Todd Rundgren
Nearly Human

THE REVIEW

What remained, in the year of disgrace 1989, of that '70s rock star, of his surf rock, his rock blues, the prog magnificence, the vaudeville flair, the experimental audacity? Listening to "Nearly Human," it seems, just a man who hasn't forgotten how to play the guitar and who, on tracks that no longer carry those flavors, still manages to incorporate, here and there, some powerful solos.

No rock, however, in any of its forms; remains his (usually) appreciable, yet inevitable, soul, as well as rhythm and blues.

Nothing horrific and nothing revolutionary, nothing genius and little conventional: that's how "Nearly Human" is, a record that adds nothing, and unfortunately subtracts rock and audacity. Had it at least been produced in the seventies, it would have benefited from more substantial arrangements, perhaps less "spotless" but with more verve and grit, and the hurdle would have been easily overcome. But arranged as it was, with these empty keyboards, lacking voluntary and involuntary muscle, the refined soul devoted to smooth and radio-friendly pop of "Parallel Lines" is lost along the way, that of "The Waiting Game" slips away without sparks, the chill of "Fidelity" is beautiful but lacks personality...

The rhythm and blues of "Unloved Children" is predictable from start to finish, the one of the finale "I Love My Life" is too light; in that, great for a Joe Cocker, of the opener "The Want Of A Nail" you can't tell if they are real brass instruments or more keyboards...

How can one defend against the '80s? And when I think that Todd is one of the best producers out there (so even in that decade), then I listen to this album and can only convince myself that "Nearly Human" had to sound that way by necessity. And if it didn't sound like that, it sounded even worse! The perplexity adds to the disappointment when, due to sounds and arrangements yes, but not only, you discover that "Can't Stop Running" reminds you of "Africa" by Toto, and that even "Two Little Hitlers" brings to mind "Town Of Plenty" by Sir Elton John.

Rundgren hadn't released an album since 1985: couldn't he have waited another year? Couldn't he have waited for the '80s to end, for music and for everyone?