Initiation

The first rock concert I attended was Todd Rundgren and Utopia back when I was in high school. Todd is a musician, songwriter and producer who has contributed much to rock music but who has had little commercial success. Part of the reason the commercial success eludes him, is because Rundgren tends to do what he wants and much of his music is very experimental. One of his most experimental albums, which is not likely to appeal to most people and is best listened to with headphones, is Initiation.  Released in  1975,  "Initiation" is a conceptual album combining elements of psychedelic rock, soul, avant-garde jazz fusion, and progressive rock. 

Initiation is heavily influenced by the teachings of Alice Bailey and Theosophy. Initiation is a Theosophical concept stating that there are nine levels of spiritual development. This concept was developed by both Alice A. Bailey and C.W. Leadbeater in the early 1920s.  In an interview in the past Rundgren said, "I hadn’t done much dabbling around in the mystical at all, but I was looking at these books and they were explaining some of the phenomena I was experiencing. I started devouring these Eastern philosophies, never buying any of them whole but following the thread of anything that was consonant with what I was experiencing. I got very much into Theosophical writers like C.W. Leadbeater, who applied scientific methods to Hindu philosophy and came up with a new synthesis. These were concepts that found their way into my personal cosmology and into my music. I mean, I never read the actual Treatise On Cosmic Fire because it was just too damn opaque, but I figured it made a good concept to hang the music on."

Theosophy combines elements of Eastern Religion with Christian ideals. Rundgren's Initiation begins with the pop classic "Real Man" which is partially inspired by a biblical verse:  "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 RV"

When I was a child
I thought as a child
I spoke as a child
I didn't know better
But now I'm a man
I look like a man
I'm old as a man
And I should know better

"Real Man" Initiation (1975) - music & lyrics by Todd Rundgren

In Eastern Intrigue we find that Rundgren has been exploring a variety of religions, spiritual philosophies and paths to God. Eastern Intrigue is a satirical piece in which Rundgren plays electric piano, keyboard computer, electric sitar and an assortment of percussion instruments.

I'm on my knees, one question please
Will the real God please stand up?

Jesus and Moses, Mohammed, and Sri Krishna
Steiner, Gurdjief, Blavatsky, and Bhudda
Guru Maharaji, Reverend Sun Myung Moon
"Eastern Intrigue" Initiation (1975) - music & lyrics by Todd Rundgren

Eastern Intrigue is followed by the title track, Initiation, which is a progressive-disco track. Here Rundgren comes to realize that the real God can only be found within.

Silently listen and it shall be revealed
I was born to fly higher,
born to stand where I'm standing now
Basking in the light of the neon fire
As it burns my useless body to the ground
Desire let me go
I would fly so high through the sky, never to die
Love has come, Love has come
Inside outside, it shall be revealed

"Initiation" Initiation (1975) - music & lyrics by Todd Rundgren

Side one comes to a close with Fair Warning which is a philosophical Rundgrenish rap song warning us that we are all responsible for our own actions and making our own way through life. The song features some jazzy saxophone work by Edgar Winter and ends with a few fines from Real Man.

You know, wishing won't make it so
Hoping won't do it, praying won't do it
Religion won't do it, philosophy won't do it
The supreme court won't do it,
the president and the congress won't do it
The UN won't do it, the H-bomb won't do it,
the sun and the moon won't do it
And God won't do it,
and I certainly won't do it
That leaves you, you'll have to do it

........

Love owns us all, Time owns us all, Life owns us all
But the world doesn't own me

"Fair Warning" Initiation (1975) music & lyrics by Todd Rundgren

Side two of Initiation consists of one single song, "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" which is a 36 minute instrumental. The title of the song is taken from the book of the same name published in 1928 by Alice Bailey. The song consists of three parts: "I. The Internal Fire, or Fire by Friction; II. The Fire of Spirit, or Electric Fire; The Fire of Mind, or Solar Fire." (the second parts of each of these phrases are taken from A Treatise on Cosmic Fire by Alice Bailey.

“Bam, bham, mam, yam, Ram, Lam, thank you mahm.”.

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