Tracklist front / back album covers
Side one
"Real Man" – 4:27
"Born to Synthesize" – 3:41
"The Death of Rock and Roll" – 3:48
"Eastern Intrigue" – 5:05
"Initiation" – 7:03
"Fair Warning" – 8:08
Side two
"A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" (Instrumental) – 35:22
"Intro - Prana" – 4:21
"II. The Fire of Mind - or: Solar Fire" – 3:50
"III. The Fire of Spirit - or: Electric Fire" – 7:33
"I. The Internal Fire - or: Fire by Friction" – 19:38
"Mûlâdhâra: The Dance of Kundalini"
"Svâdhishthâna: Bam, Bham, Mam, Yam, Ram, Lam, Thank You, Mahm"
"Manipûra: Seat of Fire"
"Anâhata: The Halls of Air"
"Vishudda: Sounds Beyond Ears"
"Ajnâ: Sights Beyond Eyes"
"Brahmarandhra: Nirvana Shakri"
"Outro - Prana"
Todd Rundgren Band Members / Musicians
"Real Man” (Recorded at Secret Sound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, RMI Keyboard Computer, ARP String Ensemble, percussion
Moogy Klingman – RMI Keyboard Computer
Ralph Schuckett – clavinet
John Siegler – bass
Kevin Ellman – drums
"Born to Synthesize” (Recorded at Bearsville Sound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals
Roger Powell – synthesizer treatments
"The Death of Rock and Roll" (Recorded at Mediasound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals, guitars
Ralph Schuckett – clavinet
Rick Derringer – bass
Kevin Ellman, John Wilcox – drums
"Eastern Intrigue” (Recorded at Secret Sound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals, electric sitar, electric piano, RMI Keyboard Computer, ARP String Ensemble, additional percussion
John Miller – bass
Roy Markowitz – drums
Lee Pastora – congas, bongos
Barbara Burton – percussion
Roger Powell - nose flute
"Initiation” (Recorded at Mediasound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals, lead guitar, clavinet, synthesizer, RMI Keyboard Computer, ARP String Ensemble
Bob Rose – rhythm guitar
John Siegler – bass
Rick Marotta, Bernard Purdie – drums
Lee Pastora – congas
David Sanborn – saxophone solo
Roger Powell – synthesizer solo
"Fair Warning” (Recorded at Mediasound Studio)
Todd Rundgren – vocals, piano, electric sitar, RMI Keyboard Computer, ARP String Ensemble
Moogy Klingman – organ
Rick Derringer – guitar
Dan Hartman – bass
Chris Parker, Barry Lazarowitz – drums
Edgar Winter – saxophone
"A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" (Recorded at Secret Sound and Bearsville Sound Studios)
Todd Rundgren – all instruments
Roger Powell – synthesizer programming, "creative assistance"
Initiation is the 6th album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released May 23, 1975 on Bearsville Records. With this album, Rundgren fully embraced the synthesized prog sound he had begun exploring in more depth in his work with his band Utopia. However, unlike Utopia, in which Rundgren had limited himself to playing guitar, most of the synthesizers on Initiation were played and programmed by Rundgren himself.
At over sixty-seven minutes, Initiation is one of the longest commercially-released LPs due to a plastic shortage. In order to keep the album on one vinyl LP Rundgren had to limit and EQ the master so the bass response was rolled off to keep the grooves small enough to cut onto a single disc, he also had to speed up the first half of Side One (Real Man-Eastern Intrigue)and speed up the entirety of Side Two to eliminate 2-3 minutes from each side. The album's original inner sleeve included a note which stated: "Technical note: Due to the amount of music on this disc (over one hour), two points must be emphasized. Firstly, if your needle is worn or damaged, it will ruin the disc immediately. Secondly, if the sound does seem not loud enough on your system, try re-recording the music onto tape. By the way, thanks for buying the album."
The titles and concept are taken directly from Alice A. Bailey's book A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.
