I seem to have forgotten the intent of this blog, and that is to write about music.
This morning, I was thinking about Todd Rundgren’s Faithful, a 1976 album that found him assiduously recreating a series of 60s staples on side one from folks like The Beatles, Dylan, and the Beach Boys.
It’s a nifty trick, to be sure, but it’s unclear why he would undertake such a venture, beyond just demonstrating his proficiency at mimicry.
It reminds me of that basic shot-for-shot remake of Psycho that flopped at the box office some time ago in that it’s hard to imagine the need for such slavish imitation.
And it’s not like most people wouldn’t pick out the fact that this is a simulacrum.
The hope for any cover is that the artist brings something to the song that gives it new life, that deepens your appreciation for it, that impresses you with inventiveness, or something like that.
Even so, it’s hard not to be slightly impressed by the effort Rundgren put into recreating the songs.
But I was even more impressed with the effort he put into his own compositions on side two.
