and a really, pleasant, intimate experience. The double CD, now remastered, highlights, if not that many hits, then, at least, a damn fine collection of Todd's very impressive catalogue.

Todd Rundgren LIVE: Back To The Bars

"...I saw the Back To The Bars tour about 15 times. Them wuz the days!..." youtuber jamesrobertdobbs

"...Leave it to Todd Rundgren to take what was quickly becoming a tired concept - the double album recorded LIVE - and release a stunning snapshot of his already legendary career..." Amazon reviewer Mr. Richard D. Coreno

"...All you Todd lovers out there who have not heard this remastered recording, I beseech you to get it! Crystal crystal clear, you can heard every breath, every instrument. All the songs we have known and loved and thought had been played to death...but this one is rich and real and man...close your eyes and you are there...Way over 5 stars..." Amazon reviewer Amazon.com-lover

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