INITIATION

"Initiation" arguably stands as Todd Rundgren's most progressive release either as a solo artist or as a member of Utopia. By this time, Todd had fully realised the potential of the synthesiser as a means to achieve the sounds he was looking for; happily this coincided with a period which produced some of his most inspired writing.

The album can be divided neatly into two distinct parts, each of which occupies one side of the original LP. Such was the length of these sides that each is only marginally shorter than most full LPs. The total running time for this album (a single disc) is over 67 minutes, giving credibility to its claim to be the longest ever LP. Such was the length of the album, and the associated production issues, that the sleeve included a recommendation that the buyer tape the whole thing and listen to it that way! It also warned that a worn or damaged stylus would ruin the disc immediately, duh.

The first side is a bona fide band production, indeed had he been so inclined this could have formed Utopia's second album. A number of the musician's who played on Utopia's debut also perform here and the music is a natural development of the extended prog numbers which featured on the 1974 release. The six tracks, which run to well over 30 minutes offer a diverse selection of masterfully crafted songs which are then treated to an array of superb arrangements.

The albums bursts into life with "Real man", one of the most commercial songs Todd has recorded, but at the same time one of the most appealing. The introductory phased keyboards lead to a melodic summary of his life to date in 4 minutes. The subtle vocals see Todd singing falsetto when representing his childhood, the phasing returning from time to time over the floating synths and toe tapping rhythm.

"Born to synthesise" alters the mood completely. Here we have an a-cappella performance by Todd enhanced only through the use of echo and voice distortion. At first the song seems totally indulgent, but it sticks in the mind, becoming as compulsive as it is irrational.

"The death of rock and roll" is a Utopia song through and through, with Todd clearly enjoying himself while slipping in some screaming lead guitar. Things settle down again for "Eastern intrigue", a lighter piece which moves through ballad and 10CC like pop in a melting pot of religious cynicism.

The title track reverts to the upbeat style of "Real man", but here we have a magnificently uplifting 7 minute epic. The song finds Todd at his most optimistic with lines such as "love has come, over under it shall be revealed", and "When your star grows bright and fills all of the world with its light, unification". The middle section of the track features sax and synth solos, the latter by Utopian Roger Powell. This divine first side closes with its longest track, "Fair warning". Starting with a simple acoustic guitar melody introducing a Chi-Lites(!) like spoken section, the song reveals itself as one of Todd's most passionate, heartfelt performances. The lyrics here include the wonderful stanza "When you lay down your life in them grooves, you know you're bound to get scratched sometimes". The legendary Edgar Winter adds some fine sax to the song as it slowly builds before concluding with to a brief reprise of "Real man" to form the perfect ending to a near perfect side.

Having experienced over half an hour of superlative music, we turn the disc over to find that side two consists of single piece running to 36 minutes. In some ways though, this is the complete antithesis of side one. The only performer here is Todd himself. There are no lyrics, indeed the whole piece is far more ambient and improvisational. Although the suite is divided into three sections (plus an intro and outro), one of which is then further sub-divided into seven parts, the piece is completely abstract. Hence, it does not really matter that part one comes after parts 2 and 3! Those with a bent for such styles as Jazz rock/Fusion, Krautrock and Avant-garde should find the time to pass by here. While the passing of time may now have rendered obsolete some of the sounds which would have been new to the ear in the early 1970's, this is a truly progressive suite which sees Todd exploring with great aplomb territories we would not normally associate with him. I have seen it suggested (but not substantiated) that on the LP the whole recording has been speeded up slightly to make it fit on the side.

"Initiation" is an album of superlatives, excesses, contrasts and indulgences. On that basis alone, this is a great prog album. The fact that it also contains some of Todd's best songs can only mean that this is an essential album.

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