Initiation is the sixth album by Todd Rundgren, released in the summer of 1975. With this album, Rundgren fully embraced the synth prog sound he began exploring more in depth with Utopia. Like the album before, Todd, Rundgren seemed more interested in experimenting with the capabilities of the synthesizer than in crafting pop songs; this time, it would become the narrative behind the record.
Album opener "Real Man" and the modulated a capella "Bo...
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Initiation is the sixth album by Todd Rundgren, released in the summer of 1975. With this album, Rundgren fully embraced the synth prog sound he began exploring more in depth with Utopia. Like the album before, Todd, Rundgren seemed more interested in experimenting with the capabilities of the synthesizer than in crafting pop songs; this time, it would become the narrative behind the record.
Album opener "Real Man" and the modulated a capella "Born to Synthesize" have Rundgren acknowledging that he should face himself and follow his dreams of experimenting more with music than creating conventional pop records. "The Death of Rock and Roll", ironically the hardest rocking song on the record, takes a stab at the critics that rejected his previous attempts on A Wizard, a True Star and Todd. At the same time, Rundgren was also experimenting with Eastern religious concepts, exploring these themes on "Eastern Intrigue", as well as forming the basis of the album closer "A Treatise on Cosmic...
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