''Faithful'' is the seventh studio album by American musician

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

, released in May 1976 on

Bearsville Records Bearsville Records is a record label that was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. The label closed in 1984, two years before Grossman's death. Sally Grossman, Albert Grossman’s widow, was running Bearsville Records from 2010 until her death in ...

Music

Rundgren explained the motivation of the first side as treating rock music like European classical music, where a piece is always performed in the same way. Rundgren is backed on the album by the other three members of

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

: Roger Powell on keyboards, John Siegler on bass, and John Wilcox on drums. The first side is dedicated to "faithful" re-recordings of songs from 1966, while side two contains original songs inspired by music of that time period. Critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

called the second side Rundgren's "clearest and most interesting set of songs since ''

Something/Anything? ''Something/Anything?'' is the third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1972. It was Rundgren's first album released under his own name, following two records credited to the quasi-group project Runt, and was also his ...

''".Robert Christgau,
Rock Albums of the '70s
' The closing song, "Boogies (Hamburger Hell)", opens with a reference to restaurant chain

Beefsteak Charlie's Beefsteak Charlie's was a well-known Manhattan restaurant in the early 20th century, and later a restaurant chain based in the New York metropolitan area, which grew to over 60 locations in the early 1980s. History Original restaurant Char ...

, which former Utopia drummer Kevin Ellman was operating along with his family at the time.

Release

The album was released in May 1976 with virtually no advertising, as Bearsville president Paul Fishkin believed that Rundgren fans would purchase it based solely on word of mouth. The Rundgren original "Love of the Common Man" and his cover of

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

' "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...

" were released as singles, the latter peaking at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart. The album peaked at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' album chart.

Track listing

All songs on Side 2 written by Todd Rundgren.

Personnel

*Todd Rundgren – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, producer; all instruments on "When I Pray" * Roger Powell – keyboards, trumpet; electric guitar on "If Six Was Nine" *John Siegler – bass guitar, cello *John Wilcox – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Single

References

{{Authority control Todd Rundgren albums 1976 albums Albums produced by Todd Rundgren 1970s covers albums Bearsville Records albums Rhino Entertainment albums Song recordings produced by Todd Rundgren