Todd Rundgren - The Desktop Collection and 2nd Wind Live Recording Sessions (DVD, 2002)

During his 40+ years in the music business, Todd Rundgren has been anything but stagnant. Unlike many acts that enjoyed a short run in the '60s and '70s and then faded away, Rundgren continued to evolve, reinventing himself with each album, and Todd remains a relevant artist even today (he released a new album, Arena, in 2008).

This DVD is a combination of two previously released videos, originally available in VHS format. The Desktop Collection was a series of music videos created by Todd using then-top-of-the-line computer video processing technology that seems a little dated now, but overall has stood the test of time. Most of the music for this video came from Todd's 1993 release No World Order (under the pseudonym TR-i, an interactive takeoff of Phillips' CD-i, an interactive compact disc player that lasted only a short run). No World Order didn't chart very well, but not because the music wasn't good - Todd's mix of techno-pop, blues/soul/rap vocals and thoughtful lyrics provided a challenging mix of tunes that translated well to the videos that you'll find here. In addition, there is a video for the song 'Change Myself' which was originally released two years earlier, on 1991's 2nd Wind album.

Speaking of 2nd Wind, this DVD also contains the documentary that outlines the careful manner in which Rundgren recorded this album. The album itself contained some excellent songs - three of them were written for the Joe Orton play 'Up Against It' in the late '80s - and this video presentation has Todd explaining each song to the audience before Todd's band performed the song. This was Todd Rundgren allowing an audience to be present as an album was being made. It wasn't a live album; the audience was instructed not to give their applause until a signal was given. As excited as I was to view this video, I was somewhat disappointed with the mere tidbits of songs that this video provides - some 30-60 seconds or so for each song. Don't get me wrong, there are some fine moments from this session. But the purpose of this video isn't to provide the viewer with another concert video, but to allow the viewer a sneak peek at a whole new concept by creating a studio recording in front of the live audience. With anyone else, it wouldn't have come off as well as it does here, but without the full performance, it still leaves you wishing you'd seen the rest of the performance for each song.

I rated this DVD Good because the videos on the Desktop Collection showed an excellent amount of detail that Todd put into them, but the lack of complete songs on the 2nd Wind portion brought it down a bit. If you're looking for Rundgren's hits - I Saw The Light, Hello It's Me, Bang The Drum All Day - you might want to stick to the Rhino Greatest Hits CD, or if you want to watch a live best-of concert on DVD, try Rundgren's Live In Japan DVD.