• When it comes to music, Todd-of-all-trades might be more appropriate than the traditional Jack to signify a man of many talents. Unlike Jack, though, Rundgren is a master of them all. • Twenty-year-old Todd Rundgren first came to attention in 1968 as the precociously talented leader of Nazz who could write memorable songs and play guitar “just like ringing a bell” as Chuck was once wont to say. Initially he was unsure about his vocal capabilities, but by the time he had gone solo and released his breakthrough third album, “Something / Anything”, in 1972, it was clear that he had tonsils to match his prodigious songwriting and musical skills. He not only wrote, arranged, sang and produced the whole double album but even played all of the instruments on three sides of the release. • By this time he was ensconced as Albert Grossman’s whiz kid producer at the entrepreneur’s newly built Bearsville Studio near Woodstock. Rundgren had swiftly built up a reputation as a hot shot fixer after flying to London to rescue Badfinger’s “Straight Up” album from its year-long production problems. He turned it around on budget and within two weeks. Even more impressive was when Grossman negotiated a $50,000 fee for Rundgren to produce Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band” album – an unheard of sum in 1973 – which instantly catapulted him to the status of star producer as well as yielding a brace of #1 hits for the band. • “The Studio Wizardry of Todd Rundgren” traces the long journey from his early days at the board of Hollywood’s ID Sound Studio, to his long stay at Bearsville, to his own self-built Secret Sound Studio in New York, his own Utopia Studio in the Catskill Mountains, and then on to Sausalito, where he produced several artists in the San Francisco Bay area. Rundgren’s restless nature and diverse tastes are reflected in our choices with a wide-ranging mix of music and artists, and naturally he also contributes his own musical and compositional skills to many of the tracks. • The productions themselves are selected from across the years 1970 to 1990, drawn from Rundgren’s long career at the top during the golden age of recording when tape machines, bricks and mortar studios and a winning producer were the things that really mattered. TRACK LISTING: 1. Open My Eyes - Nazz 2. Jet Boy - New York Dolls 3. Heaven’s Falling - Cheap Trick 4. Frederick - Patti Smith 5. Dear God - XTC 6. You’re Much Too Soon - Daryl Hall & John Oates 7. We’re An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad 8. Long Times Gone - Felix Cavaliere 9. Baby Blue - Badfinger 10. So Kind - Jill Sobule 11. L-5 - New England 12. The Girl - The Rubinoos 13. One Night Stand - Janis Joplin 14. She’s So Young - The Pursuit Of Happiness 15. Long Road Home - Fanny 16. Fa La Fa Lee - Sparks (Halfnelson) 17. Piece By Piece - The Tubes 18. Something Warm - Rick Derringer 19. I Don’t Mind At All - Bourgeois Tagg 20. Midnight Sun - Dragon (Hunter) 21. Goodbye - The Psychedelic Furs 22. Love Is The Answer - Utopia
A**R
Rundgren fans should love this
I know that I certainly do! I write mainly in response to Mark Berry's lukewarm review. It's fair enough that he does not like too many of the tracks - it's each to his own after all - but I just thought that I would make fans aware that there are significant connections to Todd and Utopia on many of the tracks that he disses. For example Todd actually wrote Cheap Trick's "Heaven's Falling" and Dragon's "Midnight Sun", and was a co-writer on New England's "L-5" and The Tubes' "Piece By Piece" (I'm fairly certain that he plays the exciting guitar on the first three as well), and Utopia provide back-up on The Rubinoo's "The Girl" and Rick Derringer's "Something Warm". Personally I thought the Cheap Trick, Rick Derringer, Dragon and New England tracks were excellent - and to be honest - most probably because they sound very much like Utopia! Berry's failure to appreciate high quality tracks such as XTC's "Dear God" and the Pursuit Of Happiness' "She's So Young" just leave me puzzled. I will agree that Great Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" plods a bit, but then it was a significant milestone in Todd's production career and merits inclusion on those grounds. The point about the absence of Meatloaf being untimely is just plain silly as doubtless the CD would have been in production months before Meat sadly took his final breath, and in any case we've all got "Bat Out Of Hell"! I really enjoyed this compilation, especially because it introduced me to so many new tracks - and while a new Todd Rundgren album would have been even better this makes for a very nice stopgap in the meantime!
A**G
Todd is God.
Funny how things conspire at random. We've all tipped our hat to the late great Meat Loaf and mourned his passing. Huge talent, as was Bat Out of Hell's writer Jim Steinman. That shamelessly bombastic record was, of course, due in no small part to Todd Rundgren's cinematic production.It just so happens that a week later this superb comp has dropped: The Studio Wizardry Of Todd Rundgren. It doesn't contain any tracks from Bat Out of Hell, but it doesn't need to - we've all got it. What it does showcase is selected tracks from 1970 to 1990 that he produced inc. tracks by Cheap Trick, XTC, Hall & Oates, The Tubes and The Psychedelic Furs among many others.Todd is a master of all things musical. He writes, arranges, produces, sings and plays many instruments esp. guitar and piano (check out his killer lead and motor bike guitar on Bat Out of Hell). Rundgren’s restless nature and diverse tastes are reflected in the wide-ranging mix of artists he works with, and naturally he also contributes his own musical and compositional skills to many of the tracks on this compilation.He has tracked a course through uncharted musical territory, becoming a pioneer not only in electronic music and prog rock, but in music video, computer software, and Internet music delivery as well. He also maintained a relentless work schedule. This combination of work rate and all round talent makes him, for me, the greatest of all time (along with Zappa).I've seen him live several times and even met him (twice). He had time for me and was disarmingly genuine. He is the measure by which they should all be judged. If you don't know his music then check this comp out and then proceed immediately to Go Ahead Ignore Me: The Best of Todd Rundgren.Todd is God.
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