Todd Rundgren - The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect (DVD, 2000, Includes VIDEOSYNCRACY)

Todd Rundgren - known for the soft-rock hits 'Hello It's Me', 'I Saw The Light', 'Can We Still Be Friends', and the rhythmic sports-arena-anthem 'Bang The Drum All Day' - went from pop rock to psychedelic very quickly in the early '70s, alienating the fans that loved his pop music, but becoming a cult hero to others in the process. Fans watched in disbelief as he colored his hair, played acid rock guitar solos with his band Utopia, rebelled against record company management, and made records that didn't sound like anything else.

But fans that have followed his career have tuned in to the fact that even though his albums didn't sell like the record company wanted, they had artistic value and integrity, and weren't influenced by sales numbers anyway.

Given that Todd's ways were not the record label's ways, it's amazing that this performer/songwriter/producer and video pioneer made eleven solo albums, plus another seven albums with three configurations of his band Utopia, in the span of about twelve years with Bearsville Records. And during that time, Rundgren became technologically proficient with computers and recording equipment (audio and video). During the mid- to late-1970s, Todd was already creating visual imagery that was shown on screen at concerts, and in the early 1980s, he was already making rock music videos before there ever was such a thing as MTV.

While the LP titled 'The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect' was released the same year (1983 - the last record he made for Bearsville), this video contains no music from that album. This isn't just a collection of videos made to promote music; this was Todd reaching out to his fans in a personal and intimate setting, without concern for critical praise or scorn. Using his immense back catalog, Rundgren is capable of telling his own personal story using his own songs and lyrics, with colorful visual effects that were cutting-edge at this time, as well as interview segments with an off-camera interviewer.

This DVD not only contains this 1983 release (originally on VHS), but also the three videos originally released on VHS titled Videosyncracy - Hideaway, Can We Still Be Friends, and Time Heals. I rated this DVD Good because the music score is well-done, the direction was okay, but the tale it tells leaves the viewer with as many questions as answers about who Todd Rundgren was at that particular time. If you're an avid fan of Todd Rundgren's, you probably already have this video, but may be looking to replace it in DVD format. It is remastered in 5.1 Surround Sound.

If you're just discovering Todd Rundgren's music and you want to see him perform live, you might prefer to check out some of his concert video like 'Live In Japan' (1990) or 'Live In San Francisco' (2002). If you like what you see and hear, you'll probably be back to pick this one up, too.