This one is…it’s just awesome. Look at that cover and tell me you wouldn’t empty your wallet to hear what the hell was stored in the grooves of this record. Pure gold, right? Albums like With Love…From Me To You are why I’ve so deeply fallen in love with “real people” records. The masterminds might not be the most masterful, the songwriting might not be as sharp as well known artists, but I guess there is a place in my cold, black heart that loves listening to the gamut of emotions felt by my fellow humans.
The Acid Archives book writes of Todd’s record (last name is largely unknown, but one website seems to think it is Todd Warthen), “Very homemade, deep and heartfelt private press from a bunch of teenagers and Todd, mid-late ’70s (some websites call it ’79). Like a perfect mix of Michael Angelo and Fame, housed in a cover that rivals and may ever surpass Rick Grossman.”
There is one blog called Zamboni which has added an interesting story to the Todd mythology. It sounds fictional, but the author writes: “And [Todd] did try to sell his albums at his senior prom, believe it or not: unsurprisingly a wallflower for most of his high school career, he decided to debut the album at the last formal school event and set up a booth somewhere near the buffet table so his classmates could finally see the real him. (The reception was frosty at first – you could probably determine anyone in Todd’s class’ social standing by how far away from him they were able to sit.) Sales were slow all night, but during the awards portion of the prom the prom king and captain of the football team took time out from receiving his own award to nominate Todd for “Most Likely to Be Selling His Album in 20 Years”. Then, in a moment out of one of John Hughes’ wet dreams, the entire class saw both Todd and the jock for what they truly were, flooded Todd’s sales booth, and bought out the entire run.”
I really can’t find any more info about Todd to share with you, though I really wish I could. I just got a CD-r from a customer at the store with “TODD” written on it in large letters. It’s a nice vinyl rip, but the lack of information anywhere on the Internet surprises me. If anyone out there can provide more information, I’d be elated.
I’m sorry for the lack of information in the MP3 files, I just found out the song titles after I’d already uploaded the compressed folder to MegaUpload.
PS – No top ten list today, for two reasons. 1) Last week’s was so successful I can’t match its greatness yet (but I’m working on a list of ten movie scripts that would be awesome if the plots were totally reversed — you’ll see!), and 2) I want that picture of Todd to be the image people see when they come to this website for the next twenty-four hours.
Enjoy!
Todd
With Love…From Me To You
Tracklist:
01. Alone
02. Lost Love
03. Can’t Get Her Out Of My Mind
04. Before It’s Too Late
05. Miracle Whip
06. Christ’s Love Song
07. With Love (From Me To You)
08. The First Time
09. The End Of The Rainbow
10. How Will I Make It On My Own
