Since the advent of radio, MTV and the iPod, personalized playlists and hit singles have taken precedence over the once popular trend of listening to an album as a whole. A recent trend, however, seems to suggest that the album as an art form is coming back.

Last month, Steely Dan played a different classic album each night during three back-to-back concerts in San Francisco.

This month, Sacramento music fans will be able to hear three classic albums in their entirety: Wednesday, Todd Rundgren will play his 1973 album, A Wizard, A True Star at the Crest Theatre; Saturday, a handful of Sacramento bands will play The Clash's 1979 album London Calling at Old Ironsides; Saturday, Dec. 12, The Who-Dunnit will be playing The Who's 1969 rock-opera album, Tommy, at Marilyn's on K.

Rundgren never decided to play the album in its entirety. It was a promoter's idea, he said, in an interview with online newspaper LAist.

"Our promoter approached me with the idea of doing the album once, in London," he said. "By the time word of this got through the internet to all the fans, we wound up doing seven shows in five cities during the first 10 days or so of September. So it went from being a single special event to being a series of dates."

The album is notable for its experimentalism as well as a medley of soul songs, with covers of the Impressions, the Miracles, the Delphonics and the Capitols strung together. "Todd Rundgren becomes a wizard at playing that most complex of modern instruments, the recording studio," said Rolling Stone in a 1973 review.

The Clash's London Calling is known less for its progressive aspects than its eclecticism. The album covers ground from punk to reggae to pop, and yielded some rock classics, including "Train in Vain," "Spanish Bombs" and the title track.

"(London Calling) was beyond a political or protest album, it was just a great rock and roll album," said the concert's promoter Jerry Perry. "I was 15 when it came out. It was like my God. It was everything to me."

This will be the second show in as many years that Perry has put on with local bands covering an entire album. The first featured bands playing The Beatles' untitled album, commonly known as "the White Album."

Sacramento punk rock bands The Secretions and The No-Goodniks will be playing some of the raucous tunes like the title track and "Brand New Cadillac" while rockabilly band Stars and Garters and blues band The Kelps will offer a different take on the classic album. Other bands include Final Summation, Bastards of Young, Armed Forces Radio, Tom Knockoff, Broken Poet, I Scream on Sundae and The Storytellers.

After performing London Calling on Saturday, three or four bands will cover other Clash songs including "Clash City Rockers" and "Tommy Gun," Perry said.

Local band The Who-Dunnit have been playing The Who's music since 2006 and have recently recorded their first record, a cover album of The Who's Tommy.

"There are a lot of other bands who have been tributed: Journey, Led Zeppelin, but not The Who," said Rob Elmore, Who-Dunnit's bass player. "It's intense to play, it's such a challenge which makes it rewarding."

This concert will be the second time The Who-Dunnit play Tommy in its entirety, and the first time they've performed it in Sacramento. After a short break, the band plans to return for an encore, playing material from Who's Next and Quadrophenia.

Will there be a signature Who ending with guitar smashing? Elmore replied, "Yes. If the crowd is good."

Tickets for the Todd Rundgren show are $36.50-$73 and can be purchased here, the Crest box office or 1-800-225-2277. The Crest Theatre is located at 1013 K St. The show is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

"London Calling" will be played at 8 p.m. this Saturday. Tickets cost $8. Old Ironsides is located at the corner of 10th and S streets.

The Who-Dunnit will perform "Tommy" Saturday, Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Marilyn's on K is located at 908 K Street. The first 50 to enter receive a free CD of The Who-Dunnit's "Tommy."

Photos 1-3: The Who-Dunnit. Photo credit Jason Pryor.