Todd Rundgren & Utopia / NBC The Source 1980 - Tarrytown, NY 11/14/1979

Todd Rundgren & Utopia
First Concert Of The Decade
NBC The Source CMV 46636
Broadcast date: January 1-2, 1980
Recorded November 14, 1979 at the Westchester Premiere Theatre, Tarrytown, NY.

01 John McGhan - NBC The Source 1980-01 Intro
02 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Last of the New Wave Riders
03 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Back On The Street
04 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Love Of The Common Man
05 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Caravan
06 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - 96 Tears
07 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Trapped
08 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Shot In The Dark
09 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - The Last Ride
10 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - The Road To Utopia
11 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Gangrene
12 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Rock Love
13 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - The Death of Rock and Roll
14 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Love In Action
15 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Couldn't I Just Tell You
16 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
17 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Love Is The Answer
18 Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Just One Victory
19 John McGhan - NBC The Source 1980-01 Outro

Matrix / Runout (Side 1, Etched): Ach CM V 46636-1 12049
Matrix / Runout (Side 2, Etched): Ach CM V 46636-2 12049
Matrix / Runout (Side 3, Etched): Ach CM V 46636-3 12049
Matrix / Runout (Side 4, Etched): Ach CM V 46636-4 12049

This is a fresh digitization as of April 2024, right off off the original vinyl records.
Once again, the Voodoo Wagon solves a rock and roll mystery.  The Discogs listing reads, "This concert was recorded in November, 1979. Possibly on 11/14,15, or 16 based on the set list including “96 Tears...." 

The Voodoo Wagon Research Team...working from our secret headquarters, uncovered a picture of Rundgren from the January 5, 1980 issue of Billboard captioned, "Rundgren's concert from a Westchester, N.Y. performance is mixed for Jan. 1 broadcast on the new NBC radio network." 

That gives us the likely location.  Cross referencing location with tour calendar reveals the show was recorded at the Westchester Premiere Theatre, Tarrytown, NY on November 14, 1979.  That matches up with the Discogs dates sourced from the set list inclusion of "96 Tears."

Quod erat Voodoo-demonstrandum, folks.

Other things to note about this show:  It is LIKELY to be the second Source broadcast.  The boys in Research found proof of an earlier Santana concert with a broadcast window of December 14-15-16, 1979.  While most Source concerts would list a three day "broadcast window" covering the Friday/Saturday/Sunday weekend, this one only lists January 1-2 on the disc labels.  For the record, January 1 was Tuesday and you can probably figure out the 2nd was Wednesday.  

Also of note is that this show is TITLED. Most Source shows are given obvious designators: The Eddie Money Band Concert, the Robert Plant/Led Zeppelin Special, The Doors Profile.  But every so often, they sprinkle a little bit of promotional magic fairy dust and add a title to the discs, such as "War Is Declared - The U2 Concert" or "April Fixx Day."  Uh...yeah.  That first one is epic, the second is awful.  "Fixx" and "Fools" aren't homophones. 

But you get the point: THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS WAS A BIG DEAL when they added a name on the disc label.  The first broadcast by a new network in a new decade!  Are you ready for the Eighties?

We managed to track down a full page print ad from Radio & Records magazine promoting the show, two weeks prior to the syndicated broadcast.  The ad says the concert was "on more than 175 radio stations throughout the country."

You get: FLAC FILES OF WAVS!  300 DPI SCANS OF DISC LABELS AND CUE SHEET!  A COPY OF PRINT AD! YES!  PRINT AD!  COULD THIS BE MOST EXCITING BLOG POSTING OF YEAR?!  HULK...HULK SMASH!!

(Meanwhile, in the background, Jobe quietly asks SilentWay to get out the tranquilizer rifle and darts, "Just in case he doesn't calm down.  You know what happened last time...)

https://mega.nz/file/WIQVnAiK#OKWNeSXQQtROomj0g0pnrXTCrXpHuQHmU5ywZGEK6p8

Todd Rundgren & Utopia / Brown University Nov. 11. 1977 FM

Todd Rundgren & Utopia
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
November 11, 1977

Hans Devente digitized his FM recording of a Todd Rundgren 1977-11-11 show from a Dutch radio station in the Summer of 2014. There was already a circulating version of a tape recorded by Dan Lampinski from an American radio station. Hans' tape has better audio quailty, but the first song cuts in during the first chorus, the start is missing.

The two versions also seems to have different ambiance; Hans tape has slightly wider stereo separation (to my ears...).

I chaptered and normalized Hans' tracks and did some other minor editing (removed a few pops, made the between song edits less jarring by getting the volume levels closer to each).

I have set this up so you have several options for dealing with the problem with the first track:

1:  I've included the unedited Hans Devente tape version of Trapped, which cuts in after the song has started.  
2:  I made a version of Trapped that edits together the Lampinski and Devente versions for a complete show using all of the better audio quality on the Devente tape.
3:  The unedited Lampinski version of Trapped, so you can do the edit yourself if you find my edit to be too jarring.  If you don't like it, do it yourself! :)
4:  The original American DJ intro from the Lampinski tape, to be included or discarded as you see fit. If you include it, you get a show introduced in English and with the show credits in Dutch.

Todd Rundgren: guitars, vocals
Roger Powell: keyboards, synths, vocals
Kasim Sulton: bass, vocals
John "Willie" Wilcox: drums, vocals


01a.  American DJ intro 

01.  Trapped (three versions of this file, all clearly labeled)
02.  The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell
03.  Abandon City 
04.  Love Of The Common Man
05.  Back On The Street
06.  Black And White
07.  Communion With The Sun
08.  Utopia Theme 
09.  Love Is The Answer
10.  Crazy Lady Blue
11.  Love In Action
12.  The Death Of Rock 'n Roll
13.  Dutch Radio Outro

https://mega.nz/file/aNAHWaST#1B9reEb3tDIKOyhMYJnlOYAZihxX2aIia2uRf4amAJE

If you like this old radio broadcast, Cherry Red records has issued a great show from a year later, Todd Rundgren & Utopia Live At The Electric Ballroom 23rd October 1978.

If we get lucky, Cherry Red will put out an official release of the full version of this edited Brown University show.