Couldn't I Just Tell You
"Couldn't I Just Tell You" | ||||
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Single by Todd Rundgren | ||||
from the album Something/Anything? | ||||
Released | July 1972 (1972-07) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:34 | |||
Label | Bearsville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Todd Rundgren | |||
Producer(s) | Todd Rundgren | |||
Todd Rundgren singles chronology | ||||
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"Couldn't I Just Tell You" is a song written by American musician Todd Rundgren that was released on his 1972 album Something/Anything?. In July, it was released as a single and reached number 93 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.[5] The song is considered influential to the development of the power pop genre.
Unlike most of Something/Anything?, which consists primarily of piano-based compositions, "Couldn't I Just Tell You" is a rock song. Rundgren reflected that there would have been more songs in this style if he had not been performing all the music by himself: "I was pretty happy with the song because I realized it was the kind of thing I would probably have done more of if I had been using other players."[6]
Legacy
On a television performance in 1978, Rundgren introduced "Couldn't I Just Tell You" as a part of "the latest musical trend, power pop."[7] The song became influential to artists in the genre. Music journalist Paul Lester called the recording a "masterclass in compression" and said that Rundgren "staked his claim to powerpop immortality [and] set the whole ball rolling".[8] Musician Scott Miller's 2010 book Music: What Happened? calls the song "likely the greatest power pop recording ever made," with lyrics "somehow both desperate and lighthearted at the same time," and a guitar solo having "truly amazing dexterity and inflection."[9] VH1 named "Couldn't I Just Tell You" at eighth in their list "Catchy, Loud and Proud: 20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever."[10] Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine on AllMusic called the song "terrific power pop classic"[11] and "blinding power pop."[12]
Personnel
- Todd Rundgren – all instruments and vocals[6]
Charts
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 93 |
References
- ^ Molanphy, Chris (November 19, 2022). "Angry Young Men Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 895. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (November 2, 2004). "Todd Rundgren". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 707–708.
- ^ DeMain, Bill (August 1, 2019). "How to buy the very best of Todd Rundgren". Classic Rock.
- ^ a b "Todd Rundgren - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ a b Harris, Will (April 9, 2012). "Todd Rundgren on his musical history, from Nazz to The New Cars". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Troper, Morgan (June 10, 2015). "A Wizard, a True Star". Portland Mercury.
- ^ Lester, Paul (February 11, 2015). "Powerpop: 10 of the best". The Guardian.
- ^ Miller, Scott (2010). Music: What Happened?. 125 Records. p. 68. ISBN 9780615381961.
- ^ Runtagh, Jordan (April 8, 2014). "Catchy, Loud and Proud: 20 Essential Power Pop Tracks That Will Be Stuck In Your Head Forever". VH1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Todd Rundgren | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Something/Anything? - Todd Rundgren | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- v
- t
- e
- Runt
- Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren
- Something/Anything?
- A Wizard, a True Star
- Todd
- Initiation
- Faithful
- Hermit of Mink Hollow
- Healing
- The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
- A Cappella
- Nearly Human
- 2nd Wind
- No World Order
- The Individualist
- With a Twist...
- One Long Year
- Liars
- Arena
- Todd Rundgren's Johnson
- (re)Production
- State
- Global
- White Knight
- Space Force
with Utopia |
|
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- "We Gotta Get You a Woman"
- "I Saw the Light"
- "Couldn't I Just Tell You"
- "Hello It's Me"
- "Good Vibrations"
- "Can We Still Be Friends"
- "Bang the Drum All Day"
- "Flappie"
- "Dreams of Ordinary Men"
- "Kissing with Confidence"
- "Love Is the Answer"
- "Shake a Fist"
- "Western Girls"
productions
- Great Speckled Bird
- Stage Fright
- Straight Up
- Halfnelson
- New York Dolls
- We're an American Band
- Shinin' On
- War Babies
- Felix Cavaliere
- L
- Bat Out of Hell
- Remote Control
- TRB Two
- Wave
- Wasp
- Bad for Good
- Forever Now
- Next Position Please
- Love Bomb
- What Is This?
- Skylarking
- Dreams of Ordinary Men
- Love Junk
- Things Here Are Different
- One Sided Story
- The World's Most Dangerous Party
- Halfway Down the Sky
- The New America
- Separation Anxieties
- Cause I Sez So
- Discography
- Bebe Buell
- Daryl Hall
- Nazz
- The New Cars
- Liv Tyler
- Up Against It!