Go Ahead Ignore Me: The Best of Todd Rundgren

AMG Review of Go Ahead Ignore Me: The Best of Todd Rundgren

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

Todd Rundgren has been the subject of several greatest-hits collections over the years (1989's Anthology: 1968-1985, 1997's The Very Best Of, etc.), and 2000 saw the release of his latest, the import Go Ahead Ignore Me: The Best of Todd Rundgren. A double-disc set weighing in at a hefty 41 tracks in length, Go Ahead Ignore Me covers most of the same ground as the aforementioned Anthology: 1968-1985 but expands the track listing considerably (Anthology features 27 songs). Rundgren covered a lot of musical ground from the early '70s though the mid-'80s, which is the era spotlighted here. Although the compilers may have gone overboard by plucking nine tracks from what many consider Rundgren's finest hour (and most commercially successful release), Something/Anything, and the track listing fails to include any selections from Rundgren's Utopia output, it remains a consistent and enjoyable set. You can't go wrong with such Rundgren classics as "We Gotta Get You a Woman," "I Saw the Light," "Hello It's Me," "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference," "Couldn't I Just Tell You," "Just One Victory," "Real Man," and "Love Is the Answer," as well as such overlooked cuts as the whacked "An Elpee's Worth of Toons," among others. If you're just discovering the great Todd Rundgren, Go Ahead Ignore Me: The Best of Todd Rundgren will serve as a fine introduction, with a recommended follow-up purchase being Utopia's 1989 collection, Anthology.